Hi guys, I’ve been interested in EL for a while now and have finally decided that I need to get my bum in gear and make a determined and committed start.
I kind of don’t know what to do though!! I have a 5 month old daughter who is beginning LR and LM, she is also read to a lot. I think I’m pretty much set with her for the time being…It would be lovely to be able to do a lot more physical things with her but due to my current situation I don’t have time for everything so unfortunately need to prioritise and her academic learning is more important in my opinion.
My middle one is 3 (4 in April) and I plan to start teaching him how to read using Sidney Ledson’s book based on phonics.
The eldest was 6 in December and knows a lot of basic sight words and is semi confident using phonics knowledge to sound out unknown words. I plan to do a lot more reading practice with him (at present I tend to read to him most of the time rather than having him read to me).
What I really want to know is how do I know what to teach ‘after school’, can I find curriculums online, are there any particular ones which are recommended? I feel like I don’t know where to begin
Any ideas for a schedule? Something like -
3.30 pm - home from school
1 hour of reading
1 hour of math/science??
I just don’t know where to start! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
For reading with your 6 year old I recommend going over the rules of phonics systematically at that age to fill in any gaps he may have. Reading bear is a good free resource. I would find readers to go with reading bear or make up your own sentences. The Don Potter website has some good readers and curriculum too and it is also free. I would find books at his level and just read read read. One thing I tried recently with my own 6 year old is having her read books she can easily handle and if there is a book a little over her level she wants to read I do either shared reading or take turns which she prefers. I read a passage twice then we can read it together which she often does not want to do then she reads it. I also will sometimes just have us read it together. I am noticing an improvement in skills since I have been doing that.
For math there is MEP which is a free resource. I like kumon workbooks for certain skills. I use those for both my 4 year old and 6 year old. I also will be working through marshmallow math with my 2 year old and 4 year old. There are a lot of good math curriculum out there. I often feel like I waited too long with my 4 and 6 year old. All I can do is work with them on where they are at and building from there. Hopefully over time it will start to make a difference.
Thank you very helpful. I think it’s so easy to get overwhelmed with it all, especially when there’s 3 children all at different ages/levels. I’m also living at home with my mum at the moment and she isn’t very supportive of EL which is difficult. As a single mum I’m concerned about finding time for everything but if the mother of the 10 Swann children managed it, so can I!
I’m mainly looking for a math curriculum to guide me as I’m not too sure what order to tackle different topics. I have just ordered marshmallow math so will start there with my 4yo. X
Your schedule is missing something important. FOOD! 3:30 come home EAT! Then you have some chance of the rest lol
After a full day at school 2 hours of learning is too much to ask I think. Plus you just don’t need that long to cover it all. So I suggest strait from school eat and do math. As you are a single mum I would suggest looking into IXL, it so line and most days your child can do it independently. Somedays you will need to sit with them to work through problems they don’t know how to do yet. If you know they don’t know a topic ( from the curriculum list you can see what need to be taught) you can teach it before they practice it online. The computer will make it more interesting for your child. However you don’t even need to pay for it to use the curriculum guide. Just look thought he requirements for the grade level your child is in and start teaching concepts. The order isn’t too important, but start at the top of each section and work down to ensure its easy to hard. You can manage without a curriculum easily enough using this list alone.
Alternatively I would play lots of math games to memorise the math facts, addition subtraction, multiplication and division up to 10. ( go to 12 if you want to) there are loads of card games available to help. You can use times sessions, flash card drills, snap, or buy some math games ( right start have great math games) and leave the rest of the math concepts to school for now. Once the math facts are learnt start your child on Saxon math 5/4 or Singapore math 3a or any good looking school textbook at about grade 3 level. Saxon is what I use, it has a history of results. Saxon will pick up on the concepts the school teaches poorly ( pretty sure Singapore will too)
For reading I would do that one after dinner as part of your bedtime routine. Have them read a book to you each night. That’s what my kids do. It does take a while but it is a lovely quiet time to snuggle. If your kids are too tired to read to you, then you read to them and have them read to you BEFORE school the next day to catch up. What you choose to read can cover ALL the other topics you want to teach them. Choose a good selection of non fiction books.
Realistically you need 30 to 40 minutes tops for math ( forever!) and in the early reading stages 30 minutes maximum for them to read to you. As they get better and start chapter books 1 hour isn’t unfeasible but might prove too time consuming for a single mum. However by the time they get to chapter books you don’t need to listen to every chapter just the first one ( setting, character and plot word pronunciation) and one or two pages here and there.
very helpful. I think it’s so easy to get overwhelmed with it all, especially when there’s 3 children all at different ages/levels. I’m also living at home with my mum at the moment and she isn’t very supportive of EL which is difficult. As a single mum I’m concerned about finding time for everything but if the mother of the 10 Swann children managed it, so can I!