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Help! Choosing a homeschool curriculum...Oh and socialization too...
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Question:
Help! Choosing a homeschool curriculum...Oh and socialization too... ???
Answer:
-This is not a flame, but....did you say your son was three? I
have four children, two of whom have been early bloomers, one who
is a late bloomer, and another who may be early, but really
hasn't shown us yet. One of the reasons we homeschool is so
that each child can move at his or her own pace. I think that
our society rushes children into academics, into programmed
activities...I obviously come from a rather biased viewpoint! ;-)
I would encourage you to let your son show you what he is
ready for. Perhaps you might want to read Raymond and Dorothy
Moore's books, or something by David Elkind.
I encourage you to attend any local homeschooling information
events that you can to see the many options for homeschooling.
Also, talking with local homeschoolers to find out what they
have learned over the years is very enlightening!
We have homeschooled for four years and I have found little difference
in how my kids perform on standardized testing between the years
where I have really pushed them and the years where school has
been relaxed or even put on the back burner because of other things
going on in our lives. They did their best the year our fourth
child was born and we worked school around how I felt during the
pregnancy and the time we took off for the birth and recovery. This
year my son's scores slipped a little and we had the most academic
year ever! Next year we are going to be relaxed homeschoolers!
Studies have shown that children who have lots of "experiences"
do better in academics later on than do kids who are put into early
academics. I believe this information is in one of the Moore's
books. The book _Endangered Minds_ gives an interesting theory as
to why this may be.
I know I have rambled a bit, but I do believe that a preschooler
would benefit more by going places and doing things with you than
he would by learning math facts and reading at such an early age.
Of course, if that's what he's dying to do, I certainly wouldn't
-My two oldest are 7 and 5. I never used a curriculum until they were 5.
With my youngest, I did a couple of preschool workbooks just because he
wanted "schoolwork" like his big sister. By the time they were 5,
they both already knew most of the kindergarten things.
Your child sounds very bright, but most likely he doesn't have the fine
motor skills to do bookwork at his intelligence level.
My advice would be to surround him with educational toys and games, as
you probably already have done. Since he already reads (my daughter was
reading at a 2nd grade level by her 3rd birthday), keep taking him to
the library and let him read what he's interested in.
Please don't push him just because he's bright! I would let him go at
his own pace, and if he's not interested in something, don't push it.
I also would suggest reading all you can about homeschooling, and
continue to go to curriculum fairs and check things out. See if you can
join a homeschool support group and find out what those around you are
doing. And get on as many curriculum/school supplies/educational
catalog mailing lists as you can.
One question: if your child can read and add at age 3, what do you
think a public or private school might have to offer him as a
kindergartner? My daughter, who is 7 now, was like your son. She now
reads at a junior high level, reads almost constantly, and knows more
facts about more subjects than many adults I know. She is weak in
spelling, which we are working on, but advanced in most everything else.
She not only would be bored stiff in public school, but probably would
not fit in with the other children anyway. And I don't think jumping
grades is the answer--that makes it even harder for the child to fit in.
It sounds like you're doing a great job--keep it up!
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