Kindergarten Course of Study

In the chapter 'Freedom from Guilt' in Seasons of a Mother's Heart, the Lord really spoke to me about not "depending on formulas to know if we are 'doing it right,' but on Christ, and the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts." I started asking the Lord what He wanted me to do for kindergarten. He impressed starting at the beginning with creation.

You will find the specifics covered in the weekly posts for Kindergarten.

BIBLE

• Main Ideas
• I am God's creation
• Memorize Psalm 139
• God loves me and takes care of me
• Memorize Psalm 23
• I can trust God
• Memorize Psalm 62:5-8
• Learn about Christians who have trusted God through biographies, etc.
• George Mueller
• Books to use:
• My Picture Story Bible by Dena Korfker
• Because I Love You by Max Lucado
• You Are Special by Max Lucado
• Just In Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado
• The Princess and the Kiss by Jennie Bishop
• Mrs. Rosey-Posey and the Chocolate Cherry Treat by Robin Jones Gunn
• Mrs. Rosey-Posey and the Treasure Hunt by Robin Jones Gunn
• Mrs. Rosey-Posey and the Empty Nest by Robin Jones Gunn
• The Tale of Tuppence and Tiffany retold by Pat Wynnejones
• The Tale of Geronimo Grub retold by Pat Wynnejones
• Muffy and the Mystery of the Stolen Eggs by Ethel Barrett
• Sylvester the Three-spined Stickleback by Ethel Barrett
• Gregory the Grub by Ethel Barrett
• God and a Boy Named Joe by Ethel Barrett
• Stories from Other Lands for Boys and Girls edited by Al Bryant
• Missionary Adventures by Carol Allison
• Missionary Stories with the Millers by Mildred A. Martin
• Wisdom and the Millers by Mildred A. Martin
• Storytime with the Millers by Mildren A. Martin
• My Heart -- Christ's Home Retold for Children by Robert Boyd Munger
• Short & Sweet: Short Stories with a Message Volume 2 by Katherine Loop
• Does Money Grow on Trees? by Catherine Mackenzie
• The story of George Muller; theme is 'We can trust God'

• Memory Work:
• Psalm 23
• Psalm 62:5-8
• Psalm 139
• Bob Jones Catechism #1 - 8 and 20 - 28
• Days of Creation

SCIENCE - God's Creation; I'll use books we have and books from the library, videos, and experiments. Here are listed the main ideas I want K. to learn and discover.

Resource books:

1. Science Experiences for the Early Childhood Years 7th edition by J. Harlan and M. Rivkin
2. 365 More Simple Science Experiments by R. Churchill, L. Loeschnig, and M. Mandell
3. The Creation retold by Pamela Broughton

Topics:

• Planets (Gen 1:1)
• Rocks and Minerals (Gen 1:1)
• Light (Day 1)
• Air (Day 2)
• Water (Day 2)
• Plants/Trees (Day 3)
• Sun, Moon, Stars (Day 4)
• Oceans and Lakes and their Inhabitants (Day 5)
• Birds/Flying Animals (Day 5)
• Land Animals/Insects (Day 6)
• Humans (Day 6)
• Weather

HISTORY (dates are approximate)
A Child's History of the World by Hillyer
Usborne World History: Ancient World by Fiona Chandler

• Creation through Abraham (5000 BC - 2000 BC)
• Isaac through Red Sea (2000 BC 0 1400 BC)
• Wilderness Wanderings through Samuel (1400 BC - 1000 BC)
• King Saul to Babylonian Captivity (1000 BC - 500 BC)
• Captivity to Birth of Jesus (500 BC - AD 4)
• Birth of Jesus through John on Patmos (AD 4 - AD 100)
• AD 100 - AD 500

MATH

• NUMERATION
  • Identify 0 to 100 – sheet with numbers on it; say numbers and cover them with green disk
  • Write 0 to 100
  
  NUMBER THEORY
  • Ordinals: First through Sixth
  • First, Next, Last
  • Before, After, Between
  • Patterns
  • Place Value: tens/ones
  
  COUNTING
  • Count to 150 by 1's
  • Count to 100 by 10's – dimes
  • Count to 50 by 5's – nickels
  • Count on
  
  ADDITION
  • Sums to 10
  • Equations: horizontal and vertical form
  • Money
  • Oral word problems
  
  SUBTRACTION
  • Differences to 10
  • Equations: horizontal and vertical form
  • Money
  • Oral word problems
  • Take-away
  • Comparison
  
  FRACTIONS
  • Equal Parts, halves, thirds, fourths
  • Halves of a set
  
  GEOMETRY
  • Flat Shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, symmetry, same shape – shape lotto
  • Solid Shapes: sphere, cylinder, rectangle solid, cube, cone – shape lotto?
  • Top, middle, bottom
  • Left, right
  • Over, under
  • Inside, outside
  • On, off
  • Front, back
  • Patterns
  
  ESTIMATION
  • Number of objects
  • Length (centimeters)
  • Weight (more/less)
  • Capacity (more/less)
  
  MEASUREMENT
  • Size: larger/smaller
  • Length/height
  • Longer/shorter
  • Measure length with non-standard units, inches, centimeters
  • Weight: more/less; pound
  • Capacity: hold more/holds less; cup, quart, gallon, liter
  • Temperature: Hot/Cold
  • Use: ruler, scale, thermometer, cup
  • Time: hour
  • Calendar: days, weeks, months, year
  • Money: penny, nickel, dime, quarter
  
  PROBLEM SOLVING
  • Oral word problems
  • Graphs
  • Probability
  
  STATISTICS AND GRAPHS
  • Pictographs
  • Bar graphs
  • Tallies
  
  CALCULATOR
  • Digital numbers
  • Make numbers
  • Count up, count back
  • Addition, subtraction

READING
K. wanted to learn to read and then took off reading while I was still teaching her phonics before she was five years old. If your child isn't reading yet, see the phonics and reading posts for 4 year olds.

• Books
• We will be using the first grade Bob Jones (published 1989) texts
• Blaze and the Forest Fire by C.W. Anderson
• Marty's Monster by Nancy Ellen Hird
• The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford
• Games for Reading by Peggy Kaye
• COMPREHENSION (read this post)
• Picture reading
• Literal, interpretive, critical, appreciative levels of questioning
• Predict text, make inferences, draw conclusions, predict outcomes
• Compare, sequence events
• VOCABULARY
• Meaning from content
• Looking up new words in the dictionary
• LITERATURE
• Read a variety of genres; family stories, informational articles, fanciful animal stories, poetry, Bible accounts, realistic fiction
• Distinguish reality from fantasy
• SILENT READING
• Read for specific information and author's message
• ORAL READING
• Communicate message of the author
• Communicate in a natural manner
• Portray a character
• Respond to punctuation: period, exclamation point, question mark

WRITING

• Games for Writing by Peggy Kaye
• Capital Letter Stories published by Mead
• I made my own practice pages for numbers and lower case letters

FINE ARTS
In my posts I didn't specify when we did these things. We did Swan Lake during the winter, Sousa during June/July, etc. We watch the ballet in short segments, and didn't watch the whole thing. This is more for exposure.

• Peter and the Wolf
• John Philip Sousa, Sousa Marches, and Patriotic Songs
• Lives and Times: John Philip Sousa by Jennifer Blizin Gillis
• If you don't have any, borrow CDs from the library of Sousa's marches. K. loves to march around the house waving a flag.
• Swan Lake
• Listen to the music (tape or cd)
• Watch the ballet (video)
• Read Swan Lake by Zwerger
• Grand Canyon Suite
• The Moldau
• Hansel and Gretel (Opera)
• The Orchestra
• Come Look With Me: Enjoying Art with Children by Gladys S. Blizzard
• I checked this book out of the library and set it on our coffee table. Every so often when K. and I were sitting there I'd pick it up and we'd look at and discuss a picture/painting.
• I renewed this book as many times as I could, so we ended up having it a long time.

SKILLS
I've picked skills I want K. to learn or get better at and will concentrate on a couple during each month of school.

Making A Spinner

A lot of the games on my blog use a spinner. If you don't have one, here is how I made mine.

First I took a scrap piece of wood and a nail. I had this spinner face that we were using at the time (yes, this spinner is probably 14 years old). I stapled the spinner face to the piece of wood then pounded the nail in at the center of the face.

Next, cut an arrow out of a piece of construction paper and tape or glue it to a large paper clip. The other end of the paper clip slips easily over the nail and freely rotates for spinning.

When you need a different spinner face for another game, just make a small hole and slip it over the nail (take the paper clip off first, then put it back on).

To work the spinner, place one finger on top of the nail and flick the pointer/paper clip with your other hand. If the pointer lands on a line, sometimes we spin again, and sometimes we add the two numbers together -- depending on the game.

Kindergarten, Book Study, Week 42

This week we finished reading A Bear Called Paddington and started reading Margaret Pumphrey's Pilgrim Stories. We also recited Psalm 62:5-8, and played Fast Track and Egg Carton Tales.

Friday evening we celebrated K.'s kindergarten graduation with  family dinner. After the dinner I awarded her a Kindergarten Diploma and an Award of Merit certificate and ribbon for her memorization work. After that we went to Marie Callender's for pie.

Here are some activities you can do to expand on the book Pilgrim Stories (these are just from the first chapter):

• Read/learn more about Robin Hood
• Geography: England, Sherwood Forest, Scrooby, Holland
• Find out about Scrooby Manor
• Learn more about King James and Queen Anne
• What did the separatists believe?
• Play Hide-and-Seek
• Play Drop the Handkerchief
• Draw a picture
• Scrooby Manor's garden
• The Queen's carriage
• A rose
• The church service in the barn

Kindergarten, Bible, Week 41

This week we:

• Reviewed Psalm 62:5-8
• Reviewed Catechism (3 days)
• Read Stories 261 - 270 in Picture Story Bible
• Other books, stories, and videos:
• Boys and Toys from Storytime . . . Millers
• Red Boots from Other Lands
• Mrs. R-P and the Chocolate Cherry Treat
• The Princess and the Kiss
• Prayer
• It is interesting, K. has started her own prayer journal in a small notebook she got at a birthday party.
• Song: He Keeps Me Singing

Kindergarten, Writing, Week 41

Practice "Sentence": And talk of God who cares for me.

• I thought K. would need 2 lines to write it, but she wanted to write it on 1 line. The first day "for me" was really squished. But she learned to write everything skinnier so it would all fit nicely on the line.

Small Muscle Development:

• Activity: Say It With Pictures, see Writing, Week 9 for instructions
• Our theme was Thanksgiving

Story Development:

• Activity: Strange Sentences, from Games for Writing -- this game gives children the opportunity to compose nonsensical sentences while helping them understand the grammatical anatomy of common sentences.
• You'll Need: a Strange Sentences Chart, and a Spinner with numbers 1 - 6, paper, pencil
• In the book are charts with sentences broken up into pieces (Who/What, Did What, Where, When, and Punctuation). Each chart has six sentences.
• How to Play:
• Have your child flick the spinner.
• It it lands on 3, then you take the Who/What from sentence number three.
• Spin again.
• What ever number it lands on, you take the Did What from that sentence.
• Continue spinning a getting the sentence parts until you have the complete sentence.
• Let your child illustrate the sentence and tell you a story about it.
• Our sentence was: My cat lost a part in the barn during lunch!

Writing Practice:

• Activity: Traveling Words, see Writing, Week 28 for instructions
• The shape to write on was an autumn leaf

Kindergarten, Reading, Week 41

The genres from our textbook were:

• Informational article
• Poem
• Fiction

Activity: Oops, see Reading, Week 37 for instructions

Kindergarten, Math, Week 41

Monday

• Fractions: One-Fourth
• Practiced with manipulative "cookies". I put four cookies on a plate and asked her what part had blue frosting. She would write the answer.
• Then we switched and I wrote a fraction and she demonstrated it with the cookies.

Tuesday

• Calculator: Subtraction
• I wrote out 10 equations and had K. use the calculator to solve them and then write the answer.

Wednesday

• Fractions: Review

Thursday

• Game: Shape Lotto, see Math, Week 19 for instructions

Friday

• Problem Solving: Graphs
• We made a line graph of the temperatures from our weather journal in science
• Game: Three Pots, see Math Week 19 for instructions
• We finished early, and K. asked if we could play this game.

Kindergarten, History, Week 41

• Child's History chapter 42 (New Places -- New Heroes)
• There so were many laws in the Eastern Roman Empire that they contradicted each other
• Justinian made just laws
• Justinian got the secret of how to make silk cloth from China
• King Arthur was ruling in England
• Finished Squanto, Friend of the White Men
• Read books about Veteran's Day, the Erie Canal, and the Statue of Liberty

Kindergarten, Science, Week 41

• Read Down Comes the Rain by Franklyn M. Branley
• Kept a weather journal
• Recorded the temperature at 8 am each day (I wanted to do 8, 12, 4, and 7, but we kept forgetting all the other times except for 8:00, so by Thursday I decided to forget the other times.)
• Recorded what the sky looked like (clear, wispy clouds, cloudy, etc)
• We discovered that when the sky was covered with clouds, it was warmer because the clouds act like a sweater for the earth and keep the warm air from escaping.

Kindergarten, Bible, Week 40

This week we:

• Memorized Psalm 62:8
• Introduced Catechism #28: Did Adam obey God? No, Adam did not obey God. Genesis 3:6
• Reviewed Catechism (2 days)
• Read stories 250 - 260 in Picture Story Bible
• Other books, stories, videos:
• Going for a Visit from Storytime . . . Millers
• Just in Case You Ever Wonder
• She Changed Her Mind from Missionary Stories . . . Millers
• The Indians and the Cookies from Storytime . . . Millers
• My Heart, Christ's Home
• Prayer
• Song: He Keeps Me Singing

Kindergarten, Writing, Week 40

Practice "Sentence": It is so jolly to be alive

Small Muscle Development:

• Screw driver practice

Story Development:

• Activity: Halting Stories, see Writing, Week 17 for instructions

Writing Practice:

• Activity: Rhyme Time, see Writing, Week 19 for instructions

Kindergarten, Reading, Week 40

Genres from our textbook were:

• Poetry
• Biblical Fiction
• Fiction

Activity: Oops, see Reading, Week 37 for instructions

Kindergarten, Math, Week 40

Monday

• Fractions: One-Third
• Use manipulatives and stories to practice the concept of thirds
• Practice writing fractions
• When we first sat down to do this, K. had a cookie. I asked her to break it into 3 pieces. The pieces were not equal. We discussed that the cookie pieces were not thirds because they pieces were not the same size. She had 3 pieces, but not thirds.

Tuesday

• Calculator: Addition
• I wrote out 10 equations and had K. work them on the calculator and write down the answer.

Wednesday

• Fractions: One-Fourth
• Used manipulatives and stories to understand fourths.
• Worksheet to practice writing 1/4, 2/4, 3/4

Thursday

• Game: Location Words, see Math, Week 9 for instructions

Friday

• Problem Solving: Probability
• We played "1 Spinner" and "21 Marble Outcomes" (the old probability activity) at Johnnie's Math Page

Kindergarten, History, Week 40

This week we looked at and read:

• Ancient World pages 90 and 91
• Stranger on the Silk Road by Jessica Gunderson

Because we are essentially done with Ancient History, and Thanksgiving is this month we have started reading:

• Squanto, Friend of the White Men by Clyde Robert Bulla

Kindergarten, Science, Week 40

This week we read:

• Snow Is Falling by Franklyn Branley
• Looking at Weather and Seasons by Angela Royston
• Wind is to Feel by Shirley Cook Hatch
• We did the experiments in this book

Kindergarten, Bible, Week 39

This week we:

• Memorized Psalm 62:7
• Reviewed Catechism (3 days)
• Read stories 239 - 249 in Pictue Story Bible
• Other books, stories, videos:
• Silver Dollar from Storytime ... Millers
• Muffy
• Mrs. R-P ... Treasure Hunt
• The Miracle from the Meadow from Missionary Stories ... Millers
• It Has All Been Planned from Short and Sweet
• Prayer
• Song: He Keeps Me Singing

Kindergarten, Writing, Week 39

Practice "Sentence": With the zoos to explore

Small Muscle Development:

• Made a mosaic
• I had painted small wooden shapes
• K. glued them on to an old manila folder to make a design

Story Development:

• Activity: Mixed Up and Missing, see Writing, Week 26 for instructions

Writing Practice:

• Activity: A Race of Words, see Writing, Week 16 for instructions

Kindergarten, Reading, Week 39

Genres from our textbook were:

• true story
• drama

Activity: Oops, see Reading, Week 37 for instructions

Kindergarten, Math, Week 39

Monday

• Fractions: One-Half
• Practiced dividing things in half (tortilla, graham cracker, apple, etc)
• Practiced writing 1/2
• Reviewed what the denominator and numerator mean

Tuesday

• Calculator: plus 1, minus 1
• Practiced plus with the calculator: 1 + 1 (2) + 1 (3) + 1 (4) etc.
• Practiced minus with the calculator: 10 - 1 (9) - 1 (8) - 1 (7) - 1 (6) etc.

Wednesday

• Fractions: One-Third
• Used manipulatives I had printed for thirds (pizza, pie, chocolate bar).
• "One Tuesday we had pizza for dinner, and it was just Papa, you, and me, so we divided the pizza in 3 equal pieces. This is called thirds. If we each got 1 piece how much would you get? (one third) This Tuesday night I went to Bible Study, so I told Papa to eat my piece of pizza. How much did Papa get? (two thirds) Do this with all the manipulatives.
• Made a worksheet with four questions. How many pieces are yellow? etc. so K. could practice writing fractions.

Thursday

• Game: Fast Track (subtraction), see Math, Week 27 for instructions

Friday

• Problem Solving: Graphs
• Made a line graph.
• I printed a picture of chocolate candy from the internet.
• K. counted how many pieces there were of white chocolate (made tally marks), milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and chocolate with nuts.
• Made line graph with the information.

Kindergarten, History, Week 39

• Read chapter 41 from Child's History
• People called Huns lived to the northeast
• Romans and Germanic people considered them to be very fierce
• The leader of the Huns was Attila
• Germans beat the Huns in 451 A.D.
• Vandals from Africa attacked Rome, captured the city and carried away Rome's treasures
• This is the ending of Ancient History and the beginning of the Middle Ages
• Craft: Marble Statues from Crafts from the Past: The Romans
• We filled an exam glove with plaster of paris, let it set on an upside-down bowl, then painted it. It can sit on a desk to hold paper clips, etc.

• I read The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla
• This book is a bit beyond the dates of our study, but it is a good story.