Guidance on preparing my daughter's home school layout?

Question

My husband and I will be homescooling our children. We have done all the research and decided it was best for our family. Our oldest just turned 3 in April and we want to start having a little more structure to prepare her for later years. We already attend playgroups and have a set time for going to the local park to play. But when it comes to doing stuff, I have a few ideas, but don't tend to put them through. Basically, since I am just beginning I need some type of website to tell me when where and how, so I can can a good idea of how this whole thing will work and my children actually learn. Yes, I am a procrastinator and have days of being lazy, but this is why I am starting to look for guidance now while my children are young so that my days and their curriculumm can be more organized and worthwhile by the time full blown teaching is awaiting them! Thank you!

Answer 1

I agree with all the people who said not to be too structured. A few good things to have on hand though, for when she wants to do something:
*Magnetic Alphabet tiles, preferably in upper and lower case.
*Magnetic numbers
*Play dough, can be shaped into letters, numbers, and whatever else sounds fun.
*Lots of story books, a mix of contemporary, and classics like Beatrix Potter, Aesops fables, Bible stories if you choose, etc. Read aloud to her several times a day and take time to let her talk about the pictures, ask about words she doesn't know, etc.
*Counting objects: These can be comercial such as counting bears, or something as simple as silverware.
*Crayons, paint, finger paint, paper.
*A sand box and containers to fill and empty. If you don't have one of these then she can do much of the same stuff in the bathtub with water.
*A book of fingerplays.
*The great outdoors. Let her explore, collect leaves and pinecones, examine bugs and worms, feel the grass between her toes, and run and play.
If you feel you must have some structured learning. Use the above materials in a planned way, for instance you could have a "Letter of the week" that you make with playdough, display on fridge, paint, color a picture of, point to in books, and find objects that begin that letter all week long. You could do the same with a number, each day doing an activity for that number. I even had a shape of the week, and an animal of the week. It only took a few minutes here and there, no real "sit down and work" time, just things like, "Oh look at this apple, our letter of the week is "a", "a" says a like apple, apple starts with a". My daughter was taught this way and was reading at a second grade level before starting Kindergarten. I never planned on teaching her to read early, but this method works. After she mastered the letters and basic sounds, I switched to one phonic rule or pattern each week. For example, "The "e" on the end makes the vowel say its name", or ""aw" says aw like in straw. It was all low key, and non pressured, and she loved it.
A book series I recomend is "The three R's" by Ruth Beechick. As well as the ones recomended by homeschoolmom.

Answer 2

Maybe it's got nothing to do with procrastination and something inside of you, instead, telling you that you don't need any real sort of structure right now. Your oldest is only 3--hardly worthy of structured "homeschool" time! And "full-blown teaching"? You add one thing at a time as you go. It's not like one day, you won't be doing really anything then, woops, it's grade 1 and you have to spend 6 hours doing work. It doesn't work like that. About 30 minutes a day in K (and even that doesn't need to be structured), usually no more than an hour a day in gr. 1... It doesn't have to be that complicated. Just keep adding in what you can when you can.

Answer 3

Before 5 or 6 there is really no need for any kind of "curriculum" or plan. If you're worried that you should be doing *something* because you feel like you're not doing *anything*, pick up a book for 10-15 minutes of read-aloud time, take a nature hike and point out different flowers and trees and bugs, draw letters/numbers in shaving cream or sand, count everything in sight, point out familiar signs (stop, McDonalds, exit, open, etc.), "camp-out" in the backyard and look at the stars or catch fireflies (then release them, of course), play in water to see how it flows and moves, ... Just set aside some time everyday (maybe just after lunch) to do some of those ideas you have. Try for just one idea every day.

At 3 years old, everything is new, so "teaching" is very easy and relaxed. We didn't really start any "formal" curriculum until about 6. I know families that wait until 9 or 10. If you try to push your child to learn something before their brains are physically ready, you will only make it more difficult for you (and frustrate your child) than if you wait until she is capable of assimilating the new information. When she's ready, she'll suck it up like a sponge.

A few good resources (two for now, two for later) are:

NOW:
_Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready_ ,by June Oberlander
_Mudpies to Magnets_, by Robert A. Williams, et al.

LATER:
_The Well-Trained Mind_, by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer
_So You're Thinking About Homeschooling_, by Lisa Whelchel (yes, the one from "The Facts of Life")

Answer 4

Listen to Glurpy. Here is a website though with lots of information:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/

The most structured thing you can do at this age is set up a time everyday to read aloud to your kids.

I know that it is easy when you first decide to homeschool to be excited and overwhelmed at the same time. Part of you can't wait for your kids to get older so that you can really start teaching them stuff. Don't try to do to much too early or you might burn them out.

Feel free to start looking through curriculum guides and thinking about what educational goals you have for your children, just don't set anything in stone or try to do too much. This website has curriculum reviews:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/

And I really like Singapore Math:
http://www.singaporemath.com/Default.asp

We've also had good luck with some of the Kumon workbooks (tracing, # games), but I would recommend waiting until closer to age 4 for any of those.

Good luck!!

Answer 5

I agree that 3 is too young to start schooling in earnest and I would also agree with the other poster that just reading your child books is a good habit to get into.

In a year or so you might want to consider Calvert School. It is a very structured school-like curriculum. It walks you through the several hours of instruction step by step. It is not for everyone but it gives some parents peace of mind to have that structure.

Answer 6

Listen to Glurpy. I agree with her. You may also look back at questions similar to this on Yahoo!Answers. Trust your instincts.
If your 3 year old wants to 'school', then give her some alphabet letters to color, read to her, talk to her, answer her questions, and basically just spend time with her giving her your attention.
Schooling is not a race. Many parents brag about their children walking at 9 months or earlier, but they are walking the same as the others their own age a few years later.
The same is true of other skills.

Answer 7

We have incorporated some Montessori concepts into our homeschool. We have several bookcases with shelves for each child. For the younger children we place items like:
- age appropriate puzzles,
- different items to sort or stack
- crayons with paper
- letter shapes
- a basket of books for us to read aloud to them
- age appropriate workbooks
- household items they can use to help with "practical life skills" like a duster to help dust shelves

The older children have things like:
- geography puzzles
- educational games
- their daily reading and math work
- letter tiles to practice spelling
- art supplies
- various math manipulatives
- etc.

We are combining a classical curriculum with a Montessori method. Certain subjects (reading and math) are done daily for the older kids (2nd and K). The 2 year old can pick whatever he'd like to play with from his shelves. Once the older kids have completed their daily math and reading/phonics work, they can select from the other items on their shelves. The older two do history and science together (one afternoon for each subject) weekly. We have a lot of academic material we're going through but we don't have a strict daily schedule. I found that with my kids, there are times they just really want to work on art projects, sometimes my daughter will complete her daily math work and want to do more - - so we let her keep going until she's ready to move on to something else.

Answer 8

With a 3 yr old, I wouldn't worry about structure or organized curriculum. I read to them, play learning games, do activities (mostly games) that involve learning letters, numbers, counting, sorting, organizing, comparing/contrasting, memory, sing songs and encourage imagination.

Answer 9

Are you sure that homeschooling is right for you? My parents decided to homeschool me and I hated it I was so much happier when I got to go to public school. You might think that homeschooling is the best option now but consider your children's point of view when they are like 12 and only have a small circle of friends. That wasn't my case, I had lots of friends but in general homeschooled children have a very limited number of friends. Have you concidered private school as an alternative?

Answer 10

I agree with others - just make it fun and not too structured.

My best friend loved doing Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row before she started formal curriculum:

http://www.fiarhq.com/

Here are some great sites, too:

http://www.starfall.com
http://www.letteroftheweek.com
http://www.learningplanet.com
http://www.enchantedlearning.com

Have fun!