Philosophy
Little kids are CONCRETE thinkers. They can’t do abstraction, at all. They can’t think about their thinking. They can’t tell you WHY something is the right answer unless there’s a concrete, SENSORY reason.
Their whole moral structure is narrative-based. They can “be” the good guy or the bad guy and do what they do in a situation, but they can’t “think” about goodness or badness as it’s own thing. That’s why at this age, stories are so important. Archetypal stories like fairy tales and myths make the most impact.
Pre-K
In the beginning, my pre-K was very Montessori. I made all kinds of printables. I’ve also used Sonlight, Abeka K4 and MoDG Pre-K. Click below for a fuller description of the four options.
Living Books
This was where I spent the bulk of my time in K-2. I’ve used Ambleside Online, Mater Amabilis, MoDG K-2, Sonlight, Robinson Curriculum, and Old Fashioned Education.
Math
K-2 math is mostly just math facts. If you get those down, you’re golden.
I’ve used Abeka, Ray’s Arithmetic, Math Mammoth, Time 4 Learning, Saxon, and Miquon. I’ve supplemented with Calculadder, Reflex Math, Math-It, Memory Joggers, Right Brain Math, Education Memory Aids, and Montessori.
Read & Spelling
Language processing, dyslexia, dysgraphia = Kids 1, 2, & 3 respectively. I’ve been through the RINGER or reading and spelling curricula. Many started great but we hit a wall after a semester.
Take the tour of my wanderings (bold ones “worked” finally for at least one child): Abeka, Sonlight, McGuffey’s, Ruth Beechick, Sound Beginnings, 100 EZ Lessons, Word Mastery for Primary Grades, Reading Eggs, Montessori, Sonlight, Reading Reflex, Recipe for Reading, Little Angel Readers, Faith and Freedom Readers, Secret Stories, WRTR, All About Spelling, Progressive Phonics, Sing Spell Read and Write, Snap Words, Homer Reading, Time 4 Learning, Lexercise (dyslexia intervention).
Handwriting
For handwriting, I’ve used the Picard books, Handwriting without Tears, A Reason for Writing, Abeka, Printed sheets, Sound Beginnings, Writing Our Catholic Faith, Universal Handwriting, Start Write, Montessori, Writing Road to Reading, and assorted pdf’s (McGuffey’s, WRTR, etc.)
Art & Music
I can’t remember right now….Abeka songs, MoDG, Child-Sized Masterpieces, Jemison hymns, That Charlotte Mason site I can’t remember, Music Masters, SQUILT, and that other site with the Haydn book I liked.
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