When did you formally begin schooling your child?

[Homeschoolmom3]

Regrets starting early?  Advantages? or regrets starting later?  I am torn, I am at the age of my youngest to begin formal teaching and just can't decide when to officially start.  They grow up so fast!  He likes to do some "work" but I have limited it so far but looking ahead for next year.  What have you all done?

[Ethel Mertz]

I started when DS was 5 (though he had taught himself to read the year before).

[Syllieann]

Hmm, I think of it as a sliding scale. My 4 yo does 15 minutes of phonics and 15' of math per day at her ability level. Next year will be a bit more. Since I am following a curriculum instead of coming up with it off the top of my head, does that make it formal? If she doesn't sit at the table with a pencil in hand, is it still formal?

[Wabi Sabi]

My oldest went to kindergarten and we started homeschooling in first. 

My youngest has always been home. I started doing preschool activities at 3.5-4ish- they weren't things that she really thought were "work," per se, but just more things like introducing her to Leap Frog videos and Starfall.com, teaching her to write her name, taking a preschool craft/enrichment class twice a month for fun, selecting read alouds with her in mind, playing with Cuisenaire Rods and pattern bears, puzzles, sticker books, coloring, lots of time with play dough and puzzles, cutting with scissors, building with blocks, etc. It was all very loose, informal, and fun for her, and it gave her some activities of her own to do while I was working with her older brother. On her fifth birthday I officially promoted her to the status of "kindergartener" and that's when I consider our formal schooling to have begun. 

[Kiara.I]

Well, I answered 4 and younger.  But...it really depends on what you mean by "formal."  ;)

 

I bought math curriculum at four because I'd just read about subitizing numbers and how important it was, and how just counting could be a drawback, and my child was starting to count.  So I bought math curriculum to "fix" that.  :lol:    I offered math, he accepted occasionally for the first few weeks, and then declined pretty consistently.  So we did maybe....20 lessons or so?  Then we didn't do much of anything.

Then we "formally" started homeschooling in kindergarten.  Which was math (sometimes) and handwriting (sometimes) and not too much else.

 

So....4?  5?  6?  I don't know...

[SilverMoon]

All of the above? I didn't vote. Each kid came with their own ideas and needs. My 6th DC starts K this fall and I'm still just following his lead. *shrug*

 

More helpfully, mine typically do gentle math, phonics, and penmanship in K, and start a formal WTM-ish load in first grade. I don't really consider them formal students until first grade by age.

 

Then there's the kid who didn't even start sounding out words until deep into second grade and couldn't wrap her head around FLL 1 until 3rd grade. She didn't really have formal education until 3rd grade. (Fwiw, she's a 9th grader now, who basically self-taught algebra and reads Pride and Prejudice for fun. That late start obviously didn't cause any harm.)

 

On the other hand I kept having to literally push another DD out of her brother's K phonics lesson so he could see his own book. She was barely 3. This did not lessen over time. When she was 4 she did everything that brother did for first grade, except her math was slightly behind his. (4th grader now. Still ahead. Brilliant. All that early praise from non-family members for reading fluently at 3 totally went to her head. LOL)

[Homeschoolmom3]

Thanks everyone for responding....keep 'em coming.  Would love to have more to think on.  For me it is VERY hard not to start "formal" training, curriculum for math, reading, writing etc. at 4 since my other two did.  My oldest loves school so it worked great for him, my middle son hates school and I think I burnt him out too quickly since I kept the same pace as my oldest.  Don't want to make that mistake with my littlest one.  He loves to learn and read!  But he likes to do more hands on things and loves the montessori approach picking and choosing on his own and changing it up alot.  I did that when he was young to stimulate his eagerness to do things like big brothers.  Oh decisions....

[go_go_gadget]

We had three degrees of ''formality'', and I voted by the middle one because it's most akin to Kindergarten, and that's the traditional start of ''formal'' schooling here. I started them working on basic skills (letter and numeral formation, phonics, number bonds) at 4.

[Mommy22alyns]

Formally, 5 with ODD.  She did already know how to read - she taught herself, as did YDD.  She had been in 2 years of MDO preschool, but I always considered that just for fun and not serious learning.  She also did some K workbooks before K, but I wasn't serious or regimented about it.

 

I wish I had been easier on her for K.  I made it kind of a first grade year, when really, there is no rush.  YDD's K experience was more gentle and I don't feel like she's suffered for it.  But I don't regret starting something at 5.

[go_go_gadget]

Thanks everyone for responding....keep 'em coming.  Would love to have more to think on.  For me it is VERY hard not to start "formal" training, curriculum for math, reading, writing etc. at 4 since my other two did.  My oldest loves school so it worked great for him, my middle son hates school and I think I burnt him out too quickly since I kept the same pace as my oldest.  Don't want to make that mistake with my littlest one.  He loves to learn and read!  But he likes to do more hands on things and loves the montessori approach picking and choosing on his own and changing it up alot.  I did that when he was young to stimulate his eagerness to do things like big brothers.  Oh decisions....

 

If he likes the Montessori style work, I'd buy Cuisinaire rods and let him play with those, and after a while introduce Miquon and see what he thinks. RS card games are great for number bonds, too. You could also let him watch some Leapfrog videos for letter sounds, and then use something like the Melissa & Doug See and Spell to let him play with word formation. You're wise not to push him, and I'd use all of these things in a ''creative strewing'' sort of way, to allow his interest to lead him.

[Homeschoolmom3]

He has known his sounds and letters before he was 2 yrs. old.  He can read some words that he has learned on his own but when I try to introduce Abeka reading to him since that is what I used for my other two he shows no interest and walks away.  Uhh... I have heard of Miquon not familiar with it though but will look into it.  He has been playing with C-rods.  He loves to play games any kind.  Guess I'll have to get creative...:)  I think he might like Boggle Jr. looking into that for word blending.  Thanks everyone!

[Kiara.I]

Thanks everyone for responding....keep 'em coming.  Would love to have more to think on.  For me it is VERY hard not to start "formal" training, curriculum for math, reading, writing etc. at 4 since my other two did.  My oldest loves school so it worked great for him, my middle son hates school and I think I burnt him out too quickly since I kept the same pace as my oldest.  Don't want to make that mistake with my littlest one.  He loves to learn and read!  But he likes to do more hands on things and loves the montessori approach picking and choosing on his own and changing it up alot.  I did that when he was young to stimulate his eagerness to do things like big brothers.  Oh decisions....

 

:)  So what you're saying is that what you've been doing is working like a charm and there's no real need to do anything "formal" since he's progressing just beautifully as it is.  ;)

[Homeschoolmom3]

Kiara...yeah right!  Thanks for the thoughtful words though...the older I get the more I question everything and doubt everything I do.  Why is it that as I age I realize how much I don't know.  LOL!

[73349]

I chose "4 or younger,"  but he was 4 1/2. By "formal" I mean that I worked from a list for each week, not that he ever sat still more than 15 or 20 minutes until he turned 5.

[Farrar]

When they were 4, I have lots of "school" things - learning games, math manipulatives, books, Starfall on the computer, etc. If they asked to do those things, we would. Sometimes I would say, hey, want to play with the letters? Or something along those lines. But there was no set time, no requirement.

 

At age 5, I set aside an hour for "school" every morning, but it included all kinds of games and so forth still. And lots of read alouds. It was mostly about getting into the groove of "doing school." By age 6, we were doing a lot more.

 

Like others are saying, we eased into it. There are individual aspects of how I did things - things I wish I had pushed more and things I wish I had known to just hold off on more. But overall I think we did okay.

[desertflower]

I formally taught phonics when my oldest was 3 1/2 because he loved to learn and he knew his letters and simple phonics (thanks to leapfrog videos) around 20 months old. I didn't think about starting earlier (not that one should) because I was a little busy. :)

 

My second oldest is now 4 1/2. I just started with Singapore math 1a, but once a week. I've been formally using phonics pathways since she was 4. Here we just do this once a week.

 

I also do fiar. (Not all the activities )

 

This sounds harsh, but I do it at their pace. If my child is willing, then I start.

[Mommy_of_4]

We start formal school at 4.

[Dmmetler]

DD10 was grade skipped into PS K at 4, but really didn't learn much there she hadn't already figured out. We started homeschooling at 5, and I kind of consider that her formal start of education.

[AimeeM]

I'm not sure how to answer.

Before this year, I would have said nothing formal before 4 (which is when we start formal reading and math), but now I'm looking at starting my 2.5 year old in the fall. 

I would never tell a kiddo "no" if they wanted work, but in DS2's case, his therapists agree that teaching him to read may help his speech. He knows all of his letters, letter sound, numbers, counting, one-to-one, etc... and is fairly obsessed with putting letters together, but is also seriously speech delayed. 

So next year, he'll be a barely 3 and we'll work through some things.

 

I have no regrets about starting early. I've never been a "better late than early" kind of gal. That does not mean, however, that I push a child beyond what they're capable of doing (okay, I did that a time or two, and backed off, at the advice of the lovely boardies here, lol); I learned quickly that doing so will only frustrate them and me... but I also didn't stop formal school work just because they didn't want to do it. 

[Guest]

Technically, I started my younger 2 boys when they were barely 7 and barely 6. Both were severely speech delayed so learning to talk took precedence over everything else. That is not to say they didn't learn anything. I did Waldorf Inspired with them. Lots of coloring, drawing, books, free play, starfall.com, etc... For my kids, I would never start offically {unless they asked} before 6. They need that time to mature and just be silly little people. 

[vaquitita]

Nm

Edited December 12, 2015 by vaquitita

[RootAnn]

I vote that you should keep doing what you are doing & follow your little one's lead. If abeka phonics/reading isn't what he's interested in, but he wants to read, figure something else out. Games & hands-on are obviously great for that age. 

 

I started one at 4, two at 5, one at 6, and the last one just walked up to me a week ago with his brother's 'learn to read' book and asked to do it. For me, it is interest-led & time-available for the first year or so. Play it by ear. Sounds like you are doing great.

[redsquirrel]

I did 2 years of 'kindergarten' starting at 4. It was short and sweet. I focused on reading (I used reading reflex), and math (I used MEP reception and then Miquon) . I actually did the thing where we had a weekly 'theme' and I would get library books about the theme and our science and 'social studies' would be about the theme.  I know it sounds crazy, but we had So Much Fun that I did it with both boys.

 

I had weeks like:

 

Apples

Dinosaurs

Bugs

Things that go

snow

fairy tales

ocean

farm

rainbow

All about me (that was birthday week, lol)

Thanksgiving

Sun, moon and stars

monsters

 

I did all of those arts and craft things and what I think of as 'baby science' about the water cycle..and read about a million books (magic tree house,  magic school bus, etc etc. The things is, it never took very long. It was maybe 90 mins in the morning? Maybe 2 hours if we were really having fun. I paid attention to how the reading was going and kept things moving on that front. We were well ready for Singapore math by first grade. And we were both happy to start with SOTW 1.

 

I really feel like spending that time on those gentle activities, focusing on the reading and math in a very appropriate way, meant that when we started "real" school as a first grader, they were ready. They were used to the routine of school, it was normal to see me as their teacher, they could read and hold a pencil and a few other basic skills, and they were ready to sit down and work a little harder. So, when we did our first narration for SOTW or FLL or WWE it went very smoothly.

 

Good luck to you, and make sure that most of all, you are both enjoying each other! That is really the most important part

[lea_lpz]

I voted 5 because they they did a math workbook and learned to read cvs words but for both k and 1st grade we used a much more gentle, relaxed approach spending only 60-90 minutes a day on "school" with maybe 30 minutes of seat work, so I would say a "formal" school has started more so this year at age 7 with my 2nd grader.

[StartingOver]

I am firmly in the better early than later camp. My kids all started at different ages when they showed interest. But I knew even from the beginning starting with homeschooling my step daughters, before I even had my own, that teens can be tough.

 

We get the basic foundation of of the way ASAP, then get down to interest based.

 

Mine started at, in order, ages 5, 4, 6, 4, & 3. No regrets at all.

 

[Tanikit]

I guess it would depend what one considers formal. My eldest knew all her letters at 18 months and was blending at 2, but I certainly never sat her at a table to teach her - following blending there was a natural progression to reading more complicated texts and we started OPGTR word lists only at around 3.5 reading 4-8 words daily in a 5 minute session before bed - maybe this is formal, I am not sure. It didn't feel formal.

 

My youngest started what I might consider formal schooling at 3 and that was because she wanted the attention her sister was getting, she loves workbooks and likes what is considered more formal schooling. By 3.5 she was doing Horizons K and had a formal session for reading too though none of these session has even been more than 5 minutes unless she chooses to do more pages of a book herself. Again she is asking and leading so maybe it is not formal, or maybe it is since I have chosen what to offer her - if she rejects it then we drop it though.

 

Both girls have been read to for long periods of time since they were babies. Most people do not consider reading aloud to their children as formal education except that it is probably the most educational part of a young child's schooling. 

 

 

[Homeschoolmom3]

Great thoughts everyone...thanks so much!

[....]

I did two different things with two sets of kids.

 

1st set (current 13 yro and 12 yro) - they started formal schooling at 5.  I pushed them very hard when they were little (probably too hard) - especially in the language arts department.  Thinking back, I should have left my son alone until he was about 8.    

2nd set (current 10 yro and 7 1/2 yro) - 10 yro started formal schooling right before 8.  Her sister started at 7.  They are both very easy to teach and enjoyable to teach.  They're auditory learners and just seem to do really well with classical ed/CM-type stuff.

The New Dude - if he ends up being like his older brother, I'm planning to put off formal schoolwork until about 7-8.  Before that, I'll teach him very informally and based on what he wants to learn/is ready to learn.

 

[Heidi]

Formal, as in time to sit down and do work, no questions asked... First grade. However I try to have my kids reading fairly well and writing with ease by first grade as well. School before first grade is always optional and usually inconsistent because I personally dread the beginning phase of reading and writing.

[....]

I guess it would depend what one considers formal. 

 

Both girls have been read to for long periods of time since they were babies. Most people do not consider reading aloud to their children as formal education except that it is probably the most educational part of a young child's schooling. 

 

That's true - it depends on what you consider formal schoolwork.  I don't think reading aloud to kids is formal education, either.  I start reading books to them when they're babies.  I think of formal education as...you have a schedule, expectations, non-negotiable seatwork, etc.  

[ByGrace3]

We start at 4 (pre-K 4) we keep it play based and fun, but before K I expect them to at least know letters and sounds and basic math.

[Momto4inSoCal]

My twins turn 4 in Sept. I plan to start "school" then. They actually do some stuff right now but it's really just for fun. They see their sisters working and ask if they can do work too. I just give them a few letter of the week worksheets and we do crafts and watch starfall video's. Next year I will buy some formal workbooks but I don't plan on pushing them too much. If they want to do work they can if they don't want to they won't. One of my twins has a lot of energy so I sort of think his brother will be ready to sit down and do work before he will. Not really sure how we will deal with that. 

[FindingMyWay]

I voted age 5. We start K then, but it's pretty laid-back. I have a K'er right now, and he can be done with his work within about 30 minutes most days.

[Dory]

I did lots of fun stuff long before they were old enough for school. We counted and pointed out letters as soon as they could walk and point. My oldest two went to school so they started at fairly average ages although I held my oldest back a year because of social delays. My youngest though only did preschool type stuff at the school 2 days a week as a social outing. We didn't start any really serious teaching until he was six and a half. He was reading at 2 1/2 though. He is doing really really really well. I am very happy I gave him the extra time to play and explore. I doubt he would've sat still for me to do book work any earlier then that.

[deerforest]

DD went to a cool project-based preschool at age 4, but we pulled her out in March (2009) because she was having some pretty bad anxiety issues. DH was a stay-at-home Dad at the time so it was fine. So, we didn't do much until right after she turned 5 about 6 months later in Sept (2009. She was teaching herself how to read and asked for me to work with her. I started to but realized she was getting stuck when working in context.

 

In January (2010), we brought her to eye doctor, discovered she needed glasses for reading. Backed off from reading while she adjusted to them. Then in March she had a trauma getting an earring stuck in her earlobe and then broke her arm the next day. She needed surgery for her arm and was hospitalized for a couple of days and in a cast until May. In April she fell and couldn't catch herself and ended up with a bad head wound. Needed stitches for that. We didn't really do any school. She was obsessed with childbirth so she spent most of that year learning about pregnancy and childbirth of any animal we could imagine. 

 

She also managed to learn to read that year. I have no idea when or how we did it. I know we used Progressive Phonics a bit here and there and those read-with-me books. But, it was truly not formal nor structured nor consistent. DH was pretty much an unschooler so they didn't really do any other school that year.

 

She had surgery for her arm again in September (2010) right after she turned 6. Another brief hospital stay. Then we discovered she needed her tonsils/adenoids out. So, another surgery and hospital stay. Then, I got laid off, DH went to work, and I suddenly became the homeschooling parent. I actually found another remote job pretty quickly, but then we were a 2-parent working homeschool family. We put her in a play-based Waldorfy program a few days a week, but she and a friend were the oldest.

 

We started doing history and science that next September (2011), her reading skills developed more, but we struggled with math so we just did living math that year, and then we started BA when it came out when she was 7.5 (March 2012).

 

Writing all this down, I realized that I really didn't start real school with her until she was 7 (9/2011, which is right about when I joined these forums too!), or 2nd grade. It's also when we had to register with our state. But, even now she's a young 5th grader who is doing quite well and generally working and using above grade level materials. So, I don't think the delays affected her at all. 

 

ETA: I consider everything before this to just be parenting, not homeschooling.

[Coco_Clark]

I agree with the sliding scale theory, though I voted "age 6" because that's when my kids have full homeschool schedules, and when they HAVE to do school, every day, no matter how they feel about it.

 

My toddlers (2/3) are learning their colors and shapes, how to count, and how to sing the abcs. SOME of my kids (not ALL) have picked up letter sounds at this age. This is obviously all very informal and off the cuff and fun. I do make a HUGE priority to read to them, at least 2x a day and when I can, 3x. We homeschool in a very much lit. based style which means my kids need to be able to listen to a book. ;). I also keep fine motor and sensory activities around (beading, playdough, sorting, ect) and we do those together.

 

My preschoolers (4/5) are taught their letter sounds more formally and then, when they are ready, how to "blend" letters to read words. They are taught how to hold and control a pencil (with mazes and dot to dots) if they aren't already, and then how to write their name. I introduce math concepts like adding, subtracting, skip counting, and place value in day-to-day experiences. We play word games like rhyming and 20 questions. I offer from time to time, "want to do some school?". I've found it goes in spurts, with interest for several weeks and then NO interest for a while. When they do say yes, "school" is mostly math games like those on educationunboxed and playing with our moveable alphabet, and we stop when they want. My current 5 insists on workbook pages which is why he does Miquon and Logic of English. But I don't think its really necessary. I continue reading, reading, reading. I add in nonfiction on subjects they show interest in, and chapter books. They are invited to join in any content work the older is doing, but they don't HAVE to. My current 5 sits in on 80%.

 

My 6 year olds get a full schedule.

[skimomma]

We did not begin any formal education until age 7.  I did not have a real reason other than it did not seem like the right time to start until then.  Until age 7, dd was very content to play and hang out.  It was late summer before what would be her 2nd grade year (had she been in school) that she began to get bored during the day, so I took advantage of that and we slowly began introducing a weekday schedule which we ramped up over that year and the following.  Dd did learn to read on her own before we that.  She also knew her numbers but could not yet add/subtract.

 

I do not regret the late start.  She was 100% caught up to "grade level" by the end of that first year.  We basically covered K-2 in one academic year....usually only doing "school" for about 2 hours, 4 days a week.  I think those extra years to play and explore were priceless.

[Homeschoolmom3]

My homeschool philosophy has sure changed since my oldest now, 14!  I know it varies by age when kids are ready, it is nice to see everyone's different experience.  My DS has been actually doing Memoria Press Jr.K this year and really likes it we might do 30 min. at the most of actual sit down school but was trying to see if I should do much with him next year in regards to moving on to a Kindergarten or just do more theme based stuff again.  We do read a good amount probably 2 hrs. a day.  I don't consider that formal schooling either.  It is interesting to see when people actually started their sit down have to do school time.  Thanks everyone!

[Χά�ων]

I started later, but it was not as though my son sat staring at the walls. He was in coops and taking other classes from age 4 on. He was learning, it just was not formal sit down work.

 

I delayed math until 3rd grade. He was caught up by the end of the year. He was sick in 4th grade and could have started prealgebra in 5th. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to young children and formal seat work.

[Brianna]

I voted 4 because that's when they want to start so far. We do daily math and reading and start handwriting. My 4 year old also will sit and listen to some of the older kids stuff, so technically she isn't "school age" but she's getting a lot :)

[Rebecca in KY]

I voted 4, but it was really 4 3/4. We started in August and he turned 5 in October. We did MFW's K program, which was absolutely perfect. It took about 30-60 minutes per day, including reading aloud.

 

No regrets starting him then. We both needed more structure to our days. What I DO regret is his 1st grade year. I used MFW 1st since their K program had worked so well. It was awful for us and we are still recovering from it now, 1/2 way through 2nd. I should have pulled the plug on it and tried to find a different program--but I was naive and hadn't even discovered these boards at the time. I did regroup for 2nd and changed everything about our schooling. We are slowly recovering. DS likes everything we do, but when I say "school," he thinks "first grade" and shuts down. I really hope that by the end of 3rd, he will have fully recovered from that awful year.

 

BTW: MFW 1st is probably a great program for many kids. It didn't work for us because 1) the reading/phonics went WAY too fast without any clear direction of exactly what to do for kids who struggle and 2) it was a biblical history program. I didn't think through the fact that since we've been reading DS Bible stories since he was a baby, there would be NOTHING NEW AND EXCITING for the entire year. I have come to understand that one of the reasons homeschool programs often revolve around history is that it's very important to being something fun, exciting, and new to each day. If your child hates or is bored by the fun and exciting component of a program, you're going to have problems.

[boscopup]

I require school at age 5, though I make K level materials available whenever they're ready for them, to be used on a "when they ask" basis. So my two fully homeschooled kids both did K math at age 4, but I don't consider them formally schooled at that point, since I didn't do school with them every day or require any school at all.

[SeaConquest]

He loved doing Reading Eggs and Kumon workbooks at 3. At 4.5, we started Math Mammoth, Progressive Phonics, SOTW, HWT, and some other stuff. I consider that formal schooling.  

[Jasperstone]

Regrets starting early? Advantages? or regrets starting later? I am torn, I am at the age of my youngest to begin formal teaching and just can't decide when to officially start. They grow up so fast! He likes to do some "work" but I have limited it so far but looking ahead for next year. What have you all done?

Yes, I started dd around 4 and regret it. So left ds until 7. My dd now 12 is not ahead, even though she was in the earlier years. And ds 10 is where he should be, so not behind.

 

I'm happily allowing ds 5 to keep playing, though he brings out worksheets every now and then.

[SnMomof7]

I started my oldest children at 6. I started my 3rd DD at 4, very casually, and it worked awesome! Formal preschool and K for all my kids from now on! Don't get me wrong, though, it is VERY relaxed, just enough to ease them in, and so they feel like they are doing school like their older sibs.

[NoseInABook]

I started super young with mine. We broke out actual curriculum at 4. My older three knew their letters, numbers, shapes, etc before they were 2 so I just figured we'd keep going at that pace. They're way ahead of where they should be now and I kind of regret it in the case of my newly 5 year old. Now if she pokes around with math and takes forever, I get frustrated because I feel like she has to keep at the pace that she set before without thinking, "Hey, she just turned 5. She's FINE." I'm taking it much more slowly with my fourth bio child who is 3.

[SFM]

I may *start* at 5 but I don't really expect much until about 6.

[TheAutumnOak]

I started 1st grade at 7 with my boys...If I could do it again, I would still have started K at age 6, but I would have done a little more...They could have been better prepared for 1st grade...

 

I still wouldn't start at 5 though...

[lea_lpz]

That's true - it depends on what you consider formal schoolwork. I don't think reading aloud to kids is formal education, either. I start reading books to them when they're babies. I think of formal education as...you have a schedule, expectations, non-negotiable seatwork, etc.

I would say 2nd grade by this definition. In k & 1st we did a lot more if a relaxed and hands on approach to school and pretty much no "independent" work.

 

This year my 2nd grader has an hour of independent seat work to do and if she doesn't finish in that time because she is dawdling (if she's genuinely stuck then I help her with it at one on one time) she has to do it at free time. We also do another hour of seat work together and then about an hour of a combination of hands on work, listening to mom read, educational DVDs or computer time, etc. Much less relaxed.

[HS Mom in NC]

I can't vote because it was different for each kid.