By joining this site I'm hoping to get some insight into the whole concept of home schooling. I know that the exposure I've had with it in the past isn't a clear view and so I want to look into it more. At the moment my son is 2.5 so I have a ways to go before he gets into any kind of formal schooling if we go that route. At this point we're looking at the pros and cons of both options and just gathering info and ideas along the way. My son is very smart for his age and I want to nurture that as much as I can while still keeping it fun. We'll be making a drastic lifestyle change from this modern world to homesteading with a modern twist in a year or so, how we school our son will play directly into that. If we can afford for me to keep staying home with him then he'll be homeschooled, if I have to go to work that everything changes. In the meantime I'm searching for any info on pre K schooling and how I could continue his education and still balance in social skills and life. I'm looking for a non-religious way to teach him. Not because we aren't religious, I just want to keep that more on the "family time" side of things. I'm hoping to make some friends here and learn/share as much as possible. If you want toy, you can email me jaymimesa@hotmail.com
Welcome to Homeschool Spot. It's been a while since my kids were that young. We started formal curriculum for math and reading around 5 years old. We kept science and history fun with exploring outside and reading lots of good historical children's literature. We also made sure we were available to dig into subjects whenever the mood struck the kids. I remember one night at bedtime, ds(at about 6 years old) asked where rain came from. I gave a brief answer, which sparked his curiosity, so we dug out a science book and learned about the water cycle for about half an hour. If you decide on homeschooling, enjoy the time when they are young and learning everything for the first time. To this day, my greatest accomplishment is having taught my child to read. There is nothing on earth like being there each time your child has a lightbulb go on in their head. Another member just posted a video they created to express the joy they find in homeschooling. It is very sweet and worth a look. I'll see if I can post the link for you. Again, welcome!
Hi and welcome! I understand where your coming from. We've been discussing homeschooling our daughter for years and haven't been real sure. She turned 5 in the fall and we finally made the decision to homeschool. She's been a real eager learner so we wanted to make sure she was challenged but was still involved socially with other kids. Also I want to make sure it stays fun and she isn't bored. So we've chosen Calvert Kindergarten and they also have a PreK. It works good for us because it comes with so much art supplies, reading materials, and workbooks. It's very all inclusive! But it's not overwhelming since you have short days that you fit to your lifestyle. And we meet up with other homeschooled kids during the week and do all sorts of trips to the zoo, museums, and parks. It's working great for us, hope this gives you another point of view to compare!
My best advice for a new homeschooler can be found here. Also I think a must read for all homeschoolers is The Socialization Trap by Rick Boyer. I've been homeschooling 6 years and cannot honestly say that our family has encountered one con. Tons of pros, but no cons for us. There are actually homeschooling Moms I know that do work and homeschool. It can work that way also. For young children, really social skills and life are all about what is going on at home with Mom, Dad, siblings and extended family. But I am not someone who does play groups or things of that nature so your feelings may differ on that. I choose to stay home with our children when my first daughter was born and have not regretted it one day. Sure it can be a bit of a challenge financially on one income in this day in age, but we are almost out of debt, want for nothing, were able to buy a home in an area we wanted to live in, and live in a budget by choice. When my older girls (now 6 and 8) were that age we did Sonlight Core B for read aloud time, cooking, crafts. With my son I've done similar things as well. But I don't do or believe in anything formal for that age. My younger kids have learned so much just from daily life where as I was a bit more set on having to have curriculum with my older dd at that (as she was my first venture into homeschooling). Sonlight now makes a Core P3/P4 which I will be using many elements of with my little guy this year (he's 3). Good luck to you.
I get what you mean about keeping Bible on the family side. I have been thinking about that a lot too. My son will be in K next year. Last week I realized that I had better start doing regular bible with him now, if I ever plan on doing it that way. If I wait until September, he'll think it's just another school subject. God is a regular part of our day. And included in many things. But we were not doing regular Bible study together until last week. So far so good! I still have to decide if I want it to be part of the curriculum too. I'm still not sure. Welcome to the group. I hope you find some good insight here!
Thank you all for your replies. I wasn't ignoring you, I didn't see them. From the news I just recieved it looks like homeschooling is the only productive option for my little smarty. I'll be in here often picking the brains of the seasoned teachers.
Hello. Now you can't just come in here and drop something interesting like "We'll be making a drastic lifestyle change from this modern world to homesteading with a modern twist " without giving some details! Well, yes, actually, you would be well without your rights to not say another word about it, but I'm curious now. It sounds very interesting, so I beg you to explain.
Within the next few months we'll be leaving our life in the semi-country in GA and trading it in for the homestead (complete farm) life back home in OK. We'll keep our cell phones and internet but everything else we'll raise and grow if we need it. We've got plans for cows, horses, chickens, pigs, goats and our pets. This comes with a big garden, some bee hives and having the whole house off the grid thanks to sun/wind power and a well. Our goal is to be as self sufficienct as possible. This isn't any different from the way hubby and I were raised, we're just going back to our roots. So you can see where homeschooling fits in perfectly. Yeah, we'll be the crazy people down the street for a while until everyone is making the mad dash to the stores when a storm comes or the prices get too high to afford food..and then it'll all make sense.
