I got some of our curriculum in the mail last week and have started homeschooling a little bit. DS4 is really excited about learning how to write so we have been working on some letter and number practice books I ordered. I thought we could work through these before we start school for real in July. That way we can move straight into reading and phonics. Anyway, I am not pushing him at all. We are still getting used to the different dynamic. He can tell something is different from our normal letter practice (I make him hold his pencil correctly, etc). I still want it to be fun, but he can tell something is different. Mostly it has been going well. Sometimes his attention span is really good and we can get quite a bit done (about 30-45 min). Sometimes it isn't and we stop after about 10 minutes. I definitely don't want to push at this point. He is only 4 and I want this to be a pleasant experience. I am just a little worried that, once we start for real, holding his attention is going to be difficult. Usually after letting him have "play time" he will get back to work for a little while. I know we will have more subjects in July so switching between different things will be more exciting. I would love any advice from seasoned homeschoolers about how to handle homeschooling day to day. I want him to get his work done and I want to set reasonable limits. I am not concerned or anything right now. I just want to make sure that I do this right and set up the right foundation for all the years he will be learning at home. Thanks!
It may go better if you just gradually build up to it rather than having a specific "Start Date". Just play it by ear, and gradually start from now and go by his attention span by days, rather than trying to set out a "schedule" even in July. If you don't make a big deal out of "starting for real", but kind of sneak up on it, he might not "spook". For now, just gently remind about pencil grasp, and take advantage of those "30 minute" days, and drop it when he doesn't want to. You can start phonics now with www.starfall.com for example, and just do lots of oral stuff, counting and sorting with little cars and legos and such, talking about colors and shapes, and doing little crafts activities that possibly involve letters, numbers, shapes, colors, patterns, matching, etc.
How does he feel about school? If it's just another part of his life, no big deal, then yes, easing into it like Lindina said would be a good idea. It was the opposite for my son. We did little things now and then like you're doing, but he saw all of his friends "going to kindergarten", with all the associated hoop-la and dance. :roll: He REALLY wanted that. He REALLY wanted the school supply shopping, the anticipation, and all of that. It was like Christmas to him, so that's what we did. I ordered the curriculum, and he knew it, but I wouldn't let him see it until his "first day of school". We still did little things here and there, but when school started, school REALLY started! It was just like all his friends had, except his was at home and theirs was at PS. We decorated a corkboard with back to school stuff, talked about a few ground rules, and so on (simple stuff... just because he's also a stickler for rules... he's a very methodical child and wants everything planned out in advance). Think about your son's personality. Ask yourself whether it would be better to ease into school without letting him know about it, or whether you should make a big deal out of it. And by the way, we also did school for appx 20-40 minutes when we first started "for real". That part doesn't have to change. A low attention span for a 4-5 year old boy is completely normal, and it's why kids in PS get in trouble so much. The expectations for classroom behavior are too high.
DS is incredibly excited about kindergarten. I showed him the stuff when I got it in the mail and he was really into it. In fact, he is going to preschool tomorrow and he asked if we could have kindergarten afterwards. I love his enthusiasm. I know this is going to be a wonderful (and sometimes trying journey) and I really want to get started on the right foot! I want to develop a lifetime of learning in him. We already do lots of fun learning activities that really feel more like games or something like that. I am just so excited about this whole thing. When God first called me to homeschool, I was kind of horrified until I really started doing some research. I wish it was already July! By the way, thanks for letting me know that it's ok to have 30 min days! Any and all comments from people who have done this before would be greatly appreciated. I want to use all of your wisdom and experience!!!
Given your child's age, I would say the 30minute and longer sessions are probably extra long and that the 15 minute sessions are more reasonable. If you can take the shorter sessions and make the most of them, he will be less likely to freeze up because he feels too many demands on him. I know that my daughter does better if I say we are going to do school for x number of minutes then have a break. If we are having a great day and I look to extend our sessions or what I said we would do for the day she accuses me of lying and is more distrustful of the times I give her the next couple of times. Keep in mind that mine is 10 years old and working in longer sessions now. So go with the shorter, build the trust and the working relationship, and see if you can wait until he is ready to take the sessions longer. The more fun it is the more likely he is to be willing to extent the time of his own free will. I hope that helps. Linda Linda Homeschooling one child for 4 years (it doesn't seem like that long!) with Time4Learning~!
Everyone else gave you great advice. I do want to agree with the others... the 15mins is about right. My dd is 6, and in first grade, and I still only have about 15-20mins for her full attention on ANY one subject. I do expect her to put in a 'full day' (haha.. that's about 1.5-2hrs total), but honestly, I'm big on learning, and not big on tons of review, so it works out just about right. It gives me time for a bit of review, a new concept, and then whatever activity to reinforce the new concept. If she needs more review on something, we just skip new stuff for the day (or longer) on that subject and just do review activities. In ps they may need 6 or 8 hrs to cover 5 subjects, but at home, without having to do potty breaks and crowd control constantly, it's MUCH faster and you can tailor it totally to your ds.
