I haven't read this book, mostly because I didn't start homeschooling until my son was in 7th grade. BUT, I wish I had and I wish I had homeschooled him from the beginning. My son had a hard time with some things in school. I remember when they were trying to teach him to read in pre-K. He could sound out some simple words with a lot of effort, but wouldn't remember what he sounded out a few minutes earlier. His teacher even wanted them to take a list of words and write several sentences for homework. I had to help quite a bit. I figured out some good sentences and asked him if he wanted to write such and such. Then I told him the letters to write. If that wasn't the dumbest thing to expect from someone who was clearly not ready to make up sentences. When I enrolled him in pre-k, I thought I was doing a good thing--you know a good head start to a good education. Now, I see that getting started too early may just do the opposite. If a child is not ready to learn-the discouragement can damage their love for learning. It can make them feel that they are not good enough and that they are failures. The authors of this book (Moore) advocate NO formal schooling until at least 8 years old or even as late as 10 or 12. They say that when kids are really ready they will be able to catch up to "grade level". The say that kids are not really ready (most of them) until those ages, especially boys. I do know that there are people out there who want to push as much as early as possible. Some even attempt to create "super-babies". There was a harvard professor (Boris Sidis) who succeded teaching letters to his son by 6-8 months. He could read at a high school level by two years old and write articles in other languages by four. BUT his son grew up miserable and could not relate to people well and wanted nothing to do with his father. I know some people want their children to learn how to read or other things as very young children, but is it worth it? Is it wise to replace play and other wonderful things with memorizing letters and numbers. EVEN if they CAN perform, should we really ever do this? I may just buy a copy of this book, it sounds wonderful to me and I can always pass it on or loan it out to parents of small children.
I "sort of " subscribe to this philosophy. I think 8 is a little late for my kids, but if a person's children are not ready until 8 or 10 or 12 then they simply aren't ready. People always point to the fact that small children are like sponges and there is an optimum time for learning. Typically they point to a very early age for this "sponginess" but I disagree. Each child is different. When I enrolled my son in K I knew he wasn't ready. Unfortunately I needed a babysitter. This is a common reason as to why children are put in pre-school and kindergarten - parents need to work and free daycare is appealing. Luckily - he went to a Catholic school and so since I was paying for his education I asked the teacher to just let him do his thing that year. If he needed to repeat K next year - so be it, just don't push my child. She was wonderful and he had a blast in K. The next year we started to homeschool and yes, we did start with K - but by the end of the year he had completed both K and 1st grade. Fast forward 6 years and we are still doing great. Some areas he is ahead and some areas he is right on track for HIS time line. Some kids need time. Some kids need A LOT of time. They should get whatever they need.
I think the issue here is motivation. If a child is not motivated at age 4 or 5 what will make them motivated at age 8 or 10? Motivation for learning best comes from within. Not all children are motivated to learn, but some live for learning. I can't help but think that maybe peer pressure is the underlying motivation for a child of 8 or 10 who is now ready to begin structured learning. More important than the age formal education starts is the atmosphere of learning in the house. A house where learning is a part of life would be more conducive to bringing about inner motivation to learn because learning is something natural and fun. A house where learning is some future event when a child goes off to school would be less likely to bring about a child who is motivated to learn. I am an advocate for unschooling during the early years, but it is helpful to remember that every child is different. Many believe young children who have learned much have been pushed. Some of those children are the ones doing the pushing. Unschooling, IMO, is active though. It isn't a wait and do school later attitude. It approaches learning differently and actively. It provides children with exposure to different experiences and activities. It sees normal everyday activities through the eyes of learning. I wrote this article on unschooling today that describes how we utilize unschooling even with formal schooling. So to sum up I guess I would say unschooling to age 8 or 10 - yes. Doing nothing until age 8 or 10 - no.
I can get behind a philosophy of not forcing learning. I think kids learn at a natural pace ON THEIR OWN when left to their own devices. All three of my kids read before 5....but my oldest was the only one I worked with. The others - it was natural to them....I didn't force anything. Children are naturally sponges, and naturally curious. If you feed that curiosity, they will learn. If you CRAM the learning into them - they will vomit it out...but what do they really know? Right? It is a lesson learned too late, often.
I agree that children are better able to learn later than earlier. 2 of my 3 kids that are reading learned at age 7. My now 10yo is above grade level and loves to read as long as it is a book that interests him. My current 7yo loves to read but isn't quite at grade level. I am not pushing her though because I can tell that she needs to do this on her own. I do have a book of lessons that we will cover once in awhile when I can tell she needs a more formal reading lesson, but she is doing great just learning by herself. My 6yo was so jealous when his older sister started reading that he went to his room and sat in a corner surrounded by books for 3 days. At the end of the 3 days he came to me and asked if he could read me a book. He read me 3 books (all K level) with only a little help from me. I was so impressed. He completely taught himself to read. My 5yo is not ready and when she is, she will learn. I know that is some areas my kids are behind but I am ok with that because we move at their pace, not the pace set by our district. Some people have noticed that my kids lack info in some areas, and I have recieved many quizical looks and comments, but they don't bother me. I just tell them we haven't covered it yet. I read a book that was written by a friend of mines friend and it explains this whole concept about waiting to learn. It was so insightful to me and put quite a few things in perspective. If anyone is interested in the book PM me and I will send you to her website so you can download a free copy of it.
I have been trying to get this book from my library for a while now! I couldn't remember the title of the book though, lol. Thanks for this one. I have a big interest in this particular topic, Earlier vs Later learning. If I could build my own school, I'd like to channel it toward later learning, but if I were to homeschool my children, I'd want to try earlier learning with them. Talk about conflicted philosophies, lol. I just hate the idea of putting young children in a desk or classroom to learn, but I dont want to damage my children by letting them wait to learn so that they may be ostracized, so I am interested in infant education and bonding. Does anyone know of any other books on this topic? Yeah, lol. But who's to say it was primarily because (or in any way related to the fact that) he was taught from a very young age. Alot of people grow up disgruntled, maladjusted and hating their parents. I have been trying to find more information and books on people like William J. Sidis (The son, if I remember his name right.) One book about Myth vs Fact concerning prodigies seemed interesting in particular, but I haven't been able to get a copy of it. Does anyone know of other books that deal with prodigies or any (authoritative) studies and articles on this? I have been looking for
I was an Early - I had "intuited" how to read simply by being read to. I was an only, so I got all the reading there was from both parents. Nobody set out to teach me, I was just ready to absorb it. I was already reading when I started school - there was no kindergarten; I started at age 5 in first grade. The teacher wrote her name on the board the first day - and turned around slowly and asked, "Who's reading over my shoulder?" I raised my hand. She told me many years later that her next thought was, "What am I going to do with that one????" My dd, too, was ready early. I taught her some letter sounds and combinations, and read to her A LOT. By the time she was 4, she was writing her own lists of rhyming words (hat, bat, cat, sat, etc.). By fifth grade, she had been placed up and placed up until she was in the 8th grade reading class. Others are not quite so ready at that age. Everyone on his own timetable.... I found while working in public school that 8-9 is about the "key time" for boys. The poor little guys had already been labeled as "failures" by the time I met them, usually in second grade having failed either kindergarten, first, or second grade, or maybe two of these. Then suddenly POW! In the middle of second grade, reading started making sense to them, and soon they were (usually) indistinguishable from their classmates who had picked it up in kindergarten. Everyone on his own timetable.....
Many European countries don't start "formal" education until age 8, our 3rd grade. But they do have "schools"-just not formailzed learning where a child has to attempt a standard. There are many many philosophies supporting this-but in rrecent years the academic challege of USA vs. Japan has won out. We win the race in elementary ,but lose horribly when it comes to hs (and college.) I have found that girls tend to WANT to learn earlier-and boys are more focused right around age 8. The only 2 things I think is really good for early early learning-classical music (it's really the only time they can be forced to listen to it haha) and other languages rather tahn the inital language at home. But these two things are simply because early exposure makes later learning easier.
You know, I've been thinking and praying about this a lot lately. I knew when I was pregnant with my first our plan was to homeschool, but hubby insisted on PS. So we sent our oldest off to PS for prek and k. Next year for 1st he'll be homeschooled, and this last week God has just really spoke to me and laid it on my heart to unschool. I had our year all planned out (well our semester at least-through Dec) I mean seriously planned http://gapeachhomeschool.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/curriculum-for-fall/ Unschooling always appealed to me but I was so afraid hubby would flip out if he found out what it was and that I wanted to use that method! LOL Well, Friday, I got the book Christian Unschooling: Growing Your Children in the Freedom of Christ and as I was in bed reading it the other night hubby asked "What's unschooling?" I sent up a very small prayer LOL and proceeded to tell him about unschooling. He seemed okay with it. Just a little while ago I told him "We need to talk." and we talked about unschooling our own kids. About how Ephram had hated school work, no longer wanted to be read to, didn't like to learn, ect due to the pressure of PS KINDERGARTEN!!! I told him I wanted to unschool the kids. He had a few stipulations, but for the most part is supportive of at least trying unschooling. I still have to do math, phonics and spelling. But no forcing him to read this year, no worrying about state standards or grade level or what other (PS) kids his age are doing ect (other than we have to attend the co-op classes we have already paid for from mid Aug-mid Dec) I just feel this is what God wants from our family, that this is His plan for us. (I'm even crying as I type this!) I just think kids don't get a chance to be kids. I want my kids to be kids, be free, and not have their natural curiosity and love of learning killed by some government institution and it's rules and expectations and it's molds that everyone is expected to fit into nicely! I'm not opposed to textbooks (I'm sure we'll acquire quite a collection of science texts LOL my oldest LOVES science) or workbooks. I just think I should get textbooks and workbooks and other resources based on what my children want to learn. God made them special individuals, through unschooling, I think we can nurture the unique gifts and aptitudes God blessed each of them with.
The darn thing is it is so hard to know what is right for each child, and I only have one. Gizzy, I think you made a valid point. We don't know exactly why William Sidis grew up to be maladjusted or why he hated his father. It could have been the attitude his father used while trying to get his son to such an advanced level at an early age. If the attitude was all about academics without regard to his son's feelings and needs, it may have pushed his son into thinking that he really didn't matter-just what he could do mattered. On the other hand if we expose children to opportunities without force or pressure-maybe no harm will be done. I just think it is a fine line between guiding and pushing. Some people know where that line is and some don't. You can see it in sports. A father will think that a team sport is good for his son (and it can be). The father thinks it is good to attend the practices (and it can be also). BUT, some fathers think they should "encourage" their sons to do better, but some are really just showing disappointment. They say, "Come on, you should have been able to.....". In their mind, they may think they are just helping or maybe even toughening up their child. But the child knows the motivation. If a child is ready to learn to read early-then fine, but only to the extent they are ready. I don't have it all figured out and we are at the high school age now. I don't want to push my son beyond his abilities. But, I also don't want to have low expectations for him.
I have that book too Praise God you and your dh are on the same page. It sounds like unschooling would be a good fit for your son right now.
I am so thankful that I started looking into homeschooling when my oldest was 3. It gave me so much time to read pretty much EVERYTHING online and off that I could put my hands on. I opted to go the unschooling route for my kids while they were under 8, and from where I sit, it has seriously paid off. They have retained their thirst for learning, which has always been my primary goal in our home education. I figure that as long as they retain a love for learning, when they come across something I failed to teach them, they'll have the desire to pursue it. About the one thing I actually like about PA - one of the most regulated states to HS in - is that you don't have to register them to HS until they are 8. It's looking more and more like we're moving to GA, and while I am glad for the less regulation, I'm gonna hate having to register my kids for school at 6.
I know. The thought did creep into my head to just unschool and hope he didn't notice LOL but I decided quickly that was not a good idea. I'm so glad we talked about it, I honestly did not think he would be on board but I am sooooooo excited now that he is!
Definitely, I have to say that no matter how many studies have been conducted by any number of well meaning "Early ChildHood Experts" they haven't studied MY child or MY students, and they are an "expert" based on the evaluations they have made of ONLY their subjects in just a single dimension of that subjects life, so while their guideline is appreciated it, it can hardly be taken for the ::Bible of Baby Care or Childcare or whatever, lol. Yeah I know, thats why I'm so determined to get that book on Myths and Prodigies and also to look deeper into Prodigies in general. Its possible he was abused by clergymen, relatives or his parents. That his neigbors shunned him, that children teased him, that he simply didn't like people. I know there are days when I dont like anyone. He could've been a disagreeable sort of fellow or arrogant or unable to cope with the slow-wittedness of the masses. There are a thousand or more reasons why he could've turned out that way. Including the possibility that he did NOT turn out that way. That some minor incident or characteristic of his was reported with bias and/or exxageration and people have just gone from their, stating their opinion or 'feeling' or 'interpretation' of the situation as fact. Plus, many brilliant people who lived before their time, so to speak, were ostracised simply because they were too far "out there" for Mainstream to vibe with them. Its like if a kid were to be born who could use telekinesis or something, they'd never mesh with society. I know! This is the facinating part. This is the part that I am most interested in, it is why I hope to teach my children through infancy and into toddlerhood. By the time they are old enough to articulate their own desires and preferences is the moment I want to begin unschooling my children. I have always hated desk work for children, even when I was a child! I want to help my kids avoid the Pre-K to 3rd grade "grind" of school if they dont want them. I have never understood why we are force fed bits and pieces of arithmetic for 8 years then expected to "get" algebra in just two. I prefer the idea of delaying "formal" math instruction until the child is older. Then covering Arithmetic, Algebra, and Calculus in 2-3 years a piece with a comprehensive but fluff free fashion. I'm interested in Mental Arithmetic and will be training my children in Mental Arithmetic from 0 all through the Unschooling Phase. I hope that I'm blessed in such a way that I can provide my children with a wide variety of "extracurricular activities" such as Gym, swim, martial arts, and even a couple of sports like soccer, because these are all activities I feel should be explored and enjoyed in the first 8-10 years of life. There is nothing "Extra" about them to my mind. . I have always bemoaned my inability to float or do a backflip. It'd be silly to not actively help my children have this experience. This is another one of the tricky parts. This will vary with each child, even in siblings or multiples, I'm sure. Because each child is, ultimately, their own unique individual and while they can be guided in the same why you can depict a human with a some basic shapes and shades, the complete blend of these things is always going to throw you at some point. Personally, based on many of the things that people say, I feel like they are over thinking the simplest things. I dual-enrolled at a trade school when I was freshman, I delayed my graduation to do so because the tuition was free to HiSchool Students BUT I wish that I'd dual-enrolled at my local college and done half days at TRADE and half days at JC because I'd finished my home academics already. But thats just me. You might want to check around and see if there are any alternate education centers around.
wow reading these posts has really made me feel better about my 7 yr old son's reluctance to read. It makes me feel bad when some of his younger hs friends ask "how come you can't read?" I was perfectly content to let him go at his own pace, I just didn't know his pace was going to take this long! oh well, we'll just keep practicing.
I am a fan of better late than early. Although I haven't actually read the entire book. I felt too guilty for not homeschooling from the begininning. (it is all about the guilt) anyhow, I noticed recently that my boys demonstrated this point just this spring. They are 13 and 10...they had not yet (either one) learned to ride a bike. They have started to get to the point where I am willing for them to have a little more freedom in going to the pool or a friends home or whatever, but thier option was to walk. (not long distances but certainly would be faster on wheels.) SO they decided they wanted to learn to ride the bikes. We agreed that the bikes they had were not terribly appropriate. (too small, had been purchased years ago for them to learn, and one old one that had been a hand-me-down) BUT I wasn't wiling to buy a new bike for them to learn so, they had to use what they had and after passing a skill level test. (riding up our gravel hill at least 3 times) they could get a new bike. Both learned in less than 2 days, and passed the test within a week. Their skill level has skyrocketed, and within two weeks I was comfortable with their riding to a friends house. without thier own motivation, it just was not happening. I am trying to remember this in reference to Algebra.
oh, and forgot to mention that in a burst of unanticipated maturity, my eldest is still using the hand me down bike, because he wants a larger bike, but hasn't quite hit his growth spurt. (expecting it ANY day now) and so he wants to wait on the new bike.
Here the thing that my heart is actually beginning to understand: LOVE is THE key to any situation with kids. If we love them, but don't expose them to ALL that the world offers, they will be OK. If we expose them to every possible opportunity, but don't love them--it will be empty. If we love them, but can't afford expensive vacations (or any vacations), they will grow up knowing they are loved. If we take them to every continent and spend bucketloads of money, but don't love them--we waste money and they grow up feeling empty again. You can fill in any situation-sports, academics, cloths, or what not. With love-things will be OK whether you have or not. Without love, NO thing can make them feel worthy or whole. LOVE is the key to homeschooling. There is NO curriculum that will assure our children's success. We may have gaps here or there, but the benefit we have with keeping our children home is that we can love them all the time.
