CM Kindergarten

I did a CM-style K this past year with my oldest daughter. (I have two younger children also who ‘tagged along’, but I did no formal work with them.) We generally did about an hour a day, with other subjects spread out over the week. This is basically what we did:

Scripture memory and hymns – together as a family at breakfast

[Break: chores and getting ready for the day]

Formal School Time: (all of this took about an hour)

– Poetry (we just read a poem each day – we loved the AA Milne poems)

– Calendar

– article from God’s World News (buddy reading)

– Read-aloud book on some topic: history, geography, nature, science – we sort of did US history/geography and a study of the seasons for science/nature but this was very informal and somewhat interest led – I didn’t follow much of a schedule or program.

– Once or twice a week I did a gentle map drill on the States (I just asked her to find various state on the map) and occasionally we also did picture study using the Katie books (in the Early Years list for 5yos) as a jumping off point….but not as regularly as I would have liked.

– Phonics/reading – can’t tell you exactly what we used because we sort of made it up as we went along. =) I do recommend Ruth Beechick’s book The 3R’s as it has some helpful suggestions.

– Math: We used MEP Reception Level (free here http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm), spreading one lesson over two or three days. When we finished that, we started Math Mammoth Grade 1 and are using the Rightstart games with it.

– Handwriting instruction, moving into simple copywork when the letters were mastered.

The rest of the morning was free. Occasionally we did a nature walk and nature journal entry, focusing on seasonal changes.

After lunch, we had a read aloud time – usually picture books – and reading practice – dd read to me from the Pathway readers. She was already starting to read before we started Kindergarten formally, so it might be awhile before a new reader would be ready for that, but this was the time of day that we fit it in.

Afternoon was rest and free time.

At bedtime, we read aloud again from a Bible story book (we like The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos) and from a chapter book.

HTH some!

Jen

This is what we did for K.

http://wbbeachbum.blogspot.com/2008/03/kindergarten-charlotte-mason-style.html

If the plan is to send the child to PS for 1st, it may be a good idea to be aware of the expectations of new students and plan accordingly.

Reading. 10-15 min. Lots of options. I tend to start with 100 EZ lesssons.

Math. 10-15 min. Lots of options. I like MUS Primer. This may be an expensive option if the plan is to attend a traditional school for 1st. In this case, I would look at the expectations for new students and use supermarket books that meet those goals. Use manipulatives!

Writing. 10-15 min. I like Handwriting without Tears. However, in this situation, I would use the book that the school teaches.

Literature. Make a list from simplycharlottemason and visit the library. Read daily for as many total hours as possible.

Nature study. Perhaps the easiest way to start with Nature study is Harmonymom’s nature challenges. Here is a link to the first 10.

http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2011/01/outdoor-hour-challenges-getting-started.html

Habits. This is perhaps the most important aspect! Make a list of desirable habits and work on 1 habit at a time.

HTH