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mama251ders
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Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Feb 25 2008 at 1:37pm | IP Logged
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Hi All! I just wanted to post about what my 5yo and I are doing and see how it compares to what others are doing. I am not using any set curriculum or following any particular method, we just found what fit.
I do some type of math with her or she does something mathy on her own everyday. Some days she works with DT's Playful Patterns or the It's a Match game. We just bought a set of Wedgits that she is in love with and today we all played with Connectagons. We also made up a game called Jumpin' Math that we use to help her learn to recognize numbers and learn 1-to-1 correspondance.
For "Language Arts" I let her choose a picture book that we read together and then she draws a picture of the story and narrates to me. She does a superb job of narrating, much better than her older brothers!
She is also learning to play the recorder along with her brothers and she also does history with them. I don't ask her to narrate that, but she does color the pictures and sometimes draws her own.
I did start working with her on reading last summer, but after reading a lot of Waldorf resources I decided to let her go her own way with that. She is intersted, but I always seemed to be pushing and I didn't want that. Besides the fact that it is so hard to find good literature for 5yos to read! I've looked and there's not a whole lot.
So, what are other families doing? I am doing too much or too little? Am I missing something or is there other neat stuff out there? I am excited to here from other moms of kids this age.
Blessings,
Betsie
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Wife to Oliver
Mama to 5 Wonders
Benny, Braidon, Olivia, Anna and Saragh
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CandaceC
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| Posted: Feb 25 2008 at 3:40pm | IP Logged
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Betsie, I think what you are doing sounds great! :) Sounds somewhat similar to what we are doing. We do use Five-in-a-Row, but I consider FIAR a very "gentle" method of learning.
We read our FIAR title and 1-2 go along books each morning along with our devotion and scripture memory. We try to memorize 1 longer passage per month - like Psalm 23, Psalm 8, 1 Cor. 13:4-8, etc.
We do some kind of activity that goes along with the FIAR title...usually some sort of coloring page or craft - I have 2 very girly crafty girls. :)
For math we do a combination of things - similar to you - I have different manipulatives that they play with, funtastic frogs, teddy bear counters, pattern blocks, etc. My older girl loves workbooky type things, so sometimes I will get a $1 workbook for her to work on just for "fun" for her.
We keep a nature journal - Charlotte Mason style - trying to get outdoors a lot. We have a bird feeder right by our window, we are learning a lot about the birds that live in our yard - checking out books from the library, looking at our field guide, etc. Just simple stuff! We draw the books in our nature journals or sometimes will paint one.
HTH!
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Candace - wife to David since 2000...mommy to Hannah (Feb. 2002), Emily (April 2003) and Caleb (March 2005)
His Mercy Is New
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Feb 25 2008 at 4:48pm | IP Logged
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Sounds very similar to what we're doing. We are very relaxed about our schedule. I make sure we get outside every day, pray a decade of the rosary every day, and that we spend some time snuggling on the couch with picture books every day-- other than that- it's hit or miss.
When my oldest is wandering aimlessly around the house, I might play yahtzee or some other board game with her (math), or we might play a game with sight words (many of these games come from Wow! I'm Reading! by Jill Frankel Hauser. It's a very gentle/natural way to learn to read, since we use it so loosely. Sometimes the kids will say, "I want to know how paper is made," or "Why don't polar bears get cold?" and we'll go to the library, stock up on picture books, and whip out a lapbook with the help of Homeschool Share. We put out lots of bird feeders/baths and this spring our entire "curriculum" will be centered around the learning about the flora, fauna, and wildlife in our own backyard, and also digging in a vegetable garden.
For us, it's all about nature, picture books, and the liturgical year. I figure anything beyond that is just icing on an already delicious cake. 
So that's what we're up to. Your daily agenda sounds great, Betsie! I don't think I'd change a thing. What I'm finding is that there are so many *good* ideas out there, that it's easy to become overwhelmed and feel like we aren't doing enough. But with this age, I think it's best to just do a few things really well. We just figured out what is most important to our family at this moment in time, and built our priorities around that.
Blessings!
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Leslie
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| Posted: Feb 25 2008 at 8:17pm | IP Logged
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We've only been at this a week, but our day sounds similar. We try to read, write, do math (play with 100's board, cuisinaire rods, legos...), live the liturgy (daily mass once a week, prayers, bible stories)and get outside. I'm *trying* not to put pressure on myself to follow a curriculum. 
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Leslie
Mom to Kyler 6, Maddie 4, & Lucas 2
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: This is what we are doing
