Reading for First Grade

Reading choice Pre-K--1st grade

Assigned reading is one thing.  Reading comprehension is another.  Reading to learn is very important.  That's why I have books of all kinds.  I even have some textbooks for several grades that I've collected over the years.  It's good to have a variety for free reading.

Yes, for reading, my incoming first grader, Kaelyn will have a lot to choose from.  For example, the paperback book above is a collection of 10 readers in one.  This was put out by Modern Publishing.

PP-pre-primer basal reader--Scott, Foresman publisher

The book above is labeled PP, probably meaning pre-primer.  Collections: You're Invited is a set of easy to read stories full of colorful pictures.  I love these kinds of books.  My daughter has read a few of the stories already.  I know that my now 11 year-old read this book, too.

1st Grader Reader--Houghton Mifflin publisher

I plan to place these books on shelves in the girl's room.  Kaelyn can have easy access to them.  I don't want her to run out of reading material. 

1st grade level 5--McGraw-Hill publisher

You might come across something having two numbers.  In the case of the book above, it means that the book is for a reading level of first grade 5 months.  That means that the child who is reading this has reached a level of reading of beyond first grade.  A traditional school year consists of 9 months.  You might also see standardized tests give results like that, too--1.5.

Set of 3 textbooks from HBJ publisher

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) published these books:

1-2 A Friend Like You

1-5 The Deep Blue Sea

1-6 Sliver of the Moon

Of course, I wish I had complete sets of readers, but I must be satisfied with what I've found from yard sales, flea market finds, and thrift store shopping.

Christian-based readers--A Beka publisher

The A Beka Book Reading Program consists of a set of readers, probably about 10 paperback books.

The two that I have are:

1.3 Seesaw

1.9 Strong and True

Ebay has the whole set for sale for about $35.

Reading comprehension Workbook Grade 1

 

The School Zone Publishing Company came up with this wonderful workbook.  Reading Comprehension 1 covers such reading skills as:

"...identifying the main idea

selecting supporting details

...drawing conclusions"

(taken from inside cover)

 

The workbook above will help me teach Kaelyn the specific skills she needs to understand her reading.  It should be lots of fun to go through the pages with her.

 

 

Well, thanks for reading this entry about what I'm using to homeschool my first grade reader.  I hope I've given you all an idea of what could be used for first grade reading.

How about you, my readers?  For those of you who homeschool, what are you using for reading for first grade?  Are you satisfied with your curriculum choices?  It's fun to find various books for each grade for reading.  It gives our children a chance to choose what they would like to read.

 

I pray that God helps us all, whether we are homeschooling or are thinking of homeschooling.

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace, as you teach your children.

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays.  Hope you liked it.

Celebrating Kaelyn's Sixth Birthday

Kaelyn turned six years-old.

The past weekend and into this current week, we have celebrated my youngest daughter's birthday.   She kept counting down the days to the 20th with the help of the calendars.  Her father made two chocolate cakes.  It has been fun lavishing kisses and hugs on Kaelyn.  She finally turned six years-old on Wednesday.  

I recounted to her the story of her birth. 

Kaelyn in my tummy

I told her about how she grew inside of me.  I told her about how I bled while I carried her inside of me.  I told her that I was afraid that she was gonna die, like I thought her brother, Rafael, might have.  (I had placenta previa, premature separation of the placenta from the uterus, when I was pregnant with Rafael.)  I told her how I pushed hard so she could come out of my tummy.

This was a special corner I made for Kaelyn.

Even though I can still recall the pain that followed after her birth, I know it was worth it.  All the reclining I did was worth it, too.  I did not want to lose her.  She has been a wonderful blessing.  Her siblings have spent countless hours playing with her, feeding her, and caring for her, too.

Kaelyn was playing on an electronic, educational toy.

Eventually, Kaelyn has become more independent.  She is learning so rapidly.  She is already reading and writing.  Today, she started her work without anyone's prompting.  Her sister was still in bed.

Does Kaelyn know how to strike a pose?

Kaelyn is my girlie girl.  She likes to read like her siblings do.  She likes to play on the Wii like her brothers.  She likes to draw and color like her older sister, Iris.  Kaelyn likes to watch Blues Clues on Netflix.

I love my baby girl.  I love all my babies, and they know it.  I don't have favorites.  I just wanted to record this special moment as a sort of digital scrapbook for my daughter on her sixth birthday.  I hope you all will understand that I simply want to record this for her.

Thanks for reading this entry and viewing the pictures.  I hope you enjoyed it.

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace.

This entry has been part of the Family Fun Fridays series. 

Art Academy for Nintendo DS

 ABCs of Homeschooling...A is for Art

 

 

This is the cover box for Art Academy for Nintendo DS.

I have many concerns as a homeschooling mother.  Making sure that my kids learn art is one of them.  I have never been great at art.  That is one of my weaknesses.  I needed to come up with a way for my children to still learn some art.

Kaelyn needs someone to read the directions.

That's why I was excited when I saw that art lessons were available through a game on the Nintendo DS.  We had already bought the DS system that was used.  I searched online on www.amazon.com for good games for my five year-old.  I found this game, along with some other ones.  I determined to buy the game as cheaply as I could so we bought it at locally at GameStop.

The menus in the game are very useful.

Art Academy gives easy to follow lessons.  The only thing is that you must be able to read.  My almost six year-old stil lcan't read that fluently.  For those individuals who can read, it is a wonderful tool.  The best thing is that the art supplies are not all over the place--they're inside the virtual space.

The game explains what a pencil can do.

You can do the lessons and then save your creations.  You can see your work in the gallery.  I worked through one that my 5 year-old started.  The first lesson shows you how to draw an apple with shadows.  I even got to set the apple drawing onto a frame.

The game starts you with an easy assignment--drawing an apple.

This game offers lessons on how to draw.  It also allows for free painting.  I liked that it assumed that I knew nothing about art.  It is perfect for the beginner.  My older daughter, the aspiring artist, tried the game, found it interesting, and says she will be using it again.

The game teaches about drawing shade for dimension.

Since the DS system belongs to my youngest, it is hard for all the children to use it.  I believe the older ones try not to dominate it.  We are hoping to buy an extra DS for the younger son.  That will make it easier for my children to use this and other educational games that I have bought for the system.

The game allows you to save your picture to a gallery.

Well, thanks for reading about how I am incorporating technology in our homeschooling adventures.  I hope this encourages you to use technology in your own homeschools.

The game allows you to set your artwork on a frame.

What about you, my readers?  Do you incorporate technology in your homeschool?  There are unusual ways to accomplish it.  I would suggest this affordable educational game.

This entry is part of my Tuesday Technology series.  I hope you enjoyed it.

Progress On My Blog Dare

On my calendar, I input my blog entry titles.

I thought I would take some time to review the progress I have made on my blogging adventure.

When I first started blogging this year, I asked my husband to purchase a monthly planner for 2011.  In it, I have logged in what I wanted to write.  For this month, I have erased some entries from the blogging prompts if something of high interest came up in life.  That is why I have an eclectic mix of topics that I have blogged about thus far.

I have been enjoying my blogging.  I have also been frustrated at times, when I knew what I wanted to say but had to think it over before hitting the "post" button.  I am glad to be writing because I have been practicing.  My writing is also having a positive impact on teaching my teens how to write.  Writing is also allowing me to vent when necessary.

Blogging is allowing me to be more creative.  I like taking pictures relating to what I will be writing about.  I get to combine an image to words.  I am enjoying that new aspect that I started to include in this month of February.  I hope to continue using pictures in March, too.

Of course, I cannot go on without saying that I actually started a more formal blogging site this month, here at Blogging With Goodly Intentions.  It was fun to come up with a name, too.  What name could sum up what my reason for blogging was?  That's when I realized what it should be.  I wanted to have versatility within my blogging to include topics of interest to me and my readers.

In the future, I might focus more on educational and/or homeschooling posts.  I want to address the idea of homeschooling in the high school years as I learn along the way.  There is already plenty of information out in the internet about home educating in the lower grades.  I think more needs to be put out for the higher grades, though.  I do hope to contribute to society whatever nuggets of wisdom I can impart in that arena.

What about you, my readers?  Is there some topic you think I could research or discuss in my blog?  Don't be shy.  Just please be reasonable and nice with your requests.  Okay?

God bless you all, my beloveds, with His perfect peace.