First of all, I have a 4 year old who won't be 5 until Sept. I am not sure if I should officially start him in Kindergarten next fall or not. When I send in my letter to the school board I don't know if I should go ahead and put him on there as if he will be starting or wait another year. I guess it doesn't really matter but it may matter further down the road if by some chance I have to send him back. Hopefully that will never happen but I'm just trying to think of everything. Right now he recognizes almost all letters and sounds but can't write. He has a hard time holding his pencil right and really doesn't even like to color. My other thing is I have absolutely no idea what curriculum to use next year for my will be 3rd grader. I have been doing this 2 years now and get so excited about new stuff only to ditch it later. I have been doing lots of reading about Charlotte Mason style and I'm thinking that might be a good match for us. Anyone have any input about this type of learning? I'm still not quite sure. I have so much I want to do with my kids but really I'm lucky to get through the basics everyday. Anyway, any input or suggestions would be appreciated.
As far as getting a lot done in each day, most of us struggle also. I work full-time, so a lot of my plans are just that plans that never go anywhere. However, sometimes we do some cool things- simple science experiments or just a trip to Bass Pro Shops (field trip, OK just a day off really but who is counting?) Your kids are young and you could probably do most of the basics 4 days a week and maybe a half day on Friday, then use the rest of Friday to have a fun day with a planned or unplanned fun event. It could be any of the following (or whatever): a movie with popcorn going to a museum reading books to each other or you just reading to them (since they are young) going on a nature hike building a city with legos or blocks having a pajama day- stay in pj's all day long and do whatever fun comes to mind simple science day- there are many books out there with lots of simple science experiments with household items. cooking making day You get the idea. The great thing is a lot of these things are actually educational. As far as your young one goes. I am in favor of starting formal schooling later, but it all depends on what you want. I don't think it will matter in the long run, even if you put him back in school.
School is not a requirement in any state until 1st grade or 6 years old, so even if you start your younger child in K, you don't need to include him in your form to the school. As for writing, you can work on his fine motor skills other ways: finger painting, playing with playdough, building with legos. They will all strengthen his hand for writing later on. Writing in sand or with chalk can also be fun for kids. Here's a couple of free Charlotte Mason resources: www.amblesideonline.org and www.charlottemasonhelp.com. I'm thinking about incorporating some of the things from those websites next year. I'll also have a 3rd grader and K, both boys. I've mostly been using The Well Trained Mind as a guide so far, but I like the Charlotte Mason method as well.
I agree with Cabsmom. Those are some great ideas. I actually do Friday FunDay even now. We just always did it. The only difference is that my high schoolers will do school 1/2 day (til noon) then we'll head out to something fun. My younger, on the other hand, will have the whole day. In the morning we might bake cookies or play games until the older kids are done. We might go hang out at the mall and buy lemonades, Bass Pro Shop, Freebie Movie at the theater, play date, or ???
I think virtually no-one ever gets as much done as they would like! As long as you are covering the basics (reading, writing, arithmetic), then there is a lot to be learned from everyday life. Kids learn more about most things by doing them than by reading about them, and all of cabsmom's ideas are fantastic to this effect. We also build things (wood, hammer, nails, saw) in the backyard a lot, and because they do it often and are used to it safety isn't an issue. Our homeschool style is heavily influenced by Charlotte Mason. My kids do nature journals everyday (unless it's raining) and on the weekends we all go to the library to borrow a week's worth of books and return the last week's. They get to choose any books they like (7 each), although sometimes I assign a few (living books) if we're doing something in history or whatever that has a good relevant book. I figure that no curriculum is perfect, but by reading loads they will pick up all sorts of things to cover whatever they've missed, and daily reading for simultaneous learning and pleasure is a lifelong habit I consider very important. Hopefully they will still be reading a book a day even when they're in their eighties! And their general knowledge is considerable, due largely to all the books they've read. It also improves spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Basically, as long as they've done the basics (3 R's), read a book, and nature journalled, then I'm satisfied, even if I wanted to do more that day. Charlotte Mason is very user-friendly, customisable, encourages self-directed learning and good learning habits, and best of all, is free. So if you change your mind you don't have to feel guilty
I think this will depend on the state you reside. In CA, we do not file with school board. We file a yearly affidavit with the California Department of Education. We are told not to enroll students who are not yet compulsory age because the state might perceive us as operating a preschool program, which means we are operating unlawfully since the Department of Social Services oversees preschools and not the California Department of Education. To be safe, find out what your state requirements are when filing. Each state is different. Edited: You can still teach your child at home, in CA, even if he/she is not yet the cumpulsory age, he/she just can't be formally enrolled in your school; he/she can't be listed on the affidavit.
I agree with the k kid keep it simple. I would not worry about mentioning that you are starting K yet, next year if you go to First then sign in then. K ideas are- legos ( fine motor skills that will help with holding that pencil) Dot to Dot letters start with crayons! BIG FAT CRAYONS are best for learning to hold it. Same with the K- pencils! BIG AND FAT! do one letter a day or week or whatever works! Teach to write his name. in the beginning that will be enough, but as you progress work in words like CAT SAT MAT FAT THAT WHAT? I had my kids write their own books by First grade using simple words and complete sentences. They loved them and when I re read them now I crack up! some K-ers are ready for this by the end of the year. Do lots of reading, you read he follows your finger on the words as you read the books with lots of pictures! Kids need the pics to get interested in reading the words sometimes. Scholastics has lots of 1 dollar sales online and you can get great deals for K work at the local stores too which is what I used for at least some of my K kids. as far as3rd grader -- I do not know Charlotte Mason style sorry. But It sounds like others do so that is awesome!
I don't believe you need to register your kids with the school board until they are 6 years old. That is the way it is here in Utah, Kindergarten is not mandatory. I have a soon to be 5 year old, that I am helping slowly. He recognizes numbers and most colors. He is excited about school and learning, but I am not pushing him too much. He is learning a lot by exploring, building, and creating. I want him to learn things naturally. Next year is when we will do more of the formal schooling.
Thanks so much for all the replies. Basically what we have been doing after ditching a lot of stuff is just the "3 R's" and nature study. I try to just make learning a part of life but always have the worry that I'm not doing enough. It's good to know everyone feels that way at some point. Anyone else have any input about the Charlotte Mason style?
Maria-there is a house next door to me that is for sale. I think you should buy it! We're doing CM this year. Using AO year 1 with both boys. I might lighten the load of the year 1 a bit, not sure yet. I spent a total of $12 on the books I needed. (most are free public domain books I got for free for the kindle and others I bought at my used book store) I am substituting the expensive biographies for American History for some free resources. Other than that I got everything I needed for $12. I'm putting both boys in year 1 because my oldest is below grade level in LA and LA is my youngest strength so I think it will work well. They'll just do separate math. (and I'm using a free math curriculum) so we're good! I'm really enjoying reading Charlotte Mason's Homeschool Series. (you can read it free online here http://www.amblesideonline.org/CM/toc.html) I really like that she thinks the formal education of a child shouldn't take 10 hours a day. Lessons should be short (10-20 min) and kids should have plenty of free time to explore their interests. My youngest is also in K this year and I'm not filing him with the (cause GA state law and cut off date for birthdays-I dont' have to) HE is trying REALLY hard to learn to read so we'll work on that but basically he just likes to do whatever big brother does so He'll be tagging along with big bro and picking up what he can from it. We start each day off with Bible-devotion, hymn, memory verse, Bible Story. Then we do math worksheets and manipulative. Then we read and explore nature. Reading covers all subjects! That's MORE than enough for early elementary! (Heck-it's more than upper elementary public school kids get after roll call and lining up and bathroom breaks!)
There's a wonderful free ebook called "the big handbook of nature study" that has about 300 lesson plans and ideas, as well as a teacher guide and a wealth of fantastic guidelines for nature journals (e.g. not correcting them, no matter how much you want to!). If you can't find it online (I forgot where I found it!), I'm happy to email it to you. It is simply wonderful, and better than any other books I've read on the subject. Oh, and http://simplycharlottemason.com/ is also quite good for curriculum resources etc. as well as amblesideonline and charlottemason which have also been mentioned.
You can get the Handbook of Nature study for free here http://archive.org/details/handbookofnature002506mbp
I love Ambleside Online that many others have mentioned. We use it in our family as well. And one of the things we are working on, especially as warm weather is upon us is Nature Study. We also use the Handbook of Nature Study, and my children are learning so much from it. Just had to put in my 2 cents worth! Haha!
Oh wow, thank you so much for the awesome info and links! JosieB, my sister lives in Ga. Don't think I'll be moving there anytime soon though it would be awesome to have a neighbor with kids the same age who are homeschooling! My boys would love that (me too!). I can't wait to read up on all the info especially the nature study. Thanks so much!!
