Tag: first grade

Core Tour: First Grade

Tracy

It’s been awhile since I’ve gone over our core subjects (reading, math, etc.) and shared what we are doing and how that is going. So I thought, over the next few posts, I’d give you a tour beginning with Oldest who is in first grade this year.

A Beka has been my go-to for reading, math, spelling, and handwriting for him this year. And for those of you who were along for the ride through all of our math frustrations last year, this year has gone incredibly smoothly so far.

Phonics: Oldest is using Letters and Sounds 1 for his phonics workbook. He works one side of a page each day on his own, learns a new flashcard phonics sound each day, and reviews his other sounds. Together, we go over the lesson for that day from the curriculum, and I have been following the curriculum more closely this year than last year, though I still don’t follow it to the letter. It does let me know when (and how) to teach syllables, homonyms, and alphabetical order. We also take a test once a week over his phonics and spelling. He spends 10 min. on his worksheet and 15 min. max on his flashcards; together, we probably spend 30 min. on reading and language concepts.

For his reading, I have mix of things I do. First, I have him read any related Bible work that fits in with our Tapestry history lessons. He reads out of the Seek and Find Bible, which has been perfect for his level of reading and understanding. Then, I’ll have him read any books from our Tapestry reading list that are on his level. If there aren’t any, then he will either read a library book (we’ve loved the Billy and Blaze series of books, and I throw in a few science-themed books here, too), or he’ll read from his A Beka first grade reader.

Spelling: We’ve used the A Beka Spelling and Poetry 1 book for this. He has largely tackled these lists on his own this year, while I supervise to make sure he is learning his list with the exercises provided in the book. If I test him and he did not learn the words on his own (which has only happened once this year with the “ight” and “ite” words, a tough list for him), then I take an extra week on the list and go over it with him everyday. Not only does this free me up a little bit, but it’s teaching him some independence; he’s learning to learn without my help.

Handwriting: He spends a total of 10 min. a day on this and works from two resources. First, he’s learning cursive this year out of the K4 book (shh! don’t tell him it’s K4) that I purchased his K4 year and then scrapped because it was too difficult for his motor skills at the time. He does one side of a page each day and will finish the whole alphabet any day now! I’ve also had him do some copywork from the Primary Arts of Language program that I reviewed earlier this year.

Arithmetic: I have really found A Beka to be much more consistent and enjoyable this year compared to last year. Everyday the amount of work is the same, and it allows us to keep a regular pace that seems much more realistic than last year. Each day he does one side of a page on his own (about 10 min. of work) and one side of a page with me during our “together” time. Together, we go over his flashcards, review and cover new concepts following the daily curriculum, take a speed drill (a timed math quiz), and complete his math work page. Depending on the day, this will take us 30 min. to 45 min. He also does Reflex, which I am still extremely impressed with. Not only does he still love this program, but I think it is also a key reason why math has not been the nightmare it was last year. I highly recommend this.

How do I organize his work pages? I have pocket dividers in a 3-ring binder with the days of the week marked on the divider. At the beginning of the week, I pull his pages for every subject out of his workbooks and file them into these dividers. I also place new flashcards in these pockets. We call these his “pocket pages,” and he starts each day with 30 min. to complete all of his independent work pages (10 min. for phonics, 10 min. for math, and 10 min. for handwriting). Later in the day, he has an additional 30 min. to review flashcards for phonics and history and to go over his spelling list.

 

 

*I want to mention one more thing here. He is not on the same lesson in every subject, which I’m totally okay with. He whizzes through all things reading and phonics; it’s his strength. Because of that, we actually began first grade phonics in March/April of last year. He is on lesson 104 in phonics as I write this. Math took us awhile to finish up because I didn’t move on until I knew he understood the lesson. Thus, we finished kindergarten math in August of last year. So that means, that we are on lesson 83 in arithmetic. Because I have done the same thing with spelling, taking the time we need for him to actually learn the words, we are on list 17, not the list that the curriculum says we should be doing. For me, the curriculum is a guide not a tyrant. I use it to help me stay on track, but I don’t let it dictate where we must be.*

And that’s our first grade tour of the core subjects. If you ever have questions, please feel free to email me. There is a link under my bio in the right sidebar. I’d love to hear from you!

What do you love to use for teaching the core subjects?

Lessons in Chalk

Tracy

There are two items in our homeschool that are always the envy of our school room: the wipeboard and the chalkboard. I’m not sure what it is, but any lesson done on one of these boards is suddenly spectacular. Knowing this, I take advantage of it whenever I can, skipping the worksheets and bringing out the chalk (or dry erase markers).

When the oldest had a language lesson on compound words, we brought out the chalkboard and colored chalk. I wrote a few examples on the board, did a couple together, then had him divide the word into its two parts on his own.

But then, if he gets a chalkboard lesson, Middlest is begging to use the chalkboard, too.

Middlest is beginning to sound out short vowel words. Because she has been singing her blends for nearly a year now, ever since her older brother started, she’s learning blends super fast. I’ve got her on a relaxed pace of one new blend each week, but she is usually reading that blend (without having to sound it out) by the second day. To add a little bit of a challenge, I’m starting to give her short vowel words to work on. Sometimes we do these lessons on our felt board; other times, I bring out the chalk.

Typically, I’ll write the blend first and have her read it or sound it out. Then, I’ll had a final letter to make a word. For instance, be then bed; to then tot; da then dad; li then lip; etc. She loves this game.

I love that they both love learning; and one of these beautiful days, I’m going to take our chalk lessons outside to the sidewalk. If compound words on a chalkboard is fun, how much more fun to work on them with sidewalk chalk in the driveway!

What items add excitement to your homeschool lessons?

Language Arts Lesson: ‘s

Tracy

I mentioned in a previous post that I was tackling A Beka’s language arts without a workbook this year; and while this particular lesson might not have actually shown up in their workbook, I thought it might still give a few ideas of how we loosely use the A Beka plans.

In my lesson planning for A Beka, I made notes at the bottom of our phonics work pages when a test or a language arts concept was scheduled. The other day, we encountered the first of my language arts notes. “LA ‘s vs. plural s” is what I had written at the bottom of the worksheet. So, I grabbed our $2 dry erase board and a marker.

First, I wrote “Dan’s dogs” on the board and talked him through the difference. “Both of these words end in s, but this word ends in what’s called an apostrophe.” (I had him repeat that to me.) “Now, is Dan’s telling me that he owns the dogs or that there are more than one Dans.” (He giggled and gave the right answer. I had him circle the apostrophe.) “An apostrophe tells us that he owns the dogs. Now, let’s look at dogs. Do the dogs own Dan or are there more than one.” (Again, he giggled and gave the right answer.)

Oldest with his LA lesson while Middle-est practices scissor skills beside us.

I erased the board and wrote “Ann’s cats,” and we repeated the process. Next, I wrote “Bill’s bugs” and had him do the teaching, walking me through the same questions and steps. I praised and cheered him when he was finished. Then, I had him come up with his own combination. At first he chose “Tom’s fish.” I let him talk me through the apostrophe, pointed out that fish didn’t need the s to be plural, and suggested we change it to birds. He eagerly made the adjustment (thinking through his phonics sounds to spell the word, a lesson in itself) and then talked me through his concept.

The whole process took five minutes MAX, and it was so fun! I tell you, a dry erase board and a marker can totally make a kid’s day. It’s absolute magic.

Exploring Cursive

Tracy2 Comments on Exploring Cursive

My son has suddenly shown an interest in cursive writing. I find him continually swirling and doodling on the backs of pages. He wants me to read what he’s “written,” and since I cannot, I’m thinking it’s about time to introduce him to the real thing.

We tackled cursive in K4, as A Beka recommends. Whether it was because he was a little young (not quite four) or just less coordinated, cursive was a great contributor to our first early failure that year. I finally gave up and taught him manuscript, assuming we’d get to cursive “one day.” In the back of my mind, I’ve been secretly hoping that “one day” would come soon enough that I could still use my K4 materials. Thankfully, I think that day has arrived.

I’ve anticipated adding cursive as one of our summer subjects on the days we don’t do art, but then I ran across this blog post that suggested laminating writing guides to teach handwriting. I did this to some extent with manuscript, but for some reason it slipped my mind as I was planning for this summer. I’m so glad for the reminder!

So, over the weekend I laminated my chart of cursive letters, got out a dry erase marker, and dropped it into one of our workbox pockets. And over the weekend, my son discovered his chart. He was so excited that he couldn’t even wait until Monday and begged to do his chart as a “quiet time” activity. Saturday afternoon, my son sat beside me on the couch while I—you guessed it—fed the baby, and he carefully traced each letter on his chart. Once he finished it, he erased his letters and took his chart to the front porch, sat beside Dad, and traced them all again.

The chart has stayed in his workbox pocket, and he has voluntarily pulled it out nearly every day. Such an improvement on our first attempt! I am really glad that I held off until cursive writing became this much fun.

And for those of you who don’t have unused K4 materials stashed on your shelves or maybe feel you need a little more practice, I found this awesome resource of cursive writing worksheets. Pair this with Donna Young’s cursive handwriting animations, and you’ve got a complete curriculum for free!