Guest SinkorSwim Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I'm the mother of twin 4 yr old boys. I'm going to begin homeschooling just as soon as I make my way through the massive amounts of reading I'm doing as preparation. It really should not be this difficult, should it? Can someone please give me some practical tips on how to weed out cirriculum for these boys. I am thinking of going with Handwriting Without Tears and perhaps Essentials Math (maybe Saxon?) - as you can tell, I'm not solid on either. Other than that I am just clueless. Help please! :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Homeschooling with all the choices in curriculum these days can make it a daunting course of action to say the least. Overwhelming in another word. I feel for you. I look forward to reading the advice you will get here. I read everything I could get my hands on concerning Charlotte Mason. Then, I read the Well-Trained Mind. In the Well-Trained Mind, choices were already narrowed down for me, so I focused on researching those choices alone. The two view points mesh pretty well, so I use a lot of what I learned from Charlotte Mason resources, but for choosing a solid curriculum, WTM helped me tremendously. I haven't been disappointed in my choices. Since your kids are only four, you have some time to read and research. That's a blessing. Many people I know haven't had that time to prepare. Good luck on your journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuzor Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Sigh I wish I could say its not difficult but that would be lying. Perhaps instead of searching for curriculum it may be better to first write out your goals, and your mission statement. Why are you choosing to educate your two blessings at home. (What is your vision?) -Next choose a homeschool philosphy/method that is in line with your vision and what resonates with you. Your boys are young and I always start with the basics the three r's at that stage. When my oldest was in K at age 6 my major focus was just reading, math and writing. We did some science and history but it was topical and we did some Spanish. There are so many programs out there I'm sure your head is spinning if you have been looking at the choices. Math- I am now using Saxon because I tried another math program and I did not feel it focused enough on the basics for a good understanding of mathematical principals. (Saxon is debated lots within the hs community lots of people love it lots of people hate it. However I find that to be true with most products on the market.) Other programs are Right Start, Horizons, Singapore, Miquion, and many others Reading- Phonics Pathways, All About Reading, 100 EZ Lessons, The Ordinary Parents Guides to Teaching Reading, Ruth Beechick's The Three R's has a lot of jewels when wondering how to teach your children to read. And there are many others. Look at www.christianbook.com www.rainbowresource.com www.homeschoolingbooks.com www.homeschoolreviews.com (this site is good for reading reviews of what others have to say about their experience with curriculum) www.successfulhomeschooling.com (this is another good site for product reviews and different homeschooling methods etc. Good luck to you on your journey. These are all great places to review curriculum prior to purchasing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Sigh I wish I could say its not difficult but that would be lying. Perhaps instead of searching for curriculum it may be better to first write out your goals, and your mission statement. Why are you choosing to educate your two blessings at home. (What is your vision?)-Next choose a homeschool philosphy/method that is in line with your vision and what resonates with you. :iagree: I am on my 12th year and let me tell you, it was lots easier to choose when I started because there were less choices, lol! I do agree that you need to know WHY you are homeschooling, your goals, and mission, THEN start the curriculum search. There are so many different ways to homeschool, that it can be a difficult task to choose when you don't have the answers to these questions. Good luck on your journey! The ladies here have a wealth of experience and can certainly give advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Well, have you read the WTM? ;) At four, I tried to have almost all schooling "fun", to avoid souring the joy of learning. We enjoyed: Vox Music Masters Kumon mazes and other books, dot to dot art fun every day games like go fish hopping up and down the stairs counting forwards and backwards three letter words on the fridge SWR basic phonics cards Leapfrog Letter Factory 2 hours of being read to a day 3 or more hours outdoor time swimming zoos a simple garden a bird and squirrel feeder I started a special place (an old school desk with the chair attached to the desk) to sit and do mazes. I built up to 5 minutes of instruction in a sitting by age 5, and had gotten through EarlyBird math book one and Plaid Phonics K (before A, and really more cut out and paste fun). At age 5 I started extending to a total of 15 minutes in a sitting, did EB math book two and about a third of SM 1A, all of the pre-ETC books (consonants), plus Plaid Phonics A. We'd covered prehistory, including the fabulous "You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mammoth Hunter" and, just at 6, a read aloud of Maroo of the Winter Caves. For science we did Magnets to Mudpies and Everybody has a Body (both mentioned in that WTM book. ;)). We did Z-B K for K. (I post this because at your point in your journey, I really craved hearing just what other people did.) Now then, others favor something more planned like Before Five in a Row, and others unschool at this young age. The only fairly consistent advice I got here was "don't burn them out early". I'm glad I followed it. Good luck, have FUN, HTH. Ask any more specific questions you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) . Edited April 20, 2014 by CaladwenEleniel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 HWOT is a good choice! We will be using Sing! Play! Create!: for PreK. Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Just get one thing to start with, and do some of it. It will give you a big insight as to what your kiddos will like and what you are able to teach. The best way to find out is to start. But don't get everything before you have tried. Trying will give you an idea of what to look for in a curriculum, and that will help you narrow if down. I am doing Right Start A and All about Reading pre level 1 with my 4 year old. Lots of read alouds, and playing. Keep it simple to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 One tip: When unsure between several possibilities, all of which look good -- price IS a decent reason to make a final selection! It's much less frustrating to have a $19.95 book that doesn't work than a $199.95 curriculum that doesn't work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 my tips: Have your sons do dot-to-dots and mazes every day in order to develop the fine motor skills they will need for writing when they are 5 or 6. This practice goes a long way to reducing the frustration that many young boys face when trying to form letters. Don't buy anything right now or even for a full year. Read these boards and go to the library instead. Newbies often overbuy and regret it later. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julikins Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I was like a pp who made a list of all the different programs available and what I liked/didn't like. It turned into a spreadsheet and I still have it and use it every once in awhile. When I learn of a new product I research it and type in the basic information (publisher, website address, price, age range, what it covers, my impression, etc.) so that I don't have to keep researching things I've forgotten about. But before I did that I read lots of Intro to Homeschooling books from the library. Just look up Beginning Homeschool or Intro to Homeschool in the library catalog and you should find many titles. Some of the ones I read and used extensively were Kathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks, WTM (of course--very helpful), and Educating the Wholehearted Child. Some were short funny books that talked about surviving homeschooling (the practical aspects) and other talked about philosophy and purpose in homeschooling. I just know reading all those books helped educate me to what was out there and prayerfully choose where the Lord would have me go with homeschooling our children. I read tons of review sites (like the ones mentioned above) and others like SchoolHouse Magazine (good articles and reviews of different products). It's a lot of fun. And search past threads on this forum. It's amazing the amount of info. I also agree that the purpose of pre-k is to "instill the love of learning" others have mentioned. Don't burn them, or yourself, out. Have fun. Buy fun educational kits if you're not a naturally craft-loving person, there's so much available, see what gets your kids excited. Read to the boys about nature in a story form--Little Busybodies (from www.homeschoolfreebieoftheday.com free download this week) about insects, or the Burgess' book of animals or birds. Do a letter a week and make up little cut and glue activites for each letter (pulling pictures from the internet)--animals, plants, places, modes of transportation, famous people, occupations, etc. Do a Bible verse with that letter (ABC Bible Memory by Carson-Dellosa Publishing was a success here at home). I like some of the Usborne titles for introducing history--Living Long Ago, Wild Places, The Great Animal Search (or other seek and find books that include time period). You can find some titles of fun books for kids that age at curriculum providers websites (like www.mfwbooks.com or www.sonlight.com). You don't have to buy the books from them, just look at their lists and find inspiration from them. Also look into Honey for a Child's Heart--a list of good children's literature. There's so much available that will develop interest in your boys, and they don't even have to know it's "school". They'll love it and want more. Have fun on this awesome journey. We're all here for you to provide support too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 This site has a "Getting Started" page. A very good place to start. :001_smile: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/getting-started/ Peace, Janice Enjoy your little people Enjoy your journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Give some thought to who you are and what your strengths and weaknesses are. What are your children like? Are they precocious, gifted, normal, LD or a combination of the above? Many people will disagree with me, but who YOU are and what you are like will affect many of your choices. You are the driver. You need to be comfortable and in complete control of your vehicle. Better to have your children cramped into the back of a compact car that you are capable of safely and comfortably navigating through city traffic, then them being spread out with the best of everything in the back of an RV that you crash on a regular basis. Get selfish. Get to know yourself. This is going to be a marathon. If you try to sprint it, you will burn out fast. Once you know your homeschooling style, and find materials that YOU like, then you tweak those materials to your children's abilities and quirks. No matter how quirky they are, never lose the YOU, when adapting to them. Don't let them become the driver, because they cannot sustain the place of driver, and you cannot steadily drive at their pace. You can tweak for them but not drive for them. Keep the home before schooling in homeschooling. It is more efficient to school well mannered children in a clean and happy home, then to try and push through with teaching when the home is upside down. When overwhelmed pull back and just do the basics. Always know that there is such a thing as junior college and that is where the vast number of both home schooled and PS kids end out. Take a look at what a junior college student needs to know to enter and do well there. Too many parents when they get to the end of homeschooling realize they wasted a lot of time and worry and money on trying and failing to prepare for something their children don't even want, or is just too big of a cultural jump to make in one generation. Homeschooling is more efficient than PS, but it doesn't always facilitate a family to make big cultural jumps in one generation. Be realistic and set a steady pace. There is no shame in setting a pace that your family can run without pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3peasinapod Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I do agree with Hunter when said that YOU have to like it too. I have gritted my teeth through a curriculum I didn't like, but it was working for our children. It was a mistake. I was burned out after that and cranky. We switched gears to find something we both liked and we are very happy with our choices. When we first started when eldest DD was 4, I read as many homeschooling books as I could, including WTM and Charlotte Mason resources and some other things from our library. It helps to give an overview and to narrow what will fit us the best. You have to try stuff. I remember my homeschool mentor said I will probably overspend and waste money, and she was right. I have more skills now to only choose what is necessary with a few frills thrown in. Just because something looks great, it won't look so great with a shelf full of other stuff I'm supposed to finish with no time to do it. :001_huh: You'll get your sea legs if you dig in and persevere. There will be times when you may want to quit, but you have to know why you are homeschooling in the first place, so do that first. Why are you homeschooling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I'm the mother of twin 4 yr old boys. I'm going to begin homeschooling just as soon as I make my way through the massive amounts of reading I'm doing as preparation. It really should not be this difficult, should it? I think it does get easier than when you first start out, but that doesn't mean you'll necessarily figure everything out and never struggle over curriculum decisions again - that stays with most people throughout their homeschooling career. :tongue_smilie: Since your sons are 4, you have time, so first thing... relax. :) Second thing, read the Well Trained Mind book if you haven't already. You might also read some Charlotte Mason and other books (I've only read WTM, but it clicked with me so well that I decided to use that as my main guide while pulling in ideas from other places where they suit me... I've read bits and pieces of CM and other ideas). Hang out on this forum and learn. Will your children be in K next fall? You have plenty of time. Can someone please give me some practical tips on how to weed out cirriculum for these boys. I am thinking of going with Handwriting Without Tears and perhaps Essentials Math (maybe Saxon?) - as you can tell, I'm not solid on either. Other than that I am just clueless. Help please! I really like both HWT and Singapore Essential Math K. I think they're both excellent choices, and they're also cheap enough that if they don't work out, switching to something else won't break the bank. ;) Your boys may or may not be ready for handwriting instruction, so I'd look at their abilities first. Some boys are ready at 4, and some aren't ready until 5 or so. Were they preemies? If so, do they have any fine motor issues? My one son with fine motor issues is the preemie, though his haven't been bad enough to get OT. He just wasn't ready at all for handwriting at age 4. He did ok at age 5. His handwriting really started to blossom closer to age 7, and he's doing pretty well now at 7.5. My middle son is a new 5, and he is somewhat ready for handwriting. At age 4, he could do a lot of letters (copied a whole sentence on the white board one day, of his own choosing), but he couldn't do a zig-zag pattern even on the white board. The points alluded him! So I decided he wasn't ready for manuscript writing at that point. I think now, several months later, he could probably do it. I just haven't focused much on writing yet. We're focusing on reading for the most part. He'll be "K" next school year, so this year he only does school on a "when he wants to" basis. :) Next year, we'll do phonics, math, and handwriting. In 1st grade, he'll join his big brother in history/science if he's ready. Now how I pick curriculum... The first thing I do is just do a google search on WTM forum ("xyz site:welltrainedmind.com" will search for xzy, including acronyms!) and see what is available for that subject. I look at some of the more popular ones, peruse samples, see if they look like something I would enjoy teaching (totally agree with Hunter - if YOU don't like teaching it, it's not a good fit). Then once I narrow it down to a smaller number of programs that I like, I do google searches on those (again, searching the WTM forums... and I also search homeschoolreviews.com, as they have forums too) and see what kinds of people tend to like the curriculum and what kinds don't like it. Pay attention to both positive and negative reviews, and look at what type of person is giving the review! A negative for one person might be a positive for you or vice versa. Just because a curriculum is popular doesn't mean it's a perfect fit for you either (Rightstart math is very popular around here, but it was a bust here... I hated teaching it, and my son wasn't really learning anything, so we switched to Singapore EM K and I loved teaching it, he loved doing it, and he is very clearly learning - this is a child that seems to learn best from a printed page rather than by manipulating objects, so it makes sense to me now why RS wasn't a good fit... RS is a great program, but it's not a good fit for my teaching style or the child I was trying to teach). Be aware that once you get started, you'll learn more about your teaching style and your children's learning styles! So don't go buying $1000 worth of curriculum for K. ;) Get some cheap stuff, try it out, then once you have learned more about yourself and your children, if something more expensive would be a better fit, you can give it a try. When I first started with my son halfway through first grade, my first curriculum choice for spelling was AAS. Then I talked myself out of it before purchasing, and I got both R&S Spelling 2 and Sequential Spelling. Tried both of those, and neither was a good fit for that point in time. I ended up buying AAS afterall, and it was a good fit for what we needed. We did 3 levels, and then moved on, but I needed that teacher training that AAS gave me, so it was worth the expense to me. Now I can take what I learned and apply it via a less expensive program. ;) For some subjects, I've been happy with free products (Webster's Speller and I See Sam books for reading... both big hits here with DS2). I had one child that needed to accelerate through early elementary math, so I used a less expensive product for that (Math Mammoth), then switched to a more expensive product that he liked better (Singapore Primary Math) once he had slowed down to not doing 4 grade levels in a year. :tongue_smilie: You just have to look at your needs, your children's needs, and what appeals to you both... and also your budget. ;) So start slow, do your research, and expect to change your mind a million times even after you get started. That's normal. I change my mind a lot less now than when I started a year ago, though I still change my mind, and I don't see that ever completely going away. Good luck, and have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2blessings Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I would read "For the Children's Sake" and "The Well-Trained Mind" and see if one really resonates with you. If you like FtCS (Charlotte Mason style), I'd use the free curriculum guide at either http://www.simplycharlottemason.com or http://www.ambleside.com. Guides are free, you just buy or download the books, and pick a math program. If TWTM resonates with you, you can follow the books guidelines or Veritas Press. Of course, there's many people that combine both/other methods. You've got plenty of time to figure out your style/preferences. But honestly for K, all you really need is to do some math (I like Math-U-See..to the point and doesn't take long), handwriting (we like Handwriting w/o Tears), some phonics and good lit. to read. I stressed over K and now realize how silly it was. I know it's overwhelming when you're new, but try to relax, enjoy your kids, get outside, do some fun fieldtrips, and keep formal school to only 1-2 hrs. a day. Just my .02:) Gina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 No Regrets by Alexander Swann is another must read. http://www.amazon.com/No-Regrets-Homeschooling-Earned-Masters/dp/0962361100/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326321485&sr=1-11 It's the best book advocating the homeschooling out of a box method. The book is a bit dated, but a classic. American School continues to be an excellent choice for many highschoolers. I can't comment on Calvert because I never used it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I've got twin eight year old boys that have always been homeschooled. My advice for four year old boys would be to read to them as much as they will let you, and when they won't let you, have audiobooks in the background. The more language you get in the little spring-tails, the better. Boys don't seem to be particularly language oriented, but I'm often pleasantly surprised at how much they do retain, even when they don't seem to be paying attention. If they get any television time at all I'd start to severely restrict it in favor of the audiobooks and time spent just looking through picture books and science books on favored topics. Coloring would be a good thing to help build fine-motor coordination, but be sure they are getting plenty of running, jumping, and climbing in. For some reason it seems that the boys almost have to get the major muscle groups working together right well before they can tackle the fine-motor muscle groups. Whatever math you pick, make sure that you are able to take a single lesson and disperse it in fifteen minute increments at most. If the lesson won't divide easily it would be better to choose another curriculum rather than get frustrated when the attention goes out the window at ten minutes. Get started on phonics. They may read early, or may take forever to get it, but training them to hear the components of words seems to be a really good place to start early. I strongly recommend a silly poem to be read to them at least daily, pointing out the rhyming parts and making a big deal of nonsense words that have the same sounds. As far as the rest goes--Read for yourself to determine what you want to see accomplished with homeschooling for yourself and for your boys. And then when you've got it all down, accept that reality will intrude, and truly, that's not a bad thing. Above all, have fun with them at that age. They do really grow up very fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Kiddos Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) I just wanted you to know that you are not alone. I too have a four year old boy (and two other littler boys!) and am starting to wade through the massive amount of material! How overwhelming! So far, these things have been helpful: -Others here suggested WTM and Charlotte Mason stuff. This is really helping me figure out what I think will work best for our family. Sometimes you read something and go "That will never work!" Reading about the different types of homeschool philosophies help you learn what "camp" you fit into. This will help make curriculum choices easier as certain curriculums might teach a certain way that you do not want. Right now I am reading through Principle Approach material. -I just purchased "The Three R's" by Ruth Beechick. This is a lovely book (so far, I haven't finished reading it!) that might be helpful. -If you do want to purchase something, try and find it used. The For Sale Boards here, Ebay, and Homeschool Classifieds have great deals. That way, if you aren't happy with something it is not as much money. I did that with choosing a math program for K and am so glad that I found it cheaper! - For right now we are just reading lovely books and discovering outdoors. The book lists on Simple Charlotte Mason for 3-5 year olds are helpful. Also the Five in a Row curriculum uses lovely picture books. You can find the book lists online and can just use them as a list of high quality reading. Well, I still have a loooong way to go but this has been most helpful so far! Good luck! Happy reading! Edited January 11, 2012 by Mommyof3boys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testimony Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I would look at some books called the Way They Learn by Cynthia Tobias, Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell, and Cathy Duffy's Homeschool Review. These are books that I started with when my son was 4 years old too. You have a lot of time before you really have worry about homeschooling. If you want to use a curriculum in the mean time to hold you over, there is Before 5 in A Row. It is a great program. I love the book the Way They Learn because it helped to teach me to understand how my child understand information, but it also taught me how to understand how I learned. That was so important! By the way, welcome! Blessing to you in your start of your homeschooling journey! It is a journey that I hope you will enjoy once you embark! Sincerely, Karen http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SinkorSwim Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks so much, everyone! I love hearing what other people have used and how it did or did not work for them. I have read WTM and have friends who have homeschooled...but their children are older and there are so many more choices now. Making a list of goals and objectives is something I have done and that's how I decided that homeschooling is right for our family. I'm glad I at least did THAT right. Lol. I want them to love learning. Building a strong foundation so that they can be well-rounded is important to me. Also, so many of my friends have been pulled in to some sort of academic competition involving their children. I don't want that for me or for them. There are a few specific concerns I have. The first is that neither of them hold a crayon or pencil properly. Should I care about that? It's made more difficult by the fact that one of them is right-handed and one is left-handed, so they can't look to each other for help. :lol: Secondly, they LOVE books and being read to, all things science-y, working puzzles, & building with Legos (counting and sorting) but have very little interest in sitting in a chair and learning things. My mother (who is a middle school math teacher in public school) thinks that when I homeschool I will "pander" to their desire to do their own thing. That IS one of the reasons I'm doing it - at least for right now. Lastly, I'm concerned because there are two of them. To what degree should I try to separate their instruction? Separate curriculum? Speparate instructional time? I appreciate the advice to go slow and not to over-buy. I can see myself doing that because in some ways having the materials makes me feel more prepared. Now I have even more reading to do but I SO appreciate the information! You guys are great! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 The first is that neither of them hold a crayon or pencil properly. Should I care about that? It's made more difficult by the fact that one of them is right-handed and one is left-handed, so they can't look to each other for help. I suspect at the first of your handwriting book will be instructions for teaching the correct grip and what types of grips are acceptable. Secondly, they LOVE books and being read to, all things science-y, working puzzles, & building with Legos (counting and sorting) but have very little interest in sitting in a chair and learning things. Be delighted that they love to be read to and love to look at their books. (I've got one who loves books, the other who would rather have his hair pulled than listen to a book. Seriously.) If a little boy had an interest in sitting in a chair and passively absorbing what he heard without doing a single thing I'd ask you how long he'd been ill. Sitting down is not the only way to learn something. It's a very passive activity, and I don't know any boys that are going to prefer it to actually doing something. Lastly, I'm concerned because there are two of them. To what degree should I try to separate their instruction? Separate curriculum? Speparate instructional time? Depends a little on them. But staring out I was able to do a lot of things with both boys together. The exception would be phonics and reading instruction. I could drill phonograms together, but when it came to actual work it was best to teach one-on-one. But then one of my boys has some learning difficulties in that area. Everything else we still do together. Probably one of the things that the boys had to learn was to take their turns when asking questions or getting help with a lesson. But that's never a bad thing IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellesmere Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Thanks so much, everyone! I love hearing what other people have used and how it did or did not work for them. I have read WTM and have friends who have homeschooled...but their children are older and there are so many more choices now. Making a list of goals and objectives is something I have done and that's how I decided that homeschooling is right for our family. I'm glad I at least did THAT right. Lol. I want them to love learning. Building a strong foundation so that they can be well-rounded is important to me. Also, so many of my friends have been pulled in to some sort of academic competition involving their children. I don't want that for me or for them. There are a few specific concerns I have. The first is that neither of them hold a crayon or pencil properly. Should I care about that? It's made more difficult by the fact that one of them is right-handed and one is left-handed, so they can't look to each other for help. :lol: Secondly, they LOVE books and being read to, all things science-y, working puzzles, & building with Legos (counting and sorting) but have very little interest in sitting in a chair and learning things. My mother (who is a middle school math teacher in public school) thinks that when I homeschool I will "pander" to their desire to do their own thing. That IS one of the reasons I'm doing it - at least for right now. Lastly, I'm concerned because there are two of them. To what degree should I try to separate their instruction? Separate curriculum? Speparate instructional time? I appreciate the advice to go slow and not to over-buy. I can see myself doing that because in some ways having the materials makes me feel more prepared. Now I have even more reading to do but I SO appreciate the information! You guys are great! :hurray: They love to be read to? That is fantastic! Here is a link to a post someone from the board wrote about pencil grip. I think the child in the post is older than your boys, but it might be of interest. And someone else from here wrote this about Miquon math. I never thought I would use anything like it, but we do. It's not the only thing we use, but it was one of those that moved from the "no" to "yes" list for us. Our local school uses rods (although not with Miquon) so that also influenced our decision. But like RS, it isn't for everyone. Someone mentioned audiobooks. My 4 y.o. enjoyed them and it was neat to see her listen and imagine the stories. There are some here that tie into classical music if that's of any interest. I way overbought for our first year. Definitely go slow! But, I do at least know a lot about what didn't work for us. Hope you get some good advice about teaching twins ... have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 The first is that neither of them hold a crayon or pencil properly. Should I care about that? I would recommend that you have a 5 minute session every day (moving up to 15 minutes) where they hold their pencils correctly. As I said before, dot to dots and mazes work wonders with 4 year olds to prepare them for writing in 1 to 1.5 years. We found the ergonomic type pencil grips great. No thought required, just put your fingers where they fit on the grip. Here is an example of something similar to what we used. http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Crossover-Ergonomic-Metallic/dp/B001SN8HPI You may need to go to a store and try out a few different kinds, and make sure that the lefty gets one made for lefties (you might have to order it). For the rest of the day when they are drawing don't worry about how they hold the crayons, markers, etc. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 You can work on character training and good work ethics, with activities OTHER than school work. It is not necessary to use school work to teach a child these things. I wouldn't worry about pandering to school interests. But do--as I said earlier--make sure YOU are in the driver's seat, fully in control of the vehicle that is right for YOU. And do teach the children to do things they don't want to do. The Writing Road to Reading is a must have book, even if you don't end out teaching from it. Most people use it for spelling, but I actually am most impressed with the handwriting instructions, and have gleaned things from the entire language arts curriculum. I strongly recommend reading the handwriting instructions. It's normal for 4 years olds to hold the crayons incorrectly, but it is imperative that they be taught a proper grip soon, and are forced to maintain it for short periods of time, each day. I guess this IS an area you must not pander in :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Welcome! I just have to tell you, I read your thread title and then your board name, and laughed! Anyway, homeschooling is a blast, so don't get overwhelmed. I'm the mother of twin 4 yr old boys. I'm going to begin homeschooling just as soon as I make my way through the massive amounts of reading I'm doing as preparation. It really should not be this difficult, should it? Nope. And I don't think you have to worry about making a formal program for your four-year olds. You already ARE homeschooling, because they are learning things at home. You are just going to progress in teaching them learning skills, as they are able or as you think they should try. A lot of what you do in the first while is trial and error, and it will never be perfect. Just so you know. :D But it *will* get easier for you to figure out how to work with your own kids. I pretty much let my kids read/play/craft/bake/go to library/play outside when they were 4 (and 5, and most of 6/7/8/9/10). When my oldest was 6, I read the WTM book (for the second time), and began implementing ideas from it. This book has been an excellent guide for me, and over the years I have figured out how to teach these ideas to each of my own individual kids, when each was ready. I've also left parts of WTM out, and implemented other things that I thought were necessary. But the overall structure/educational ideas given to me in WTM have been soooooo helpful. I've also tried very hard in the past few years to streamline teaching academics skills, working them into content areas, so that we didn't get all caught up in spending several hours per week in formal programs in each of history/science/literature. My kids read tons of books in these content areas, and they do some skills to study these areas (science experiments, observation/analysis, timeline, maps, etc.), and they write about them during their writing lessons. I try to streamline so that they can still have plenty of time to relax and pursue other interests during the day. And plenty of time to read. And for family time. But we work on those academic skills on a regular schedule, and my kids have learned them and have learned much in the content areas as they practice the skills on the content reading. There are a few specific concerns I have. The first is that neither of them hold a crayon or pencil properly. Should I care about that? I agree with Hunter's suggestion of using the printing/handwriting instructions in the Writing Road to Reading. The instructions are very exact, and because of this they really help a child to know how to print them. Those skills translate over into learning to spell and to read, and they translate into art skills as well. I would care about it, but I wouldn't panic about it, esp. while they are so young. You can always let them use a fat pencil (those ones that are triangular shaped are perfect), or put a triangular pencil grip on a thin pencil. This really helps with learning to hold the pencil properly. Let them use these as long as they like (my daughter used them til she was 8 or 9, I think). Learning to do this helps develop their muscle coordination, and gives them good control over their pencil so they don't get frustrated later on with writing sentences. I bet there are triangular crayons on the market somewhere, too. It's made more difficult by the fact that one of them is right-handed and one is left-handed, so they can't look to each other for help. :lol: Secondly, they LOVE books and being read to, all things science-y, working puzzles, & building with Legos (counting and sorting) but have very little interest in sitting in a chair and learning things. They ARE learning things. :D Lots and lots of things that will help them later. As for "sitting in a chair to learn," I've seen it written on the boards over and over that even at ages 6/7, an hour or two per day of formal academic sit-down learning (math worksheets, copying sentences, spelling, handwriting, reading practice, grammar instruction) is all that's necessary, and I agree. My mother (who is a middle school math teacher in public school) thinks that when I homeschool I will "pander" to their desire to do their own thing. That IS one of the reasons I'm doing it - at least for right now. You're probably going to have to learn some tactful ways of explaining to her (if she asks) what you are doing and *why.* And to accept that she may not agree with you. And to learn to quietly stand firm in your decisions about your kids. My mother was a public school teacher, too. She was very, very helpful to me in getting started with educating my kids. But she was the opposite of how your mother seems to be - she taught me all about how young kids learn through play, how to make an environment that would be colourful, fun, and rich for my kids, etc.. Later on when I started to wonder about what else I should be doing, I realized that she knew how to teach certain things (such as math facts and beginning math processes), but I had no idea how to do those. I decided I felt better with using a math curriculum, because the idea of trying to do math off the top of my head scared me. I don't know what she thought about that, but she did respect my parenting decisions, even when I suspected she thought I was being too serious, lol. Same goes for writing - she suggested I get my son to write in a journal. Well, I tried it for awhile, and that went over like a lead balloon. And then I listened to SWB's writing audios and realized why. So I tried SWB's writing methods, and that was much better. I also understood why I was doing these methods, and eventually saw the results. A couple of years ago I was telling my mother about how my kids were doing in writing, and she thought it was great and she understood why I was doing what I was doing. She probably wanted to critique me over the years, but she never did, and I appreciated that. Ahem, on the other hand, I have received criticism about our homeschooling from another family member, and I have just plain old stopped talking about it with that member. I briefly answer questions, but deflect being drawn into argument about it. There is a saying on these forums: "pass the bean dip!" (do a search to learn about that - or maybe someone can find a link?) Lastly, I'm concerned because there are two of them. To what degree should I try to separate their instruction? Separate curriculum? Speparate instructional time? ... I think you should do what seems right to you. Put them together if they can work together; separate them if for some reason they need to be separated. My kids are different ages and therefore are in different levels of skill-learning, but with twins, I'd think there'd be plenty they could study together. As they get older, you may find that one twin zips ahead in math, but the other stays on level, and they you would separate them in math (while trying to somehow stave off competitive feelings, lol). Or, they could be together in some things (read-alouds, science, history) and separate in others (math, writing, grammar, spelling). This you will learn as you go along. There is no right or wrong way. Try to relax - homeschooling can be a lot of fun! And these boards have been a huge source of inspiration and help to me over the years. If you have more specific questions about how to teach certain things, ask here and you will get all the help you'll ever need. Even if you have to "bump" a thread back up. Also, if you liked the WTM book, I'll point you in the direction of the lecture audios that SWB has made throughout the years. Through her lectures, she humanizes WTM. :D (cuz the WTM alone can be intimidating) http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/audio-products/audio-lectures.html Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 My tip is to start (whenever you decide to start) with one thing, like phonics instruction. Not that you don't do educational things in the rest of your life, but make that one thing, the regular thing that you do consistently. Then, once you are comfortable with that, add something else, like a math program. This will also let you focus on committing to one curriculum decision at a time. Even if you decided to go with an all-in-one curriculum, introduce one element at a time. I started my twins reading at around 4 1/2 and that was all we did formally for about a year. For a long time they moved through the book together, then eventually one moved on ahead and one looped back a bit. In answer to your question about keeping them together or apart I would say try to keep them together when possible to minimize what you have to keep track of. Once you are going it won't be hard to get a feel for whether they have different curricular needs and you can adjust then. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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