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1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade
1st Grade
My quick overview of the FIAR program:
Each week you read a different children’s book. Using the content of the
book as your weekly themes, the “manual” provides you with various
activities for art, music, language, cooking, etc. This is called a “unit
study” - you use the weekly literature themes to coordinate your art, music,
cooking, math, and whatever other subject you choose to cover.
My thoughts on how it worked for us:
Although I loved the unit study approach (everything from crafts to math
coordinating with the themes), it lacked
the historical aspect that I felt my family needed. We were wanting
something based on literature and history that followed along in
chronological order. I wanted a curriculum that would teach my children
about the world around them while teaching them biblical history at the same
time.
My quick overview of the MUS program:
Lessons are presented for the parent on video (may be DVD by nowJ). You
watch the creator of MUS explaining each math concept to a room of students
and teachers. We used the older version (Introduction, Foundations, and then
it went on to Intermediate) so I cannot comment on any revisions made after
that point. Parents used the Instructor’s Manual along with the video and
students had both manipulative blocks and a workbook.
My thoughts on how it worked for us:
My daughter loved MUS. She watched the video with me, then we “played” with
the blocks demonstrating the concept described on the video, and then she
did the workbook pages. She had a great understanding of basic math concepts
because of the way the MUS presents them. Everything is based on 10’s (up to
9 can live in the unit’s house because the 10th resident exceeds
the unit’s house and has to move up to the 10’s. The 10’s house can hold 9
tens and then moves up to the 100’s). Learning to tell time was presented in
the same easy to follow way. I used the program again with my middle
daughter for kindergarten and she too did very well with the hands on
approach to math.
- Phonics Pathways by Doris
Hiskes (learning to read)
available where books are sold
My quick overview of the Phonics Pathways book:
Step-by-step instructions and rules for reading and spelling.
My thoughts on how it worked for us:
Quite a thick book, we began
going through it in kindergarten and then finished it in first grade with
both of my older children. The older child finished it and was reading quite well by the end of 1st
grade. We did supplement with Hooked on Phonics (http://secure.hop.com/),
but this was mostly so that the child learning to read would have something
she could do independently while I worked with another child on something
else.
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