Hi everyone! My name is Rita Abend. I am home schooling my 5 year-old daughter. Any advice, suggestions or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks, Rita Rita Abend _________________ Rita Abend Married to JJ 1 Daughter, 5 years old Enjoy homeschooling, gardening, sewing, Mickey Mouse
Hello and welcome! The best I can offer is to allow your child to enjoy her school year. A 5 year old learns so much by playing and hands on projects. She doesn't need a lot of sit down work (formal work) at her age. Have fun and enjoy these years. The school work will get harder as she gets older so enjoy this time and use her natural gifts and curiosity to teach her.
Hi Patty, amlebede, and momto3wifeto1, Thanks for the warm welcome!! I hope I can ask all of you for lots of advice. momto3wifeto1, I really like that you put the books you are using! It is a great help! Rita Rita Abend
Hi and Welcome. Best advice is that if she's not getting it, than it's too early. It doesn't matter what the other kids are doing either. Some forums are really into telling about how their kids are excelling very early on! That's fine, but many don't tell you the problems they have. Also, all the kids' don't "love" it. It appears they do. It's less frustrating if you just wait. Ditto the above poster!:lol: Just have fun and go at her pace for the most part. Not the public school or what you think it should be. Relax and enjoy it.:love:
Hi and welcome! Here are a couple of books that helped us a LOT when we started thinking about homeschooling... Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling: http://www.home-school.com/catalog/pages/mpguide.php3 We checked this out of the library and it was fantastic! It starts at the very beginning - why people homeschool, what homeschooling "looks" like, which kinds of kids (and moms!) do best with which kinds of curriculum, etc etc.. If you can't find it at your library with this title, look for The Big Book of Home Learning, Volume 1. It's the older edition of the same book. Mary Pride also has a website: http://www.home-school.com/ I haven't hung out a lot on the website, so I don't know if it is as helpful as her book. Cathy Duffy wrote 100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing The Right Curriculum And Approach For Your Child's Learning Style. We bought it at a Half-Price Books, but you could check at your library for it, too. It goes through a long list of curricula and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. There are SO many curricula out there, and sorting them out gets very confusing and overwhelming! She talks about whole "box" curriculum programs, which include practically everything you need for the whole year; as well as individual products (different math curricula, or language arts, or whatever), so it's helpful whether you want to go with just one company's stuff or mix and match. I think most people mix and match to some degree. Cathy Duffy also has a website: http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/ I hope that helps!!
Hi everyone, Thanks for the warm welcome. Alilac, thanks for the advice. I will try to remember your wise words when I am struggling. Marylyn TX, thanks for the advice and the great book list. It is exactly what I am looking for. My biggest challenge is finding the right curriculum (for each subject area) that works for both of us. Thanks again. Rita Rita Abend
