I plan on homeschooling my son when he is a little older. At what point should I start? Whats the earliest age

Question

I plan on homeschooling my son when he is a little older. At what point should I start? Whats the earliest age that I can start? What sort of things can I teach him (he is 19 months old) that he will actually learn and that will be fun for him?

Answer 1

You can start right now using the montessori method and materials you find in your own home. Practical living skills are the first thing you teach children, self care etc... he will love the activities. There is a yahoo group playschool6 that has a lot of great info too.

Answer 2

I'm amazed at how many people are against homeschooling. Every homeschooled child I know is very smart, articulate, caring, well-adjusted and doing better on state test scores and SATs than the average publically educated student.

Official homeschooling can depend on your state. I suggest visiting www.hslda.org to find out your state's laws. Some start at age 5, some by age 6.

I'm starting my son at either 4 or 5 with regulated homeschooling. Before then, we're just interacting and learning on a more relaxed basis. But by 4 or 5, I'll be reporting to the school district my child's grades, classes, etc.

I'm homeschooling because my local schools are churning out some of the most poorly educated students in the nation! I KNOW I can do a much better job and expose him to a wider variety of subjects. Plus, I can specialize his learning based on his interests and abilities. As for socialization, we belong to a number of community groups, have a great neighborhood, and a large family.

Don't let people get you down! Just enjoy time with your son learning ABC's and 123's, colors and names of things.

I recommend The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Bauer.

ladyscott

Answer 3

4 or 5 or 6. You should decide when you think he is ready. The beauty of homeschooling is his knowledge is in your hands. Only you know when you think he might be ready. Get the first course and decide if he can handle it. between 2 and 3 start teaching him ABC by singing him the song and 123 ( I had to make up a song) play lots of memory inspiring games involving colours and shapes and puzzles. If you think he is doing well with that you can start kindergarten. Personally, I wanted to homeschool as well, now he's in school and I welcome the break. You will know better when he's closer in age. Don't feel guilty if you think you might need mom time. I got my son into playschool for me time and social time for him. He loved it so much, he went onto kindergarten in a public school. He loves it! Do what is best for you and your family.

Answer 4

I don't think it is ever too early to start teaching a child to learn! Age has nothing to do with learning, from the moment the child leaves the womb, until our time has come to depart, we should always try to learn. I hope that you and the Baby's Daddy have tried to teach Him to walk and talk, and discipline for your house. At 19 Mons. He should be trying to speak, crawl, and walk on His own, also play, so why not make learning games that you and His Daddy can play with Him so He will have a "head-start" in the learning game? You know, learning the alphabet, numbers, and trying to hold a crayon or pencil and writing them also. If He(Baby) thinks it is fun and it is playful(play-time) with Momma and Daddy, He will want to do it more and more, thus He will want to learn, as well.
Just start doing small things everyday with Him, and see how much He wants to do it with you, like the ABC's, make the ABC song to Him, the more He listens, the faster He will learn...

Answer 5

Good for you! My oldest son was home schooled through the eighth grade. You should already be reading to your child, and talking to him in normal English, not "baby talk". This will help him develop good vocabulary skills early on. When your child is able to talk then he should be able to begin learning letters sounds and numbers. Naturally young children have short attention spans, so it may be better to have a couple of short lessons through the day instead of one long one that will bore and frustrate your child. Try to have a dedicated time and place to teach your child, so he knows this is the place and time for "school". Make learning fun, if you live in a rural area or near a park use objects in nature as object lessons, for counting and letters,colors ect. There are many home school supply companies that sell curriculum from pre- school through high school. Check the internet. Abeka books is a good one. Also you will need to register you child with your local school system as a home school student when he is old enough to enter kindergarten. Good luck and stick with.

Answer 6

Homeschooling is better than the average public school. The public schools where I'm at are like sending your kids to a street fight. My kids go to a private Christian school. Don't listen to these numb skulls that say home school is bad, that isn't true historically. But do a lot of research to determine which school program to use. There should be home school groups in your area; of course the net will have a lot of information on it.

Answer 7

ummmm start now by teaching the basics of communicating and understanding and about life in general. just as any parent would. see? all children are home schooled for at least the early years. :)
teach as soon and as much as u think the child is capable of understanding, without pushing to a point where they lose interest in learning.

Answer 8

Children start learning at birth.

Explain the world around you to him. Talk to him about letters and numbers. When you climb stairs, count them. When you sort laundry, talk about what color things are. Play "I spy" in the grocery store and talk about shapes and colors. Give him measuring cups to play with in the tub. Everything is a learning experience at this age!

Answer 9

Do a search of homeschooling advice and you'll get advice like exampled below:

Best Homeschooling - Homeschoolers' Best Advice, with Links to ...
Best advice about homeschooling and learning from seasoned homeschoolers and
other educators.
http://www.besthomeschooling.org/ -

Answer 10

Every time you interact with your children you are teaching them. As far as sit down schooling is concerned, probably when he reaches 4 or 5. A friend of mine home schools her children and that is what she does. Good Luck to you.