What books to invest in?

[Anonymous]

My K kid is back in a half-day (9:30-1:30) program in person with a teacher and a tiny class. Teacher told me she's very impressed with his reading and math skills. I'd love to continue to nurture that at home, are there any homeschool curriculum books you guys recommend or ideas for some things to do in the afternoons? I've never homeschooled and don't have a teaching background. We bought the Singapore math and Kumon workbooks and he will do a page or two of those, we read some chapter books like Sideways Stories from Wayside School, he practices piano, and we play a lot of games like Monopoly and dominos. Not sure if there's anything else I can be doing with him?

[Anonymous]

Bob books if he’s just starting to read. Kindle FreeTime or kindle unlimited if he’s reading to you or on his own.

Math is harder to recommend, because there’s such a wide range of abilities. Here’s the overall guideline for k expectations at the end of the year, tell us where he is and we can make recommendations:

Rote count to at least 100 starting at 1
Rote count to 100 starting at any number
Write numerals in order 0-20
Count 1-1, understanding the last number said is the total
Count groups 1-1 to 20 (line, array or circle grouping) or to 10 (random spacing)
Count out up to 20 objects when given a number orally
Write numerals up to 20 to represent groups
Compare numerals to 10, using less than, more than and equal to
Compare groups to 10 using more than, less than and equal to
Add and subtract within 10 using actions, objects and groups
Add and subtract numerals to 10
Make addend pairs for any given number to 10
Find the missing addend to make 10
Fluently (without stopping to think) add and subtract within 5
Name shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid), even when rotated
Recognize objects and describe using names of shapes
Compose larger shapes from 2 or more smaller shapes
Compare 2d and 3D shapes, stating similarities and differences
Identify 2d as flat/plane and 3D as solid
Use positional words (above, below, behind, in front, beside, next to, left, right) to describe object placement
Understand the difference between measurable (weight, length) and non-measurable (color) attributes of objects
Describe an object using 2 or more measurable attributes (Rock is small and heavy)
Compare two objects or people using the same criteria (a rock is heavier than a pillow, a doll is taller than a lego)
Classify objects into two or three groups (circles, squares, triangles; short, tall)
Count objects in each category of a sort and order the categories by count

K will learn some things faster than others. It’s so much better to homeschool k (IMO), because we can focus where they have more interests and/or need more work. I have twin k this year. Both are great at classifying. One adds and subtracts intuitively within 12 (she’s not confident with teen numbers yet) while the other is rote counting to 79 and recognizing numerals to 59. We’re splitting them up for math to focus where they need more work.

I use math mammoth, fun with mama, khan academy kids, khan academy and shiller, along with dry erase, play dough, magnets, writing and coloring, depending on the child’s personality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bob books if he’s just starting to read. Kindle FreeTime or kindle unlimited if he’s reading to you or on his own.

Math is harder to recommend, because there’s such a wide range of abilities. Here’s the overall guideline for k expectations at the end of the year, tell us where he is and we can make recommendations:

Rote count to at least 100 starting at 1
Rote count to 100 starting at any number
Write numerals in order 0-20
Count 1-1, understanding the last number said is the total
Count groups 1-1 to 20 (line, array or circle grouping) or to 10 (random spacing)
Count out up to 20 objects when given a number orally
Write numerals up to 20 to represent groups
Compare numerals to 10, using less than, more than and equal to
Compare groups to 10 using more than, less than and equal to
Add and subtract within 10 using actions, objects and groups
Add and subtract numerals to 10
Make addend pairs for any given number to 10
Find the missing addend to make 10
Fluently (without stopping to think) add and subtract within 5
Name shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid), even when rotated
Recognize objects and describe using names of shapes
Compose larger shapes from 2 or more smaller shapes
Compare 2d and 3D shapes, stating similarities and differences
Identify 2d as flat/plane and 3D as solid
Use positional words (above, below, behind, in front, beside, next to, left, right) to describe object placement
Understand the difference between measurable (weight, length) and non-measurable (color) attributes of objects
Describe an object using 2 or more measurable attributes (Rock is small and heavy)
Compare two objects or people using the same criteria (a rock is heavier than a pillow, a doll is taller than a lego)
Classify objects into two or three groups (circles, squares, triangles; short, tall)
Count objects in each category of a sort and order the categories by count

K will learn some things faster than others. It’s so much better to homeschool k (IMO), because we can focus where they have more interests and/or need more work. I have twin k this year. Both are great at classifying. One adds and subtracts intuitively within 12 (she’s not confident with teen numbers yet) while the other is rote counting to 79 and recognizing numerals to 59. We’re splitting them up for math to focus where they need more work.

I use math mammoth, fun with mama, khan academy kids, khan academy and shiller, along with dry erase, play dough, magnets, writing and coloring, depending on the child’s personality.

Thank you so much. His teacher is working on his times table right now, he’s quite ahead in math. He understands the concepts and why 2x6=12 but id love for some advice on some fun games we can play at home that involve simple multiplication and division. Maybe even a board game? Right now he just asks me for word problems during times like when we are driving or going on a walk and he solves those. I’d like to stay off of screens just because he associates screens with gaming. Are there any specific book titles that might be fun? He loves funny books, Wayside series was a huge hit for us.

[Anonymous]

I would suggest the Math in Focus series, if you didn’t already purchase that. I used 6 different curricula over my years of teaching and that was my favorite. It’s Singapore math, so that may be what you have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bob books if he’s just starting to read. Kindle FreeTime or kindle unlimited if he’s reading to you or on his own.

Math is harder to recommend, because there’s such a wide range of abilities. Here’s the overall guideline for k expectations at the end of the year, tell us where he is and we can make recommendations:

Rote count to at least 100 starting at 1
Rote count to 100 starting at any number
Write numerals in order 0-20
Count 1-1, understanding the last number said is the total
Count groups 1-1 to 20 (line, array or circle grouping) or to 10 (random spacing)
Count out up to 20 objects when given a number orally
Write numerals up to 20 to represent groups
Compare numerals to 10, using less than, more than and equal to
Compare groups to 10 using more than, less than and equal to
Add and subtract within 10 using actions, objects and groups
Add and subtract numerals to 10
Make addend pairs for any given number to 10
Find the missing addend to make 10
Fluently (without stopping to think) add and subtract within 5
Name shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid), even when rotated
Recognize objects and describe using names of shapes
Compose larger shapes from 2 or more smaller shapes
Compare 2d and 3D shapes, stating similarities and differences
Identify 2d as flat/plane and 3D as solid
Use positional words (above, below, behind, in front, beside, next to, left, right) to describe object placement
Understand the difference between measurable (weight, length) and non-measurable (color) attributes of objects
Describe an object using 2 or more measurable attributes (Rock is small and heavy)
Compare two objects or people using the same criteria (a rock is heavier than a pillow, a doll is taller than a lego)
Classify objects into two or three groups (circles, squares, triangles; short, tall)
Count objects in each category of a sort and order the categories by count

K will learn some things faster than others. It’s so much better to homeschool k (IMO), because we can focus where they have more interests and/or need more work. I have twin k this year. Both are great at classifying. One adds and subtracts intuitively within 12 (she’s not confident with teen numbers yet) while the other is rote counting to 79 and recognizing numerals to 59. We’re splitting them up for math to focus where they need more work.

I use math mammoth, fun with mama, khan academy kids, khan academy and shiller, along with dry erase, play dough, magnets, writing and coloring, depending on the child’s personality.

Thank you so much. His teacher is working on his times table right now, he’s quite ahead in math. He understands the concepts and why 2x6=12 but id love for some advice on some fun games we can play at home that involve simple multiplication and division. Maybe even a board game? Right now he just asks me for word problems during times like when we are driving or going on a walk and he solves those. I’d like to stay off of screens just because he associates screens with gaming. Are there any specific book titles that might be fun? He loves funny books, Wayside series was a huge hit for us.

Ok, so do math madlibs. There are tons of sources you can find online (printables and regular) as well as workbooks. You can focus on a specific skill like multiplication or a grade level (third for beginning multiplication and division). Bonus: working on parts of speech and reading comprehension, while throwing in a ton of humor.

Also, look into picture books with math concepts. Here's are a few links to some multiplication and division books:
https://glitterinthird.com/2019/04/multiplication-division-picture-books.html
https://mathgeekmama.com/best-books-teach-multiplication-division/
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/blog-posts/alycia-zimmerman/teaching-math-picture-books-part-1/

[Anonymous]

OP - it sounds like your child is doing well. Why not focus on other subjects that get neglected in ES, including geography, history, science, FL, etc.? Choose fun books that are related, both for read-alouds and for him to practice his skills. Also do poetry memorization. No need to have a singular focus on math and reading, that is all they do at school.