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Eleanor
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| Posted: June 09 2009 at 5:42pm | IP Logged
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I've just been looking at various home preschool curricula online, in the hope of gleaning some more ideas, and came across "Little Hands to Heaven" from Heart of Dakota. I think this is just what we're looking for! The strong focus on Bible stories would be great for all the children, and the daily plans are well laid out and easy to read. It seems as if it would be easy to add or substitute our own materials, although if I didn't feel up to that, the plans would also work for us pretty much as written. They don't cover phonics and handwriting (or math, at the higher levels); instead, they leave room for you to insert your own choice of programs, which is perfect for us, as that's what we'd be doing anyway.
Funnily enough, when I searched to see if there were any Catholics using this curriculum, the first couple of results were posts from none other than Krysta on this board. So I guess I've come full circle. 
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krystab
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| Posted: June 09 2009 at 10:46pm | IP Logged
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Yes Eleanor, I use both the MBTP and HOD. I use MBTP with my oldest. I use HOD beyond with my 7yo. I use HOD PK and the peak with books program from MBTP with my 4yo (two weeks from 5yo and prob gifted too). Then I add bits and pieces from various Catholic providers.
HOD is easier than MBTP on Mom. My oldest...the creative gifted one, wasn't challenged with HOD although she did enjoy the program. She still listens to most of the read alouds I do with my 7yo from HOD, but she is doing much better returning to MBTP.
I consider both to be more relaxed programs when compared to the traditional textbook/workbook approach. MBTP will stretch their brain and their creativity more. There are plenty of craft type activities in both programs. Even if the MBTP samples don't look like it my oldest is crafting almost every day in the 7-9 program. And I would say that the crafts done in MBTP are more meaningful. MBTP has a great way of integrating the grammar, math, phonics, etc that may not be apparent in the samples. The kids don't even realize it is a "grammar" lesson most of the time. But you are right in that MBTP doesn't have the classics, songs, or rhymes past the PK program. The author does suggest to add in independent and/or read-aloud time every day. So, it is up to you to choose what classics to use.
The Little Hands PK program from HOD doesn't have any classic reading in it either. The only read aloud is the bible and the devotional. We don't use the devotional, but use an alphabet of saints book instead.
I did try to use the MBTP 5-7 last year with my then 4yo and my 6yo. My 4yo was just barely 4 and he got the concepts no problem but didn't have the fine motor skills, just like you mentioned about your PK'r. So we have been doing the Peak and HOD mix with him slowly over the last year. He will be 5 the end of June and is ready now for the 5-7 level. For my 6yo the 5-7 was perfect but he is not advanced at all. HOD is just easier for me and he is happy with it, so I keep it easy on me!
I really love both programs for different reasons. As much as I have tried to teach my kids together it hasn't worked yet. They oldest two are less than two years apart in age, but farther apart in ability. But when I try to put the younger of those two with my nearly 5yo it doesn't work either and they are just over 2 years apart. My 5yo is so advanced that he answers the questions before his older sibling can. Not good for the older's self esteem. I did have the 9yo & 7yo together in history and science in HOD for a bit and it worked, but like I said before the 9yo likes MBTP way, way, way better.
I personally like HOD more, but the kids don't always agree with me! I love that I can use HOD as a framework to plug in whatever I want.
Well Eleanor, we seem to have some similar issues and likes/dislikes. So, I would love to find out what ends up working for you. I am always on the quest. I don't have the time or ability to write my own plans, so I am always just mixing and matching to get what I want.
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Krysta
Mom to 6 little blessings
DD-00', DS-02', DS-04', DS-07', DD-09', DD-12'
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Eleanor
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| Posted: June 10 2009 at 10:39am | IP Logged
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Hmm, very interesting!  It's certainly going to have to be something we take year by year. I doubt that I could get away with using Little Hands two years in a row, and the upper levels of HOD likely wouldn't be as suitable for multi-age use.
In the long run, I think I'd need to come up with a rotation, i.e. two or three years' worth of "preschool plus." Year one could use HOD and focus on the Bible; the other years could be based on a different program, with another emphasis (saints? nature study? art and music appreciation? geography and world cultures?). We'd still work in the short lessons in the three R's, according to each child's interests and abilities.
That way, the little ones would be exposed to a wide variety of enriching activities, and I wouldn't feel pressured to cram all the elements of my entire ideal preschool experience into one year. 
By the time we completed the cycle, both DD1 and DS1 would be well ready for "big kids' school." What that would look like, I have no idea... we'll cross that road when we come to it!
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krystab
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| Posted: June 12 2009 at 8:25am | IP Logged
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Sounds like good plans to me!
I have stretched Little Hands over at least two years. That is because I don't have time to do it every day and I add in the Peak or Little Saints program as we go. So, I dabble in this and that and don't follow one plan at a time. I mix them all up and make them all last longer. Just my need for variety I guess. Or maybe my desire to do it all, but because I can't it gets really spread out.
I actually think that doing Little Hands for several years in a row is very doable. It is very easy on Mom to use and very enjoyable for the little ones. There are lots of activities that have different options or levels of ability, so it can change a lot from year to year. Plus, most little ones enjoying doing things again and again. Even the bible you use can change, so they hear the same stories but different.
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Krysta
Mom to 6 little blessings
DD-00', DS-02', DS-04', DS-07', DD-09', DD-12'
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 12 2009 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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Is the main thrust is that you are seeking a prepared curriculum for your littles instead of piecing things together? Or is it to keep them busy without having to do much one-on-one?
It seems like a perfect fit for gentle approach for littles would be a Charlotte Mason approach. I loosely followed the guidelines at Mater Amabilis and then lots of books, borrowing book lists from various places, like FIAR, Ambleside, MODG to name a few.
But I'm sure you already thought of that already.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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Eleanor
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| Posted: June 13 2009 at 8:09am | IP Logged
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Jenn, with Mater Amabilis, do you mean following the guidelines for the children's ages? If so, we'd be doing Prep, which wouldn't address their desire to keep learning the three R's at a more advanced level. I know CM believed that children weren't supposed to be concerned about such things at this age, but try telling my eldest two that (and apparently Amy's 6 year old as well). They taught themselves the basics very early on, and have been clamoring for more lessons ever since.
The book lists don't really address this, as they tend to be more oriented toward the "content subjects," such as literature, religion, science, and geography. These subjects haven't posed a problem for us, as we all love to read and discuss things. And I'm not really looking for ways to keep the children busy per se. The question is, how to give them the opportunity to do some truly challenging work in the "skill subjects," without making their early childhood too academically focused?
This was precisely why I got into Montessori in the first place, and it would be an ideal method if only I had the space and time to keep the materials in order and do a lot of presentations. In the real world, with a small house, a curious toddler, and a young boy who's still prone to getting into mischief, it's difficult enough just to keep tabs on the basic sensorial items and sandpaper letters. The more advanced materials are pretty much living in our closet. I'd certainly like to work some of them into whatever approach we settle on, but the first step will be to figure out just what that approach is. I know there will be some piecing together involved, but I just don't want to have to build the whole thing from scratch.
At this point, Little Hands, supplemented with short sessions of our existing math and language arts programs, is looking like the leading possibility. I'm also building up our home library with additional "living books" about math and grammar. I think the books will be an excellent supplement, but they wouldn't be sufficient for our family at this stage. With everything that's going on right now, we seem to need some external structure in order to get things done.
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 13 2009 at 10:04am | IP Logged
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Eleanor wrote:
Jenn, with Mater Amabilis, do you mean following the guidelines for the children's ages? If so, we'd be doing Prep, which wouldn't address their desire to keep learning the three R's at a more advanced level. I know CM believed that children weren't supposed to be concerned about such things at this age, but try telling my eldest two that (and apparently Amy's 6 year old as well). They taught themselves the basics very early on, and have been clamoring for more lessons ever since.
The book lists don't really address this, as they tend to be more oriented toward the "content subjects," such as literature, religion, science, and geography. These subjects haven't posed a problem for us, as we all love to read and discuss things. And I'm not really looking for ways to keep the children busy per se. The question is, how to give them the opportunity to do some truly challenging work in the "skill subjects," without making their early childhood too academically focused? |
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Well, I use it as a guidelines of sorts, and flesh out the lists. My son might not be advanced as yours, but he loves to learn. He's just a sponge. He absolutely loves math, science, history, reading... But I linked to MA because it helped me have a reference point or frame of mind. I don't want him to think "school" but just to love to learn.
I know CM said to keep it low key for the littles, but I take that as meaning we're not doing official schooly stuff, just enjoying the moment. So if in the moment my son is just wowed by Macauley's The Way Things Work and makes the connection with Bill Nye and then an experiment in a book, we do it. He also will build/create things with his legos, blocks, tinkertoys, K'nex, playmobil that were spurred by what he read. And the Nature Study is an area that leads to so much.
That being said, I did two seatwork things last year: Rightstart and Sound Beginnings. We do RightStart because he just loves math. He could make abstract connections at a young age, and I believe math is something that shouldn't be neglected. So we did the RS very loosely.
Sound Beginnings I used because I wanted a solid phonics base, but it also helped him form his letters -- and he really thrived on it, but again, it was really casual. He enjoys just phonetics, and sounds, and putting things together. While there aren't pictures and graphics and manipulatives, it worked with him. We reinforced with things like the movable alphabet.
But in the meantime, it's just books and books. I encourage the reading in all flavors, read alouds and him reading to himself. He reads quite well (and I can't take credit for that), but we also do reading aloud. He just pores over books, looking at Encyclopedias (Children's right now, but at Nana's he looks at the old World Book).
I feel it's more relaxed with my son if I let him delve without following a curriculum per se. I do concentrate on his 3Rs, but the other subject areas reinforce those skills.
For next year I picked up a few workbooks that he can just play around when he wants to for next year (like our car trips). For him, the workbooks are fun. I'm also adding some more living math and science books, introducing Sir Cumference and other ones in that series. And then Ruth Heller for grammar is another area we'll expand.
We are lacking in coloring skills, though.  He prefers gluing, cutting, painting to coloring.
Sorry for the ramble. Not sure if that makes any sense. I am not using myself as model to follow, just using it as an example in trying to understand your search and our differences.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Eleanor
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| Posted: June 22 2009 at 2:07am | IP Logged
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Jenn, your approach sounds great, and I'm sure my DD1 would like it. I think the main difference for our family isn't so much a question of academic levels, but the fact that we also have a 3-year-old in the mix. He's old enough to want to join in everything, but young enough to need a lot of one-on-one attention. Maybe I'm just not together enough (this is very likely!), but whenever we try to do spontaneous science experiments, craft projects, or anything else "in the moment," it always seems to end with a fractious preschooler, a frazzled mommy, and a somewhat dissatisfied 5-year-old who's still looking for more. This is why I'd rather have our activities planned out in advance: so I can figure out how DS1 will fit in, and think of things for him to do. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say. And I could do with four arms around here some days.
My toddler is pretty easy by comparison, as she still takes a long nap. Even if she's awake, I just have to keep her safely occupied, which is much simpler than finding ways to let her do school with us.
And then there's DS2, a sweet little fellow who showed up last week.  Other than feedings and diaper changes, his curriculum at this point consists largely of independent study and research.
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 22 2009 at 7:59pm | IP Logged
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Congratulations! He sounds like a fine scholar already.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Staying 'gentle' with advanced littles
