Ok...it's starting to get difficult around here. Both of my boys are independant learners, and learn SUPER FAST on their own, but we made a HUGE mistake trying to get Logan potty trained - grandma offered to send him to preschool if he potty trained. He potty trained immediately, and now wants to go to pre-k. There are NO openings in our town, well, except for all day 5 days a week prek, and that's too much time away from home - he's never even been left with anyone other than family.

He was ok with not doing to school, because we talked about doing "school at home" and that pleased him, but the fact is, he's going through everything I have so fast I don't know what to do. He independantly taught himself his phonics, and is putting words together with magnets, he's not reading yet, but it's close. He's independantly started writing his letters, and yesterday I noticed he was writing words from his word families - at, bat, cat, sat. All of this he has done on his own. I did show him how to make words with letter families with magnets yesterday because he cried he wanted to do school.

He CRIES whenever I help Devin with his school.....he DEMANDS equal time, but I honestly don't know what to do with him. He JUST turned 3, so I don't have any ACTUAL curriculum for him. He's getting frustrated and wanting to do MORE, but what to do?

We have patterning cards and animals for math, tons of puzzles, lots of books, blocks, rinky dinks, lacing cards, pegboard, AND he's STILL demanding more. What do I do with this child? Should I start an actual curriculum? What curriculum would you do?

The thing is, when I'm trying to "teach" him something, he often doesn't seem to "get it". He seems very slow, BUT, when I leave him alone he astonishes me. It truly makes me want to stick with an unschooling approach, but he wants to be "schooled". Until now when he's started crying for me to "do school" with him, I haven't really concentrated on teaching him anything, but now that he's literally crying for me to teach him - I'm lost. I'm very frustrated....this is not really a good thing....how is he still bored?!? He plays with kids 4 days a week....he's not lonely.

Any ideas for more activities? He's writing, loves workbooks (but I hate them), is trying to learn to read (we have no curriculum for this either - we hated 100 ez lessons). He knows his shapes, colors, #'s, nursery rhymes, fingerplays, we play board games daily - (hihocherryo, clifford abc bingo, chutes and ladders and memory) wth else am I supposed to do with him when he's literally crying for more - I feel almost like I'm being mean by not teaching him. He rarely cries, but he's been crying about this a lot lately. "Teach me mama!!"

Any ideas?

Honestly, I don't like workbooks either, but I got Nyah a workbook from Sam's and it has really helped in occupying her while I am with Andrew. I also print activties of the Net.

As for phonics, we really like Phonics pathways. It is interactive and has great techniques. I also do a lot of the games in the "Games for Reading" book.

get him some workbooks and some Bob Books or other phonics readers and just let him run with it!

What about math manipulatives -- a base ten set or Unifix cubes or something? I know there are math mats out there that you could just plop him in front of and let him explore with manipulatives (rather than "teach" it).

Maybe it is time to try science experiements -- things with a bang and a flash. Make ooblecks, make a volcano (or do what I do and hand him a box of baking soda, a cookie sheet, a jar and the vinegar), make "music" in canning jars with colored water and a spoon, make playdough and divide it (fractions) and color it (art).

Send him on scavenger hunts with phonics/picture clues.

Make homemade books of those word families he loves.

Hand him a basket and have him find you "five of something" or "ten red things" or "four things that start with S" from his toys.

Or, you could take everything I have said with an entire shaker of salt and do what I did all day -- pop him in front of the tv, lol. We are having a baaaaaaaaaaaaad week.

Get a big fat workbook and a pack of markers. It will save your sanity. I unschool and can't stand workbooks either....but there are moments in the day when Forr and Madison need my undivided attn. That's when I whip out the workbook.

Don't even worry about "teaching" the lesson on each page, just hand over the book to Logan while you and Devin do what you have to do. Logan will make up what ever he needs out of the book.

Now, this is KEY: Don't let him have the book unless you're doing "school" with Devin.

If you have a Sam's club, they have a great K math book. It's thick, black and white pages, no frills BUT it has gold stars to put on each page once completed.
:thumbsup:

Hang in there....I know where you're at. Mine isn't named Logan, mine is Hurricane Dane. ;)

Katie

Adma beggs me to teach him reading, and we have had REALLY good results and love Phonics Pathways. We do a couple of pages together and I put a little sticker on a paper for him. I took one of those small sticker charts and wrote down the letters in the squares. He gets a sticker in the square of that letter when he learns it. He loves that.

I just bought "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading." It is JUST LIKE Phonics Pathways - except it is all scripted for you. So we are using both of those books now. :)

I would include him in whatever you're doing with Devin. No he may not "get" all of it, but he'll get something and he'll like doing "big kid" stuff. I think this is easier than trying to do a curriculm for him, gives him his "school" time but also allows him to do his own thing. Invite him to be involved, but if he doesn't want to stay allow him to go. I'd have an area available to him with rotating books, math manipulatives, art supplies, a magnifing glass, a map and lego's and let him do his thing. Also, you could arrange time for your oldest to teach him. My oldest reads to the youngers and I think it's really good for all of them. The older learns patience and teaching is the best way to know you know something and the youngers learn to work with and respect the older child. And it frees you up some time.

No ideas, but I am sure he would be so bored in preschool.

Kathy

Things are a little better. A hs'ing friend that I trust dearly has agreed to take him a couple of hours a couple of days a week to "do school" with her 4 yr old daughter (I think mainly just songs, fingerplays and art - maybe some cooking). She's extremely gentle, and I feel comfortable with leaving him with her, even though he's never been left with anyone but grandma, and even then just for a few hours. He's happy and excited, but angry that we won't be riding a school bus. He so desperately wants to ride a schoolbus - I told him we had a homeschoolbus, and he said "It's a van mom" in a very irritated way. I thought I was so slick.....:joker:

Also, I bought a reusable write and wipe book that teaches how to write letters. He knows how to write most of them, but really loves tracing letters anyway - that's something he can do independantly. I think I'll take Katie's advice and only give it to him when I need to work with Devin - it's pretty hard trying to figure out what Devin's needing help with when Logan's screaming he wants to "do school".

The problem with including him with Devin is that Devin really doesn't need much of my help - he's not unschooled per se, he has workbooks, but he does them independantly - only wanting my help when he's got a tough math problem, and then he slides back into his own schooling. He decides what he wants to do, and honestly, he does more independantly than he did when I gave him specific assignments. He does his own science experiments independantly - just wanting to show me what he's doing, cooks his own lunch, only wanting me to be involved in the tasting of it, writes his own poetry, decides which poems he wants to memorize - reciting them to the little ones when he's got them down. I look over his work to see how he's doing - give him feedback, but he's quite bright and motivated on his own (as long as I don't push) so it's not often that I have to help him - but Logan resents it when I do. If I try to get involved it all comes crashing down - which is why he did so poorly in ps. Logan obviously wants it much differently.

We babysit a 3 yr old and a 2 yr old, and we have to take the 3 yr old to preschool twice a week - that's why Logan suddenly wanted to go to school. That and grandma bribed him with preschool if only he'd potty train. It took him 1 day to potty train once she told him that. My family is very against hs'ing - well until last night when she was watching Logan while I painted her bedroom and he was writing "words" for her. Then she commented that she didn't see what he'd learn in kindergarten anyways.

Logan has TONS of manipulatives, puzzles, patterning sets, lacing cards, blocks - most of his toys have an educational element to them, so I consider every time he plays to be preschool - he has constant access to everything I bought for "school" because they are his toys. I looked at the local preschool and thought it was less appealing than our playroom :confused: ?!? But the preschool HAS been teaching shapes and colors to the kids - too bad Devin taught Logan that when he was 1. I agree, other than getting to play with other kids, he would be bored.

I appreciate all your input - I do think it might be time for some Bob books, I bought phonics pathways - but never got it, I suppose I should buy another one, we have mudpies to magnets and creepy crawlies and the scientific method - perhaps it's time to take them down from the shelf and start doing some experiments. Actually - Deving likes to teach Logan, so I can see how both boys could learn something if I let him "teach" Logan science and stand back and let them do some experiments. That's about the only way I can personally "teach" Devin as he prefers to "self-teach".

I think for Christmas we are going to get some Wedgits - I might actually hold those up for "I need to do school" moments.

Anyways - thanks for the input - I feel like I have some ideas now. I was pretty frustrated the other day as I just did not know where to go with the child. I'm not a very good teacher, and I get overwhelmed when they learn too fast for me to make a game plan for the next step, thankfully my kids learn well without me actually doing much "teaching".

http://wtmboards.com/acceleratedlearnerfeb15/index.html

http://hoagiesgifted.org/

Handwriting Without Tears K book would be great for writing.

Good luck. :) Jenn

Sounds like he needs a field trip via the city bus :) That satisfied my kids desire to take the school bus.