Dear Homeschool Mom

Once in awhile I get a schooling question from others. This is the latest, and my response. This is from a friend from high school. After 22 years of schooling, it is nice to be able to share some experience. Why, thanks for asking!


Jannell:
Thought I'd pick your brain for a minute. My daughter C. has signed up both her boys (age 3 and 4) for preschool. The 4-year-old went last year. The preschool is very nice. It's run by the Lutheran church. Grandson loved it and we think it was good for developing social skills etc. She also had him prescreened for kindergarten even though due to his age, he would not be going this fall. She wanted to see what skills he might need to work on this year.

Anyway.....long story short, the board of directors for the preschool does not want the curriculum to include working on letters, numbers or reading. Reading and writing is the area that C. wants some attention given to. We are looking for an "easy to implement" curriculum that would address this and I thought perhaps you might have some advice or a particular program that worked well for you.

We're thinking to do 3 days a week for roughly an hour or less each day (the days they do not go to preschool) and would probably work with both of the boys. They are pretty smart and catch on quickly to things. They typically have 1-2 hours of story time every day so they have a good size vocabulary and comprehension of the meanings of words.The reason we need an "easy" one is for C. and I!!! So, any advice for us?
K.


K.,
I would advise that you are doing the perfect thing to prepare them by being attentive and including them in your daily lives, and by reading to them extensively, and giving them a bit of exposure to other kids.

What we have learned over the years is that the kids who are attuned to their family more than their peers are generally better socialized, regardless of what type of schooling their parents feel is best for their particular situation, so I would advise that you/she always weigh the idea that family/church/ community/service to others comes first and friends/sports/academics follow as an important second. By focusing on a strong family and community life, the child is happier and more comfortable in his proper place.

The parent's marriage and the extended family should always be considered before the individual child's agenda. So, if mom and dad can afford with money and time to have Junior in baseball, and the whole family enjoys this, then it is a good thing. But if baby brother will get too tired, and mom will be overly stressed or if the cost is too much to manage, etc., the family should look for another outlet that will serve the child's needs within the family. God set up the family as the building block to society and if our families are strong and close, we are doing what is best for our world in general, and our children in particular.

I would also urge her to make time for service with her kids. Visit a nursing home regularly, pull weeds for grandma and grandpa, make jam and take it to a neighbor. Openly notice and admire others who serve. These are opportunities that we can just be open to, but often need to deliberately look for in our children's lives. Pay attention so that the pace of life does not inadvertently eliminate these opportunities. Simple things, but natural service to others teaches children that the world does not revolve around them and it develops empathy and altruism. We are to be servants, not served. Our society seems to forget this when it comes to training children, and it is an easy trap to slip into with the pace of life most of us follow.

Now for academics, which is of course, what you really asked me. Sorry you got this big load. You did not know what you were in for, did you?

At their ages, it is great to do numbers and letters, etc...IF THEY ARE INTERESTED. Let the child lead with their interests. Every child is a learner, and we do not want to ruin their excitement by making learning a job. Have things around that they can do. If they like letters and numbers, casually do a few workbook pages or point letters/numbers out in daily life. If they want more, give it to them. If they resist, gently back off.

We often played simple letter games in the car (who can find an "E", what sound does it make?-what are the vowels, etc...), wrote dotted line letters for them to copy in church, spelled out family names, etc. Any little thing you can NATURALLY DO IN YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE will show them that letters and numbers are fun and exciting and useful. You guys are way ahead here if you are reading to them so much. There is little you can do that is better for them academically.

We often got little workbooks from the store. Look for ones that will appeal to your child in color, layout and content. You know him best. If you want to find these at the grocery store or Wal Mart, etc, you may be surprised at how many choices there are. There are teacher's stores that you can go into, but they can be a bit overwhelming. I would save them for if you do not find something you like while looking more casually. I like to go to Barnes and Noble. They have a great selection by age, price etc. and you can look and compare easily all at once. Amazon is good too, if you are more into on-line shopping. Here there are usually reviews and sometimes sample pages with each. But, I think holding it in your hand and seeing the range of lessons is very helpful.

There are tons of websites with curriulum. You could google "curriculum" or "home school" and lots will come up. There is every flavor and bent you could ever want. That is a whole 'nother world, so you may just want to check out this one, which is one of my favorites: timberdoodle.com. Their catalogue is great for gift giving for curious kids, too. They have fun stuff and I like the sections on curriculum packages or by age/grade. Then you can look at suggestions and samples and go up or down a grade if it seems too easy or hard for your child. These people have been home schooling for years.

For English/phonics I specificaly love (and the kids did too) the Explode the Code series by Nancy Hall and Language Lessons for Children by Sandi Queen. Find the level that works for your situation. Both of these programs are out-of-the-box ready with little or no prep on the teacher's part. They are incremental, engaging and almost self-teaching. I did not ever get the teacher's edition, they are so self explanatory. (Remember, that any curriculum is there to serve you and your child's needs, you are not there to serve the curriculum. Use what works, skip the unnecessary. It is OK to skip things in a textbook. They do it all the time in traditional schooling.)

One warning: Don't over buy. I learned years ago that I could spend tons of money on cool curriculum that we did not use. I made myself a rule (because we were POOR) that I would not buy something unless I saw that we NEEDED it first. It saved a ton of money and unused books. I sometimes weakened and bought something that "looked good" but I was usually sorry later because I seldom used it. (This is where teacher stores can be very dangerous to your pocketbook.)

OK. Probably way more than you bargained for. Sorry. Take what you like and discard the rest. I always think advice is like junk mail-you can keep it if you want, but it's perfectly fine to throw it away if is not something you will use. Good luck. Thanks for asking!
Jannell