Because we started our HSing adventure with my oldest in Kindergarten, my middle son was already 3. Just like many of the other moms have said, he would do a few pages out of his workbook whenever his older brother was doing schoolwork. But I only brought out his books if he asked and put them away as soon as he was done. The only time I ever pushed ever so slightly (never force) was when he'd decide he was done simply because he thought a page was too hard. But I think that's a natural thing for a parent to do. I mean, to encourage a child to push through something that might be difficult but that we know they can triumph over.
Chiming in a bit late! We did preschool hs with our boys. We started off with algebra and then moved on to calculus. No, just kidding, we did the Abeka.
Homeschool humor! LOL :lol: When my kids were small someone asked me about preschool so I told them that joke and they had such a dumb profound look on their face, it was priceless.
I wanted to add something to my post, but since ther's other posts now (I didn't get a notice that there were more posts) I figure it's less confusing if I just add a new post. The reason we do structured stuff is because my ds wants to. He asks me to do math & chooses which math stuff we're going to use. The computer time was actually a compromise. If I left it up to him, we'd bbe on Starfall every day plus doing their computer programs daily. I figured doing one or the other was enough & he's happy with that. I wasn't sure if he'd like Explode the Code when I bought it, but figured I'd give it a try. He enjoys doing it & we only do it when he wants to. So, I agree with everyone who said only if they want to do structured work. I wouldn't do this stuff with him if he didn't enjoy it. He sees his big sister doing schoolwork & always wants to do school, too. I refuse to hold my kids back (the fact that I can let them work at their own pace is one of my favorite things about homeschooling), and since he's asking to do work & ready for the stuff we're doing I see no problem in doing it. If he wasn't ready or didn't want to do it, I'd be happy to let him play all day.
I agree with you, Brandi. No reason to hold them back if they want to learn. If you do, it might backfire and make them not want to learn later on.
That makes sense to me too, actually that's what I'm doing with my two now my little one is doing all the same work my older one is doing and when I don't do enough the beg for more...so I plan more than I need now, and just let them do as much as they want..if I have leftovers that's ok..because most of the time they'll use the leftovers to do with the babysitter.
Actually yes. Ok, so I don't formally homeschool so take my words for what it's worth, but I always did formal preschool with Tanner. I also ran a preschool out of my house, but even if I didn't I would have done formal things with him. I put a great deal of importance on reading, writing, and math. Being that the world is so competetive now a days, I think the challenge is important. Pushing, no, but challenging is. Do I think kids, even if they are going to a physical "school" HAVE to go to a pre-k? No. Tanner never did, and he's at the top of his class. But, I think keeping our children on the right track, no matter "where" they are schooled is important. Oh, and like Brandi...Tanner also wanted to do structured activities every day. Still to this day, he has a pocket calendar in his room that he keeps up with every day on his own. He is a creature of habit and thrives on structure and learning. ETA: just want to add that there are many "ways" to do preschool though. Some look more structured than others, but either way you look at it, it's still preschool.
For DD7 I didn't do anything "formal" until she asked to read at age 3! We started on 100 Easy Lessons. She loved it and picked it up quickly. The rest she just learned through play! DD2 loves to "do school" with her sister so we use www.letteroftheweek.com and do their prep curriculum and make a lapbook (okay, she colors and I do the rest . I have to be careful not to mention the "school" word when I am busy with other things because she gets so excited and wants to do something right away! Her "school" time lasts maybe 15-20 minutes on a good day. I also try to do a devotion with her from "Playtime Devotions" from Focus on the Family, they are great fun, interactive, and take about 3 minutes. Now, I would not do school with my youngest, but she just HAS to do what her sister is doing .
Right before Phillip's 3rd b-day he kept asking if "three boys could read". I kept asking him, "WHICH three boys?" It took me the longest time to realized that he wanted to know if ALL three-year-old boys could read. (We had been stressing that three year old boys no longer wore a diaper or Pull-Ups, so this really wasn't a stretch for him!) I explained that "some" did, but before he could read, he needed to learn his letters, and did he want to do that? SURE! So we started in on some letter recognition stuff. Well, as I said, he was almost three, but he wanted to! This lasted about two or three weeks, and then whenever I asked him, he wasn't interested. So, (following my own advice to not push a kid that young, lol!) I backed off. He eventually learned his letters a year or so later, and he's reading just fine now! Rachael pretty much taught herself to read at age four. I taught her short vowel sounds, and that was it.
