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mumsrea
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 4:34pm | IP Logged
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Hi
I'm wondering if i can get some suggestions of curricula for first grade that would work to supplement (or complement) a montessori approach. I have a sonlight catalogue and i'm soooo tempted to go with the prepackaged curriculum in a box to round out my plan to do montessori, since montessori will be so much work for me to put together, from the ground up. I'm definitely going to do montessori for math, and language but I just would like the security of a curriculum which i can then go ahead and ignore as desired, lol.
Only thing i'm concerned about with sonlight is that a) i think it is more than we need given that i'd like to focus on montessori and b) the books are kind of "heavy" and my 6 year old is very sensitive. (I mean turn-off-the-MUPPET-wizard-of-oz-sensitive.)
MR
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Sarah M
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 4:38pm | IP Logged
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Have you looked into Five in a Row? It's a great literature-based curriculum- great for this age range, and is as intense or lax as you'd like it to be- complete except for reading/math, which it sounds like you are covering with montessori stuff.
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 5:04pm | IP Logged
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Depends on where you lean in other learning styles. I think Charlotte Mason blends well with Montessori. I think Sonlight is an excellent program, but when I looked it over, it is a lot of work, and not much room for Montessori supplementation, IMHO. Kolbe supposedly works with the parent to allow changes and substitutes, but keeps the records. I also love MODG, but it's not exactly OUT OF THE BOX, as you piece it together, but it would blend well with changes in language and math.
Those are my thoughts, as I've been pursusing a similar thought process. I decided to loosely follow Mater Amabilis with change out in Language and Math that are somewhat Montessori in approach and add the manipulatives and presentations for those areas.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Marcia
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| Posted: June 20 2008 at 6:44pm | IP Logged
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rightstart math is a good fit.
I like FIAR as well. or using more loose reading curriculum like Cay Gibson's books lists.
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Angel
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| Posted: June 21 2008 at 7:35am | IP Logged
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We use Sonlight *books*, but don't follow the Instructor's Guide. I appreciate having that big box of books at my disposal when I want to use them, without having to search through book lists and place all the orders myself... plus we have a really tiny, not so great library. I do sometimes use the IG for reference, but I've never really tried to follow it.
Our process usually goes like this: I have a trajectory in mind for our learning which takes into account what I think the kids ought to study and what they want to study. I pick out a few Sonlight books that match my goals but that I also think the kids will be interested in at that point. I don't care if they're listed as readers or read-alouds in the guide. I let them choose one of those books for me to read. We supplement with other books for as long as interest in that topic holds out. I often come up with activities for our Montessori-inspired choice time based on the books I'm reading. The books form a good organizing thread through our work.
As far as being a bit heavy... are you looking at Core 1 or at Core (what is it now?) B -- the one that used to be "kindergarten"? Since they use real books, you can go up or down based on your child's needs. I don't think I've ever used *all* the books in a year, but as my kids have gotten older, they will often pick up a book we missed from earlier years and read them independently. My 11 yo, for example, read the Wizard of Oz to himself this year and had a great time. But I've never read it aloud to anybody.
--Angela
Three Plus Two
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Kristin
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| Posted: June 23 2008 at 1:24am | IP Logged
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We do Montessori at home and have been doing it for the last three years. We do the Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, and Geography more or less "strictly" --- for lack of a better word! We do use many of the Montessori language activities but I'm more eclectic in this area.
That being said, I am approaching our son's kindergarten year as a mix of Montessori, Charlotte Mason and Sonlight with a sprinkling of other things added in. For the CM part of it, I really like the sample schedule that Mater Amabilis offers for this age. I will be using a modified version of this in the afternoons and for the days that we do not do Montessori. When we do the Montessori cabinets (in the past this has been Practical Life, Sensorial and some Language) it is a 1.5-2 hour block of time in the morning, 2 or 3 days per week. This year we will work in Geography in Math either at the same time or in the afternoon.
A couple of months ago I went ahead and purchased the Sonlight Core B (I believe it is now called PreK 4/5) for our Kindergartener and have also included our Preschooler when she's interested. The read-alouds I have found to be very easy to incorporate into our days and I really feel that they round out the Montessori very well. We all have really enjoyed the books. In the past I've tried to use booklists (from Mater Amablis and Sonlight, etc.) but found that I often did not get around to pulling it together the way I had hoped to. For me having the books and the plan there to use is oh so wonderful, especially when Montessori is so time and energy intensive! 
We use "A Reason for Handwriting" and "Handwriting Without Tears" (both are programs recommended by Sonlight to go with their core). I feel this gives me the structure to use alongside the Montessori activites, like Metal insets and sand tray. I did purchase the Sonlight Language Arts for kindergarten because I have been concerned that we aren't doing enough in this area. I really like the curriculum but it has been harder for me to incorporate. I think this is because it's summer and we are not in full swing. In the fall I'm probably going to try to work in the SL language in ala Mater Amabilis on the non-Montessori days or in the afternoons alongside the Montessori Math and Geography.
So far using Montessori to homeschool has been a real process, an evolution. And I'm sure it will continue to be, tweaking it to make it work for our family and our current situation. IMHO, you're smart to think twice about adding to the Montessori because it is a handful. But if I were you and planning to use Montessori for math and language for a first grader, I would most likely supplement with something.
If you're thinking about purchasing a core, you might want to wait to order Sonlight until after you've had a chance to get your stride with the Montessori. Maybe you could try to get going with the Montessori a little early (assuming you plan to start in Aug./Sept.) and see how it feels to you. I do think, however, that you could safely purchase just the components from the core that interest you (leaving out language and math) and it would serve as a very nice complement, without being too overwhelming.
HTH  My it's getting late --- I'm off to bed now!
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Bunch 'o Honey to my Honey Bunch and Mama to five - Noah 10y , Rose 8y  , Dominic 2.5 y  , Oliver 16m
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 24 2008 at 12:39am | IP Logged
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I second FIAR. I think it would be the perfect complement to Montessori math and language.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: choosing curriculum to go w montessori
