Trying to get started - feeling overwhelmed

[brasilmom]

Greetings to all.

 

I am trying to establish a plan to start homeschooling this year. My dd is 3 yo. She knows the letters, but is slow coming with the numbers. Her language skills are very well develop in 2 languages. She seems to learn well, except for numbers. Well, I have never been very good with numbers myself.

 

Anyway, I am not sure where and how to start. I am considering sending her one day a week to a Montessori school so we both can get an idea and go from there. She has never been in a classroom of any sort, so I am not sure what she would make out of it. I am planning in using our sun room, rather than our basement as our learning room. It is next to the kitchen and living room areas and much more inviting. Winter is long and dreadful in WI and I do not want to spend a lot of time in the basement.

 

Honestly, I need some idea as to where to start and how. I know that there is lots of books out there, but I think it is the experience of other parents that counts more.

 

So, if anyone here are willing to give me some guidance, support, and ideas I will greatly appreciate.

 

Thanks. Be well

 

Miriam

[JFSinIL]

For three years old you need to play more than anything. Let her help you make cookies, get out the Playdough, build with Duplos and blocks, paint. You can slip in counting blocks etc. as part of the game. I would NOT attempt any actual school at this age. One day a week at Montessori would be fun for her and give you ideas, too.

 

Most important of all - read to her. Daily. Maybe a couple short times a day instead of one long period. And not just kiddie books - poems, myths, legends - fill her mind with wonderful tales.

[Trivium Academy]

:iagree: The book Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready would be a great one for activities but reading to her will be the best thing you can do. Sing nursery rhymes, do crafty art projects, just have fun with her. I also recommend limiting (at least) any tv viewing and let her explore her world.

[dangermom]

Yep, what she said. One thing I did around that age was to start a little play-school group with some friends; a couple of times a week we'd get the kids together and do some fun activities. I collected a whole lot of art and science activities from books and we did a bunch of those.

 

Spend a lot of time outside looking at things, read a lot together, minimize the screen time, and have fun!

[Ellie]

:iagree:

 

Your *best* place to start is just by being the mom, not by trying to figure out how to teach her to read or know her numbers.

 

Mothers who spend lots of time with their dc on a daily basis *naturally* teach their children all sorts of things. Preschools are nothing more than institutions that teach children things their own mothers would teach them if they weren't sent away from home. If you have a particular affinity for Montessori methods, you can check books out of the library that tell you how to do Montessori at home.

 

The Moore Formula article has some good information.

[dangermom]

Very true, Ellie.

[brasilmom]

Those are all very good ideas. We do not do tv, instead we play music, which she loves it. She is not interested in tv whatsoever and I am not turning it on during the day at all. We have not done much on the art department, but I am heading to a supply store today and plan on getting some art supplies. The coloring books she has, she is not terribly interested on them. I do keep them in her bins along with crayons. Play doh I think she would like, however she cannot use the regular one due to wheat/gluten allergy. I am not sure if they have any allergen free ones available. I think I have a recipe for one. Summer is short around here, so we are trying to enjoy it. Now, when winter comes around our time outside will be very limited, so I will look for some homeschool groups to get play time together.

 

Thanks for the ideas. I will get some supplies and we certainly will enjoy our time together.

 

Be well

 

Miriam

[Mississippi Missy]

Well, if she is having trouble in counting you could count candies or cereal (like cherrios) and then if she gets it you can let her eat them. Or eat them as she counts them. If it is number recognition maybe you could post the numbers up around the house on objects or doors. Then you can call the bathroom "room number 5" (or whatever number) instead of saying bathroom, or bedroom. Not sure, that is my first thought. Hope it helps some.

[CLHCO]

Well, I'm a die-hard homeschooler who doesn't think preschool is "necessary" but I'm known for being a walking contradiction sometimes too. :D

 

My first reaction is to simply let her be part of your world, counting forks while they're put away, counting the apple slices at snack time, etc. Make it play time and don't worry if she doesn't get it right away. At that age you have plenty of time before formal math must begin.

 

However, I know first time homeschool moms sometimes get a bit anxious to make sure they are doing it all correct. I think, if you feel you must and can avoid falling into the trap of thinking the "professionals" must always be the ones to teach your child, one day a week at a Montessori school is a fine idea. I would limit a child that age to one or two days a week at the most, only a couple hours each. I also would make sure it's traditional to Montessori's teaching styles for kids that age and not compromising to fit in with what other preschools in the area are doing.

 

Montessori can be wonderful for little kids when you have a good teacher and it will give you some good ideas to implement at home. They do not put pressure on the little ones and give them wonderful ways of exploring their world, learning in the process.

 

While she's there, look at some of the little activities they have and gradually build them up at home. You can use things from the dollar store too. I know there are Montessori stores but they are costly for something you'll use only for a short time. You can see what they do for 4 and 5 year olds so you can provide this at home.

 

If the school allows it, you could also try to simply go and observe for a couple days. That may be enough too and you'll see that most of what they're doing, you could do too. Teaching little ones is really something that should be fun and without pressure. Parents can learn to be great at that.

 

My older daughters enjoyed a Montessori preschool a lot when they were little, though I should have pulled them out before kindergarten. By that point some schools start preparing to filter kids into the public schools and want to look good by how advanced the kids are compared to others so they begin to push them. My daughters suffered a bit from expectations they were not ready for. If I had a do-over, I'd go with a bit of preschool and drop it.

 

Well, actually, I would not do it in the first place but I'm a lot more confident now than I was back then. ;)

[Brindee]

:iagree:

 

Your *best* place to start is just by being the mom, not by trying to figure out how to teach her to read or know her numbers.

 

Mothers who spend lots of time with their dc on a daily basis *naturally* teach their children all sorts of things. Preschools are nothing more than institutions that teach children things their own mothers would teach them if they weren't sent away from home. If you have a particular affinity for Montessori methods, you can check books out of the library that tell you how to do Montessori at home.

 

The Moore Formula article has some good information.

I agree with this totally. 3yo's are still babies, really. They don't HAVE to have school yet! I say this a lot to people, and I don't mean it rudely, I just want the kids to be able to be kids! What I highlighted in red is sooo what I believe....JUST BE A MOM! That's what they need. Mom's do fun hands-on thing with their kids. They play. They snuggle up with their kids and read to them. They take walks with them and point out flowers and trees and animals and birds. They let them use measuring cups and different size containers to play in the bath or with rice or beans to get spacial concepts. I never considered myself a homeschool teacher until my kids were in K or 1st grade. Before that it's just being a mom to my children and doing fun things, talking about and discussing things, answering questions, and letting them know how much I love them!

 

Kids will be going to school when they're older for sooo many years, I just believe they need to be allowed to be kids fo awhile longer! And, by the time they're 10 or so, they don't find any academic difference between children who are pushed to read early and do facts early and those that were allowed to start when they were ready. The "late starters" were ready, so they learned it quickly and caught up to and sometimes passed those who had started earlier!

 

It's tempting to start them early so you can proudly say, "My child started reading at 3 years old (or whatever age), but that's for YOUR benefit, then, not the child's.

 

I'm NOT saying do NOTHING. I'm saying parents of littles should be parents and be involved with the kids and answer things and do things with them when the child is curious............Just don't push them into things when they're not really ready yet! If they start crying everytime you sit down to have them read or do math, or fuss about it, or not get it and stare into space........then they're not ready yet! Let'em play and learn and allow the synapses (Yikes...spelling?) in the brain connect properly...then it's not so hard for them or you!

 

 

 

Ah-oh..........:rant: All done! Remember, this was NOT meant to condemn anyone, nor was it meant toward the OP, it was just meant as something for people to think about....

 

:grouphug: and :lurk5:! :001_smile: