We believe strongly in young children playing and learning experientially--with no academics or overt learning toys. DS is about to turn 3 and has had no TV, video, computer (save a tiny bit of Little Bear when he's sick--only started recently and very, very rare), no electronic toys of any type, but especially no "learning" toys with letters, numbers, etc. We don't even read the kind of books that have a word or two per page with the thing pictured--or "counting" books. But we do read story books and poems every day and have since DS was born, especially Mother Goose, Milne's Winnie the Pooh, and Elsa Beskow books.
DS started talking before 1, was speaking in complete (and complex, gramatically correct) 10+ word sentences before 2, and now at 3 speaks like a 5 year old (well, in some ways more correctly then many adults!) He corrects my grammar occasionally. Language is this kid's thing. His birth chart is all about being an orator and speaking to the masses someday. I know its his path.
So in the last few months he's been pointing out and coming up with rhyme pairs (all day long), telling original stories, asking what every word says, asking what letter each word starts with (though he hardly knows what letters are due to minimal exposure), playing with phenomes. I can't say we don't participate at all (we answer his questions), but we don't initiate nor do we prolong these 'lessons'. If he asks "what word is that", we say 'that says "carrot"' then talk about carrots--picking them, eating them, etc. No "This is a "c" and it says "kuh", etc.
But he's just going further and further every day. I really believe he's in the early stages of so-called "teaching himself" to read (I say it that way because I believe a child needs some form of instruction, even if just my short little answers to his questions). I am not about to rid our house of all print and put blinders on him when we go out. Nor do I want to ignore or totally deflect his questions.
My concern is that we'll be skipping all the great ways Waldorf uses to teach the letters, writing, and then reading. He doesn't care for drawing or painting much, if he learns to read "on his own" it will be spelling in his head/out loud first, reading words second, and writing much later--I would guess. As it is going now, he's also just getting a random smattering of info in a total "unschooly" (which is fine with me) but not terrible holistic way, and I am not comfortable with that--but the Waldorfer in me just feels so uncomfortable with the idea of sitting him down at barely 3 to draw letters (if he even could!). I also am concerned about all the myriad reasons Waldorf, the Moore's Charlotte Mason, etc give for holding off on intellectual and academic pursuits--I believe it all! The mom-of-a-likely-gifted kid, however, realizes that he is not the average kid that is not ready to read until 7 and I am going to have to address this in some fashion soon.
I'd love to hear thoughts on this topic. I am also going to cross-post in the Waldorf forum. I'd post it in the gifted forum, but I'm a bit of an anomaly over there for holding off on academics given a precocious child's interest and ability.
Thanks to all!
DS started talking before 1, was speaking in complete (and complex, gramatically correct) 10+ word sentences before 2, and now at 3 speaks like a 5 year old (well, in some ways more correctly then many adults!) He corrects my grammar occasionally. Language is this kid's thing. His birth chart is all about being an orator and speaking to the masses someday. I know its his path.
So in the last few months he's been pointing out and coming up with rhyme pairs (all day long), telling original stories, asking what every word says, asking what letter each word starts with (though he hardly knows what letters are due to minimal exposure), playing with phenomes. I can't say we don't participate at all (we answer his questions), but we don't initiate nor do we prolong these 'lessons'. If he asks "what word is that", we say 'that says "carrot"' then talk about carrots--picking them, eating them, etc. No "This is a "c" and it says "kuh", etc.
But he's just going further and further every day. I really believe he's in the early stages of so-called "teaching himself" to read (I say it that way because I believe a child needs some form of instruction, even if just my short little answers to his questions). I am not about to rid our house of all print and put blinders on him when we go out. Nor do I want to ignore or totally deflect his questions.
My concern is that we'll be skipping all the great ways Waldorf uses to teach the letters, writing, and then reading. He doesn't care for drawing or painting much, if he learns to read "on his own" it will be spelling in his head/out loud first, reading words second, and writing much later--I would guess. As it is going now, he's also just getting a random smattering of info in a total "unschooly" (which is fine with me) but not terrible holistic way, and I am not comfortable with that--but the Waldorfer in me just feels so uncomfortable with the idea of sitting him down at barely 3 to draw letters (if he even could!). I also am concerned about all the myriad reasons Waldorf, the Moore's Charlotte Mason, etc give for holding off on intellectual and academic pursuits--I believe it all! The mom-of-a-likely-gifted kid, however, realizes that he is not the average kid that is not ready to read until 7 and I am going to have to address this in some fashion soon.
I'd love to hear thoughts on this topic. I am also going to cross-post in the Waldorf forum. I'd post it in the gifted forum, but I'm a bit of an anomaly over there for holding off on academics given a precocious child's interest and ability.
Thanks to all!
But seriously, it's not like we're all pro-early-academics over there. (And I think perhaps you are an anomaly only for having such a strict definition of "self taught" rather than for how you've chosen to raise your son.)
