Pre-Homeschool Summer Chat - Page 3

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Originally Posted by zebaby

Speaking of the different rates that kids develop, what is normal/typical in terms of writing skills at this age? DS is 3.5 and likes to draw "maps" - basically spirals or paths for his drawings. Sometimes he'll draw faces with a circle, two dots for eyes, a dot for a nose and a line or curve for a mouth, but he's not into writing letters yet. His good buddy, however, same age, has already learned to spell his 6 letter name, pretty legibly! (I will add, that his friend does have an older brother - by a few years.) I know I shouldn't worry, he'll eventually get to it, but I can't help comparing/worrying about his keeping up. It's times like these when I start to question my decision to HS (don't worry, I'm not changing my mind, just get nervous about it once in a while!).

i did buy the hooked on phonics learn to print workbooks, i plan to start sometime this summer, ds isn't too interested in writing, which can be frustrating as most of the workbooks etc, expect him to write numbers and letters. he can write some, but not consistently. Right now he is still working through HOP Pre-k learn to read, about the finish up the K HOP math workbook, and is working on a Prek HOP beginning sounds workbook. When he finishes up the math book, I think I will try the HOP learn to print as he is very interesting in math, but the adding and subtracting workbooks i have writing numbers are pretty much expected. So that's what i plan to focus on in the later half of the summer. Once hop pre reading is done i am debating trying progressive phonics or buying another HOP set. Since I am beginning to heavily consider public school once ds hits k age, i am thinking progressive phonics as it is not going to cost much, just for printing papers, and i have also heard it is a really good program.

We are going to the zoo a couple times a month with our yearly membership, trying to go to free summer programs 1 to 2 times a week and the water park a couple times a month in addition to the library 1-2 a month..

[zebaby]

I definitely think I need to completely back off with DS. I tried to have him write '10' and he just scribbled a ton (which he is certainly capable of - he can draw straight lines and circles). I sometimes will do some hand over hand to steady his moves and he does pretty good, but he'll say, "I can't" so I guess he's just not ready to try yet.

I think I may take the "Do you want to write it or should Mama write it?" approach for now. I do believe that kids will volunteer to do it if they are ready. I'll just be sure to let him do it on his own at the first mention of wanting to try.

Good suggestion meetoo, about working on gross & fine motor skills in a fun way! He's definitely on the weaker side of upper body strength!

[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by zebaby

I think I may take the "Do you want to write it or should Mama write it?" approach for now.

This is what we do. I ask if she wants to write it, if she doesn't then I ask if she wants me to "help" her, which means with my hand over hers. She quite often chooses the second option. If she doesn't then I back of even asking for a while until I feel she might be ready to try again. I'm in no hurry for her to start writing though.

[Casha'sMommy]

My niece is doing some writing. Not sure of it's on her own or if she's being nudged by sil. I'm not sure I understand the urgency for a 4yo to begin writing formal letters.
I say this while watching 4yo dd roll around on the floor panting and sniffing like the dog. lol I think this activity is far more important for a 4yo than formal writing.

[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by Casha'sMommy

My niece is doing some writing. Not sure of it's on her own or if she's being nudged by sil. I'm not sure I understand the urgency for a 4yo to begin writing formal letters.
I say this while watching 4yo dd roll around on the floor panting and sniffing like the dog. lol I think this activity is far more important for a 4yo than formal writing.

[kittie313]

Well, in about 6 hours my pre-homeschooler will go with her 2 big sisters to her very first VBS, and I am soooooo taking a million pictures lol I am going to probably flat-out embarrass her with the number of pictures I want to take. And then, while they are at VBS I'm going to pack my 2yo into the van and head up to Target to see what goodies I can find for my 4yo to do in the workbook section (our Target has a LOT of Kumon books, I've been buying them there since dd1 was 3yo and I got her the tracing and cutting books to do). She wants seatwork like her big sisters do, so I'll get her a few books to do. I don't want to do a full "everything" workbook since I have materials for reading and I know what I'm doing in writing already, but I do need some basic pre-math and beginning math skills books for her. I also need to grab a couple books for dd1 to do, she's gotten into a workbook kick lately and I'd like to accomodate that if possible.

[greenmamapagan]

What is VBS?

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Originally Posted by greenmamapagan

What is VBS?

vacation bible school


about the urgency for handwriting, i don't know, i have a bit of pressure to get ds to start writing, (he'll be 4 in a couple weeks), but that is mainly because the way his birthday falls, he is able to start kindergarten in fall 11" so that is just 1 year to get him ready or decide to keep him homeschooled, but either way, he is way behind his Indian cousins who are in school 4-5 hours daily learning writing etc, starting at the age of 3. But as much pressure i am getting, i try to stop it at me and when we try to trace letters etc, if he doesn't want to, then we stop. I don't want to turn him off of the whole idea of writing...

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by ILoveMyBabyBird

vacation bible school


about the urgency for handwriting, i don't know, i have a bit of pressure to get ds to start writing, (he'll be 4 in a couple weeks), but that is mainly because the way his birthday falls, he is able to start kindergarten in fall 11" so that is just 1 year to get him ready or decide to keep him homeschooled, but either way, he is way behind his Indian cousins who are in school 4-5 hours daily learning writing etc, starting at the age of 3. But as much pressure i am getting, i try to stop it at me and when we try to trace letters etc, if he doesn't want to, then we stop. I don't want to turn him off of the whole idea of writing...

You may want to read this book: http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Never...7133646&sr=8-1

It's a really good book about how preschool children learn. They did one study of children who were in an academic preschool versus those that were in a play based preschool. By the finish of kindergarten, all the kids were academically at the same point. However, the children who were in the academic preschool were less creative and more anxious than those who had just been allowed to play.

So, I wouldn't worry what academic skills your son is capable of by kindergarten age. I'd focus more on letting him understand the world through play so he has better skills for dealing with the world.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by ILoveMyBabyBird

vacation bible school


about the urgency for handwriting, i don't know, i have a bit of pressure to get ds to start writing, (he'll be 4 in a couple weeks), but that is mainly because the way his birthday falls, he is able to start kindergarten in fall 11" so that is just 1 year to get him ready or decide to keep him homeschooled, but either way, he is way behind his Indian cousins who are in school 4-5 hours daily learning writing etc, starting at the age of 3. But as much pressure i am getting, i try to stop it at me and when we try to trace letters etc, if he doesn't want to, then we stop. I don't want to turn him off of the whole idea of writing...

DS1 is 4 yo and 7 months and would be kindy in 2011. I am starting to "push" (suggest / encourage) letters more as i jsut realized he can not ID all the letters and can only write like 5 or 6 of them -- big and sloppy.

ALL his peers (granted female) can write words at this point (also home school families).

I did just get

Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk http://www.amazon.com/Miseducation-P.../dp/0394756347

and

http://www.amazon.com/Miseducation-P.../dp/0394756347 ... http://www.amazon.com/Hurried-Child-...tt_at_ep_dpt_1

to give me the strenght to keep "waiting" on academics and not pushing.

[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

DS1 is 4 yo and 7 months and would be kindy in 2011. I am starting to "push" (suggest / encourage) letters more as i jsut realized he can not ID all the letters and can only write like 5 or 6 of them -- big and sloppy.

ALL his peers (granted female) can write words at this point (also home school families).

See, DD is 4 years 1 month and has recognised all (and I really mean all) letters since well before 2. Buuuuuuuut she still only writes "straight line" letters like M (her name starts with M), I, L, T she'll give R and lowercase E a go but that's about it. She doesn't like to read aloud so I can't be sure but from what she has agreed to do over the past year she can read at at least a first grade level. My point is simply that reading (and letter recognition) and writing are two quite seperate skills and don't have to develop together. Some kids will be the opposite and be writing their own sentences before they are reading, I guess it makes sense that alos some will develop together. Just not all.
Anyway, stay calm. He'll get there

[Tjej]

DD is 4y4mo and while she's known her letters forever she doesn't write most of them. She does have approximations for a number of them, but we really haven't worked on handwriting. I would think that if you really feel a need for your DS to know his letters now that doing activities with letters (like making them out of clay or writing them with fingers in rice or flour or ketchup (in a baggie)) would be way more fun than working on handwriting. I am saying this admitting that I don't do these things, but if I felt that DD needed to learn to write soon then that is how I would do it.

Tjej

[Casha'sMommy]

DD (4yo) has known the alphabet by sight for some time, maybe two years or a little more. She hasn't shown any interest in learning to write letters. She's never requested help writing letters, she'd much prefer to do it herself and she writes those she knows and scribbles the rest. lol It's definitely age appropriate to not have an interest at 4yo.
As for learning the alphabet, dd just haapens to really enjoy letters so it was easy for her to learn them. That doesn't mean your dc will have the same interest and therefor may not want to take the time to learn the alphabet this very moment. I don't think this is cause for alarm.

[tracymom1]

Hi everyone!

DS is going to be 3 in a couple of months and we are doing a modified version of Montessori preschool at home. I am thinking we will start a more formal curriculum in a few months. I want to get as many ideas as I can before jumping into anything because this homeschooling thing is so new and strange to me!! I am so excited that we made the decision to educate our children at home and can't wait to see what will happen.

Any advice for a total, 100%, clueless newbie like me??

[zebaby]

Anyone Pre-Homeschooling in Español? DS is bilingual and I'm trying to figure out how to balance English and Spanish in these critical years. He's learned his letters/sounds in English thanks to the Leap Frog DVD's, but I think he should learn the Spanish sounds as well. I'd like to introduce them, but want to do it in a non-confusing way.

[Casha'sMommy]

Originally Posted by tracymom1

Hi everyone!

DS is going to be 3 in a couple of months and we are doing a modified version of Montessori preschool at home. I am thinking we will start a more formal curriculum in a few months. I want to get as many ideas as I can before jumping into anything because this homeschooling thing is so new and strange to me!! I am so excited that we made the decision to educate our children at home and can't wait to see what will happen.

Any advice for a total, 100%, clueless newbie like me??

We too will be starting more "formal" pre k in the fall. I'm currently researching and deciding how I will set up the play room to accomodate school items. (cuuby system, work boxes, etc.)
I must admit, while I'm confident in our decision to hs, I am terrified I'm going to fail my children. I realize this is ridiculous but I still feel the feelings.

[SundayCrepes]

Originally Posted by Casha'sMommy

We too will be starting more "formal" pre k in the fall. I'm currently researching and deciding how I will set up the play room to accomodate school items. (cuuby system, work boxes, etc.)
I must admit, while I'm confident in our decision to hs, I am terrified I'm going to fail my children. I realize this is ridiculous but I still feel the feelings.

I highly recommend reading this book about how preschool kids learn. http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Never...7390699&sr=8-1

It's really good and really easy to read. One of the things they talk about is why it is better for kids this age to play rather than do academics. You may be better able to gear your homeschooling to what will best help your kids if you read this book.

[Casha'sMommy]

Originally Posted by SundayCrepes

I highly recommend reading this book about how preschool kids learn. http://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Never...7390699&sr=8-1

It's really good and really easy to read. One of the things they talk about is why it is better for kids this age to play rather than do academics. You may be better able to gear your homeschooling to what will best help your kids if you read this book.

I have read Einstein Never Used Flashcards, own it actually.

I'm hoping to get dd on a bit more of a "schedule". Right now, especially since ds was born, we don't do anything at the same time each day/week. We have no scheduled activities which is fine from time to time but I would like to begin a weekly library day starting this fall as well as skating lessons for dd. (she's been asking for over a year) Of course, we can go to the library anytime we want in addition to this day. I need this "schedule" for myself as I seem to be losing my own time, it seems to be swallowed up by all the kid time.

The cubbies and workboxes will be full of toys until we begin "school". If I can get the cubbies implemented by this fall I feel like it'll be an easier transition when we do move to actual school work. I would like dd to have her cubbies holding her daily activities and ds to have his cubbies with all of his toys. I envision play dough, art supplies, manipulatives, books, blocks, etc in the cubbies. The workboxes would have much the same items in them but rather than dd going to the toy closet aimlessly looking for the next thing to do she'd have some direction.
I guess that's what I'm attempting to "teach" this fall, taking direction.

[dubatatamama]

Originally Posted by Casha'sMommy

I have read Einstein Never Used Flashcards, own it actually.

I'm hoping to get dd on a bit more of a "schedule". Right now, especially since ds was born, we don't do anything at the same time each day/week. We have no scheduled activities which is fine from time to time but I would like to begin a weekly library day starting this fall as well as skating lessons for dd. (she's been asking for over a year) Of course, we can go to the library anytime we want in addition to this day. I need this "schedule" for myself as I seem to be losing my own time, it seems to be swallowed up by all the kid time.

The cubbies and workboxes will be full of toys until we begin "school". If I can get the cubbies implemented by this fall I feel like it'll be an easier transition when we do move to actual school work. I would like dd to have her cubbies holding her daily activities and ds to have his cubbies with all of his toys. I envision play dough, art supplies, manipulatives, books, blocks, etc in the cubbies. The workboxes would have much the same items in them but rather than dd going to the toy closet aimlessly looking for the next thing to do she'd have some direction.
I guess that's what I'm attempting to "teach" this fall, taking direction.

I totally get where you are coming from! DH built me a version of this cabinet from Jonti-Craft:http://www.jonti-craft.com/Catalog/D...subcategory=13and modified it so that the top has horizontal storage slots for paper, etc. I also use clear tubs that I got from Wal-mart for $1.50 vs. Jonti-crafts $5/tub. I have slowly replaced one or two bins at a time that once had toys in them with more schooly-type stuff like manipulatives, craft supplies, etc. It has been great as a toy organizer, but will last well into their school years as well to organize school and craft supplies.

As far as the schedule thing goes, I get that,too! We usually go to the Library on the Tuesdays when they have story time, have our HS co-op on Thursdays, etc. I think it really helps the kids to know what's coming that day. In the summer, though, we wing it and if it is a nice day out, we go to to the beach, playground, do water play in the backyard, etc. This fall I will be starting K with my DS (4.5) and our schedule will be a little more formal (M-F Reading, Handwriting, T & Th will be math/co-op, library/crafts will change to Wednesday as he is moving up to the next level of story time, and Friday will be our day to explore something the kids are interested in. DD will be 3.5 so she'll be participating at will)

I think your plan sounds great!

[greenmamapagan]

I get the needing a schedule with a baby/toddler around thing. We are on the radical end of the unschooling spectrum but even we have a loose schedule to both our week and our days. I find too that a little bookwork (usually 5 minutes of singapore earlybird maths) is actually a great way for DD and I to connect. She is much calmer afterwards having had my full attention for a little while. Same with violin. She's not into playdough or colouring, board games etc so it's nice to have something focussed