Seeking Advice on Homeschooling My 3.5 Year Old

Hi M.,
I was an elementary school teacher for 17 years and taught everything from k-6th. I spent my last few years in first, and the things we really needed the kids to know were: how to be able to write all their numbers to 100 in a hundred chart, be able to write all their alphabet, recognize all the letters by sight (both capital and lower case), write their name, write a basic sentence with appropriate punctuation, and most importantly how to follow oral directions. Some ways that you can reinforce how to write the letters and your child's name is purchasing printing paper (the type with the solid blue lines on the top and bottom and a dashed line in the middle). You can teach her to write a letter a day, and make a game of finding things in the house that begin with the beginning sounds. When it comes to vowels, focus only on short vowels first. Once she has a good grasp of that, then work on long vowels.
As for writing numbers, start with 1-10 first until she can do that confidently without help. Then go to 1-20. Keep adding series of 10 as she gains confidence until she gets to 100. Please note: reversals of numbers and letters are common.
Also, school does not need to be just at home. Whenever you are driving around in the car have your child point out numbers and letters that she recognizes on signs and tell you the sounds they make. This will give her a head start in reading.
Hope this helps.

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Hi M.,
My son is 3.5 and will be 4 in August and I plan on full-time homeschooling so I have started slowing introducing a really, really flexible curriculum. My son has learned a whole lot through play, some great educational tv shows and computer websites as mentioned below. Here are a couple of websites that helped me with curriculum and knowing what to focus on.

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?curriculum/preschool
http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/early.htm
http://www.starfall.com/
http://letteroftheweek.com/Preparatory.html

Best wishes, hope these help!
C.~

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Hi M.
I was lucky enough to be able to spend the first 3 yrs of my daughters life at home with her, just working weekends. I started her in preschool when she was just about ready to turn 3, hoping to give her almost 2 good years of preschool for the socialization as well as teacher interaction. I worked with her daily, mostly unknowingly to her. Before she was in preschool, she was able to say her alphabet, count to 50 (she could recognize both the letters and numbers as well), she knew her basic phonics to each letter (thank you Leap Frog phonics!!), she knew basic shapes, all her colors, basic words in Spanish, count to 40 in Spanish, her alphabet in sign language as well as several basic words in sign. We had also started to practice writing her letters and numbers. What I 'used' was reading books to her, letting her 'read' books (helps with fine motor skills turning pages, pointing to words, etc), watching TV (I can hear the gasps from all the moms out there!) it wasn't that I put her in front of it for hours, I let her watch Sesame Street (alphabet, counting, shapes, etc), Word World (phonics), LeapFrog phonics/word videos for maybe 2 hours/day (not every day but several times/week). You are very lucky you have older children who can help too. Have them read to her, tell her what shapes, letters, numbers, etc are. Oh, and PBSkids.org is also a great resource. My daughter is now the youngest in kindergarten (her birthday is Oct 1 and cutoff for her school is Oct 15). She is one of the top readers in class as well as one of the top academically. She does remember her Spanish and sign language. She (as well as a few others in her class) are doing work at 1st/2nd grade level right now. She has over 120 sight words (read, spell, able to say what they mean), can count (with recognition) to 1000, is learning about 3-d figures, money, adding/subtracting, etc. This is just what has worked for me, I feel giving my daughter an informal learning structure early on has given her a strong basis for learning. They are sponges at this age, take advantage of it!! Good luck!!

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Hi M.:
I guess you don't have to worry much about what you'll be doing with all your time each day. Huh? lol I was raised with 4 sisters and 2 brothers,so,believe me,It didn't take long for us kids to grasp,that individually, we weren't Mom and dads (Soul) concern. Daddy made a good living,but when you have to spread it out for 9 people in a household,you learn to appreciate what you do have,and you learn,that YOU alone,aren't what makes the world go around.One of the advantages of preschool,is teaching toddlers,how to communicate and get along with their peers.This actually is just as important to teachers,as their academic skills. Reason being,if they lack these basic skills,it can slow the learning process,not merely for them,but we know,behavior modifications, can slow down the pace of the entire class.Because your daughter is amongst mostly older siblings,this could be an advantage for her to attend,if only for a short time before school.I commend you for setting aside time,during what must be a very hectic day,to teach her basic skills she will need.I found out,through study,and experience,that if your toddler has learned basic math,phonics,and vocabulary,she will have an edge.An excellent start.I realize,that you have many parents who frown on their children using a computer,however...It can be an excellent form of teaching.They have all the letters of the alphabet before them.Learning should be fun for toddlers. If you make it a task,she will look at it as just that. You don't want her to get burnt out before she even enters school.I used the Elmo preschool program,on phonics for my Grand kids,and they progressed so fast,I had to keep upgrading and buying higher grades.When they entered school,the teachers were amazed at the level they were at.I have to mention,a young friend I knew from work. Every lunch and break,he had,I'd see him with his head in a book.It made me wonder. What makes for a good reader.Someone,who just can't get enough.I read magazine articles and the newspaper,but rarely take time for a good book.My curiosity got the better of me and I stopped him one day. I said " I couldn't help noticing" You read every day here at work.Have you always loved to read? He told me. "You know what? For as long as I can remember,my dad use to read to me."It was something,that I always looked forward to" "He brought people and stories to life for me" "Now,"I can't get enough of it" "Every book has a different message""I just love to read" I wish you and your darlin daughter the best. J. M

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M., I have an at-home preschool. I have an extra "The Complete Daily Curriculum for Early Childhood" book that I am happy to send you. It has "Over 1200 east activities to support Multiple Intelligences (Howard Gardner theory) and Learning Styles". It was very helpful to me at the beginning in setting up a daily routine for my group. email me your address & I will send it out on Friday. Other books that are helpful: Art Across the Alphabet (KJ Campbell), Mudworks (M Kohl), The Big Messy but easy to clean up art book (M Kohl), Preschool Art - It's the process not the product (M Kohl), Science is Simple (P Ashbrook). There are so many out there! These have all helped me tremendously! Also, check with your local community college. Even if yo cannot take classes, see what books are being used for their Child Development Program & look through those. A great guidance and discipline book is: How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & How to Listen so Kids Will Talk. Hokey name - awesome book! Have fun! B.

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M.,

Have you contacted your local school district office? Where I live the district has free preschool for families that qualify and it's offered at the local elementary schools. Otherwise, they may be able to link you with a homeschooling network and offer you materials for free of charge. Also, you can ask them for the current curriculim requirements of preschoolers by age...this is all free of charge.

Good Luck!

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Starfall.com is a great site!

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So far you have a lot of good advice about the kinds of things that pre-schoolers either should be learning or might learn, but I have a little different approach to it. I have a long-time background in education, both as a former teacher and mother of 7, but also going back in my family to my grandmother and mother, a master first grade teacher and reading teacher. Although my "little kids" did have fun "playing school" with my "big kids," who were 10 years older, I just don't believe in formal teaching for young children. I do believe in them learning, however!

A lot of time for children this age should be spent interacting with other children and learning how to share and collaborate. Neighborhood play groups are great, if you can find a few more stay at home moms. We had a small group and two or three times a week rotated at a different house for the morning. Two moms got "time off" and the other two watched over the kids and provided snacks. Most of the time was free play, but we also had "field trips" to a fun play park or even an age appropriate museum.

Our house was the neighborhood center for art activities. We had a wall in our garage with large piece of tack board and trays built by my husband. With paper tacked up on the board, all the kids loved to paint with poster paints, draw, and do finger painting. We also had a dress up box with left over Halloween costumes, hats, capes, and dresses and the kids loved to play dress up and also made up many plays that any parents around would be asked to watch.

Don't forget large motor activities either. You can put on some music and join in clapping games, make rhythm instruments from pots and pans, and do hopping and skipping to the beat of music. All of this is important for later small muscle coordination.

Of course you want to read aloud to your daughter, with her reading along with you. You can point out certain letters. Look! There's an "L." That's just like your name "Lisa." We grew up on nursery rhymes, because that is one of the best way to learn phonics. "The cat in the hat." "Hey, that rhymes!" "Cat and Hat. How about fat and cat. The fat cat! The fat cat sat on a mat. What about that!" Silly word games can get her started thinking of her own rhymes. You can do the same kinds of games with sounds. Shapes, colors, sounds, number clusters -- all of this should be a seamless part of every day with every child starting from birth. There's nothing particularly wrong with learning to count to a hundred or saying the alphabet, but that isn't what leads us to understanding math or reading. It's better to get an understanding of concepts, like "There are three people for lunch. Can you put three bowls on the table for our soup?" "Look, you have a red shirt on today. Can we find some red socks to match?" "Our pizza is a big circle. Let's see if I can cut it in six pieces."

My mother used to say that the children who had been coached with counting and flash cards seemed advanced on day one, but by the end of the year, all the children could read, and some of those who hadn't come with those "skills" were further ahead, because they were natural readers. She thought the children who came ready to play and share together, to sit still and listen to a story rather than having been raised on TV, who could skip and hop with coordination, and who had some broad experiences were more ready to learn, and that they usually actually learned to read faster and more fluently.

Of course learning to sit still and listen to instructions is important. You can certainly help with that by giving your daughter simple instructions, increasing in complexity, and ask her to repeat them. Getting things in order is important. "Please go to your room and get your pink socks from your drawer. Then bring them to me." Ask her to repeat what she is supposed to do. Next time, ask her to do more things in order. Sorting and categorizing is also very important. She could help sort laundry -- all the white things in one basket, or put all the socks in this drawer, and all the t-shirts in this drawer. Put away groceries: Put all the cereal on this shelf in the pantry and all the cans on this shelf. Put away dishes: Put all the forks here and the knives here. All these things can also counted, described by colors and shapes -- you get the idea.

I still believe that playing is the work of young children. And learning comes from daily life, if it is rich and filled with experiences.

S. toji

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I highly recommend reading 'How Children Learn', by John Holt.
Good luck!

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Start with anything. You can make flashcards yourself. Have some faith in your brains, you can do it!!!

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Hey M.,
I can't afford to send my daughter to preschool either. But I was lucky to find a babysitter that use to be a pre-school teacher. She teaches the kids while they are at her daycare. My daughter is 3 and is doing so well. She told me she gets all her material from a store called Lakeshore. I went there and they have all learing material. From Pre-Kinder to all other grades. You could go on line and sign up for specials and coupons. lakeshorelearning.com

heres what i would do for your daughter-

have her learn all her shapes by name and be able to reckonize them.
she needs to be able to reckonize and learn all her basic colors (red orange yellow green blue purple white black brown etc)
she should know and reckonoize her abcs
she should know and reckonize her numbers 1-30 (i think thats what they want then to know)
she should be able to reckonize her name
she should be able to read her name and write her numbers name and abcs
also a big thing is to teach them to sit through a lesson.
a great stratigy is to have different areas to learn at. say abcs and numbers in the kitchen, art in the back yard, reading in the living room etc
if your daughter is catching on fast you may try phonice so she can start to do word reckonition and basic math. also some beginner reading.
i hope this is helpful good luck!

A Beka has a great selection of K4 books that I've used with my kids. www.Abeka.com

Hi M.,
Yes, starfall.com is great! Some kindergatens use it too. My son and I work on these things all the time. I had to take him out of preschool and he is right after the cut off date and NEEDS this type of stuimulation. Your daughter is a little young so don't feel the need to push it when she get frusterated. She will learn it when she's ready. Maybe only 20 minutes a day or through in a game here and there. Here are my ideas.
*starfall.com
*preschool workbooks, (walmart, target, even walgreens) some have a cd rom to go with it, they're great
*puzzles, lots have words or math, (Ross)
*charts...I have made tons of charts.
~numbers 0-9 then 10-19 then 20-29 and so on to show the order of #'s
~ blank + blank = blank or blank - blank = then fill in the blanks with leggos or something she can pick up and move around
~2-3 letter words, 20 or so to a sheet. Practice sounding them out. Short vowls first. All lowercase, (we use more lowercase in our daily reading) My son is older so this is easier for him but I only change one letter in each word, pop, pup, cup, cap and so on.
*Zoophonics. Lots of schools use this program. It's expensive but maybe you could find a local library or school to let you borrow some of the program. It's online.
*Local library story time. It helps with socialization, following instructions from a "teacher" and there's reading and singing.
I hope at least one of these ideas helps. Great job on getting her ready. I love the time my son and I have together doing this. He does too. Enjoy!

I suggest sticking to one small subject per week. No more than 30 minutes. Structure is best. Make a chart, Week 1 color blue, week 2 color red, etc.

So for Blue, monday work on coloring things with a blue crayon. Tuesday, identifying things around the house that are blue, Wednesday, stacking blue blocks in pattern, etc.

The school has scheduled charts on the wall.

8:00 - 8:30 breakfast
8:30 - 9:00 outdoor play
9:00 - 9:15 healthy snack
9:15 - 10:00 music and dancing
10:00 - 10:30 story time

Then I would give a break on the weekends, but hopefully there is something available through your school district.

Best of luck.

There is a huge selection of books at excellent prices at www.Genesisartsandbooks.com. Most of the books have a reading level (accelerated reading level see web site www.arbookfind.com) attached to it. For a 4 year old, you should be looking at books at level 2-3 or maybe 4 depending on her ability. If she has never learned to read, start her off with level 1 or 2 and progress. Sonlight (Sonlight.com)also has an excellent reading program. Many of the books on genesisartsandbooks are on the sonlight reading program. In my opinion, Sonlight homeschooler generally reads very well and so their reading level is slightly higher as compared with AR. Email me at ____@____.com if you have any further questions.

This is what I did:

I got some puzzles with numbers and letters, some flash cards for letters and numbers and let her do lots of art. ( paint wit watercolors, draw with colored pencils, glue and scissors) get some harder puzzles to train with her. 24 pieces are great - melissa and doug have fun wooden ones! talk to her about the days of the week. Every morning we start with chores (make beds together, (me blanket, her pillows)feed the dogs...then sit down and play school for 40 minutes or so, then let her do some free time and then initiate some type of art.
she will love it! She will be fine!

good luck!!!
:)
-c

Hi M.,

Costco usually has workbooks in stock. They are huge so they should last you awhile. Target, Kmart and Walmart should all have a few options atleast. You can also try flashcards. Try to stay away from the teacher supply stores though if you are on a budget because they are very expensive.

When my kids were preschool we would have a color day to focus in on each color. On red day we would all wear red, use red plates,cups etc. We ate strawberries, red apples, red jello and drew pictures of red things with red crayons.

You can probably get ideas like these by googling on the web.

It is amazing how fast preschoolers will learn on simply tasks like a walk. You can count birds, or butterflies or leaves.

Good Luck.

Take her to the library. The very beginning books are just great. Some of them don't even have any words at all and she will learn to love books. There are so many great "beginner" books, series and stories. She will go through them fast. She is probably ready to learn alphabet (phonics) and numbers. After learning to write her name, I think kids should know how to write down their address and (mom's)phone number just for safety purposes.

Hi M.

The most important thing for your daughter to learn in preschool is to get along well with other kids and to become more independent. They will learn everything else in spite of you, trust me! So find a good playgroup, storytimes, parenting classes (most of these actually have a great component of child enrichment also) etc. It would be great if you could find something that would have her be away from you in the company of other kids (and caregivers) also. I'm sure you are already reading heavily and singing songs, playing puzzles, etc with her, so she really is getting all of the "academic" stuff that she needs at her age. Just be sure she is getting experience being away from you and dealing with socialization issues (conflict resolution, sharing, taking turns etc) with other kids.

M.,

I think you should look into ABeka. The website is abeka.com. I believe that ABeka was started as a tool to home school children. My daughter has been on the program since she was 3 1/2. The daycare she use to go to in Texas used it. She's in Kindergarten at Hueneme Christian and it's the program they use there. It's actually really good.

K.

You should check out a local teacher supply store. I know the one by me has preschool teaching guides.