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My family is leaning towards public schools, but are considering homeschooling if we feel it can be a better fit in terms of more inspiring, challenging, flexibility, less negative peer pressure.
I don't want to come across as boasting, but our oldest is pretty advanced - wants to learn, starting to read, great memory, inquisitive, will spend hours on her own figuring stuff out - like lego sets. So it seems like homeschool may be a good fit in terms of learning, but I do have some concerns with it that I'll look into.
Is there any homeschool material for a kindergarten / first graders that we could try out now to see how well of a fit it is? I think we would like something a bit more structured - like daily lessons, but trying out a few different things would be nice.
For a 4-year-old: playdoh, storytime at the library, some sightbwirds if they're into it, cooking with parents, cleaning with parents, painting at an easel, learning how to use scissors (start with cutting playdoh if cutting paper is too hard), being read to extensively, lots of picture books, lots of large-motor play (playground equipment, tricycle, scooter, running, gymnastics), legos, etc. Five in a Row is a great curriculum for little ones. A 4-year-olds attention span is about 5 minutes long, so maybe three or four 5-minute sessions of handwriting, simple math worksheets, and sight word or phonics things per day if you want to. Totally not necessary for a small child, though, so if he's not interested, just drop it. The small-motor, large motor, and social opportunities are most important.
With a child of this age though rather than buy curriculum: read, read, read. Also, go exploring in the world - your backyard has a lot of things you can explore from leaves to bugs to flowers and squirrels. For math, let him give money to the cashier and figure out the change. Use cuseinaire rods or other manipulatives to count and to build sets. There is plenty you can do in your normal daily activities to promote learning.
Thanks all. Great recommendations. I love the outdoors and being social, and although I wish my kids had all the same hobbies, I don't push anything in particular. The main thing I want to teach them is to be confident in their own skin and be good people.
Part of the reason why I wanted to start this young is to figure out if myself and other caregivers are cutout for homeschooling. It seems like quite a bit of work.
She spent almost 2 hours the other day putting together a lego set and completed mazes printed on paper today for her quiet time - she does quiet time instead of taking a nap. So I think she could handle homeschooling, just not sure if Mom and Dad could
Our kids go to our local public school, but we try to teach them at home a bit, too, to deepen their learning and to help them follow their interests.
Both my kids learned to read using Bob Books at home (our local library has a couple sets). They seemed to work well because the stories are so short and build sequentially. Your daughter may already be beyond these, but anyway, they worked for us. We got through the Bob Book series doing just 15 minutes a day, most days. Our kids progressed at different rates/ages. My feeling is, if it feels like you're pushing your child and they're struggling, put them away for a couple months rather than trying to slog through. If your kid is enthusiastic and zipping through them, great! I also had them "help me" find words as I was reading stories to them, and eventually progressed to "I'll read a page, you read a page" as we looked at books together.
For math, our kids learn differently and have different interests. Our son loves competitive games, so we have several board games and card games that involve basic arithmetic (he's only 5, so we're still in pretty simple math). He also loves to do addition and subtraction in his head, as fast as he can, like a race. We do that in the car, and he thinks it's a game. Our daughter likes to build things and help cook, so some of our early math involved tasks like measuring, doubling recipes, etc. Our daughter now uses Khan Academy a few times per week and progresses at her own pace. She seems to like it pretty well.
Other than that, we just take them to the library often and find other interesting things to do that sneak in some education while they're having fun. I may have droned on a bit about geology and migratory birds the last time we took them out in our kayaks My daughter is currently obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, and asked to check out a Latin textbook from the library. I'm encouraging the interest but not pushing. I'm sure in a year, there'll be something else that she loves learning about.
If you can, connect with local homeschoolers. There's a few vibrant groups around us, and we know several families who homeschool. Some have more of a religious bent, while others are secular. Some are more structured, and other are un-schooling. I've seen homeschooling done well, and not-so-well (same could be said of public and private schools, of course!). I've also known families who have tried one or the other, and switched.
A 4 yr old does not need a curriculum. Play based activities will do more for learning than a book full of worksheets.
Kids that age learn by DOING, not being lectured to or sitting at a desk struggling with paper and pencil. They are too young for that. Lots of play time, time outside(huge factor in kids development, nature, nature and nature), field trips, library time, games, reading, exposure to ideas. No pressure. No tests. No showing off the kid to other people.
Also, memorization does not equal intelligence. It's easy to confuse the two, but keep that in mind. Kids can memorize anything, it does not mean that they understand it. Quite frankly, it's how lots of high schoolers/college students pass tests, cram the night before, memorize, and take test, then promptly forget everything a week later. They haven't "learned" anything.
There was a story about two homeschoolers who decided to get their GED. They did not study AT ALL for the test. Just went in and took it. Both passed with flying colors because they had learned all the material already, so no need to memorize/study at all. Interesting take on what it means to "learn" or "know" something.
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My daughter is currently obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, and asked to check out a Latin textbook from the library. I'm encouraging the interest but not pushing. I'm sure in a year, there'll be something else that she loves learning about.
