[mariag]

We are a two language household... I only speak Spanish to kids, dh English. So far they are balanced bilingual. Thinking of homeschooling ds starting K next year and trying to figure out how the language part would fit in (I would be the one at home) He is home now, but we don't formally "school".....

thanks for any thoughts/ideas....

 

[mamanOiseau]

hi,
we live in a French environment, and only speak English at home, except when we're doing French or Math. We do Math in French

so that the children know the French mathematical terminology: as hs'ers, we have an inspection every year, and it would not be good for the inspection if they did not know that 'mille'='a thousand', for instance.
We read lots of books, and since all three of my children seem to be developing a preference for English, I am trying to read more French books these days.
gotta go, hth !

 

[majikfaerie]

we are an english/ hebrew/ spanish home, but we're unschooling, so it doesn't really change anything education-wise.

 

[mariag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by majikfaerie we are an english/ hebrew/ spanish home, but we're unschooling, so it doesn't really change anything education-wise.

I am not familiar with unschooling, but do you have any state mandates that you have to follow? Do you still fall under the homeschool umbrella legally? That said, for reading, for example, do you read in one language or all three? Will they learn all three at once?

just wondering, thanks

 

[majikfaerie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariag I am not familiar with unschooling, but do you have any state mandates that you have to follow? Do you still fall under the homeschool umbrella legally? That said, for reading, for example, do you read in one language or all three? Will they learn all three at once? just wondering, thanks

check out the unschooling subforum.
We don't have any state mandates where we live, except that all home educators have to register with the state and show that they are progressing (usually means an interview once every year or 2,and it's no big deal). It's different in every state, but as i understand it, most states in the US have unschoolers who do so legally without problems.
Legally, it's still Homeschooling - we just don't use any curriculum; we allow children to just live their lives freely, and support and trust them to learn what they need when they are ready.

We do read in all three languages. we have a shelf of picture books in 4 languages (german ones as well) and we read them all.

 

[BinahYeteirah]

We do English/Hebrew. Someday I'd like to add Yiddish. I taught reading in Hebrew first. I do a lot with curriculum in Hebrew, but mostly have a child-led, unschool-ly approach to English. One reason I do it that way is because we mostly speak English, and because I feel much more confident about English. The curriculum is a crutch for me, since I am often learning right along with my children. I hope someday we will all know enough that all our Hebrew-speaking relatives (including dh) will speak it with us more often.

 

[mariag]

Thanks so much for the feedback, I will read more about "unschooling" following the link.

I am only just beginning my research, but it seems like my state follows a little more closely, and I have read in more than one place that instruction must be in English. So, since Spanish is the language we speak together, I am trying to figure out how we can make that work, also my plan had been that they would learn Spanish first, then add English when their Spanish literacy was solid.

I should add I am a teacher (have taught ps, K and 2nd grade) so perhaps I have a bias towards needing to organize myself a bit, even if on the kid side we are just going with what they are wanting to do. I like to have a framework for myself of what they know and where they might want to go next so I can be ready. So far we are just doing normal kid stuff, and its great to see how much they learn naturally, but I am nervous about how that is reported/overseen by the state.

Anyway, still trying to figure out the two language approach and appreciate all the feedback.

also, majakfaerie, with the four languages, how did they approach learning to read? We have both English and Spanish books and read a ton (dad English/me spanish) but I am trying to see how best to approach them decoding, focus more on one? From an education standpoint that seems to have the best longterm results, so I am wondering what your experience has been...thank you

 

[majikfaerie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariag also, majakfaerie, with the four languages, how did they approach learning to read? We have both English and Spanish books and read a ton (dad English/me spanish) but I am trying to see how best to approach them decoding, focus more on one? From an education standpoint that seems to have the best longterm results, so I am wondering what your experience has been...thank you

with reading (and everything else), we completely trust our child to read on her own, when she is ready. We read to her a lot, when she wants, without any "teaching agenda".

I see it the same as other things small children learn, like walking and talking. they all learn to do it in their own time, and there is no set age where a child must master any specific skill.

it is easy to say that on average, babies start walking at 12mo, but no one would try to then force or train their kids to walk by that age. To make a child walk, with a walker or such, before they are ready, can do damage to their hips and spine. you know when a child's muscles are developed enough to walk because they just stand up and do it on their own

I believe it is the same with reading. when a child's brain is developed for reading, and they have the motivation and desire to read, they WILL. if they need help, they will ask, but there's nothing you can do to stop them. the best way to aid them is simply to be supportive, answer their questions honestly, and read a lot.

 

[mariag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by majikfaerie with reading (and everything else), we completely trust our child to read on her own, when she is ready. We read to her a lot, when she wants, without any "teaching agenda". I see it the same as other things small children learn, like walking and talking. they all learn to do it in their own time, and there is no set age where a child must master any specific skill. it is easy to say that on average, babies start walking at 12mo, but no one would try to then force or train their kids to walk by that age. To make a child walk, with a walker or such, before they are ready, can do damage to their hips and spine. you know when a child's muscles are developed enough to walk because they just stand up and do it on their own I believe it is the same with reading. when a child's brain is developed for reading, and they have the motivation and desire to read, they WILL. if they need help, they will ask, but there's nothing you can do to stop them. the best way to aid them is simply to be supportive, answer their questions honestly, and read a lot.

Thanks again for the feedback. I actually agree with you and am not talking about starting a "teaching agenda" , but I guess I still have questions. We also read lots, and both kids are eager to read and have started reading lots of sight words on their own just from environmental print and are hungry for more. They choose to look at books for hours a day and ask to be read to almost as much. My question was more specifically how you dealt with multiple languages. I am all for being supportive, but I'm not sure how to best support him for reading in both. Meaning help him to "learn" both at the same time if he wants, or suggest he try one first, then add the other. I was curious if your dd wants to read on her own at all yet, and if she does, how the different languages had come into play for you guys, if at all.

thanks again.

 

[majikfaerie]

well, as far as multiple languages go, it doesn't change much. we just read lots of books in all the languages we have, just like we talk in all the languages we have.
sometimes we'll even translate books from one language to another.
dd is 5 and she has a great interest in reading and writing. she knows the alphabets in english and hebrew, and she has gotten the idea of letters in a written word corresponding to sounds corresponding to a spoken word. we don't push her to learn. we just read together.

as for supporting multiple languages, as long as the children are exposed to both languages, and there are plenty of books around in both that you read to them, it will happen.