Freaking out for no good reason!!!

[dubatatamama]

DS will be 5 in January. Just for some background he is currently reading fluently at around a 1st-2nd grade level. He is great with numbers and can count reliably up to 30, and do one-to-one correspondence up to 30. His handwriting is OK...he can write his name, mom, dad, nana, etc. We have HWOT, but he is not fond of the pressure of keeping the letters in the boxes, so we backed off of that and let him do his own thing.

I have looked over and over again at the curriculum standards for my state, and he can do 90% of what he should know by the end of his K year which if he were in PS would be June 2012. Yet, I still can't get it out of my head that I should be doing something more formal with him. Right now, we do Explode the Code just to make sure he has the basics of phonics down (we do it when he asked to...sometimes we do it every day, other times we go weeks without picking it up). We are looking at purchasing Saxon math K or 1 (still undecided), and get books out of the library on whatever subject he asks for. We also attend a HS gym class once a week, storytime/library time once a week, and a HS co-op once a week. We do crafts weekly and have art materials readily available at all times. Isn't this sufficient?

I guess a lot of this is stemming from another HS friend who is doing sit down work with her DD the same age, and she was asking me how things were going this "school" year so far, and I thought "We aren't really doing anything formal because he's not even 5!"

So, for those of you with pre-K/K aged children, is this enough?

I am also wondering about a plan for when we do officially begin what would be his K year. I am wondering how I am going to get "school" stuff done with his soon to be 4 y/o CHATTERBOX sister around. I think we will just focus on the 3 R's and everything else will be based on what he asks about.

So now that you've read my little freak-out, any advice??

[rumi]

Advice: do not freak out!

So, for those of you with pre-K/K aged children, is this enough?

My dd was this age 2 years ago, so I will venture to answer YES, this is enough. She could read but not write at that age, and she is doing both very well now - both the handwriting aspect as well as the creative writing aspect (with no structured teaching).

If he is already ahead of his grade level, why would you want to change the approach now? And age 5 is optional is most states.

If you feel the need to "do" something / tell others what you are "doing," I'd suggest Nancy Blakeney's "Mudpies" series of science activities - could be interesting for your younger one as well. Reading folk tales / learning songs from arond the world is a good intro to social studies too, if that is on your to-do list. My friend used to take a nature walk with her little kids almost every day - loads of science there.

[moominmamma]

Ask yourself a big-picture question: what's wrong with his learning that you think needs to be fixed at this point?

I'm of the "don't fix what ain't broke" persuasion. My kids did little formal study of academics prior to high school level. They were thriving, leading their own educations, forging ahead, curious, capable, challenging themselves and growing in skills and knowledge. I figured there was no need to mess with that. When I needed to report on our homeschooling, I reported on what they actually did. A hike, a conversation about the immune system, a tip at a café estimated cleverly, books they read, documentaries they watched, places we went, skills they demonstrated. Just what naturally came up. When people asked "how is homeschooling going?" I would say "Great!" and I might mention a current interest or two.

I would simply carry on. The status quo seems to be working brilliantly for him. Don't mess with a good thing.

Miranda

[dubatatamama]

Rumi-both of my DC love science experiments, so thanks for the reminder! We will be digging into those a lot when the weather turns cold and we can't get outside as much!

Miranda-you are absolutely right about "don't fix what ain't broke", and in my heart I know that, but I just need to stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and keep doing what's working for my DC! I guess I also have this issue that since we are HS, I feel the need for people to see that we are doing things and that they are learning and doing well. I need to get over worrying about what others think, etc.

[OkiMom]

I would say as long as hes happy and not wanting to do more then why do more. Oh and you are doing formal stuff, just not "sit down and fill in the blank" stuff. No matter what you do or don't do people are going to have "opinions" about it so if it isn't sit down work it would be physical stuff, if it isn't' that you would be doing to much, not doing to much then you aren't... just fill in the blank.
I'm realizing pretty quickly you aren't going to be able to make everyone 100% happy, just worry about trying to make your child happy. After all hes the one who will be doing all the work.

[cappuccinosmom]

I think that sounds perfect for your family.

He's learning (even advanced for his age). He's interested and engaged in learning. That's good.

You're avoiding busywork and workbooks being the "main course" for learning. IMO, for a not-even-5-yo, that's also good.

[dubatatamama]

Thanks for reassuring me everybody! Like I said, I know that he is doing OK in my heart, but this time of year everyone is asking about school and what we are doing, etc. and I just need to get over worrying about what others think and recognize that if they want to do sit down formal work with their 4.5 y/o then that is what works for [I]their[I] family!