I was not really planning on doing any scheduled stuff with my son until he hit 5 or 6 years old, but DH wants us to be a bit more in the books this coming year after DS hits 4. So I am just not sure how to plan out our times. Should we do something everyday or only 3 days a week? How long on each thing? Right now I have Get Ready, Set and Go for Explode the Code and Singapore books 1 A and B. I am also planning on using Konos a bit, the box set for Obedience. That is the only curriculum things I plan on using for now. If something comes up that he wants to learn more about then we will do more on that. How does that sound and what schedule would you do with your 4 year old? Thanks a bunch!
Sigh.... Your husband and mine should get together! When Rachael was four, he wanted to know exactly WHAT I was teaching WHEN. I told him I didn't keep an exact schedule when I was in the classroom; I SURE wasn't going to keep one at home!!! Then he came home one day to find our 2yo "hiding" behind the kitchen table, and empty cereal box in one hand, kid scissors in the other, and the floor covered with little snippits. When he asked if I knew what my youngest was doing, I smiled big and replied, "She's busy developing her fine moter skills. Why?" I've been hs'ing for 10 years now, and after a year or two, he came to trust my judgement and not to sweat it! But back to your question. I really have strong opinions about preschool. Not all kids are ready for formal learning at age four. Those that are, GREAT! Nothing at all wrong with sitting down with them and doing workbook stuff! But there is also nothing wrong with letting them play. Play is the number one way a preschooler learns. I taught one-to-one correspondance by setting the table. ("Here's one for Mommy's place, here's one for Daddy, here's one for you....") They learned to count to ten every time we went to the store, and I would hold one hand, DH the other, and we would count to ten and then swing them between us. They learned their ABC's crossing off my grocery list. ("OK! Here's the bananas. Can you find the word that starts with the B and cross it off?") So I would suggest letting the kid guide you on how much time they spend on book work. There mayb e days when they will work for an hour solid, and others when they only want to sit for 15 minutes. I would also break it up. Work for about 20 minutes, then play a game or take a long break. Then work again for another 20. Three 20 minute sessions throughout the day will probably be much more productive than a full hour, if your kid is like most!
I might suggest looking into a local homeschool group, that way if they are going to the zoo or anything you'll get a discount as a group. But I didn't have anything planned, I had a great workbook for pre-K It had great little activities for kids for tracing fun lines, cutting, coloring, shapes etc.....
My DH too! One of his concerns when my oldest was 3 and 4 was that he "didn't see much structure." Even though we didn't work out of our workbook everyday (and especially since I had m/s when she was four, it was a hit or miss when we did stuff. . .depended on when I felt good enough). I'm sitting there thinking, "well, yeah. . . .she's FOUR. . .technically she doesn't need to do ANYTHING at this point!" Any little bit she can do and we get done is just a plus/bonus. (Plus what little bit we did do was technically advanced for her age, so I wasn't too concerned.) He finally got it, and it's not a concern of his now. Now he thinks I do an amazing job with teaching the two oldest and thanks me quite a bit for doing what I do. I think it's because she's going to be 6 next month and is on a first/second grade level, and we do things "more structured" now. My current preschooler. . . .not as structured as my 1st/2nd grader, basically I preschool her as the first "lack of structure" preschooler, but now that he's seen how the first turned out, he doesn't nit pick anymore. And what I do for preschool is just get those big Preschool basic skills workbooks from Walmart or Kmart and we work out of those. . . . nothing fancy. Same thing with K, with the exception of MUS Primer. Once in first, I started getting more "curriculum." Oh, and I read LOTS to them. I also do flash cards for alphabet letter names and sounds.
Honestly, I think I'd get a great book on the benefits of delayed learning (like stuff from Ray and Dorothy Moore - probably in your local library) and let him read that. Then if he is still convinced a young child only learns by sitting and doing workbook pages etc...I'd let him read this type of evidence that states the contratry. http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/asc...mtId=802cc2be8311f010VgnVCM1000003d01a8c0RCRD Blessings, Trishy kriagirl.blogspot.com
What do they do in "away-from-home" preschool? Don't they play, color, and have books read to them? It's been ages since I was in preschool (my mother sent me for half a year then decided it wasn't worth it), but I don't remember doing worksheets, and it didn't seem all that structured except that lunch and nap time were always at the same time. We even watched movies. I remember one movie about strangers in which the bad stranger wore his baseball cap backwards. I think I missed the point, because I was a teenager, before I stopped looking suspiciously at anyone who wore his baseball cap backward. Of course, that's just a random memory that has nothing to do with your question. To the question, I'd put some M&Ms in an old medicine bottle and give them to your husband telling him that they are his "chill pills" -- he may need a double dose, because I don't think chocolate has quite the medicinal effect on men as it does on women.
It varies from preschool to preschool, Alice. there are preschools that are nothing more than glorified daycare. I worked at once that bragged about "daily lesson plans", but it was nothing more than us writing down which toys we were going to get out, and making sure we had "Big Motor", "Small Motor", "Language" and "Science" activities of some kind laid out on the tables. Others are VERY structured, and expect the kids to sit and do their work. Parents have VERY high expectations and want thier kids reading and doing math before age five. Personally, I think these kids get burned out before they get out of elementary school! I like the "Chill Pill" idea, Alice!!! Maybe I need a prescription of those myself at times, lol!
Hi Hope40-I loved that article you shared. Thank you for posting the link. I'm a fan of Thomas Armstrong's books and articles. I also enjoy reading David Elkind's work. I don't believe that young children (3-6) should be sitting and doing worksheets for the majority of their day. With that said, I have a 4 y.o. daughter who begs me to let her do worksheets/workbook pages while her brother does his work. The other day she reminded me that I forgot to do math with her and she brought me a workbook. I usually try to use manipulatives when she does math. She actually enjoys doing worksheets/workbooks more than her older brother! I really hadn't planned on doing anything formal with her until she was older though. Here is a link to an article about not using worksheets with young children. http://www.pre-kpages.com/no_more_worksheets.html Usually, my 4 y.o. plays dress up, plays with her toys, looks at her books, plays play doh, colors, cuts, glues, draws, paints and writes (creative play and fine motor skill practice). Dd plays imaginary/pretend play with her big brother as well. She also goes outside to play on the swing set, digs in the dirt and rides her scooter or bike (large motor skill practice). I take her to parks where she can play in the sand, practice her climbing, run, jump and play ball (again large motor skills). I also read aloud to my children quite a bit. We play educational games and do puzzles as well. We listen to music during the day too. I do let my 4 y.o. play on the computer once in a while (Starfall.com and Noggin.com). She does watch a bit of tv (not a lot though). I think that my daughter's homeschool preschool is fine the way it is. Oh ya....when the neighborhood kids come home from school/preschool/day care my daughter heads out to play for social time. Dani-I hope this helps you in some way.
I'm in agreement with Jackie that at that age they learn so much through just playing! Now my oldest was ready at age 3 to read and sit down and do work. And it was good for her. There is no way that would have worked with my youngest who is now 5. We did preschool this past year. We did letter of the week, she'd paint, color, cut, glue, work on handwriting, made an ABC book - all one letter per week - and it took about 30 mins a day, 3 days a week for the actual work I wanted to accomplish. We read a ton of books too. So here is an example of how she has learned just by being at home with me and the family and just playing and living life. The other day Grace, dh and I were playing a game in the backyard. Grace had 7 points and she got 2 more. I asked her "Grace now how many do you have? What is 7 plus 2?" She thought for only a moment and said "9!" I about fell over from shock! We have never ever done any formal math with her. She sometime would sit and play with the MUS manipulatives while Samantha did math but that is it. I never worked with her really.
WIMom, I would always keep extra worksheets on hand for my younger ones. There would be days when they wanted to "do school" with the older ones, and I would let them. But this was mostly kid-initiated. Also, I do LOTS of read-aloud stuff, and I would give my little one(s) Legos to build or coloring pages to do while I read.
I think that is the point of the article I posted. Child led for this age group was superior - and sometimes, yes, that may include worksheets that children ask to work on I do know homeschool moms that disagree with that point, though, and feel that they need to direct with textbooks and workbooks at this age. "School doesn't always have to be fun...it just needs to get done" is a famous quote they use. Most have not hit the preteen or teen years I gently disagree with the mindset (especially with this age group) that it just needs to "get done." That doesn't mean one's home life has to be wild and the kids are uncontrollable. Structure should be about behavior and not education. Blessings, Trishy kriagirl.blogspot.com
Thanks everyone! I am sure that as we get farther along in our homeschooling experience that he will not want to "see" so much "school work" done at this age. I am going to give it a shot and see how DS responds, but not push him too much if he is not ready for sit down stuff. I think I will do the short lessons mixed in with breaks of fun play. Thanks again.
I really like Handwriting Without Tears Get Set for School (with the blocks, CD, etc.) for 3-4 year olds. It's fun and gives them just a smidge of structure! We read, read, read, and read some more. Nature walks are great, too. My son even had a nature journal at 4 years old. We used Before Five in a Row when ds1 was 3, but I am going to hold off a bit more for ds2 and use it when he is 4. It is a gentle program that gives easy-to-do and gives your child a love for good literature.
