home school for a 3 year old toddler?

Question

I have a three year old toddler, soon to be four. We travel allot and i was wondering is there any homeschool programs that i could register her in?

Answer 1

I am of the opinion that children learn naturally and the 'formal' learning takes the fun out of learning. Most children are anxious to learn our numbers, ABC's, colors, reading, etc. When this is turned into 'work', it is no longer fun.
My opinion would be for you to relax and let her be a child. Teach her at her pace, at her interest, and without it being a 'race' to see how much she can learn at an early age.

Answer 2

She is just a baby, take her with you on your travels, treasure each others company, and learn on the way just by pointing things out to her.
Read, collect postcards, make a memory book, anything but "formal education".
Buy some coloring books that have ABC, and 123's, puzzles, and games.
Look for Magic School Bus books, and DVDs, another series is the Magic Tree House books, these even have research guides to accompany the books, Berenstain Bears books have a lesson in each edition; all this could be a curriculum in and by itself.
More a 3 or 4 year old does not need, other than it's parents.

Answer 3

Despite what is reported in the media there is no reason to think that Early Childhood Education provides children with an advantage in later learning. In fact, it may lead to their being at a disadvantage. There are two reasons for this.

First, children who are pushed into formal education too soon burn out early (sometimes as young as 7 or 8)

Second, time spent on formal academic work takes away from time spent developing other skills, especially language skills which are vital for reading and writing. If you push your daughter into academics too early, she may learn to read earlier, but her reading level as an adult may be lower because she didn't get the chance to develop her language skills properly.

Three and Four year olds don't need a formal education program. Just read, laugh, play, talk, sing, and enjoy life with her.

There are many good ABC books out there which you can read to her; that's all she really needs right now.

My Favorite ABC Books:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Dr. Suess's ABC

Answer 4

They don't take children until they are of legal age for Kindergarten for the online homeschooling courses or for Charter type of programs. The best thing you can be doing for her right now is teaching her things thru everyday life events. She needs to have time to explore, play, read books, sing, dance, art, cook, help you clean, be outside and eplore and play. All these type of things and not be bogged down in worksheets and books. Unless a child is very bright you are only setting them up for future failure if they can not handle the work. I suggest you continue like you have and not worry about registering until she is 5 or 6 whatever it says in your state homeschooling laws.

Answer 5

Homeschooling groups vary not only by state, but also your county and town. While the regulations are different from state-to-state, cities with a higher proportion of home schooled children are more likely to have special groups and organizations. Call your local community center or try a search engine. Many home school groups are also based out of churches. If resources in your area are limited, try organizing your own group. Put an ad in the paper and/or develop a website. The children can get together at a park once or more a week to play together, or the mom's can do a rotating shift of "playtimes" at their homes. This can also open opportunities for group music and art classes, field trips, girl/boy scout groups, etc. When the kids get older you can call the local public schools and arrange unofficial "scrimages" against their sports teams.

Remember, it's never too early to teach your children, but it's never good to push too hard. Good luck.

Answer 6

Formal schooling for a 3yo is totally unecessary.

Just provide her with blocks, easy books, trips to the library, lacing books, leap pad type games, read aloud a lot, music, play time at the playground, pretend play supplies, things like that.

Teaching her shapes, colors, her name, manners, songs to sing, and possibly to read if she's advanced, is more than sufficent. Let her help you cook, fill the sink with bubbles and give her dishes to wash, give her simple chores to do - helping sort the laundry (colors & patterns).

If you really want "Curriculum" ideas check out http://www.timberdoodle.com for their preschool ideas. Most of which are very simple, fun and not terribly exspensive.

Have fun with her while she's little!

Answer 7

Probably not. I'm actually kind of confused as to what sort of program you think there would be for a 3/4yo--and what sort of program could offer something better than you can. You don't need a program to homeschool--just do your own thing.

Answer 8

You don't register your home. You just pick up a book and read to her. You teach the alphabet (song) and sing and play with her. You teach her colors and shapes and numbers. If she is extremely bright maybe you can begin teaching her phonics, but she is a bit young still- you can wait a year on that.

Answer 9

She is too young for formal schooling. Just work with her on reading skills, speaking skills, coloring and colors, numbers and letters. Her fine motor skills may not be advanced enough to teach her writing, but you can try. Just read to her and with her, help her color, that kind of thing. Please don't buy a sophisticated curriculum to homeschool a 3 year old. You don't need all that. :) Have fun with her and that's all the learning she needs right now.

Answer 10

You should look at Starfall:

http://www.starfall.com

Age 3-4 is a bit early to find programs, but I would imagine any local HS group would have activities and playdates.

If you're looking for a structured, online program for curriculum, the only thing I can think of are phonics/reading programs like Starfall. There aren't any online preschools...at least not that I've ever heard of.