Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Kindergarten curriculum - Attainments for a child of six

In our state, we have to register homeschooling by the time our child is six years old. Bennet turns six in October, so we had to register kingergarten this year. We’re required to teach Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Math, and Health. The Ambleside year 0 group is a yahoo group dedicated to Charlotte Mason methods for kids too young to be in a rigorous academic environment (i.e. kindergarten). They have a “”A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six”, a reprint of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890’s. I used it to outline objectives for this school year.
Here’s the original list:
1. To recite, beautifully, 6 easy poems and hymns
2. to recite, perfectly and beautifully, a parable and a psalm
3. to add and subtract numbers up to 10, with dominoes or counters
4. to read--what and how much, will depend on the child
5. to copy in print-hand from a book
6. to know the points of the compass with relation to their own home,
where the sun rises and sets, and the way the wind blows
7. to describe the boundries of their own home
8. to describe any lake, river, pond, island etc. within easy reach
9. to tell quite accurately (however shortly)
3 stories from Bible history,
3 from early English, and
3 from early Roman history
10. to be able to describe 3 walks and 3 views
11. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers,
with leaves (one every week); to name these,
describe them in their own words,
and say where they found them.
12. to do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees
13. to know 6 birds by song, colour and shape
14. to send in certain Kindergarten or other handiwork, as directed
15. to tell three stories about their own "pets"--rabbit, dog or cat.
16. to name 20 common objects in French, and say a dozen little sentences
17. to sing one hymn, one French song, and one English song
18. to keep a caterpillar and tell the life-story of a butterfly from his own observations.
And my Objectives for Kindergarten:
Language Arts:
  • To read (we’re using Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons)
  • To write, copying simple sentances or short verses.
  • To learn twenty objects in Mandarin Chinese
  • To learn one song in Mandarin Chinese
Science:
  • To know North, East, South and West from the nearby park (our home is on a slant)
  • To recognize and describe nearby landmarks
  • To describe how to walk to the park, the store and the mailbox (3 walks)
  • To describe the what we see from our backyard and from the backyards of two sets of grandparents (3 views)
  • To keep a nature journal with flowers, leaves and other found objects
  • To identify nearby wildlife: blackbirds, swallows, sparrows, wild rabbits, racoons and some bugs
  • To raise a caterpillar, release it as a butterfly and both tell and draw it’s life story.
Math
  • To add number up to ten, with visual aids (like fingers to count), but without pencil and paper.
Social Studies
  • To sing six easy hymns
  • To recite or sing six nursery rhymes
  • To recite one psalm (Psalm 1)
  • To tell one of Jesus’ parables
  • To tell three Bible stories
Health
  • To know the names of all major body parts (not in attainments list)
  • To know proper cleaning of all major body parts (also not in attainments list)
  • To know the boundary of our yard (where he is safely permitted to go)
  • To memorize our address and phone number, and know examples of when to call 911.

2 comments:

  1. from Gina:
    Hi Amy,
    I enjoyed your posts - esp the one about taking off the mask.

    I had noticed that you’re using the Charlotte Mason approach to homeschooling. (We do a mix of the Robinson Curriculum and Veritas Press.) I was trying to find a Charlotte Mason group online that I could read up on. Do you know if there is one like you mentioned, only aimed at parents of elementary aged children?

    I’d love to read your dating ideas for “dating your spouse”. With 6 children and mostly uninvolved extended family, we can’t get out much; but do you ever “date” at home after the kids are in bed?

    Hope you enjoy your Saturday:)

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  2. from liketrees:
    Thanks Gina. I appreciate your taking the time to read my posts — I’ve only been blogging a week. I hope to get good at it, because I’ve always wanted to journal, and never been disciplined enough :)

    There is a group for elementary-aged Charlotte Mason (CM) homeschoolers, I think this is it:

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AmblesideOnline/

    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cMason/

    I’m hoping to write a “dating your spouse” every Thursday (at least for a while). Right Now I’m working on a post on creative ways to find (cheap) babysitters, then I’ll work on free or cheap dates. Yes, we do take “at home” dates sometimes. Actually, I like them. We make a nice dessert and eat it slowly on the back porch, (or by candlelight in the winter), then we read a book together, play a board game or watch a movie, etc….

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