Not to thread jack but I'm especially interested in knowing how it goes if you do them together or separately. Still not quite sure how I'm going to conquer that one yet.
I have done nothing formal AT ALL with my daughter that just recently turned 4. All we have done is play - read books, playdough, puzzles, crayons, etc. I give her a pad of paper and some crayons or pencils, glue and scissors and she goes to town and has a blast. With that being said........ just from playing and NOTHING formal she can write her name, counts to 100, knows all her letters and numbers by sight and can cut on a dotted line. She is also begining to read. She can spell simple words like cat and frog and knows simple math. She learned all of this just by playing and all while I was homeschooling my 5th grade daughter. Playing and being read to is the most important thing at this age. I also work from home doing my husbands paper work for his business and I am opening my own business I will run from home. It can be done!
A little sidewalk chalk, finger paints, play dough, and paper and you have all the tools you will need to teach your children colors, shapes, and how to write their names and possibly beginning to read. At this age, they learn as they play. Patty
I will tell you from experience that my daughter did not learn what she knew before kindergarten from going to preschool. She went into preschool at 3 1/2. Not because we wanted to send her, but we had no choice because I had to get a full time job to get us in a better financial state. Dh had already been working two and dd was at an age where we BOTH needed to be home at night. Anyhow, even before preschool we played a lot, but I involved a lot of abc's, counting, making patterns with blocks, cut out shapes, ect. I'm not a teacher, I don't even have a college degree, but I knew at a young age I had a bright one on my hands and just "playing" wasn't going to cut it. I agree, let them be children, let them play, but I also think it's VERY important to build fine and gross motor skills at a young age when they are still developing. While you are building up those skills, throw in the other things with it. Sit them down with some ABC blocks and work with one letter, hide it under cups with 2 other blocks and have them find the A, do the same with numbers. Play hide and seek with that same idea. There is so much you can do to teach them. And while reading to them is very important, it's important to do a lot of hands on activities. i'm a bit institutionalized myself as far as schooling goes so I had dd working on writing her letters at 3 lol. I didn't push it, but I worked with her. I'd have her trace zig zag lines, and squiggly lines, circles, other shapes ect. But I know for a fact what she knows now, is not because of preschool. In preschool she learned how to imitate other behaviors around her- some not so good, she learned to demand attention- while some preschoolers learned to take turns, she just learned to be more demanding, she learned to whine more and how to babytalk- something we have NEVER done. On a positive note she learned that she wasn't the only child in the world lol. SHe's an only child and it did teach her to be more aware of those around her- not that it really stuck because she has sensory issues, but really it wasn't an all bad experience. Last years preschool wasn't necessary, but since she'd been in daycare/preschool the entire year before we knew it would be a HUGE shock to her system to not have anything. She went 3 mornings a week and loved it. Her teacher was wonderful and while she didn't really learn anything new, she did master what she had been learning all along. You CAN do this, and do make it fun. Don't worry about "teaching" them from books. Worry about fine and gross motor skills, learning to hold pencils correctly, there is so much you can do. I kind of wish dd was still that age, I miss the playdoh days lol.
Sidewalk paint is great for colors! You can make a hopscotch board (whatever that is called...lol) out of the colors and have them roll a dice with the corresponding colors. They will then have to jump on that spot...or jump and stop on that spot...something like that. YOu can do that with numbers and letters also. Also...you can have one or two paint with the color of the day...red and paint apples and stress letter A. While they are doing that work with the other one on one practicing writing or something. www.tlsbooks.com Another site with free preschool printables. There is nothing wrong with teaching at an early age as long as it is no pressure! My 2 year old knows her colors and shapes. There was no pressure...just humoring as I said. Whenever you are out talk about the colors of things. Go on a walk and talk about the colors and how many trees. Have them collect things on a walk. Things that are green...two of the same things...things that start with a certain letter...etc. I think you are wise to prepare your little girl with the anxiety disorder. I am sure that being prepared for the material will help her adjust to a new environment. Preschool can be done in about 2 or less hours a day. The attention span is too short for more. Two hours is too much for all new learning. I am including playtime, clean up and independent play in that. Actually...even everyday is not necessary. However, if you make it fun they will want to do it anyway. Alot of Kindergarden programs are about a few hours a day. However, with three kids and working one on one with each of them...I suspect it will take 2 hours.
My dd did this with an inexpensive spiral scrapbook. You can also add pages for colors, shapes, numbers, etc. I think this is what all of us are really trying to say. There are many ways to teach children, and at the preschool level, most learning is done through hands-on activities. I was a preschool teacher for years. I was not a worksheet teacher (they were used few and far between). We had a theme each week (something you might consider) and planned activities to go with the theme. We did lots of art/crafts, stories, games, songs, and dramatic play (making it go with the theme). We did have a circle time each day where we talked about the weather, did the calendar, etc.
All three of my older kids went to preschool. My middle child started school in the public school at 3 years of age for speech. Looking back I wish I would've just left them at home and let them spend time with me. To just be kids. They grow up way to fast. I'm actually embarrassed that my middle son has been in school as long as he has. My mom always told me not to rush the kids to learn things for school. That they will learn them when they are ready. Kinda like when your kids are learning to walk or ride a bike. It's so easy to compare them to what the other kids are doing. But just because they don't learn those things at the same pace as others doesn't mean that they will always be behind OR ahead for that matter. Just enjoy your kids. They aren't kids forever. Unfortunatly :wink: Angela
I have to agree with this wholeheartedly. If you read with them, sing songs with them, etc. to informally teach, that foundation will be there when the concepts are presented in the classroom. If they learn to do all kinds of amazing things before they go to school, that is awesome, but don't pressure yourself too much since at that young of an age their abilities vary so widely. My advice would be to try to get them on some kind of general schedule, especially if they are not "go with the flow" type kids--like mine many days!! Also, working on following directions and listening skills. 6 years of 5th graders taught me that those things cannot be stressed enough!:lol:
Now firstly, I must confess that I haven't read all of the other posts in this thread, so if I am repeating anythin, please forgive me. Other than that, these were my thoughts..... Before learning to read/write/use scissors, children need to develop fine motor skills. There are loads of activities you can do to help with this, including: 1.play dough - I can give you a recipre to make your own if you want it, and you can buy all sorts of shape cutters, including alphabet ones if you're keen. But an old colander, cookie cutters, plastic knife and rolling pin are just as much fun. 2. Posting things - toys, pieces of paper, anything at all, into other containers, containers with slits in the lids, evnelopes...you get the idea 3. craft projects - bearing in mind that the process, not the product, is the important thing. Use glue, sticky tape, blue tac, old food cartons, egg cartons, paper, string, straws, pipecleaners, paint, crayons....be creative and go wild! 4. Finger paint - mix shaving foam or lux pure soap flakes and powder paint. Smear the whole gooey mess onto a craft table, the kids make pictures in it with thier fingers, then place a piece of paper over the design to make a print. 5. sand play, water play - pouring, tipping, moudling etc. 6. do jigsaw puzzels - we used to get them from a toy library - do you have those over there? 7. Threading - make a threading kit with string/wool/scooby strings and anything that can be threaded but is not a choking hazard eg old cotton reels, large beads, macaroni noodles, circle shaped cereals (we used fruit loops, but again, I'm not sure if you have those) 8. lacing - you can buy lacing sets, but it's really easy to make them. Get a piece of sturdy cardboard, cut it to any shape you like, hole punch around the edges, use shoelaces to practice threading in and out through the holes. eventually you can teach them to tie them up too. 9. Painting, drawing with pencils, crayons, textas etc If I were in your postition, I would arrange my day so that we did some kind of project in the morning (i.e. one of the above), then I would try to do my work. Hopefully they all have a nap, and there will be times they can play themselves. I am not a big advocate of TV, but sesame street and similar programs are great - kids love them, they teach colours, numbers, letters etc, and parents can get other stuff done too! I would use that within reason without hesitation. At some point in the day, the kids will need to get outside too ofcourse, because they are also practicing their gross motor skills. They need to run, jump, twirl, climb and explore. It's really good developmentally for the to search for things too, solve problems, create role play dress up games. If you give them just a tiny nudge in the right direction, they will probably teach themselves everything they need to know anyway. Sorry this was so long. Hope some of it helps, and good luck. You can do it!
Keep in mind that kindergarten was FIRST DESIGNED to get children ready for first grade. Firist grade was where the "real" learning started. Kindergarten was a time to focus on all those "readyness skills". But now, the children are being forced to "learn" at a younger age, just to satisify the idiots who believe that children need a "head start" to make them "competitive". HEY!!! If learning at four is a good thing, learning at three is even better, and if we can get them writing their names and reading at two, how great is that!!! Then they can start doing Higher math by third grade, and will be ready for college at 15!!!
I'd like to say something about the bi-polar thing. I am actually bi-polar. I really thought long and hard about how much patience I was going to have. I have three kids, one is 9, one is 6, and one is 4. After dealing with the public school system there was no other way for us. We can't afford the private school that is here, so we are now homeschooling. . .all three of them. We make a lot of financial sacrifices so that I can stay at home. Our home is only a three bedroom, so two of the kids have to share a room. We only have one car; it is used but mechanically sound and we don't have a car payment. God provided my husband with a job with a worktruck he is able to take to and from home. We have to budget for a once per month outing. Things of this nature. But I like our simple lifestyle. (There are families up here who live simpler lives, such as no electricity. They feel you don't need it. We live in the Catskill Mountains.) We can't pay for Karate and dance classes, but we make up for this by enrolling the kids in the youth soccer and little league programs. I started homeschooling ds9 four or five months ago. I just pulled ds6 out of school a couple of weeks ago, and I'll never send dd4 there. I'm giving myself time to get acclimated to this new life of not living and dying by the clock. If we don't get to something one day, I don't freak out. After all, I will have til they are 18. It's funny, but I've found that the more time I spend with them, the more time I WANT to be around them. There are days that I lose my patience and on those days I realize when to take a break. Some days we just quit and go to the park, or we play a game together. Last week I was starting to yell at ds6 about making backwards "s's". Then I put my head in my hands and thought, "He won't be making backward "s'" forever. Get over yourself and enjoy your kids." So that is what I did. I put on a classical cd, read to them a couple of chapters from a Boxcar Children book, and they got out the craft box and made some stuff from old Christmas wrapping paper. I was right in there with them enjoying myself. Just because you have a condition that makes you ecstatic one day, and ticked off at the world the next. . .don't let that be the reason. I came to the hard realization that I had become one of those people who don't like being around their kids i.e. getting their inlaws to babysit three or four days per week because they need a break from them. That has changed now, and I love the time we spend together. Our days are filled with a lot of humor. I'm so surprised how much of a practical joker ds9 is. I wrote this to give you hope, not to rant at you; to let you know that there are people just like you who are successfully homeschooling. Your kids are young, so I would say give it some time before totally committing to sending them out the door all day every day. Their education and socialization is what matters. The public school system just don't meet these needs. In fact they could care less about kids. Ds9 didn't know his multiplication facts when I pulled him out of school and no one knew this. They were ready to send him on to the next grade without this skill. He was dealing with bullies of the worst kind, and the teachers told him to just ignore it. . .so it got worse. This is the "education and socialization" my ds9 got.
LOL Jackie! Well said Although we withdrew dd from ps here because they weren't teaching her anything. They weren't doing anything fun either! I don't know what they were doing all day. All I know is I picked her up, she complained of being bored and she was always wound like a top. They sat around a lot at their tables I know, or in group reading. I remember reading and writing in K, but I went to a private school. But we did a lot of craft type things, games, ect. Dd didn't do any of that really. I must be doing something right now that she's home lol, she's one tired pup by 2pm every day. We play hard, work hard, and use our brains a lot- that what she tells people lol.
The school next door is having all day K next fall, a class of 122 Kers. They are adding 8 classrooms to accomodate them. One of the ladies at our bank has twins going there, and she attended a parent info meeting recently. These Kers will be given grade one work. Each subject will get covered for an hour, but broken up over the day. They were told it would be just like first grade. I wouldn't send a child into that setting without at least some formal learning. Everything is so different from when most of us were in K/first grade. Look at what all you can enroll a preschooler in these days! A child has to have some kind of good foundation before they go to K.
I thought children were forced to 'school' at a young age because children are being born, put into daycare at 6wks, parents go back to work. They are looking for a place that will be 'free' for them to send their kids as young as possible. The younger they put them in 'school' the better. Heck they won't have to pay for daycare any longer. That is why K is going to be madatory full day soon, and preschool will be the half day, like it was a long time ago for K, right in the schools! Then eventually preschool will be full day too. Isn't that just dandy! Hey, maybe we can have our children and at 6wks we can just give them to someone else for the rest of our lives...ok I will stop before I really get started.
Not really. Parents looking for a free place to put kids has very little to do with why pk and k are like this. It has a lot more to do with studies that came out several years (like maybe a decade ago?) talking about how all the other nations are ahead of us. So we have to start taking them in younger and giving them more school. Also, there is a lot of research that shows that academic PK is beneficial. I should've put shows in quotes. One study I read took inner city kids from low income levels. Most of their parents hadn't graduated high school, they were living in poverty and some cases the parents were . . .um. . .not quite all together. So duh. . .getting them out of that environment is beneficial--ya think? For every study that says how great it is to have kids in PK there are about 10 more that say it is worth while to delay academics, keep them at home, give them live interaction (instead of electronics), let them play lots outside, etc.
I wonder sometimes, I know there are studies out there about how some countries are supposedly advanced brain wise but when it comes down to it... they all want to live in our world and be like us... so what is the problem? Personally I think if a child wants to learn that is when you begin teaching. If A child is not ready then you dont push the issue you give them things to play with that will get thier fingers ready to eventually write, and look at books with them that will help them wonder. Thats the best for preschoolers, and btw, I had one class of preschoolers who started tracing thier names on thier own when I wrote it on thier papers.... so we made a Mother's day book of thier names. I am sure they are all in scrap books today because that was not the norm! ** I only wrote it big enough for them to recognise thier name, no dots or anything that would tell them to do it.
Well, something to keep in mind that the United States has miserably failed at pointing out is that other countries filter their kids. Their high school kids are ALL college bound. . .bc not everyone is guaranteed a free public education. ONLY college bound kids go to hs in many foriegn countries. And those are the kids who are generally tested. Not that I'm advocating public education. . .it's just that I don't think there have been accurate comparisons. I agree in teaching kids when they're ready. There is lots and lots of good research that indicates that reading and writing are developmental just like crawling, walking, etc. In fact, it is normal for some children not to read until age 9. . .but of course our school system isn't designed that way. On top of that, there are studies that show that kids who learn to read later have a much higher comprehension level. I've found that my younger kids have always wanted a part in what the older ones are doing though and so I find that I vere more and more towards some worksheets. With my oldest and even my son. . .we NEVER did worksheets but always projects, play dough, hands-on stuff. I read a ton to them (still do actually). But I totally understand where the OP is coming from. If she knows what kinder will be like. . .right or wrong. . .it helps to give a little prep. Especially for the twins IMO.
Amen to that! I am not bipolar, but I feel exactly the same way. Because i work nights, I am not always the most patient person in the world.... I totally related to everything you said. I used to hate school holidays, now I love them. It's really hard to explain to people, but it just changes the relationships you have with your kids, changes your world view, changes you too, I guess. good changes :angel:
