My son is "anxiety filled" and has trouble with fine motor skills. He is in OT and therapy for these. I found the last two years with preschool and kindergarten that if I worked with him during the summer and on the weekends to prepare him for what he was going to do the next year/week he was MUCH better off.
He is going into first grade, and I would like to basically home school him this summer so he knows the material next year and can concentrate on his writing and new material I might not have hit. I don't have a whole lot of money to spend on a whole home school program for him. I work nights and his grandma that will watch him is a teacher assistant and is willing to work with him on the days she has him. I just don't know where to look for things to do. His teacher sent home a few work books for me and I've made his story pages they use in his distric. Any other ideas on where I can get appropriate first grade material at an affordable cost?
if you have a computer just go online. Fisher-Price has a wonderful way to read online and all kinds of other stuff. Also there's a site called Starfall that teaches. It helped my grandaughter a lot.
There are tons of workbooks, etc. like places at Sam's Club and Costco for grade specific and subject specific....i.e. Reading G 1&2 or Math- K
In addition, make a CHART- can be squares or whatever, get him involved, and put stickers, stars, or whatever when he finishes a work page, reads so may pages in books, etc. SET A GOAL AND REWARD for what he accomplishes. Work on short term and long term goals. THIS IS NOT too much. You just have to bring it down to his level. (I'm a teacher and do this all the time, even w/ 3's & 4's)
There are book series you can get (First Readers). Make a goal of maybe 2-3 books a week, so many Math pages, etc. ON TOP OF THAT....go to a nature center or something where there is a guide and he can LEARN as well as have an outing & have fun.
Take time in the grocery to work w/ him and get him involved.....reading labels.....looking for less than 15g sugar, etc. Gives them something to do, helps them learn at the same time. COMPARISONS, SHAPES, SIZES, etc. It's ALL in the grocery store! you just have to know how to use it as a learning tool and EVERYONE have fun. You'll be amazed at how much more enjoyable it is AND how much everyone learns. Try new fruits and/or vegetables, talk about where the grow, look up on a map, HOW they grow (science) talk about textures, color, etc. There is ALOT to learn and experience!
While driving.....do subtraction of traffic lights, or addition (7 total to home, we've been thru 6...etc.) You just have to change YOUR mindset and make it happen. Learning can be fun for EVERYONE at ANY age!
I don't know where you live but I know we have a couple of stores in the area that sell school supplies for teachers and have a great selection of work books etc., you can pick up there. Wal Mart and similiar stores have work books etc., for each grade level as well.
You can go online and look up home schooling. There are several sites that have grade appropriate things you can print off.
Try your local library as well. Many of them have books, etc., you can check out and copy items from as well.
Good Luck and have a prosperous summer.
The good news is that at this age, helping your son continue to learn doesn't take a lot of money. The key is to keep the activities "hands-on" and "fun." May I suggest that you go to a craft store and buy (2) 1 pound blocks of non-hardening white/cream clay like EZ Shape by poly form products or Plastalina by Van Aken. You can make clay balls the size of a marble and practice counting and grouping 100 clay balls. Then you can teach counting by 2's, 5's, 10's all while your son is working with manipulatives. Have him create the experience before you give him a Math worksheet. Your son can make the numeral "1" and then use the clay ball to represent the quantity of "1" etc. You can also make the symbols of + - = < > etc. and play with making equations using the symbols and the clay ball before you create a worksheet with numbers.
In first grade the kids learn about money and all you need is your own change and bills on hand to create a lesson.
The kids also learn about "time" so all you need is to use a large battery operated clock w/o the battery inside it. Make sure you get a clock with a second hand and one that shows the minute marks as well as the hour marks. By manipulating the hour and minute hand you can create a lesson. Also you can google the term "teaching time"
Reading to your son is so important and point out every word as you read to him so he sees the word and hears the sounds. You can get ideas for phonics and phonemic awareness exercises right off of google. The key is that you need to keep the child engaged. Flashcards are boring but if you make it into a game of some kind you'll have better luck.
There is always handwriting and spelling which kids may find boring but you can work on these areas with pencil and paper.
Don't forget about the benefit of cooking to teach order and sequence as well as fractions. Keep it fun because you want your child to love learning!
One thing that he could do is keep a "Summer Journal".
If you could find a "primary" ruled tablet that has a space at the top for him to draw a picture, he could write about what he is doing several times a week or daily(or he could dictate to you to write) and draw a picture to accompany the story.
He can write the date and the name of the day on each one.
He can keep a "weather" chart for the summer too on any calendar that has large squares (like a desk calendar) and that can be displayed on the wall.
Use weather words like "rainy", "cloudy" "hot",etc. and draw the sun or clouds etc.
There are first grade workbooks available at WalMart too, for example, if you want to go that route.
And of course I would utilize your local library and read to him and/or get books that he can read.
You can do so many activities with little or no financial investment.
Look at BIG LOTS for manila drawing paper or just plain printer paper.
Have him fold his paper in fourths or just in half.....Print or say directions like "Make 4 red balls........6 black cats.....10 orange flowers......or whatever is at his level, and he must draw each set in a section of his paper.
You can do this in a million different ways.
He can make an Alphabet book.....search catalogs and magazines for pictures that begin with "Aa"......cut them out and paste onto a blank page that he has printed the capital and lower case letters on.
Practice saying the names of the pictures, emphasizing the sound of each letter as a beginning sound.
Or, you can make an "Animal" book, or "Truck", or any category you or he choose.
Look at yard sales for materials like books or magazines or whatever inspires you.
Play "The Alphabet Game" in the car, looking for words on signs that begin with A, then B, and so on.
Have fun with it.
I hope these suggestions help you enjoy the summer.
Holcomb's has a lot of different workbooks/ideas available. Also there are some books that you can order that are specifically for that.My school used to send an order form if we were interested to purchase. Just go online and google it. And a lot of them are inexpensive.
HI! I'm a mother of 3, ages 11, 8 & 6. The internet is a great resource. Just put in 1st reading, math, etc. and a lot of websites offer free worksheets to print. Edhelper.com is a great website teachers use that you can subscribe to for a pretty good price-it has mathing & reading. You might also check with your son's teacher & even school librarian for helpful websites and/or resources. Good luck! Debbie
The teachers in our district usually recommend the "Bridge" books. They have one for language arts activities and one for math. They are designed to review and reinforce the skills that are most important for the next level. You can find them at the teacher supply stores and on Amazon.com.
As a teacher, I would reccomend that you do not get just any workbook. The Summer Bridge activiites are great, they do a little of each subject a day for the whole summer. Holcomb's also is a great resource. Truly though, take him places; museums are a great resource and many have deals in the summer. If you stick him at a desk for the whole summer he will NOT have a good time and will start to resent school. Talk to his OT teacher, maybe she has some activites to do with him that would be fun. Look for flashcards and games too. Try to make it fun.
A great on line source for activities is Kidzone.com. They have worksheets and crafts for kids from preschool through sixth grade.
L.
Try this website or just search the web for 1st grade worksheets or educational games, etc.: http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/ There are a lot of free resources.
I ma working on writing skills with my son using the "Handwriting Without Tears" books. You can get them online and they are about $7.00. There are other things you can buy too (special paper, letters, blackboard and more) if you are interested.
Sam's Club carries some great workbooks that are all-inclusive on subjects and I think they are still less than $10. They come in different grade levels. Our 8th & 9th grade boys are homeschooled and we have used those books on several occasions to supplement.
I wish you were closer I homeschool my kids and have a bunch of leftover stuff I'd be willing to give you. But anyways, spelling city is a great website for spelling words, and study island is a state of ohio testing site with games and pre tests and all sorts of great material for all grades. study island does cost money, not sure how much but it's a flat fee for the year i believe and you can do whatever grade you want if he happens to be behind or ahead. it only does reading and math skills though but my kids really liked the games. Also check your local schools website, our for sandusky city school has learning games, yours might too.
