Why so young? Or why wait?

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I think one of the greatest things about hsing is that you can do what fits for each child. The child who's ready to read at 5 can read and the child who isn't ready needn't be pushed.

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I think there is almost always a lag between wanting to do something and being able to. I mean, you have to be aware of it first, then want it for yourself and THEN work towards it, no? I wouldn't view your son's desire to read and his lack of interest in working on it as a problem, personally.

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What DOES he like to do? I would start there. Provide the things he enjoys, the things he's interested in doing/trying. He'll let you know what he's ready for by his desire to do more.

Well geez I read your post & was about to reply but I see that SagMom beat me. She said everything I was going to. So, I'm just gonna say ditto!

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The reason you see so much variety in what the kids are doing is because the parents are free to follow the child as they develop.

Your worry about trusting that your child WILL learn without some serious intervention is clear in your post. Don't worry.

Mine just turned 6yo. He was motivated to learn for about 7 months last year and since then all he wants to do is play. Occasionally I wonder "How the heck long is this gonna last" and then I have to remind myself that if it lasts until he's 8yo, that's okay. And research now supports delaying the introduction of academics (FINALLY!).

I'm not a Waldorf-er, but I found this explanation of Steinert's view on childhood development on a website for Waldorf education (which allows children to develop naturally according to Steinert's theory of development). It may make you feel more at ease with trusting that your child will learn. I often refer to it when I worry about what to focus on at this age.

http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/02_W_...evelopment.asp

For me,I have certain goals for my kids based on their age AND ability. I think knowing letters/sounds is age appropriate for a 5 yr old. So, for me I would look for a way to engage him in learning them. My kids liked this go fish letter game, letter bingo, letter treasure hunts, and starfall.com.

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agree strongly and wanted to add one idea: a smorgasbord. So many people focus on the single life skill of reading when there's just a whole world out there to share. - like a smorgasbord of possibility.

Visit sites, museums, play with all sorts of stuff - it's both art and science - and sample bits of history and culture. Reading will become just a natural part of it all, like a tool. Your child needs to see the value of a tool - any tool - before he decides to take up using it. When he really wants to learn more about something that interests him, he'll grab the books and learn to read.

He's five and he'll never be five again. Just play, explore the world a little, read together, and enjoy! Don't push anything hard.

Warm regards,

Lucie

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I've been dragging my feet about adding a comment, but Lucie's hit the main points I would have ranted on about. Five is SO young - he's not much more than a baby, and he's still getting his orientation to this world. He'll be learning all he needs and more if you let him just follow his nose while you act as a tour guide to his immediate world - reading is not at all necessary for him yet. Reading has important and enjoyable purposes later, but he has lots of other important things to use his time on now, and plain ol' play is the most important one of all. It's not as if anyone would ever restrict a child that age from playing - but really appreciating the power of play in the big and longterm educational path of a child is all too often overlooked, while focusing on things that are not at all important yet is all too often overplayed. - Lillian

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Because he's so young, there's really no good way to know at this point whether a traditional program would work for him or not - you'll only know when he's old enough to be able to fit with one. And the same thing is true of unschooling if you think of it in terms of a child that age being expected to get interested in things that he has no real use for yet. Even an older child might take a long time to get around to things a parent is thinking about because of knowing that they're ordinarily covered in the schools by certain ages - but that doesn't meant they're not getting anywhere, simpy that they're not on traditional school schedules. You might experiment with forgetting about the concept of "homeschooling" for a while, and just think in terms of filling these early years with lots of relaxed and enriching activities that will build curiosity and memories. Lillian

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My oldest saw her name written at a little over 2, then I erased it and she promptly wrote out the first 3 letters (all she could fit on the small magnadoodle). From that point on she started teaching herself how to write all the letters in the alphabet. I bought her some wet erase books with the letters and numbers and she loved playing with those. By 3 she could write all the letters and digits, but I hadn't taught her a darn thing. She did it all on her own because she was really interested in learning it. She didn't form the letters correctly, necessarily, but one knew exactly what she was writing. My second child is now >2.5 and, although she picks up a pencil sometimes, seems to show no interest in this activity. She did ask me today to get her some workbooks. I will get her some, but I am not sure her interest is there. Now, my first child at 2.5 could count, but couldn't count things. No matter how big the group she always counted 10. But, today I asked my second child to give my oldest 4 manipulatives and she very adeptly counted out 4 and gave them to her sister. O haven't worked on this with her at all. They are different kids for sure.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. I would make sure opportunities exist for him to explore such things, but I wouldn't push it. We should not be comparing our children to the children of others. I say this to remind myself....I am very guilty of it at times. I have a friend who pushes her kids to read very early and starts schooling in general much earlier than I do. After talking to her I always have to decompress because I feel so inadequate like I am not doing enough for my children. But after I calm down I realize that I am doing what is right for my children and our family and that is what is the beauty of homeschooling

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This is so simple a statement and yet it can be so powerful an idea. Remembering that my 9y/o, my 15 y/o and my 18 y/o will never be exactly as they are right now brings a new appreciation to just BEING. All this learning, developing and growing is such a PROCESS and so individual. It's almost insulting to break it down to rules about needing to know ___ by ___ years old.

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Lucie's simple statement struck me, too, as a very powerful one - as did yours about just BEING - and maybe one can only fully appreciate how profound those thoughts are once those precious years are gone and you can look back and see it clearly with 20/20 hindsight. If I were able to go back and to do only one thing differently, it would be to stay aware of all this and not worry over some of the little things I found to worry about along the way. I wouldn't go back and try to fill in more academic studies or things we might have "missed" - I'd focus more on the potential joy in each moment of being. I'm not saying I have any serious regrets - just that if I did want to redo something, that's what it would be rather than the other way around. Lillian