amitymamaThe Attachment Parenting Community

Jennbenr · 03-15-2004, 08:24 PM

My son is almost 3.5 and my daughter is 19 months. Obviously there is not too much to be done with DD (other than colors, shapes and proper names) but I know that my DS is ready to do something.

He counts very well on his own - to 20 or so. He can sing the ABCs and recognizes maybe 50% of the letters when pointed out. Hes a smart boy and catches on quickly. All this said, he is very rambunctious and doesnt sit still for long periods of time.

I want to focus his energy into positive things - writing letters, doing worksheets, reading books, etc. He is growing out of his naptime

so I think DD's naptime would be a good time to do this.

I have no idea what to do...I dont know where to start...I dont even know where to start looking. How do I locate info on my states curriculum? I know that I want to loosely follow CA's curriculum just to make sure that he is inline with or above the other kids his age, ya know? I just feel lost right now...

I think part of my goal is to help him exceed his peers when it comes time for K so that DH will see that he needs to remain homeschooled, at least for a while. If you didnt catch that, DH is not really into HSing as he thinks it will deny the kids the socialization of public or private school. I kinda feel the same but I also realize the negative socialization that comes with it.

Please help in any way that you can. Id like to get started soon as I feel like Im wasting a lot of learning opportunity for them both.

Debrond · 03-17-2004, 06:00 PM

Hi Jenn,

My name is Debbie and I homeschool my 5 year old in Connecticut. Homeschooling is a beautiful, rewarding process and I think it is one of the best gifts you can give your children.

I think your son is so young that the most important thing you can do is let him be a kid. Children learn so much from their play and it is a shame that our society pressures us to make them grow up so fast. Relax, give him creative toys, let him watch and help you bake (make bread and shape the dough into numbers or letters), sew, clean , sort laundry. Take him on nature walks and let him explore the world outside. Nothing boys like more than looking under rocks or searching for dino fossils. lol. Read, listen to music, plant a few flowers and watch them grow. Let the learning continue to happen in a fun and natural way.

In the meantime you can organize yourself and do some research on what type of homeschooling will fit your style. Read about them all and pick and choose what you like from each. Find out about local homeschool groups, they can usually guide you to your state's homeschool laws. There are also lots of places on line or books that can offer you a typical course of study for each grade. So you can get an idea of what goes on in each grade.

www2.worldbook.com/students/course_study_curr0.asp

and the book The Educated Child by William J. Bennett gives a decent grade by grade idea of what a good education should look like.

When my son was 4.5 we started with the book Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons. Now he's just turned 5 and we do about an hour a day of "school lessons."
Social studies: We're reading Children like me. All about kids around the world and how they live. We locate them on the globe.
Math: number writing practice, adding/subtracting with his glass beads that he uses for "hidden treasure play". Counting the yardstick to 36.
Language: He's reading at a 1st grade level, "writes" to family, we read verses and do some workbook sheets
Science: Lots of great picture books on all subjects.
and of course all the basics he needs to know about himself and where he lives.

So officially he wouldn't be ready for "K" till this fall and already he's ahead of his peers. I'm not bragging, that's just what happens when they get the one on one time. So you shouldn't worry. I also don't feel like I'm pushing him cause we do our hour and then he has the rest of the day to play and explore.

I'm almost done but I just want to add that as far as socialization goes. I personally think that school is the last place to get it. Real life provides socialization. Learning to get along with people at the bank, the store, the park. Meeting and being able to talk to people of all ages. School takes kids and divides them by neighborhood, age, grade, classroom (what a narrow little view of the word). As far as being with kids his age there is little league, town sports, going to the library, joining homeschool groups and meeting peers there, boy scouts, music lessons, religious classes, and the "old fashioned" playing with the neighbors" after they get let loose in the afternoon.

I hope this helps you relax a bit and enjoy your sweet kids. You'll do great!

Debbie

mama2cntrykids · 03-18-2004, 10:45 PM

I happen to agree with Debbie. Let him be a kid, they DO learn so much from it. My ds is 3 yo and he knows all of his colors, shapes, a handful of letters by sight, and counts everything insight. He learned these things by asking questions. See what he's interested and help him learn about it. Read, read, read good books to him, explore, give him some play dough and let him imagine to his hearts content. I love watching my ds get excited about something and helping him learn more about it. Some would call this learning unschooling, but I call it child-led learning. As for socialization. Join playgroups, homeschool groups, a Church. When he's older if he's interested he can play sports, join band, join the cub scouts, etc. I believe in homeschooling totally. I hope this helps you in someway.

Also, check out www.magicalchildhood.com. It's a neat site with fun ideas. Good Luck and have fun

!!