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How many subjects are too many?


Guest angelanadine
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Guest angelanadine

Hi! I'm very happy to have found this forum, and seemingly a whole group of people with similar kids!

 

How many subjects are too many for a 4 year old 2nd grader (homeschool, due to age I guess?)? I cover the basics (English, History, Math, Science, native language, piano, plus religion and art as time permits), but she seems -in her never-ending desire to learn more about all things all the time- to want to learn things such as a 3rd language (Spanish, self-taught), knitting (I don't knit) and painting (I don't paint past stick figures).

 

We spend hours and hours learning and teaching every day, at her request, and she still wants more. Do I accommodate more subjects yet? Does anyone have any experience here? How much time, or how many subjects are appropriate for such a young child? I don't want to overdo it with dd, but she constantly wants to learn, and will make her displeasure very clear to anyone around her if we skip a day of school for a day of laziness.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Angie

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That was the age in which I had to push DD(now 11yo) into self-education/entertainment. She was (and is!) interested in new things all the time, but my limited budget could only provide so much *new* stuff. Learning new things was her favorite "play time" activity since she's the youngest of my kids (with a big gap so often it's like being an only).

 

I got her some basics (snap circuits jr., KNex, craft and dress up supplies) and was willing to get new language videos from the library each week (I think it was mostly Mandarin by age 5), but told her that the rest was up to her. If she thought of something she was interested in, she could get library books on the subject. But she had to chase it herself - this was HER entertainment, not education. She fussed, because what she would have liked was for me to entertain/play with her all day, but in the end, she ended up with tons of imaginative play building circuits and forts while dressed up like a fairy princess.

 

DD11 is still an acquisitive learner. She added (by choice) another language and a second musical instrument to her load this year. I'm fine with it as long as she gets her other work done. Often her interest in things fades quickly, so she has to either commit to doing something long term or pay for it herself from her pocket money.

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First of all, I wouldn't worry about too many subjects, because they do prune as time becomes more of a concern. My DD, for example, willingly decided to let Greek go and concentrate on Latin and Spanish this year, simply because of time, after several years of pushing on all three.

 

Having said that, there is one thing I want you to consider honestly-and that is "Is my response when my child asks to learn something different than when she asks to play with me?". And please don't take it as an insult-but it's something that both DH and I have discovered that we have to really keep in mind. When DD was 3-4 and she'd ask me to have a tea party, and I responded "Not now, honey", but when she came to me with a question in a math workbook and I immediately sat down with the block to "Teach" her, I was teaching her more than just math-I was teaching her that the way to get attention was to ask for academic assistance, and that academics trump play. When I realized this, and started making an effort to PLAY with her for concerted periods of time, she became much less clingy and demanding academically, and while she still added subjects and wanted more materials for intellectual stimulation, she became much more independent in acquiring them. It was the difference between "Teach me about volcanos" and, on a weekly library trip, choosing a stack of books about volcanos, building models in the sandbox for a week, and asking me if we had any vinegar and baking soda so she could make the model erupt while explaining that "I know it doesn't really work like that, but it sounds fun".

 

 

Now, at almost 8, she's very independent academically, and we play together as a family-board games, table games, lego building, and so on, almost every night.

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I could tell you a story about a 3K dollar cello....lol

 

Sympathies- it's really something when they want to do everything all at once. You might slow her down a bit by asking her to read X number of books about the subject before investing in hardware/software/materials or what not.

 

If the interest stays, shows development and thoughtful pace, you might try some very short schedules and very primary tools with whatever interest it is.

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I have a couple points. First you have a highly-accelerated prekindergartener, or maybe a kindergartener, not a 4 year old 2nd grader. My four year old (5 in Dec) is also highly accelerated. In 10 years you may not be ready to send your child off to college. Kids sometimes go through spurts of faster and slower learning. If they're officially the level they are working on, the slow phase will put them behind.

 

You need to balance what your child wants with what you can do. If you are fine teaching 100 subjects then 100 is not too many for the child wanting them. I, on the other hand, have a cap of 8 subjects per day. I cannot do any more than that, no matter how much he wants, and that includes outside classes.

 

If you don't knit, that doesn't mean that she cannot learn. There are books, videos, websites, etc. devoted to teaching people to knit. She'll need a pair of needles and the matching sized yarn (yarn is typically sold with a recommended needle size printed on the label). We have a Knifty Knitter, it's basically a very large spool knitter. It's very easy to use, although maybe too easy.

 

An extra language can be beneficial if you have time to devote to it. Spanish is unlikely to confuse her English studies, so that isn't a risk.

 

Basically you can teach her anything she wants, even if you don't know it, as long as you have the time and desire.

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Having said that, there is one thing I want you to consider honestly-and that is "Is my response when my child asks to learn something different than when she asks to play with me?". And please don't take it as an insult-but it's something that both DH and I have discovered that we have to really keep in mind. When DD was 3-4 and she'd ask me to have a tea party, and I responded "Not now, honey", but when she came to me with a question in a math workbook and I immediately sat down with the block to "Teach" her, I was teaching her more than just math-I was teaching her that the way to get attention was to ask for academic assistance, and that academics trump play.

 

This too.

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4 y/o 2nd grader? Yep...BTDT. Twice.

 

How many subjects you do is only limited by your time and money, and the child's interest. If a child really wants to work on a million subjects, go for it! Children are often passionate about trying every new thing they can get their hands on, because to them, it's ALL new and interesting. Eventually, the well-rounded child who has dabbled in everything will choose one or two favorites, and you'll stick with those favorites (+ the core subjects, of course). Don't worry about it. You know your children best, so let them do whatever it is that interests them most, even if they only do it for a couple of months and then quit.

 

By the way... if you're spending hours and hours each day, it's possible the work isn't difficult enough (the academics, I mean). Once a child can read and has decent motor skills, there are limitless possibilites for thing they can do independently. At first, they'll be wanting guidance from you, though. Come up with your own system of rewards for independent work. (You'll get to have/do x if you read y all by yourself, for example.)

Edited by 2smartones
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I also think it is important to teach children to entertain themselves. Both of my children have struggled to do this. They would much rather do things with me, or have me organize and run a learning activity/game/art project. But you will shoot yourself in the foot if you don't train them to be a bit independent and creative with some free time.

 

Ruth in NZ

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Gotta love a thread with the mention of eating feet and shooting a foot in the pp's. :D

 

I agree with Carpe. Stay realistic, positive and learn with her when you don't know what to teach or how.

 

And be very clear that you need your own downtime, whether or not she is displeased.

 

It's really cool that she's so motivated BTW!

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