I agree with the above posters. Had one child who taught herself to read at age 4 and been a whiz at all things school ever since. Second child....she's just now become a reader in the past 3 months and she's 8 in the second grade. Each child is different. Play with everything, count everything. Saxon's K curriculum can give you a guideline on what to teach, without making it so formal. Point out shapes "This cookie is a circle. This cracker is a square. That cracker is a rectangle. How are they different?" Six months can make a huge difference in children, so what might be a chore now might be cake in the fall. As for your husband, mine tolerated homeschooling, just kind of humoring me. That was 7 years ago and now he is such a fan! Not only because daughter #1 is advanced, but also because he saw that daughter #2 struggled so much and if in a different situation, she would have been left behind, as most "slower" kids are. She is not stupid, but her development has been a little slower in academics. If your child was in school would hubby expect yearly testing? For reluctant husbands they really need to know that you have a plan. Show him the curriculum and your weekly lesson plans. Show him the schedule you come up with. Show him weekly what you've accomplished. Keep a reading log of all the books you've read. Let your son give you a summary of the stories you'll read and you write it down. (This is great for his language development. Kids learn to make better compositions without having to worry about how to make each letter and spell each word) Do some artwork from favorite parts of stories. Also if your son likes to hear stories, read from a chapter book each day. Show your husband that he is being exposed to stories much more advanced than he would've been in school. Don't get so wrapped up in your son's accomplishment. He will pick up on that tension. After all he doesn't want to disappoint you. Be patient and let him pick up learning at his own pace.
I tried working on that concept with my twin boy's before they were in K and it was NOT happening. They just looked at me with blank expressions. It will come I promise, but I really don't think that is something they even need to start understanding until 1st grade (maybe I'm wrong). :? I'm not worried over it at all. I'm really just trying to enjoy the basics of K.
Thanks for all the great advice. I feel like I can definately do this. It is a huge undertaking and although I have been praying about it and talking to people for over two years. I did not know how involved I would be.
I've felt that way on and off for the last 7 years that I've been doing this! You are more than capable of helping him learn. He will likely have periods where he struggles and periods when you can't quench his learning thirst enough. The first year is really scary, but it is Kindergarten. You can do it!
