Using MP Kinder core for 1st

[SheenaS]

I was wondering if anyone has used MP Kinder for first grade? My son just turned 6 and we've been using Sonlight's new American K this year. After homeschooling him this year I feel that he just needs another year to catch up with maturity. He is reading words with blends but we have been using all about reading level one and we haven't even gotten to long vowels or the silent e. He is also still sounding out CVC words at times and that fluency is just not there yet and so I was very interested in using MP first start reading just to fill in any gaps and also give him a really strong foundation for writing. When I would introduce a new phonics concept he was getting it so quickly I thought his reading would really take off but we have hit a bit of a wall. I really think fluency and confidence has a lot to do with it so going back to the basics may not be a bad idea? He has been learning cursive and has been doing great but he is very resistant to even copying a word yet. We are using right start math level A but I'm interested in rod and staff as a way to really solidify those math facts. I expect he might move faster with the kindergarten program and for me that's okay and then we could just move right into the first grade core after he finishes?

We've got about 7 weeks left with our current curriculum and then we'll move right into the next thing as we're going to be schooling year-round. I guess I just need to feel that I'm not placing my child behind and that I didn't just mess up my child's education because I didn't know what I was doing with the writing and reading. MP really looks like it pulls all of these elements together very concisely but I don't want to overwhelm him because he tires quickly. He is still working on building his stamina as he is still so young. Therefore I feel like he is not ready to jump into MP's first grade core yet but I do think that once he begins to take off with some of these skills he will really begin to go quickly. Thank you for your help and encouragement.

[jen1134]

I was in a similar position when we switched to MP six years ago. My 6 and 7 year olds were still sounding out every word so there was no way they were ready for MP1!

My sister is a well-respected Kindergarten teacher and she told me that if I had the chance to give them a stronger foundation I needed to take it. She's been required to send kids to first grade even though they aren't ready and she hated it.

So we did MPK and I have no regrets. Today, the 6yo is 10 and getting ready to start 5th grade. Our then-7yo is now 12. We eventually discovered that he has learning challenges, but he's made tremendous progress and is getting ready to start Simply Classical 7/8 (roughly the equivalent of MP4 and 5).

Do what your son needs in the here and now and let God take care of the future.

[Michelle T]

In all my years at HLS, most of my students were 5.

[jen1134]

In all my years at HLS, most of my students were 5.

I wish GingerG hadn't deleted her post Many homeschoolers do feel that MPK is advanced compared to other kindergarten programs and, like Ginger, I've seen many of them recommend waiting until age 6.

I don't think age 6 is better for all students but I have noticed greater readiness in my just-turned 6yo compared to when she was even 5-1/2. I'm glad we waited to begin her K year until just this month.

[Michelle T]

Please don’t misunderstand, I just don’t want someone to eliminate the program because their student is only 5. Remember my students had all be given the readiness assessment. This is the key. Not everyone is ready at 5 some developmentally some are not ready until 6. It is not good to push someone ahead when not ready. Ginger should definitely re-post!

[SheenaS]

Thank you so much for everyone's insight. I've learned so much from this past year and my son has grown so much too. I feel MP Kinder is a great launching point into our early elementary years and will give him a solid foundation and build beautifully on what he's learned so far. I think it will give him a lot of confidence and help him to feel successful. I'm so interested in this program for my two younger children and I think my second son who will be in kindergarten next year will be my one who is ready to start at five! Every child is so beautifully unique. Thank you so much again for sharing your experience.

[enbateau]

I waited until 6 as well. I am so glad I didn't force the wrong level on my child. He has more than caught up! He was already sounding out all CVC words at 5, but he needed another full year to incorporate the writing component. For me, that is okay. We both really enjoyed MPK, and we're about to roll into MP1 in May. I have no idea if we'll be able to catch up enough to get him on a fall start for normal age grade in a few years, but I take comfort knowing that MP1 is quite advanced compared to some programs. You will love Rod and Staff Arithmetic! Definitely make the switch. And welcome to MP!

As to Michelle's point, 5 is the perfect time to start typical learners. There is always a range of reading readiness, and while my eldest could have easily read MP1 material in K, my littlest needed far more time. The best gift a homeschooling parent can give is working at the student's ability (not challenge) level for the majority of the work.

[howiecram]

I have yet to have one child do MPK as a 5 year old. Well, I tried, but none were able to finish that book D the year they were 5. We have essentially needed 2 years to do MPK for 3 children. My youngest, currently a second grader is finishing up MP1. She has needed a LONG time to learn to read, but it's coming along. She started MP when she was 2, even! My plan for her right now is to do MP2 next year (with 3rd grade math) and then the following year do MP 4th for New Users. I would have no hesitation to do MPK with your 6 year old. I might consider though, trying to do all of the Rod & Staff Math 1 with your child, and then begin R&S 2 the following year, with MP1. The first 40? lessons or so of R&S 1 are simply learning to count and write the numbers. Then, the first 40 lessons of R&S 2 are reviewing the 1-10 facts. You might be able to cut down those lessons, doing only a little. Also, facts through 5 addition are usually easy for kids, so those parts of the lessons may move more quickly. I would expect to spend the bulk of the year on that second workbook of R&S 1 after reviewing from the 1st book, filling in gaps.

[AnnaT]

I decided to have my 6 year old work her way through the First Start Reading program and both of the R&S Grade 1 math workbooks this year. It's been a little easy for her, but I didn't think her handwriting skills were at the appropriate level for MP1. Others have posted on other threads that you should place your child according to their weakest area of the big three (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic). For my daughter it was writing.

[SheenaS]

Thank you to everyone who commented and for your encouragement! I also appreciate the math suggestion and would like to work through the entirety of level one. My son is doing wonderful in math and I believe he would steadily move through R&S part 1&2 for first grade. Should I go ahead and purchase core k and core 1 in case he works through one area faster than the other so that I have the schedules in the teacher's manual or do the prices of packages generally stay the same? Or is there a way to just purchase both parts of the math together? I do feel he'll most likely move a bit faster through the first part of the phonics and math. I think FSR book D and E will be where we need to slow down a bit. Thank you again.

[howiecram]

Thank you to everyone who commented and for your encouragement! I also appreciate the math suggestion and would like to work through the entirety of level one. My son is doing wonderful in math and I believe he would steadily move through R&S part 1&2 for first grade. Should I go ahead and purchase core k and core 1 in case he works through one area faster than the other so that I have the schedules in the teacher's manual or do the prices of packages generally stay the same? Or is there a way to just purchase both parts of the math together? I do feel he'll most likely move a bit faster through the first part of the phonics and math. I think FSR book D and E will be where we need to slow down a bit. Thank you again.

I would call and customize your order. You are right that maybe you might need items from the full 1st grade set, so ask them. This would include the Morning Math A &B, R&S 1 Workbook 2 + R&S 2 Teacher's manual (books 1-2) and R&S 2 workbook 1.

*edited to add, if you have younger children and your budget allowed for purchasing the entire Core K and 1, you are right it might save you a headache later if things get done faster than you expected.

[SheenaS]

Thank you so much! We have a very good library system so I'm planning to utilize that for the read alouds and science at first especially if I'm purchasing two cores at first.

[ShawnaB]

Sheena, we are teaching MPK to a small group of seven students this year. Two of them were 5, three were six, and two were 7. The two 7-year olds have some mild special needs, the three 6 year old all spent Kindergarten in a public kindergarten before transferring to us and had not learned to read or write yet, and the two 5 year olds were new to the program and to school.

Want to take a guess on who made the biggest gains in reading and writing skills this year?

Our two 5 year olds have done the best. They came in without any bad habits to correct, like our students who had been to a modern kindergarten. They learned proper pencil grip, proper letter formation, and the proper phonics and blending skills from the get go.

Our three 6 year olds still did very well too, but did not master skills any faster or more easily than the 5 year olds.

The two 7 year olds struggled the most, possibly due to their learning differences. In hindsight however, I don't think delaying the start of the MPK curriculum helped them at all. I have a feeling that had they started at age 5 they would have been in very much the same place as they are now at age almost 8.

All that said, I would not be afraid to jump into MPK at age 5, if you son meets the general readiness markers. You really can trust this curriculum, and if you need to slow it down for him, you certainly can do that! I hope that is helpful!

[AngelaM]

Hi Sheena, we were in a similar position this year. I'll share what we decided to do, and how it's working so far for us. My son will be 6 in August. He was also working through a different K curriculum, and I'd been torn on whether to start him with MP K or 1 next school year. He had also been through quite a bit of phonics, and could read, but he was a reluctant reader. So, like you, I was thinking, it might be good to do FSR. He had pretty much finished what we had for K by February, and I knew we needed something now. At 5.5, he definitely was not ready for MP 1. So, I decided to start him on MP K now. We also school year round, so my plan is to work K at his pace, and then roll into 1st. So far, I have no regrets. He's not at all bored. The FSR program has been wonderful for us. He went from being reluctant, to reading books, including long vowels, blends, digraphs, vowel teams, and we haven't even gotten to most of that stuff in FSR yet. He still likes to pretend he can't read a book with me, but he will read everything else. He sits with his sister and reads books every day. I suspect maybe he's worried I won't read to him any more? Who knows! Anyhow, I don't know yet, whether we will be ready for 1st by next Fall, it might take a bit longer. I think it will all work out age and development wise. If I'd muddled along the rest of this year, and jumped straight into MP 1 with him next year, I believe it would have been a disaster. K is giving him a solid foundation, so I'm glad we made the switch now. It has also made our days much nicer. He still likes to argue with me about doing school. (He likes to argue about anything I say to do, it's a quite frustrating phase we seem to be in) Once I get him started though, he gets excited about the work, and it's actually difficult some days to get him to stop. Long story short, we switched to MP K recently, school year round, and will just move to 1st whenever we get there. So far, it seems to have been a good choice.

I apologize for any typos, or sentences that simply don't make sense above. I was interrupted approximately 85 times.

Angela