preschool

[MrsBone]

My son is 3 1/2..I feel like he's learning well at home just doing the day to day, but I wonder if at this age I should be concerning myself with focusing on just him for a set time of the day. my daughter is 13 months, so during nap time I could just focus on him, but I also feel like he still needs nap/quiet time and doing it at the same time as DD is just easier. We also tend to do and do a lot during the week(expecially right now with all the summer activities and pool), and I don't really focus that much on "schooling." He knows all his numbers, letters(lower and upper), shapes and colors, and we are just starting to work on recognizing words, and using a pencil. I feel like it wasn't that difficult getting to that point, because he was interested in all that. I am also preparing myself for the fact that he is most likely ADD just like his dad. So, teaching him is going to be different than teaching other kids, who do well with bookwork. I have a feeling this will be difficult with him. I guess my question is right now should I be doing anything formal, or just day to day stuff? We cook from scratch a lot, so alot of my day when we're home is spent cooking, food prep, baking and cleaning. I get him to help me and that's a learning experience, but thats' about it! :) Thoughts?

[Luckiestgirl]

He is still very young, and if he seems to be thriving, I'd continue doing what you are doing.  That seems to be what you want to do.  If you are seeking justification or support for that decision, you might look into Waldorf or Unschooling philosophies.  A book that might be of interest is John Holt's Learning All the Time: How small children begin to read, write, count, and investigate the world without being taught.