ABCjesuslovesme k5 curriculum & HS advice

[bakerbottoms]

Does anyone have experience with this curriculum?? How well is it laid out? Would it work well for my ADHD 5.5 yr old? He is to be in K this year. He was in a private Christian prek last year doing Abeka. I pulled him out 3 months before the year ended. He hated it! Too much seat work & his teacher didn't work with him. In Feb. when she did his K readiness test she realized he didn't know his alphabet that she had been teaching all year. She basiclly blamed it on him not focusing & when I ask how to help him she said she didn't know. All that to say he is behind on knowing what he should know to start K. I've worked with him over the summer & he knows most now but still isn't strong. Also looking into this curriculum for financial reasons. Originally we were going to do My Fathers World, which seems like a great fit for him. Over the past couple months our monthly budget has been cut by $750 YIKES!!! So we have NO extra money!! It's almost Aug & I have no curriculum & no plan, this is our first year & its off to a rocky start Also with no extra $ we can't do any field trips unless they are free, any ideas?

[foggierbard9]

I don't have any real advice but we are going to use this curriculum for our DS this year. The website has a ton of information on it and they have a facebook page where you can post and I am sure the person who designed the program would respond, she seems to respond to a lot of what people ask and even post stuff on her blog in response to people's questions.

My son isn't ADHD, but he can't sit still for very long and that was one reason I was looking at this curriculum. It seems to be easily broken down into short bits of stuff throughout the day and the way she set it up was for a 4 day week, so that gives even more flexibility if I need to spread stuff over 5 days each week to do even shorter periods of time.

[AbbieJack]

So are you going to redo Pre-K or move on to Kindergarten? Most Kindergarten curriculum I've seen the kid needs to be fluent with the alphabet and know most of his letter sounds if not all.

[satiglenn]

Education.com You can print worksheets for free, and for $4.99 a month, you can print 2 free workbooks each month. Pay one month at a time if you want, cancel whenever you need to, pick it back up whenever you need to. I signed up and printed off an alphabet workbook. Then I got one of those ten cent paper folders with the brackets, and punched holes in the sheets. Glued the cover sheet onto the folder and voila! A workbook Cost me ten cents. You can get one month free if you enter the code "trial" at checkout. No obligation
I love this website. It makes it possible to homeschool for DIRT CHEAP. I don't know the laws in your state, but here in SC as long as every subject is covered, you're good. So you could print an alphabet workbook, a math workbook, check out a science project book at the library, etc. and spend literally almost NOTHING.

[foggierbard9]

Thanks for the info on education.com. I just went to check it out and they have a pretty awesome deal going right now and it is 1/2 off the yearly subscription through tomorrow. It looks like a lot of good workbooks too, so again thanks.

[bakerbottoms]

Originally Posted by AbbieJack So are you going to redo Pre-K or move on to Kindergarten? Most Kindergarten curriculum I've seen the kid needs to be fluent with the alphabet and know most of his letter sounds if not all.

I was going to just start with K & move at a slower pace till he is caught up. I plan on schooling year round. He gets new concepts really easy except the alphabet. My 4 yr old is the same level as him if not more. So I was planning to do K with both of them. She loves "school" work & work books. My 2.5 yr old knows nothing, lol he just wants to play. I'm going to try to include some stuff for him too.

[jen_batten]

Keep in mind that you don't "need" a curriculum for K. I haven't looked into the program you mentioned, but if money is tight and it's going to be stressful it may be better to do your own thing for free. Many websites have free info, especially for the younger set. My personal opinion is that kids do not need to know all the alphabet and letter sounds going into K. I know some of the kids going into school here don't know that...or shapes, or colors, or.... But they do catch on quickly. Your son may just not quite be to that point yet. If I were you I would maybe try doing units related to the alphabet, maybe one letter a week, and you could tie all the other learning into that. You don't have to have anything special. You might also look into seeing what kind of resources are in your area. I know about an hour and a half away from where I live there is a lending library where you can rent your curriculum for the year for only a couple of dollars. You will also be able to find lots of free field trips if you think a bit outside the box. Some zoos are free, some museums, and you could do things like touring a local farm--lots of farmers would be happy to do that. Here there is a local creamry we're planning to visit, I've heard banks are pretty friendly...you don't need a lot of stuff, only a bit of creativity. If there is a co-op in your area I'm sure some local Moms could give you lots of tips. And try not to stress yourself out. He's only 5. There is lots of time left for school. Even if you feel like he is behind remember that all kids work at different paces and that's okay. He'll catch up, and he'll be a lot better off than his public school counterparts.

Just to add....my kids sound like they are about like yours--my son is 6 and struggles more with reading and sounds--his sister is 19 months behind him in age and just as well off or better in the reading department. Maybe it's a boy thing?

[AVeryHappyMama]

There are also many Other free curricula posted online. There's a thread dedicated to them here http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/...ree+curriculum
I think ABCjesuslovesme looks fine. There's also the Williamson Little Hands Alphabet Art book you can use to work on ABCs. The library probably has that and the What Your Kindergartender Needs to Know (also What Your Preschooler Needs to Know) which may be a help.

Have you tried finding curricula on Homeschool Classifieds or EBay? You can find teacher's guides cheap there often.

[Celeste]

Not sure about your curriculum, but I have a few ideas about free field trips.

Fire stations usually give tours
Local farms?
Parks - nature walks
wildlife rescue facilities
library trips
grocery stores - tour the bakery, produce, etc. departments (I know Publix does them around here)
Often, there are coupons for a free Gymboree class with their mailed coupons or a Gymbo receipt...I don't know if they hound you after that to join, though

Also, google "free kids stuff (or things to do) in <wherever you live>"

FWIW, I agree that you can homeschool for super cheap - I am using Hooked on Phonics (bought on clearance at Target last year), Horizons Math, and that's all I've spent $ on so far. If your DS is having problems with his alphabet, I highly recommend HoP for Pre-K. It is fun, and is mainly computer games and songs, which might keep his attention better than worksheets. Good luck!

[*KaiMom*]

We used a lot of their curriculum last year, for prek. If he know most of his letters you could do the prek quick to drive home the basics and then move onto k. It's a lot of busy work....coloring etc which my son hates so it was a bust for us. It's laid out well but you do have to plan things and stay on top of getting the books and pages printed out.