Thank you for the words of encouragement. You are all probably dead right. He is very young, and emotionally more so. I am trying to choose a curriculum for next year and I am going bonkers. One day I look at Sonlight, the next WinterPromise, etc.

I should say I am also looking into Winter Promise. I saw the history books and thought they looked interesting enough for a 5 yo. Although I like MM because it is dead simple (if I can understand a math concept anyone can -that will give you an indication of my math skills).

Hi. I suppose 4.5yo is very young. I keep meeting other children at our HS meetings who can read fairly well. Hi. We were using Step by Step Reading by Moma McNee. DS son balked the moment I tried sounding out "c-a-t" and got frustrated/bored after 5 minutes. Yes, he knows all the letters and most of the sounds, but he doesn't get that this is how you read. Someone suggested Jolly Phonics as it is readily available in the UK. BTW I like the idea of making him do copywork. I haven't tried to push science. It is what DS likes.

As summer approaches I realise that I am far from many goals I've set my our homeschooling year. DS (4.5yo) is very advanced in science but he is far behind in reading. Curiously enough he is writing words even though I haven't started our handwriting curriculum (how do you write if you can't read yet??). Math levels are ok, although bears and pebbles mean nothing to him but doing math while playing shop and handling money he gets.;) I am thinking about how to make changes to accommodate his insane craving for science and his shortcomings in LA. I am considering Sonlight but I am worried because he can't read he will become bored with so many books and reading required. It is very attractive to me to have an open and go curriculum that covers social studies, history and geography. Is there a curriculum out there than can be tweaked to accommodate for different levels of development in a child? Something with pre-made lessons? I tried making my own lessons for this year and failed miserably. Not to mention I don't have a lot of free time for planning. Sorry about the rant. I am feeling a bit lost. :confused:

I couldn't have put it better myself. I also learned that I need some lesson plans made for me and more structure. Otherwise I tend to "go off the tangent"!

Thank you for posting this. It is lovely.

Sorry for your loss. I have lost many pets over the years and it is always heartbreaking. Pets are friends/mates/buddies/surrogate children/companion and partners in crime. Sometimes it is good to remember that our pets were loved and knew they were loved to bits. :grouphug:

Pretty much the same boat with one caveat. Husband doesn't speak Spanish and we live in the Gulf. I spoke to DS in Spanish exclusively for the first 3 years of his life. Not only I could not get him to speak Spanish but he spoke very little English. Speech therapist said ds needed more English input (husband works very long hours so he only spent a few hours a week with DS). My mum said, "don't worry ds will pick English in school". Problem: DS is being HS so I have become pretty much his only source of English. I am talking to DS in English about 60% of the time. Of course his English has improved lots but the Spanish has gone down the drain. My mother won't talk to me now and I am worried DS will pick my accent (I'm originally from South America). I sooo feel your pain... :grouphug:

Sorry about my ignorance. What is ETC?

I have been trying to teach how to read using a book. We got stuck at the first lesson (c-a-t). He just doesn't like text books... As I said before I don't think he likes formal books. As for the writing, I'm still scratching my head. Of course he sees me write but I didn't expect him to do cursive. I always read small children are not ready for that so I never pushed him. Weird kid. Thank you for taking the time to list of these resources. I am going for the 3 R's (plus science only because ds really likes it). I know he recognises many words, even if he doesn't really get the phonics part. DS loves to watch videos on the computer (so far about planets and wild life) so I will definitely take a good look at media resources. wow, I feel I just got a bit :grouphug:. This is my first year of homeschooling so I am finding my feet.

My 4.5yo DS handed me drawing yesterday. It was the usual thing: planets and moons, etc. Above a moon he wrote "mon" in perfect cursive handwriting. Well, for one he can't read yet, let alone write. As far as I know he can only write numbers 1-5. I tried to teach him print first. We did the "a" about a month ago but he wasn't willing to go on. Now I see him scribbling away and trying to join letters (which again I have not taught him yet). Am I going too slow for him? If I try to push ahead will I discourage him? Is it just something children do and maybe it doesn't mean his ready for more? I know I sound dumb but... :confused1:

I bookmarked your blog as well. It is lovely.

i tried planbook and it didn't work for me. Too many glitches and frankly I don't have the time to deal with it. So I downloaded OpenOffice and now use donna young's planner for excel which works great in OO). It may be not have a lot of features but it is basic and it works.

Why do K at all? There are practical/legal considerations. Well, in the UK a 5yo has to be in "school"/receiving formal education, in the classroom or at home. The LA (local authority) is usually not sympathetic to homeschoolers anyway. You may be forced to send your children to PS if you can't somehow show your children are doing some kind of school work at home! In addition to concerns about the LA many children want to do "school", especially if they have older siblings or friends. How can you stop them?

Many thanks. :001_smile:

Definitely interested in the blog link. Please? :bigear:

Thank you for this link. My 4yo ds is so intense it makes my head hurt. I can't understand how a little bright boy can know so much astronomy (-and right now he is devouring a book on electricity and magnetism that I found in a second hand bookstore), but can't do his own shoes. I just ordered the Living with Intensity book because I have to start with something. DH wants him to go to school but I don't know if the school is going to be able to handle him.

I am getting so much useful information. I am not familiar with Galore Park but I will a look at the samples. I will go with the British spelling from the start because ds is such a perfectionist that whatever you teach him is set in STONE with BLOOD.

It depends on who's sick and how sick. 2 weeks ago my ds got a jab and had a bad reaction, so obviously no school those 2 days. This week I have a chest infection/bad cold so I have done informal science about the human body (lot of talking and pointing at the books), but I didn't hover all over ds because I don't want him getting sick too. So I would say we take days off but I am schooling the year around so I am not too bothered about loosing a few days here and there... :chillpill: mode.

We were doing MEP but I just downloaded Math Mammoth! So many people here are talking about Galore Park that I will have to look into it. Why did you choose Galore Park? I was doing (or trying to do) Moman McNeed reading but I may look into Jolly Phonics because ds just is not getting it (well, he is only 4.5 yo). Jollly Phnics just looks more lively. I will be traveling to the UK later on this year which is why I am asking as I can pick up the books/materials while I'm there. ;)

I have had so many problems with planning. We had a few bouts of illness and realised that all the planning had gone down the drain. It took ages to fix everything in the computer. A log, huh? What would I do without this forum? :lol:

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Very clever about using the SL catalog and then get the books on your own! I picked up lots of Usborne books at a church sale before I even heard of Sonlight and my boy loves the books (so do I). I am guessing you don't need or follow SL plan lessons?

Yes, brilliant. I like Sonlight but the shipping charges were a bit steep for me -I think it was the amount of books they use. You gave me something to think about...

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I was wondering what curriculum/materials UK home schoolers are using? I see an amazing choice of American homeschool curricula and materials (they look soooo nice) but when I look deeper I realise I have to do a lot of tweaking. Some of the spelling and wording are obviously different, and so is history, national holidays, traditions, government and local geography. What do UK homeschoolers (or home educators) use? :bigear: