amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

MamaJ · 02-27-2004, 06:22 PM

I am doing a lot of thinking about homeschooling my son, Santiago. He will be 2 this May, but as a 12yr. public school resigned high school English teacher....I am wanting to get "a jump-start". I prepared my Masters Thesis surrounding the concept of homeschooling, but only focused on research data, test scores, pros and cons....etc. I am actually a bit clueless on the whole organization process of homeschooling. I am very organized and don't want this to all of a sudden just creap up on me!!! Anyway, I have read many of the posts concerning this topic and have frequently heard ,"Five in a Row" mentioned for toddlers. Hmmmmmmmmm, exactly what is this? Can anyone share ideas about working with an almost 2-year old with something like this. Thanks so much!!!(((((

librarymama · 03-04-2004, 10:23 AM

Five in a Row is a literature based unit study. You read the same book to your child each day for 5 days, and integrate other activites outlined in the FIAR book. You may stick a little marker on a globe or map, look at the artwork in the book, learn a few words in a different language...all sorts of things.

There are many different FIAR volumes to choose from, including one called Before Five in a Row, which might be better suited to a 2yo.

There's a Five in a Row website, which includes forums. I don't know the addy, but you should be able to pull it up on google. It lists all the books used in each volume. You can use that to see if they're the type of books your child would be interested in at this age. Most are available at public libraries, but a few will entail some hunting down.

Having said all that, my kids really didn't like FIAR. The books themselves were okay, mostly, but some of the activities seemed dumb to them, and spreading it out over 5 days (or even 3 days) drove them nuts. I just sold my BFIAR, as I found in nearly worthless for our family. If it all possible, figure out a way to try before you buy (borrow it from someone, for instance). One of the wonders of homeschooling is that what works wonderfully/perfectly for one family will drive another up the walls, sending them screaming into the streets, or whatever. But, hey, that's why we're homeschooling -- so we can tailor our programs to suit ourselves.

You might investigate the homeschool shelves at your local public library now with an eye to actually *doing* rather than reporting outcomes. You're likely to find books describing various types and styles of homeschooling, and can then start investigating the ones that appeal to you and seem like they would mesh with your child. Who knows, you may decide to go with something that delays academics until age 6, or decide to unschool. There are also websites that will lead you through the major types of homeschooling (classical, unschool, unit study, Charlotte Mason, etc.) and link you to other sites that give more detailed info.

If you're dying to get started on something now, you might also want to look into Montessori. There are several books on doing Montessori in the home, particularly during the preschool years, and some really excellent online resources for Montessori-type stuff to do with toddlers. One online resource is the Yahoo email group playschool6, which will link you to most other Montessori resources online.

amamasluv · 03-04-2004, 03:07 PM

Slow and Steady, Get Them Ready is also good for 2year olds.

marchroses · 03-05-2004, 12:41 PM

lots of books and art exploration, walks where we talk about what we are seeing, fun trips to the library and local children's resorces. We've done some activities out of BFIAR but generally just on one day...reading the book together and then picking 2 or 3 activities from it for the afternoon.

My son's favorite approach was to expand on whatever his current passion was. When he was 2.5 he loved sharks and wanted to hear about them all the time. We arranged a trip to an aquarium, checked shark books out of the library, practiced cutting out shark pictures that I printed off the internet to make a shark collage, sang shark songs and fingerplays and then a big trip to Sea World (over the course of about a month).

Now that he's turning 4 his favorite approach is to try to replicate something that he's seen someone else do. So when his good friend had done a big patterning project in Kindergarten and brought it to show him, Nick got really excited about patterns and we started with stamping patterns, playing pattern games and doing pattern collages...

Just following his interests gives him incredible momentum and it's so much fun!

Jenn

familymama · 03-26-2004, 03:37 AM

Hey Jennifer!

We have been looking into homeschooling too. There are so many different approaches out there. The arts are extremely important to Shawn and I although we were/are very academic also. So right now we are focusing on a strong grounding in arts and therefore looking into a waldorf based approach for Margeaux. Also lots and lots of reading. I have a feeling as the years progress our approach will change. We have just started learning about classical education and need to learn more. I think that might be a good match down the line. It would be fun to get together and talk about this. I would also be interested in what you learned in your research. Tell everyone hi for me!

Robin · 06-21-2004, 10:00 PM

Hi, Jennifer, we are planning on homeschooling. I have Slow & Steady Get Me Ready and I really love it. We do alot of reading and are planning to use Sonlight prek in the fall with both E and G.

I try to look for books that will spark their minds. We have lots of books on animals, bugs, and nature. We get Zoobooks and Animal Baby and the boys love them. I am always on the look out for books that talk about colors, abc's or numbers. The boys both love reading so this is a good fit for us.

skyblue · 06-22-2004, 02:50 AM

The little hands books are great to use. You can check them out on E-Bay. I have Math Play! up for auction at E-Bay right now. A fellow homeschooler I know here in GV has the Slow and Steady Get me Ready and it sounds good as well.

Jenn