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Montessori Homeschool Kindergarten with ShillerMath

October 19, 2017 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Our preschooler is raring to go for kindergarten this year, so when I was considering what we’d use as our primary curriculum, I looked around and tried a few things. We love using apps to reinforce what she’s learning, but I also wanted her to have some hands-on kinesthetic activities to help her really “see” the concepts.

She’s also very enthusiastic about doing “schoolwork” like her siblings, so I knew she would want a program that would challenge her and be able to grow along with her ability.

So when I got the opportunity to review ShillerMath Kit A and ShillerMath Language Arts Foundations, I was thrilled! This was just the kind of program I was looking for!

Shiller Math Language Arts Foundations and Math Kit A Review

If you’re considering a Montessori homeschool kindergarten approach, take a look at how ShillerMath curriculum makes learning math and ELA into an interactive experience for young kids! Plus, see how you can score a discount on a ShillerMath order of your own!

And for books your early reader will love, check out our simple homeschool kindergarten reading list!

Disclosure: I received this product in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review.

Thinking of a Montessori approach for language arts? See how Shiller Math Language Arts Foundations works for kindergarten!

Montessori Homeschool Kindergarten: ShillerMath Language Arts Foundations

When I opened my boxes from ShillerMath, I really didn’t know what to expect, so I was amazed by how complete the curriculum is.

Language Arts Foundations is a relatively new program from ShillerMath, which is designed to introduce ELA to children aged 4 to 5 (think: preschool through kindergarten).

Shiller Math Language Arts Foundations Books

The program includes lesson plan books and manipulatives – so, so many manipulatives. There is no way kids will get bored with this curriculum.

Shiller Math Mother Goose Rhymes

I have been aware of the Montessori method for some time. I haven’t used it with my children, but I have always liked the idea of helping children to take ownership of their education through hands-on learning, which is what Montessori teaches.

But – I’m not a Montessori teacher and I was unsure how to go about using this method with my kids. Which is why ShillerMath is so awesome. You don’t have to know the Montessori method to use it. It’s all outlined for you in the lesson plan!

Finding Letter C with Shiller Math

This is one of the lessons in ShillerMath Language Arts Foundations. As you can see, the entire script is laid out for you. You can truly just open the book and read the instructions. Which is exactly what we did!

Shiller Math Language Arts Manipulatives

For this lesson, we used the movable alphabet, some playdough, and the grain. (All of this is included in the box, by the way.)

Using the Shiller Math Work Mat

Once we identified the letter C, we spent a little time working with the wooden letters on the work mat. We turned them backwards and upside down until we recognized how to place them so that we could read them correctly.

Using Shiller Math Grain to Trace Letters

Then it was time to break out the grain. As instructed, I gave my little one a small bowl and let her pour the grain herself. She was so psyched to do that on her own.

Sensory Play with Grain

Of course, she had to have a little sensory play in the grain before continuing with the lesson.

Tracing Letters in Grain

We traced the letter C in the grain for some fine motor skill practice and a sensory experience.

As you can see, she really loved that part of the lesson.

Shaping Letters Out of Playdough

Then it was time to make some playdough letters! We rolled out some dough and made playdough ropes.

Shaping Letters Out of Playdough with Shiller Math

Then we just shaped them into the letter C! We decided to do an uppercase letter C and a lowercase letter C.

That’s an example of the Montessori method in action. Instead of just showing a child the letter, you get to let them explore the letter in as many forms as possible. My kindergartner had a blast with it.

Keep reading to see how ShillerMath approaches Montessori math for early grades!

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Filed Under: Curriculum Reviews, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool kindergarten, homeschooling

Simple Kindergarten Homeschool Reading List

October 3, 2017 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Our kindergartner is off to the reading races! She’s really progressed in her ability to read over the summer and now there’s no stopping her. She reads street signs and menu items and instructions on gas pumps and – basically, any word, anywhere.

Which thrills me. There is no more important skill in life than the ability to read. I firmly believe that a love for reading is the most important part of a good education.

But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fun, right? So, for this year, I wanted to create a simple kindergarten homeschool reading list that my little one could complete without pressure and have fun while doing it! Take a look at our reading selections for this year and see if you can’t find some new stories for your family!

For more on our kindergarten plans for this year, take a look at how we’re planning a minimalist homeschool kindergarten curriculum!

Ready to get your little one reading? This simple kindergarten homeschool reading list features early readers kids will love!

Images c/o: StockUnlimited

Kindergarten Homeschool Reading List

Affiliate links provided here for convenience. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

1. My Mouth Is a Volcano! by Julia Cook

2. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

3. Pete the Cat: Pete At the Beach by James Dean

4. Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown

5. Curious George: The Donut Delivery by H.A. Rey

6. The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak

7. There Is a Bird On Your Head! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems

8. What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada

9. Enemy Pie (Reading Rainbow Book) by Derek Munson

Kindergarten Reading List for Kids

10. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

11. Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty

12. They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

13. The Day The Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

14. What’s The Difference? Being Different is Amazing! by Doyin Richards

15. The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

16. Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

17. This Is How We Do It: One Day In the Lives of Seven Kids from Around the World by Matt Lamothe

18. Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts

Simple Kindergarten Homeschool Reading List

What books are you reading with your kindergartner this year? Share your kindergarten homeschool reading list in the comments!

Try these other tips for planning your kindergarten homeschool year!

Get your little one off to a gentle start with this minimalist homeschool curriculum for kindergarten!

Liven up your lesson plans with these free printable flashcards for kids!

Overwhelmed by planning your kindergartner's homeschool lessons Try this simple homeschool kindergarten program instead!

Get more tips for teaching early grades on my Learning for Little Ones Pinterest board!

Did you know that our email subscribers get exclusive learning printables? Sign up to get yours using the widget below. 🙂

Share easy readers and fun stories with this simple kindergarten homeschool reading list!

Filed Under: Book Lists, Reading Tagged With: homeschool kindergarten, homeschool reading list, reading

The Simple Homeschool Kindergarten Method We’re Using This Year

May 23, 2017 by Selena Robinson Leave a Comment

Piglet is my very last child to homeschool. *sniff* And I probably have enough homeschooling books, workbooks, toys, games, and printables to teach twelve more children after her. (I wish I was kidding.)

But last year, we decided to streamline our homeschooling materials and practice minimalist homeschooling. Which is using the least amount of materials necessary to teach our kids. Instead of feeling tied to using up everything for each grade level, we focused on what they needed to learn and let them explore the rest on their own. It was life-changing.

Homeschool Kindergarten with ABC Mouse

So when it was time to plan to move on to planning our homeschool kindergarten program for her, I decided to stick with the least amount of materials necessary to do it.

Which is why I was thrilled to have an opportunity to try ABCmouse – an online early learning academy for kids ages 2-8! With this program, we’ll be using a simple homeschool kindergarten curriculum that requires almost no prep at all from me. And I’ll need all the extra time I can find, since my oldest is starting seventh grade this year. *scream*

Read on to see how we’re using this program to get our kindergartner off to the right homeschooling start!

Overwhelmed by planning your kindergartner's homeschool lessons Try this simple homeschool kindergarten program instead!

Disclosure: I received access to this program in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review. This post contains affiliate links. For details, see our Disclosure Policy.

Simple Homeschool Kindergarten with ABC Mouse

ABCmouse is the most comprehensive digital early learning resource for kids in grades PreK through 2. The program covers over 8,500 different educational standards, so you can easily find out which ones your child knows and which ones he or she needs to master.

To get started, just go to ABCmouse.com and sign up for the 30-day trial. You can set up your parent profile and then enroll up to three children. From there, your child can create an avatar (Piglet loved this) and then take an assessment to find out what lessons they should start with.

Easy Homeschool Kindergarten Program

The assessment takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, but that’s 45 minutes straight, which my four-year-old couldn’t handle. We ended up breaking it into three separate sessions of about 15 minutes. That way, she didn’t get irritable from sitting too long.

Since she’s already been doing preschool work for the past nine months, we gave Piglet the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, which tested her on 13 different skills, including shape recognition, picture recognition, early phonics, counting, and more.

Want to see the assessment in action? Take a look at this quick video!

So, while you’re not supposed to offer assistance with the questions, you should be nearby to help with navigating the menu. At least at the kindergarten level.

Simple Homeschool Kindergarten Program

The third time we had Piglet sit down to work on her assessment, we wised up and used the ABCmouse app on our tablet, which is super easy to navigate and follow. She could just select the answers with her little fingers and move along at her own pace.

Simple Homeschool Kindergarten with ABC Mouse

By the way, when you sign up for ABCmouse, there are several apps you get access to that you can use without Wi-Fi, including ABCmouse Zoo, ABCmouse Music Videos, and ABCmouse Mastering Math. These apps are available in the Apple AppStore and in the Google Play Store. In fact, we used it with our Amazon Kindle Fire just fine.

Simple Homeschool Kindergarten

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with ABCmouse.com! There are so many lessons, games, and activities that make learning fun! In fact, we had to tell Piglet “That’s enough school for today. You can do more tomorrow.” Which is a pair of sentences I didn’t think I’d ever utter in my life.

Ready to get your early learner off to the races? Visit ABCmouse.com and sign up for a free 30-day trial to see how much fun your child can have learning!

Check out these other early learning resources!

These cute busy bee scissor skills worksheets are fun spring-themed scissor practice for preschoolers!

These spring preschool story prompts are an easy way to help preschoolers start writing creatively!

Ten Minute Preschool Activities

Want more tips for homeschooling early grades? Follow my Learning for Little Ones board on Pinterest!

Filed Under: Curriculum Reviews, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool kindergarten, homeschool kindergarten curriculum, homeschool kindergarten program, kindergarten, simple homeschool kindergarten, simple way to homeschool kindergarten

Hi! I'm Selena, a teacher and a veteran homeschool mom to four. I'm so glad you're here!
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