Let me begin by saying that we are intentionally using the Level K curriculum in first grade. The Good and The Beautiful publishers recognize that the levels do not correspond with typical grade level expectations. As a former teacher looking through the curriculum there are some components that line up with kindergarten. However, a lot of them are more closely aligned with what a first grader would do in a typical classroom.
I focused on learning through play for Macie Jane’s kindergarten year and I plan to repeat that for my other two children. We did the How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for reading lessons in kindergarten. I firmly believe that if she did not have that strong phonetic background going into this curriculum she would have struggled. It is excellently written and very engaging but would definitely not work to begin instruction in kindergarten.
2 Comments
Jessica Adam
July 27, 2020 at 9:18 amI was so happy to hear your thoughts on the Language Arts being more suited for grade 1. I feel the same way and while we have done well with the Pre-K book, I plan to wait until grade 1. It’s so easy for us to focus on the level that’s on the cover rather than where our kids will be most successful.
mary freundl
September 18, 2021 at 6:36 amThank you for saying this!! My daughter is 6 and we just started tgatb K and she is struggling and moaning if I suggest it (lesson 2!). I was starting to think it was her problem and what is wrong with her? I thought K was for learning letter sounds. I’m putting it away now and going to focus on letters and bonding!