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Push them or let them be a kid?


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Is it a disservice to an accelerated learning child to not do much in formal education while they are young? (Allow them to pursue learning on their own but not provide formal structure.)

 

Or Is it more important to let them be a kid and round out their education with social activities, free time and individual exploration?

 

I am thinking about a kindergarten aged child who reads fluently, if that makes a difference.

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Sometimes "being a kid" means "doing whatever the kids really loves to do." For my oldest, that was constant, directed learning. For my youngest, it was "do your own thing". Ask the child. Really. It's a disservice to assume you know what really gets their attention. At 5, a reader might find himself facinated with star wars and harry potter, or maybe it's the life cycle of various types of bugs. Whatever it is, go with it.

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I honestly think it depends on what they want to do. If you give my 5 year old ds lots of free time to explore what he likes, he will look at his dad's books and try to sound out words, ask for the pocket microscope to go outside and look at plant parts, and go through 27 pages in his math book, all on his own in the space of a morning. If, on the other hand, I gave my dd, now age 11, a morning to do what she liked when she was five, she would spend the entire time watching TV cartoons. (She does not now show nor has at any time ever shown any interested in making cartoons, drawing, filming, or anything that would make her interest in TV 'professional'.) Needless to say, my daughter's educational path is considerable more structured than my son's at this time! :-)

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I think you can provide a stimulating educational environment and raise kids who love to learn without pushing. If the house is a learning environment where parents actively learn and read, learning materials are easy to access, and TV and videogames are limited to certain times, kids grow up loving to learn and pushing isn't necessary because learning is just a way of life.

 

I have a child who loves to play violin and plays for hours each day along with lots of travel for lessons and performances. I feel I need to protect her childhood so I make time for her to play with friends (though we've had to be creative), give her free time every day to do what she wants to do (though often that is playing violin), and have times where we just have fun together. For school we do lots of crafts and other hands on projects and experiments because she enjoys doing those things and at night we snuggle together and read to each other.

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I guess I don't see why it has to be an either-or thing. When my son, who read fluently at the beginning of kindergarten, was that age, we did schoolwork for maybe an hour each day, but during that hour I made sure he was challenged. So he was pushed (nudged really) during that hour and then allowed to be a kid (assuming that one can't be a kid during lesson time) for the other 23 hours.

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We do school stuff, I just am musing it because he is doing so much more formal school stuff at this point than his older brother was and sometimes I wonder.

 

My problem with just asking him is he always says yes, he wants more and I want to provide it but can't. The budget is tight.

 

We have tons of books on hand and get tons at the library and I'm actively trying to provide interesting things to him.

 

I guess I'm just wondering where the balance is.

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I guess I don't see why it has to be an either-or thing. When my son, who read fluently at the beginning of kindergarten, was that age, we did schoolwork for maybe an hour each day, but during that hour I made sure he was challenged. So he was pushed (nudged really) during that hour and then allowed to be a kid (assuming that one can't be a kid during lesson time) for the other 23 hours.

 

This. :iagree:

 

And I think lesson time can be fun even when you are challenging them. Though there are always some days where we are in "just get it done" mode, overall we have a good time. DD is in a better mood when she has "interesting" schoolwork than when we have repetitive drudgery....

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We do school stuff, I just am musing it because he is doing so much more formal school stuff at this point than his older brother was and sometimes I wonder.

 

My problem with just asking him is he always says yes, he wants more and I want to provide it but can't. The budget is tight.

 

We have tons of books on hand and get tons at the library and I'm actively trying to provide interesting things to him.

 

I guess I'm just wondering where the balance is.

 

The balance is when a little one isn't finding it fun. When they start to push back, back off. If they want to learn, and are enjoying it, go for it. It really is as simple as that. At signs of frustration, getting tired, boredom, etc.

 

Try to keep it fun, give plenty of breaks, and roll with the flow.

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I guess I don't see why it has to be an either-or thing. When my son, who read fluently at the beginning of kindergarten, was that age, we did schoolwork for maybe an hour each day, but during that hour I made sure he was challenged. So he was pushed (nudged really) during that hour and then allowed to be a kid (assuming that one can't be a kid during lesson time) for the other 23 hours.

 

:iagree:We've been doing about 1.5-2 hours a day of formal kindergarten, and I try to keep the level of schoolwork up where it is interesting and challenging. Then we provide an enriched environment for the rest of the time. So when my daughter is "just being a kid" she may be using her Nutcracker paper dolls to make up a sequel to the ballet, or reading novels at a sixth grade level, or acting out a fantasy scenario in which we're ancient Greek goddesses, or weighing things with a bucket balance and weights.

 

Or she may be dancing around with her little brother and some stuffed animals, having a "hat party" at which everyone, including the stuffies, is required to wear a hat. It goes all ways around here. :D

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I guess I don't see why it has to be an either-or thing. When my son, who read fluently at the beginning of kindergarten, was that age, we did schoolwork for maybe an hour each day, but during that hour I made sure he was challenged. So he was pushed (nudged really) during that hour and then allowed to be a kid (assuming that one can't be a kid during lesson time) for the other 23 hours.

 

:iagree: I like to see my kids challenged daily in age appropriate bites, but they have plenty of time for free exploring, reading, extras, etc. My kids are very cautious to try new things and are not naturally hard workers or willing to challenge themselves. With a little push, I find they often take off on things. Every kid is different. I know other GT kids that are much more naturally focused on academics.

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Challenge them... but don't overwhelm. Enrich... but don't push. As everyone has said, it's not an either-or. There will be days your 5yo wants to spend 2 hours on math...there will be days your 5yo doesn't want to look at math. After all, your 5yo is five.

 

I think it's easier to go too fast with formal academics when your children are accelerated. After all, they are "ready." But, physically and emotionally you still have a 5yo. That is *easy* to forget.

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Challenge them... but don't overwhelm. Enrich... but don't push. As everyone has said, it's not an either-or. There will be days your 5yo wants to spend 2 hours on math...there will be days your 5yo doesn't want to look at math. After all, your 5yo is five.

 

I think it's easier to go too fast with formal academics when your children are accelerated. After all, they are "ready." But, physically and emotionally you still have a 5yo. That is *easy* to forget.

 

:iagree:

 

It isn't either-or. Challenge and enrich, but give plenty of free time. Watch and listen to your child to be sure you aren't pushing too hard or accelerating too quickly. There isn't a magic formula. You have to find the balance that is right for your child.

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We do a bit of formal schoolwork every day, but I am not at all convinced that the stuff I give my son during 'school time' is any more challenging than a lot of the stuff he comes up with on his own. In the final analysis I simply lack the nerve to unschool, but in a way I think that's kind of a shame.

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It's not either/or. A kid can be a kid and still enjoy a formal education.

When my DD learned to read at age 5, all she wanted for months is read books, books and more books. She found that thoroughly enjoyable and reading became her favorite pasttime. I would have done her a disservice had I taken the books away from her.

 

I strongly believe that a parent needs to listen to the individual child. What is right for one kid doe snot have to be right for another, no even a sibling.

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We do a bit of formal schoolwork every day, but I am not at all convinced that the stuff I give my son during 'school time' is any more challenging than a lot of the stuff he comes up with on his own. In the final analysis I simply lack the nerve to unschool, but in a way I think that's kind of a shame.

 

Not to derail the topic, but I was an unschooler for several years. My kids have asked for more formal schooling so I've provided it starting this school year and we're all happier. Does that still make me an unschooler since they asked? I don't care. I decided the term unschooling is too negative for me anyway and prefer "delight directed home schooler".

 

But since I had started on the path of unschooling and we're switching paths, I am still trying to figure it all out.

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Challenge them... but don't overwhelm. Enrich... but don't push. As everyone has said, it's not an either-or. There will be days your 5yo wants to spend 2 hours on math...there will be days your 5yo doesn't want to look at math. After all, your 5yo is five.

 

I think it's easier to go too fast with formal academics when your children are accelerated. After all, they are "ready." But, physically and emotionally you still have a 5yo. That is *easy* to forget.

 

Very well stated. I think this is what I am trying to figure out. Remembering his age and emotional readiness as much as his intellectual capacity.

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I guess I don't see why it has to be an either-or thing. When my son, who read fluently at the beginning of kindergarten, was that age, we did schoolwork for maybe an hour each day, but during that hour I made sure he was challenged. So he was pushed (nudged really) during that hour and then allowed to be a kid (assuming that one can't be a kid during lesson time) for the other 23 hours.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

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For my 6yo, she needs to have just enough structure to inspire her. Much of what we do ends up being woven into her play. Today was a very good example. I finished reading to her a very long book about the building of an Ancient Roman city, which I, personally, found a bit dry, boring and too lengthy. But as soon as we were done, she set herself to "building" an amphitheater in our living room, complete with a pool for a naval battle. When we are sick or very stressed and we take a day off, it inevitably is a huge stress, because she doesn't know what to do with herself. I sometimes wonder if purchasing the curricula is worth the investment at this age. But on days like this, I can see the payoff.

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I agree that it doesn't have to be either-or.

 

My oldest learned a lot by "unschooling" preK, so when he started K, he already knew what he was supposed to know (and was reading above grade level). While he was "in school" in K, he really wasn't learning much new stuff at school. Outside of school, he learned a ton, basically "unschooling". He pursued his own interests, he thought about math on his own, he read books on his own, etc. I didn't do anything formal with him outside of his regular school, and if he'd been at home, we could have done nothing formal and he'd still have been ahead. He probably would have been even more ahead because he'd have had time to read more.

 

I do formal schooling for him in first grade, but he also has plenty of time to "be a kid". Afterall, school takes about 2-2.5 hours, including independent reading time. The rest of that time, he's playing with his brothers, running around the farm, playing in the sandbox, etc.

 

My 4 year old (preK3 by school grades) does 10 minutes of formal "reading lesson" most days... because he asks. He's learning a lot in those lessons (he actually does better with formal schooling than my oldest did at such an age). It's just 10 minutes though. Again, he has tons and tons of time to play. His day is certainly not filled with school. :tongue_smilie: My plan is to require the 3Rs each day (about 45 minutes worth) when he's K age. Until then, school is "on demand" for him. In first grade, I'll require more. I do want to establish good school habits while they're young and easily molded. A 6 year old is still in parent-pleasing mode. But before first grade, I'm totally cool with a more unschooling approach for my kids.

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Is it a disservice to an accelerated learning child to not do much in formal education while they are young? (Allow them to pursue learning on their own but not provide formal structure.)

 

Or Is it more important to let them be a kid and round out their education with social activities, free time and individual exploration?

 

I am thinking about a kindergarten aged child who reads fluently, if that makes a difference.

 

I think it can depend on the child. Some children thrive with unschooling and others need more structure.

 

With my kids I have started structured learning when my children are about Kindergarten age. Before that I pretty much unschooled. I unschooled the second half of my oldest son's Kindergarten year too, but it didn't satisfy him.

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Guest Dulcimeramy
We do a bit of formal schoolwork every day, but I am not at all convinced that the stuff I give my son during 'school time' is any more challenging than a lot of the stuff he comes up with on his own. In the final analysis I simply lack the nerve to unschool, but in a way I think that's kind of a shame.

 

Wow. It is so interesting to hear you say this. I'd forgotten, but I used to always say this when my oldest son was little. Exactly what you said here, almost word for word.

 

I'll tell you my perspective now, as he begins 9th grade: It was worth it to add that directed study to his busy day. It was right.

 

The time I allowed him to take every day, studying on his own and pursuing his own interests, helped him grow into a curious and capable young man. He is a true autodidact.

 

The time I spent every day making *sure* he was rock-solid in arithmetic, grammar, spelling, Latin, and logic gave him the tools he needs to carry out his amazing dreams.

 

Yes. Both. That is why we classically homeschool.

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:iagree: We are in a similar boat as my four year old reads at a fourth grade level. She does plenty of her own "unschooling" in her free time. I felt the need to challenge her as I felt she needed to move forward and not have everything come so easy to her. I started by using Saxon K while she was 3 years old and she loved it. I realized she already knew the material but it was good for giving me the confidence to know I could homeschool. It also helped me understand that I needed a Math that was more mastery based. We currently use HOD (heart of Dakota)-LHFHG which I like because it only takes about an hour a day to "do school" and is very CM friendly. It is grouped by age span, not grade which is more appropriate for my child. It also had the flexibility in adding your own phonics and math which worked well for us as we are not using what is incorporated into most K curriculums. I am looking at TOG for these same reasons-also loving classical education. I would suggest easing into a curriculum to see what works for both the child and yourself. If you feel something is "too much" then relax the pace until the child is ready.

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Challenge them... but don't overwhelm. Enrich... but don't push. As everyone has said, it's not an either-or. There will be days your 5yo wants to spend 2 hours on math...there will be days your 5yo doesn't want to look at math. After all, your 5yo is five.

 

I think it's easier to go too fast with formal academics when your children are accelerated. After all, they are "ready." But, physically and emotionally you still have a 5yo. That is *easy* to forget.

 

I agree completely! From time to time I forget about it myself. My son who was 3 last year could do 2 hours of math/ logic daily for a month, then switched his interest to mazes/puzzles for few weeks. Now he is 4,5 and will be doing russian math/SM for 1 grade this coming school year. It might take him a year to do so instead of half of the year in the past for his K math.

 

Does your child like mazes/puzzles? Mine likes tangrams, legoes, "shape by shape" and Mastermind games. There are a lot of free on-line resources you can use.

 

Does your child have any interests in foreign languages? They can learn a lot using a computer or CDs without being formally tought by anyone.

Edited by SneguochkaL
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Wow. It is so interesting to hear you say this. I'd forgotten, but I used to always say this when my oldest son was little. Exactly what you said here, almost word for word.

 

I'll tell you my perspective now, as he begins 9th grade: It was worth it to add that directed study to his busy day. It was right.

 

The time I allowed him to take every day, studying on his own and pursuing his own interests, helped him grow into a curious and capable young man. He is a true autodidact.

 

The time I spent every day making *sure* he was rock-solid in arithmetic, grammar, spelling, Latin, and logic gave him the tools he needs to carry out his amazing dreams.

 

Yes. Both. That is why we classically homeschool.

 

That's good to hear -- thanks for replying! It's always nice when someone backs up one of my half-baked ideas with actual, you know, informed experience. :001_smile: We will keep on keeping on.

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Wow. It is so interesting to hear you say this. I'd forgotten, but I used to always say this when my oldest son was little. Exactly what you said here, almost word for word.

 

I'll tell you my perspective now, as he begins 9th grade: It was worth it to add that directed study to his busy day. It was right.

 

The time I allowed him to take every day, studying on his own and pursuing his own interests, helped him grow into a curious and capable young man. He is a true autodidact.

 

The time I spent every day making *sure* he was rock-solid in arithmetic, grammar, spelling, Latin, and logic gave him the tools he needs to carry out his amazing dreams.

 

Yes. Both. That is why we classically homeschool.

 

I think this is why completely unschooling wasn't working for my kids & I either. They were already wanting to do things they couldn't without getting in some basic skills of writing, spelling, arithmetic, etc.

 

But it really is good to hear that doing both - giving them free time and play but helping them with the basic skills can work out successfully for a child so that they are able to carry out their dreams.

 

Thanks. :)

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We were unschooling but my dds want MORE. More more more. Honestly, if I don't do serious structured work with my older girl (5, reading), she gets very bored & starts absolutely wreaking havoc, using her brain to figure out puzzles of getting into restricted/dangerous things. She is VERY excited to start charter school in fall because, in her words, "I want to LEARN!!" I am finally getting out of the new-baby fog enough to think about starting structured stuff again, thankfully. We've also started more "experiences" like the discovery museum that are far away but worth it at this stage to occupy their brains. I will be using MFW K with dd3 in the fall, if she doesn't read fluently by then. She is already begging for "school" but I can't mentally fit that in yet. Oh, and even when we do a lot of formal schooling, they still take hours to pretend/dress up/draw.

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Suppose homeschoolers of average children in the early grades spend 2 to 3 hours a day on academic work. Homeschooled gifted children will progress through more than one grade of material per calendar year if they spend the same amount of time per day. They are not being pushed but are working at the pace appropriate for their intellects. There is still plenty of time left in the day to "be a kid".

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:iagree: with much above. My DD spends 1 1/2-3 hours a day on school work,and has a much, much better day if we "Front-load" her brain with that sort of focused work. Math is the start of our day, and about half the time I wake up and find her already engrossed in IP, Logic puzzles, or HOE (love, love, love HOE-especially in conjunction with my Teacher File Box subscription-DD can go online, find and print algebra worksheets, and since TFB mostly goes through middle school, almost all of them work great with HOE). She seems to NEED that time to get herself started in the morning.

 

After we've spent that couple of hours, she's good-she'll spend the rest of the day running around outside, drawing, making dresses for toy dinosaurs, scratch programming, building with legos, and so on.

 

What's more, I've seen major social growth since she started getting her intellecual needs met this way. When she was in preschool and K, she would constantly be trying to get other kids to fill those needs for her, and demand a lot of them. Now, it's like she's filled her brain, she's validated that it's OK, and she's ABLE to go have fun playing with little animals with other little girls, or run around with little boys being Jedi knights for a little bit. I've even seen a lot of improvement in her sensory issues this year-and again, it's not because we're doing anything different.

 

I wish, in many respects, that I'd started doing some formal "school" with her about 3 years ago, instead of putting her in preschool. She was asking for it, demanding it, and I suspect that had I started her on Miquon and other hands-on, "fun" activities at home for an hour or so a day then, we would have had a MUCH easier couple of years!

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For my 6yo, she needs to have just enough structure to inspire her. Much of what we do ends up being woven into her play. Today was a very good example. ... But as soon as we were done, she set herself to "building" an amphitheater in our living room, complete with a pool for a naval battle. ...

 

I see this same thing. We're doing the 1st grade animals study right now, and Monkey wanted birds, so that's all we've done for the past 5 weeks of science (I love doing delight-directed studies within a structured framework). First, I was his "puffin pet" and the baby was my "baby puffin," and then we all took a turn being owls. In my weekly wrap-up this week I have an awesome picture of him with a beanie baby in his mouth, flapping his arms. The stuffy was being pretended into a mouse and brought back for me to rip with my "talons" and devour. It was a good time!

 

There were days this week where we probably totaled close to an hour of learning about owls, because the interest was really there. But it was in 10-15 minute chunks throughout the day, which I feel is very age-appropriate for a 4.5 year old.

 

Left to his own devices, he'd probably watch TV all.day.long. UGH! But that's munchkin judgment for you! Balancing feeding the precocious mind with the munchkin needs can be tricky, but I think it's worth the effort to go ahead and feed the young mind: to my way of thinking the alternative is to allow them to develop early on a habit of not being challenged.

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We used to "push" our 8 year old along...regimen, regimen. However then i was exposed to a talk on homeschooling where a presenter asked why you would want your home school to be like a brick and mortar school? Brick and Mortar schools are not working...and what is missing is a good balance of independent study and play along with the "3 R's". One suggestion was to acquire a notebook and ask the child to write down what they are interested in studying. My child can write, so each time she thinks of something, she writes it down herself. We started the list 3 weeks ago, and haven't done much "structured" school since beside practicing multiples and reading a few chapters of SOTW. We visit the library every week or two and while we are there, we research our topic--first off with the World Book. Then we ask the librarians if there are any titles on the subject that are noteworthy. So far we've learned what Confucius' name really means (it's Latin for Great Master Kong) and we are working our way through a small study on the Nez Perce Indians. Just this week, my daughter commented that she was missing all of her English, so we are going to start adding those in this week.

 

I think the WTM ladies have given us this suggested curriculum to follow, however if you read careful each section reiterates that when the child is interested in something, just let them go with it. It will truely be how they discern what they find truely interesting and absolutely love from what they may be just mildly curious about or have no opinion of. When a child is interested in something, just hand them the reigns (the only thing they'll need you for is to chauffeur them places.) :)

 

We've also done a little more tailoring to her learning style to stoke motivation. She's highly visual with a fair amount of kinestic thrown in. One thing that has helped her excell in her endeavours is finding a hobby (that masquerades as a class in our homeschool) with longevity that she is absolutely head over heels about--Irish dancing. It is something she has a talent for and has worked hard in many competitions to achieve a Novice status. Finding something that is important and interesting to them, something with friendly competition that rewards their hard work...that may be just the ticket to give them that courage to attempt something new with confidence. Then they'll be pushing themselves.:D

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We do school stuff, I just am musing it because he is doing so much more formal school stuff at this point than his older brother was and sometimes I wonder.

 

My problem with just asking him is he always says yes, he wants more and I want to provide it but can't. The budget is tight.

 

I guess I'm just wondering where the balance is.

 

It sounds like, with this child, the balance is where the budget runs out. :)

 

Rosie

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Is it a disservice to an accelerated learning child to not do much in formal education while they are young? (Allow them to pursue learning on their own but not provide formal structure.)

 

Or Is it more important to let them be a kid and round out their education with social activities, free time and individual exploration?

 

I am thinking about a kindergarten aged child who reads fluently, if that makes a difference.

It depends. A lot of children require some structured work and really seem to need it to vent out their intellectual energy. When my DDs were smaller, often the amount of fidgeting, brattiness and frustration was directly proportional to lack of formal work - but once they had their daily dose of something intellectually challenging, I had dear and happy children. :001_huh: My mother told me the dynamics with me when I was small was largely the same one.

 

But we are still talking about age-appropriate blocks... only in those blocks while other kids learn to read, you read more complex books. While other kids learn their numbers, you do more upper level math. I would also be careful not to overwhelm the kid (I tend to keep the structure fairly light up until 8 or so), but also not to remove the magic from learning. :tongue_smilie: Leaving some of their questions unaswered and only allowing them a glimpse into some areas often builds up that "magic" in learning ;), so I feel a bit of balance is needed too.

 

I generally believe that structure is a must and that being a kid is a free time activity, so the two are not mutually exclusive and one can have a set of formal expectations and allow and encourage individual interests in kids' free time, as well as giving them lots of downtime, but in the very young years, I would be more likely to keep the structure fairly minimalistic, but consistent.

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and about half the time I wake up and find her already engrossed in IP, Logic puzzles, or HOE (love, love, love HOE-especially in conjunction with my Teacher File Box subscription-DD can go online, find and print algebra worksheets, and since TFB mostly goes through middle school, almost all of them work great with HOE). She seems to NEED that time to get herself started in the morning.

 

 

Cannot find definitions for IP or HOE. What are they?

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I just can't relate. My kids were so curious about the world that tv was not a 24/7 attraction. I didn't have to teach them, they challenged and taught themselves...my challenge was to comfort when reach exceeded grasp and to supply resources and finger strength. I had to hire help for music and sports and am now asking ds2 to consider graduating high school at 16 or switch to a more challenging school that has science equipment and good math teachers who are willing to supervise independent study (or at least offer block so he can do 1 course/semester). Had I to tried to 'teach' formally at the early ages I would have restricted their growth.

 

I'm not sure if limiting it has made TV time a more desirable commodity that it otherwise would have been, or what exactly is going on, but sometimes I swear I'd like to throw it out! He'd watch for hours daily if I let him. It's Super Friends right now. Can't get enough of them, and then he plays at being heroes when it's off. That I don't mind. But he's clearly not able to manage his own TV time at this point.

 

I think the WTM ladies have given us this suggested curriculum to follow, however if you read careful each section reiterates that when the child is interested in something, just let them go with it. It will truely be how they discern what they find truely interesting and absolutely love from what they may be just mildly curious about or have no opinion of. When a child is interested in something, just hand them the reigns (the only thing they'll need you for is to chauffeur them places.) :)

 

I love doing just that: delight-directed, within a structure. Right now you can see that very obviously in our science. I asked Monkey what kind of animals he wants to learn about (1st grade bio) and he said birds. We've now been learning about birds, along with a few of the creepy-crawlys they eat, for six weeks. I asked him the other day if he wanted more birds or other animals, and he opted for more birds, so I'll be setting up some more. We've watched barn owl and bald eagle nest boxes, we did an owl pellet dissection (I've got leftovers & am giving them away on my blog), which he really enjoyed, we've read about raptors and how they slice things open with their beaks, learned about nocturnal and diurnal birds... all sorts of things. And he keeps coming back for more. I'm amazed at how long he can do this stuff and how often he's willing to come back and learn some more later in the day. I'm hoping that we can visit a nearby wildlife refuge and see some wild birds up close and personal. But I think my favorite part is when it shows up in his play. He assigns me parts, and so far I've been a "puffin pet" an owl mommy, and today I was a bald eagle with him.

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A lot of children require some structured work and really seem to need it to vent out their intellectual energy. When my DDs were smaller, often the amount of fidgeting, brattiness and frustration was directly proportional to lack of formal work - but once they had their daily dose of something intellectually challenging, I had dear and happy children.

 

 

This is mine, when I feel crappy and we have a lazy morning (until noon :tongue_smilie:) they are much much more frustrated. When I actually get going with our structured morning they are much happier.

 

I realised that if I wanted to homeschool to allow them to go at their own pace (amongst other reasons), then doesn't that mean faster as well as slower? I am in the 'stretch them a little, age appropriately' camp. :)

Edited by LMD
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