Kindergarten Curriculum

I am so excited over our Kindergarten Curriculum. I had planned on attending the Homeschool Fair so I could look this curriculum over before purchasing it, but it didn’t work out. I went on a head and just ordered it from Christian Liberty Press. I know that Selena is going to learn so much and really enjoy this next year in school. Now where should I start? First let me say the curriculum is very bible based, and all seem to just flow together in a wonderful biblical teaching approach.

This is very much like her Preschool workbook, but  more advanced. It goes through both the alphabet and numbers learning how to write them and introduces the concept that numbers can be wrote as words. It’s main focus is more phonetic work and writing skills. Unlike the preschool curriculum this does not teach all the concepts of bigger and smaller, over and under, which would have really disappointed me if it did since Selena has those concepts all down.

I wasn’t sure about the Liberty Math since I have had no prior experience with it. I have always used Modern Curriculum Press or Saxon Math. I must say though since we homeschoolers can no longer order Modern Curriculum Press, Liberty Math is just a rewrite of it. This Math starts out with reinforcing skills of counting as high as the child can count using a number chart, at the same time using a number line, and number dot cards to reinforce recognition of counting objects. This will be a review for Selena as we covered all this in her preschool curriculum, but it is a great place to start and push to see if we can’t get her to count higher. Then it moves into simple addition then subtraction. It encourages a calendar time, which I do need to purchase materials for this. The math also covers simple money concepts, measurement and time. At the end of the book it introduces simple story problems, not a lot of them, just a short exposure.

This is the Science. It is very simple, perfect for the Kindergarten. It starts with a look at the How God made Earth, and progresses through the story of creation ending with a pretty in depth look at the human body. There is activities and science experiments throughout the book. I like the fact that while it goes through creation, it also opens the door for further discussion within the scientific world.

Studying God’s Word, is a complete look at all the most shared stories of both the Old Testament and New Testament. Each section is short and meant to be read by the parent/teacher, with just a few about 4 questions to discuss at the end of the section. This can be used by itself, or in conjunction with reading right from the bible. Selena doesn’t like the children’s bible anymore and insists all bible reading come from her “Real” bible now, so this will be a perfect book to help her in the understanding of what we are studying.

Leading Little Ones to God, is meant for both Kindergarten and First grade, good thing as it is a thick book and there is no way you could cover the entire book in one year. It discusses through descriptive short chapters, who God is, Why we can’t see Him, Where He lives, and the Christian Character. I have already read through the first 10 sections of this book, and believe it to be one of the better books for children to introduce these concepts, that I have ever had in my hands anyway. There is memory verses all the way through the book and sound bible passages to help any child to understand that what this book is talking from truly is what God commanded in the Bible.

I am going with A Reason for Handwriting as our curriculum to learn how to write. This to was tucked away in all the curriculum that was given to me. I figured that it would work just as well as what I would order.

I was really stumped over what I was going to do with our reading program. Last year Selena was not enthused with the readers that came in the preschool curriculum we ordered, so I didn’t want to stick to that curriculum again for reading. I did want to evaluate Selena’s true reading level before I decided as well. I remembered that my friend had given us the complete 1st grade reading curriculum from Rod & Staff, so I pulled it out. Selena and I sat down and just began to read. She read several of the beginning sections from the first reader with ease, so I decided I definitely did not want a Kindergarten level for her. She continued to read until she began to stumble over some words, but quickly started sounding those words out. I feel confident that we have found the perfect fit for her reading ability. I only had to order three workbooks to go with the first book, so I saved us a lot of money at the same time. The other thing I really loved is that these books follow our bible study curriculum as if they were wrote by the same Author.

There you have it the curriculum we are going to be using this year. I know that Selena is very excited, and I am looking forward to watching her grow, explore, and learn even more.