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motherly loving
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| Posted: Sept 18 2008 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
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Hi. My name is Robina. My children are very young, but I am feeling called in someway to homeschool. I'm just in the initial stages of researching this and have so many doubts and questions. My oldest is only 2 so I know I have lots of time to decide, but I would like to start doing some preschool stuff at home. Can you recommend a good prgram. If I do this I would like to do a combination of set curricula and independent stuff I think, but at least in the beginning I think I need some guidance. Any tips or help would be great. My big concerns are scheduling and socialization (this is mostly for my oldest since he only has one sibling for now hopefully). I think there are some failies that homeschool in my church that I plan on trying to contact, but is there anyone on this listserv who lives in the Charlotte, NC area? I'll try to post a picture of my family. Thanks.
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Sept 18 2008 at 9:53pm | IP Logged
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Hi Robina, welcome to the boards!
You sound a lot like me. I was so excited to get started and I knew from before my littles were even born that homeschooling would be our path. I was reading and researching from the get-go. If I could go back in time and talk to myself, here's what I would say:
1. Be gentle. Just relax and enjoy this time. There's no need for absolutely anything even remotely structured, and if you try to implement be prepared to be met with resistance and a stubborn will. 2 yo's have discovered the world around them and have just mastered their motor skills in order to get everywhere they want to go (and some places you wish they wouldn't go) and their world is opening up in so many ways. Facilitate discovery. Pull up a chair to the kitchen counter and bake cookies together. Take a nature walk together. Read TONS of great picture books together.
2. Choose toys and educational opportunities that are investments and inspire and light up the imagination. Think quality not quantity. I so wish someone had grabbed me by the shoulders and screamed this to me over and over again. No need to accumulate every whiz-bang, light-up, noise-making toy...maybe just wait instead and purchase a small, simple, beautiful wooden kitchen. Think simple and think quality. You'll be so glad you did down the road when you're passing on these beautiful investments to your other children.
3. Not sure if you've looked into Montessori work at all, but some of the practical life activities - sweeping, wiping the table, scooping and sorting, washing dishes - your oldest might be almost ready for. Again, no pushing, just lovely little work centers that are inviting him to independent and productive work.
4. If I were going to suggest anything - I'd recommend two sources for you to look into seriously...
Catholic Mosaic - I can't say enough about this program!! It is an extraordinary pairing of celebrating and living the liturgical year with beautiful picture books as guides. Just wonderful! All my children love these books - from 3 to 11.
that along with this would make for the perfect year IMHO...
Five In a Row. Another great program with a guide to use along with the recommended picture books.
5. As far as scheduling, I wouldn't. I *would* start laying down some good habits right now. Set up some good routines that will work for you in the future - push your chair in after you leave the table, put your dirty clothes in your basket, that sort of thing. Maybe you could work on a routine that was something like this... breakfast, short prayers, saint of the day or liturgical picture book for the day, coloring/art/craft time, snack, free play, lunch, read again, nap (if you're lucky  ), juice, Montessori work, play outside... they're only suggestions, but it is helpful when they learn that juice comes after nap, prayers are after breakfast and so on. Littles really do thrive on routine, but routine is not a schedule!! So, for example, if you decide this afternoon is the time to make oatmeal cookies together then do that!
6. Don't stress about the socialization opportunities. They'll present themselves naturally along the way. What a 2 yo needs is a secure home and a lot of time socializing with you.
And finally, don't be worried by slapping the label of "homeschooling" on what you're all of a sudden doing. What you're doing now is just a natural extension of what you did yesterday. And the day after that will just be another natural extension of the day before, and so on. Relax and just enjoy being with your littles. You'll be homeschooling and you won't even know it. 
God bless you, Robina. I'm a smidge jealous - I have the most wonderful memories of this time - it was magical!
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Rachel May
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| Posted: Sept 19 2008 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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Mackfam wrote:
5. As far as scheduling, I wouldn't. I *would* start laying down some good habits right now. Set up some good routines that will work for you in the future - push your chair in after you leave the table, put your dirty clothes in your basket, that sort of thing. Maybe you could work on a routine .... Littles really do thrive on routine, but routine is not a schedule! |
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I agree with everything, but I just wanted to highlight this. Our habits, routines and schedules have been the saving grace of our schooling many times. I highly recommend Laying Down the Rails: A Charlotte Mason Habits Handbook for tips and ideas.
Preschool was an important year for us simply because I needed to learn to put school first. But that didn't come until my oldest were 5. Until then it was lots of read alouds and library trips and fun outings.
One other thing you can do now to help you for later is take advantage of this time to pump up your prayer life and feed your faith. I'm so grateful that I grew so much in faith in the early years before we were busy with lots of little and school.
Good luck!
__________________
Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Sarah M
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| Posted: Sept 19 2008 at 10:07pm | IP Logged
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Welcome to the forums, Robina. Ditto everything Jennifer said  . I second the Five in a Row recommendation. In fact,Before Five in a Row would probably be a great fit for your age child.
Bless you!
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: Sept 20 2008 at 8:52am | IP Logged
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Well said, Jennifer! And I second the suggestion of Before Five in a Row.
Robina, I homeschooled my two older daughters (13yo and 10yo) until last year, and am now in the position of starting again with my 2yo with the benefit of experience. My biggest regret with my eldest is that I started doing too much too young. I don't plan to make the same mistake again, but I do want to make the most of the time I have with my little one. I find that I need some sort of routine for myself, otherwise I just fritter the time away.
This year I am trying to follow a very simple weekly / daily rhythm with her. In the morning we do housework (she "helps" or plays according to mood), sit down and read books together for a while, and then do some sort of activity according to the day of the week:
Monday - baking
Tuesday - nature study (nothing at all formal, just making a point of going outdoors for a walk, feeding the ducks, going to the country park, or doing some gardening together)
Wednesday - art and craft (she loves having the paints out, but if I don't schedule it into my week it doesn't happen)
Thursday - out and about (playing with friends, library trip, zoo, farm, park, or whatever)
Friday - music (I take her to a music and movement class that she loves)
It is easy to overestimate the amount of "socialisation" time little ones need. Mostly, they want to be with you
. Plenty of time for playing with other children when they get older.
__________________
Kathryn
Dh Michael, Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
The Bookworm
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Maggie
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| Posted: Sept 25 2008 at 8:22pm | IP Logged
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Hi Robina!
I have a 3yo and a 15mo. We just started "Little Saints" Catholic Preschool (catholicpreschool.com), and we LOVE it. We cannot say enough about it!
We needed something to do. The program is very cute--it really is like preschool at home! It is not overwhelming (1-1.5 hours, 3x per week), and I think it allows for some flexibility while having a great guide for newbies like you and me.
All the other moms have great ideas, too. I have also heard great things about Five in a Row.
God Bless!
Maggie
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Maren
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| Posted: Sept 25 2008 at 9:09pm | IP Logged
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Hi Robina
I am just now starting homeschooling with my four year old. I tried schooling him last year and it didn't work at all. I was too much playing the role of teacher, and he wasn't ready for anything that formal. However, he loves being read to and so this year I put together a schedule of storybooks based around different themes. The schedule is alphabetical and so each week I use storybooks to teach phonetical sounds (e.g., for week B we read Blueberries for Sal, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, and A Baby Sister for Frances, and I emphasized that Blueberry, Bunny, and Baby all start with the sound "buh" and so B says "buh"). I'm also using Handwriting without Tears' wooden blocks to give him a sense of how the letters fit together. We also make foods that start with the letters (this week is C is for cookie!). What I've tried to do is to take the things he already likes to do (reading stories, playing with blocks, and cooking) and organize them. It's going really well. He's happy and loves school and I have something to occupy me in the planning and organizing. I found that one of the biggest challenges for me once I decided to homeschool was that I wanted to get started right away, even though he wasn't ready. Starting my "curriculum" with what he already likes to do seems to be a good solution. I'm kept busy planning, which gives me a sense of accomplishment, but because I begin with what he already does, I'm not planning something beyond his readiness level.
I hope that helps!
Maren
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lovebeingamom
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motherly loving wrote:
| Hi. My name is Robina. My children are very young, but I am feeling called in someway to homeschool. I'm just in the initial stages of researching this and have so many doubts and questions. My oldest is only 2 so I know I have lots of time to decide, but I would like to start doing some preschool stuff at home. Can you recommend a good prgram. If I do this I would like to do a combination of set curricula and independent stuff I think, but at least in the beginning I think I need some guidance. Any tips or help would be great. My big concerns are scheduling and socialization (this is mostly for my oldest since he only has one sibling for now hopefully). I think there are some failies that homeschool in my church that I plan on trying to contact, but is there anyone on this listserv who lives in the Charlotte, NC area? I'll try to post a picture of my family. Thanks. |
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Robina - what did you decide by way of HS'ing for your children? Just curious ... looking at the thread almost a year later. I too live in Charlotte NC - which church in Charlotte did you end up contacting?
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Just beginning, help? preschool advice?
