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I need input today please :)
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I am trying to put together “curriculum” for my wiggly 7 year old son. For LA does this look like too much?
Language Lessons for Little Ones 3 (He still needs to learn how to read, so I’m thinking this is the right wb)
Delightful Reading
Pathway Readers
New American Cursive
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Rod & Staff Arithmetic 1
Mathtacular Kit
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Apologia Young Explorers Astronomy
Jr. Astronomy Notebook
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Artistic Pursuits
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History & Bible
I also am trying to figure out if using SCM Module’s for a 1st grade boy alone would be worth the purchase? I’m having a hard time finding a curriculum that has Bible incorporated into the curriculum that makes sense to me. I’m just not sure that the content is geared toward younger elementary ages. We’ve tried SL but it jumps around too much. I need to keep it simple. I’ve made the SCM Scripture Memory cards and those have been great. I currently own SOW1 and it’s correlating activity book and it seems okay but I’ve noticed something. Since I’ve gleaned some book titles to read from SCM (Boy of the Pyramids for one), I’ve noticed that ds7 has taken a new interest in Egyptian history. Could this be because of the living book approach, or just an interest in the subject matter? At first glance, the books seemed dull to me but he is really liking them. Should I switch over to SCM for Bible/History or stay with SOW and keep looking for Bible curriculum?
To add to my previous post here, does SCM Modules study other ancient civilizations like ancient China, Mesopotamia, etc? I’m not seeing any reading on China. Am I missing something? If not, then I may need to stick with SOW.
If he’s still learning to read, I would hold off on cursive. My 2nd grader is a proficient reader, and we are doing cursive now and it’s going well, but I don’t think it would have gone nearly as well last year. Does he like writing in general?
I would hold off on doing Apologia in 1st grade (he’s your oldest, right?). We are doing Outdoor Secrets and nature study and it’s very laidback and doesn’t take much time….about 15 minutes a lesson. Focus on playing outside and noticing things. This past week my kids (7, 4 and 2) have noticed 3 caterpillars, a snake, and a couple moths too.
For Bible, check out the list of readings from Penny Gardner’s website. We are doing the NT readings right now, and we just read and narrate. Easy. The kids also do scripture memory separately, and we do Bible drill twice a week since my DS reads well.
There have been a lot of posts about history for first graders. Some do module 1 and it goes well. It’s definitely not necessary though! If he is liking Egypt, then just find some living book titles and read them together. Then if he’s losing interest, move on to ancient Rome and Greece. Right now it’s about developing interest.
FWIW, I have no set timeline for finishing any of my books right now. I have in mind which books I want to read, and then when we finish one, we do another one. Don’t forget about literature books!
I’m also thinking about using AO’s plan instead since it is full of living books and I can get them for free online! Since ds is only 7, maybe this would be good? As for holding off on Apologia, maybe I will. Yesterday was a bit of a struggle and it wass only day 2. He really wants to learn about the planets though, so maybe I willdo one day of science and one day of nature studies. We used Outdoor secrets last year and he loved it! We now have to figure out what to do for Nature Studies but I see that AO has something suggested to go along with The Handbook of Nature Study that may really interest him – BIRDS! (He’s my little ornithologist)
Do you get the handbook of nature study newsletter? It has some great ideas. I am planning to do some astronomy with my kids in the winter when it gets dark earlier, but we will just use living books at our own pace.
My little ones are 5 and 6yo (K and 1st grade) and we are using the Genesis Through Deuteronomy study and enjoying it a lot. The Bible being woven in is very helpful for me- I don’t have to do all that work making things fit correctly! The SCM book Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors is designed as the spine of the module and has chapters on the Sumerians, India, China, Minoans, Hittites, Nubians, Persians, and Assyrians among others, along with the Egyptians. I didn’t see any Native American chapter, but we have our own materials for that.
We are also using SCM’s Visits to Africa (geography) and its recommended books Hungry Planet and Material World. Its a lot for such little guys and we are using it very loosly, but thats OK we are sparking their interest and they are excited about learning. We plan to revisit this area of study with much the same materials adjusted for their age in 6 years. The books for the Visits to Africa are expensive but will be used for multiple years so I think they are a good investment. As for the SCMs books- huge time saver for me to have everything integrated- I just have to open it and do what it says! I know from experence (I have older kids who are now graduated) that the more simple I make it for myself the more likley we are to get more done.That said, all this is NOT Necessary! Ancient Egypt and Her Neighbors and some simple map work based on those chapters would be more than suffienct. You can get free outline maps online if you search.
The readings are sometimes a bit long for my wiggly ones so I got a couple coloring books about Ancient Egypt and they color while I read. Both Dover and Bellerophon have good and inexpensive coloring books available on Amazon. Having their hands busy helps extend their attention span and we still get good retention.
For science we are reading the Burgess Seashore Book since we tend to spend a lot of time at the beach in the Autumn. Burgess Bird Book is a great choice if he loves birds and its free- http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/3074 So for science we read from the book and take a nature walk/beach trip and when we find something really interesting I pull out our nature journals and we draw it. I even have my own journal so I can model the process for them, plus its fun for me. Sometimes we draw it on the spot, sometimes I take a picture and we draw it at home. I also keep a field guide handy to look up things we don’t recognize. Sometimes I have them copy the name of the object or other short information, other times not. I plan on starting Apologia Elementary books when my kiddos are 4th grade or so.
If he’s not reading I probably wouldn’t do Language Lessons, but I have never seen the LL books. I would do just the Delightful Reading and simple copy work. You can pull it from the lesson, or from the Pathway Readers. I have Treadwell’s readers -free online- we will be using later this year once the reading starts to click a bit more for my daughter. http://themommaknows.com/treadwell-readers/ If I hadn’t already I would begin Narration with Aesop’s Fables. I would also drop the cursve for a year or two, unless you did cursive first?
HTH
I used to be on the nature study newsletter, but I unsubscribed because I never used the information. I purchased Yesterday’s Classics package so I have A LOT of ebooks for my kindle to use in which a lot of the titles suggested for AO and a few from SCM are in the batch.
I’m starting to appreciate what SCM has put together. As I’m looking at AO’s suggested reading list and weekly schedule, I just cant wrap my head around it. I keep coming up with more questions. I’ve even used their AO yahoo group to download the schedules etc, but it’s just downright confusing me. I’m not one to be able to put things together creatively, so I’m stressing over when to do geography withn the AO books and what source to use for copywork etc. With SCM, it just goes so smoothly and she has alrady done the work for me. I just dont want to let go of the AO reading lists because the books seem so good!
The Burgess Bird Book is lovely and is one book that has drawn me in to the AO book list ) I’m honestly tired of Ancient Egypt so I may move on to Module 2 instead.
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