Curriculum placement help?

[cbuckel]

Good afternoon!

Looking for help in placing my 7 year old.

We are new-comers to MP. After struggling through most of the last couple of years to find math and particularly phonics programs that we like, we finally landed on First Start Reading and Rod & Staff math, and by extension the rest of the MP curriculum. I definitely like what I see and feel that my son is progressing, and I would really like to continue on with MP, but I'm not sure where to go in terms of this coming school year.

Some background:
1) We do school year round, since I have to work a couple of days a week. Our "summer break" is two weeks in July.
2) We're in New York state, and my son is considered by the state to be going into second grade.
3) We started FSR and R&S arithmetic a couple of months ago, and are currently in FSR book B (kindergarten phonics) and in week 5 of the first grade math program.
4) My second son is 5 and will be starting the MP kindergarten program in August.
4) My son has no learning difficulties that I know of, but we do deal with a frequent bad attitude toward school work which I think stems from the fact that he would much rather join his younger brother in playing, and the typical seven year old boy wiggles and challenges with concentration. Lessons often end up taking WAY longer than is probably necessary.

I will continue progressing from where we are with phonics, spelling, penmanship and Latin, but I'm wondering what to do about literature, science, and American/Modern. Should I start storybook treasures now? Should I wait until our new year starts in August and jump right in with 2nd grade literature (realizing I will need to read aloud to him and help with writing)? Should we do 2nd grade science and American/modern?

If you read all of that and have some input, thank you!!!!

Cassie

[Enigma]

What Latin are you referring to? MP doesn't start that until 2nd grade. If you are still working through FSR, put the Latin and spelling aside for a year or two. Learning to read must come first before anything else. Take the time to get that solid before adding more academically challenging subjects.

The Enrichment guide is all you need for those extras you mentioned, if you feel you must do something. It is easy to do and wonderful, if it fits your day and your little guy's attention span. That is something the boys can do together to get the Little Guy ready for more in the fall.

You have years to get everything in. Take the time now to go at his pace so he can enjoy the process as much as a little boy can. (See the 5 sons below? I feel for ya'!)

[momgineer]

The Storytime Treasures and the 2nd grade literature program are the reading (phonics) programs for those grades. Those books are meant to be read by the child. It’s ok to team read where you take turns page by page or paragraph by paragraph, but if the child is not ready to read those books, you should delay the start of that course.
The Enrichment program is where you read books to the child and then do activities based on those books. You will get science and social studies as part of Enrichment. It is just fine to pick one Enrichment level and do it with both children.
Given your son’s age, I would mentally consider him as 1st grade and not 2nd. I would focus this coming year on finishing FSR and starting Storytime Treasures and Traditional Spelling 1 after you finish FSR D. Depending on how he progresses this year, you could get by without doing More Storytime Treasures or only doing half the books in each set if you see he will be ready for 2nd lit the following year. I wouldn’t skips parts of FSR though. Move faster if needed, but don’t skip.
As far as his attitude, I get it! Squirmy boys are hard, especially if there is a younger sibling to play with. What worked best for me was getting into a routine and following that. It was hard to hold the line the first few weeks, but soon he knew what to expect and that he has to do it, so things went much smoother. You could potentially consider doing work with each child one on one while the other plays alone quietly. This should take no more than an hour for K and 2 hours for the older child. Then you can do enrichment and Christian together. Each one will need to learn to play quietly while you work with the other and to buckle down and work when it is their one on one time with you. Again, it will be a struggle at first, but hold strong and soon you should find things going much smoother.

[Jen_NH]

Try to not focus on the grade the state says your child is in. Focus on his skills and abilities and where he is academically.

If you are in FSR right now, keep working through that before adding any other literature program. Once you get through Book D, you can start the 1st grade literature selections. These stories are meant to be read by the child. You can continue Book E simultaneously. In order to not have any gaps and to get the most out of MP, I strongly encourage you to work through the program as laid out by MP. If all the writing is too much for your child, when you start the Storytime Treasures, it's ok to some of it orally. However, I would discourage not doing the writing because this is where they learn to formulate good, complete sentences. This skill is necessary for other writing in later grades. Build a good, firm foundation. If you persevere, you will probably come to a point where everything clicks and he takes off in his writing.

Latin should not be attempted until he's reading well. Prima Latina, Latina Christiana, and First Form are all beginning programs. It's ok to wait until 3rd or 4th grade to start Latin.

I have two boys also. I feel for you. They are young. Have a routine. Do your work. Let them take breaks. At these ages, you should be able to finish everything within 2 hours, max.