When to start home schooling, what age?

[Janeway]

My older children are in middle school. The younger one still needs a fair amount of attention. Those two are so far apart academically that there is not much combining I can do with them. I am going to try to combine science this summer, but I doubt that will work. The older is pretty independent. They are in 6th and 8th grade. The 8th grader is doing all high school level work. 

 

The younger children, however, are in preschool and kindergarten, Princess Glitter (she tells me that is her name) and Sir Lego (kindergartener). Princess Glitter loves preschool so all is fine there. Sir Lego is not happy at school. He is happy enough. He does not argue when he goes. But if I visit him during the day, he begs to come home. He has friends there. In fact, he loves two of the girls. The teachers say he plays with them a lot. He has PDD-NOS (now known as ASD, but ASD doesn't really describe it). So, he is a little bit impulsive and doesn't seem to get why he cannot do some things. His kinder has been great and he is doing very well. He willingly goes to school. He is on a special bus that picks him up right in front of our house. He loves the bus and the bus drivers are elderly and so sweet and just fuss over him all the time. 

 

I had figured I would start home schooling after 2nd grade for Sir Lego and then that means I would send Princess Glitter to kindergarten. I found out that Princess Glitter might not be able to take his school bus because it is a special bus. That is not the end of the world, but, it sure would have made life easier. But I am having some second thoughts. 

 

After 2nd grade and kinder for Sir Lego and Princess Glitter, they will be in 1st and 3rd and my older children will be in 9th and 11th grades. It seems to me that the high schoolers would be more independent by then and 1st and 3rd will be more doable than if I tried to do it now. But I feel sort of bad. Sir Lego reports that he does not like school. But he goes willingly and still loves the school bus. I already paid the deposit for preschool so I figure definitely another year in school. But I worry that started public kinder for Princess Glitter could be a mistake. 

 

Any good wisdom or otherwise?

[Kiara.I]

Well, if Sir Lego isn't happy in school and you *want* to homeschool anyway, then sounds like "any time now" would be a great age to start homeschooling.  I don't see why you'd need to wait another full year before homeschooling.  What's magic about grade 2?

And there's no need to send one child to kindergarten while homeschooling another unless you really want to for some reason.

[Janeway]

Well, if Sir Lego isn't happy in school and you *want* to homeschool anyway, then sounds like "any time now" would be a great age to start homeschooling.  I don't see why you'd need to wait another full year before homeschooling.  What's magic about grade 2?

And there's no need to send one child to kindergarten while homeschooling another unless you really want to for some reason.

I started home schooling oldest after grade 2 and it worked out well. Seems like by that age, reading and such is good enough that it is a smooth transition. He has some very good treatment at public school. He has come a long way in kindergarten. I get very little sleep right now with a new baby. But next year, new baby will still be a baby, but not so little. Perhaps new baby will consider sleeping at night. 

 

I am thinking grade 2 and kindergarten is when I should start Princess Glitter and Sir Lego at home. I do not feel so good about sending Princess Glitter to public school. She is very social and loves her preschool. But her preschool is small and private and days are short. I have considered not even sending her to preschool next year because they changed the days to be longer and raised the prices. But I feel like I do not have the commitment to preschool and kinder activities that I should have if I kept them home now.

[Kiara.I]

Well, long ago preschool didn't exist.  I don't really believe that you NEED to do "preschool" at home.  She can play in the dirt or play with cars most of the day and all will turn out well.  ;)

 

Many people choose to teach reading at home as part of homeschooling, so if you wanted to pull them out sooner you certainly could!  But if they're both relatively happy at school you don't need to, either.

 

For myself, since I was planning to homeschool I started in kindergarten, because it seemed easier to me to transition to being at home *without* first learning to be at school.

[Janeway]

Well, long ago preschool didn't exist.  I don't really believe that you NEED to do "preschool" at home.  She can play in the dirt or play with cars most of the day and all will turn out well.   ;)

 

Many people choose to teach reading at home as part of homeschooling, so if you wanted to pull them out sooner you certainly could!  But if they're both relatively happy at school you don't need to, either.

 

For myself, since I was planning to homeschool I started in kindergarten, because it seemed easier to me to transition to being at home *without* first learning to be at school.

LOL...for Princess Glitter, she only has brothers so she goes there to have friend girls. At home, she has banned boys from her room, even the baby. All her dolls are girls. Oh wait, she has one boy that is allowed in her room...a relatives who is college aged and visits often. She adores him. But even daddy is not allowed in. I have no friends with preschoolers. So for her, it was easier to just send her to preschool. I just hate paying for it. I could take her out of preschool and start her in stuff like dance and gymnastics for cheaper. But from my experience, they have no free play time there so she would not make friends there. My whole life seems to revolve around the other kids, so this is hard. She just needs a sister so bad! At least, that is what she tells me.

[Kiara.I]

Oh!

Hush, don't tell my daughter it's a possibility.  At the moment she has no problem playing with the boys and hasn't asked for a sister.  So...Shhh!  LOL

 

Yeah, friends is hard.  Some people seem to manage it but we find it tough.  Do you live in an area where the homsechool groups have regular park days?  That would be unstructured time where maybe there would be other *girl* younger siblings tagging along and she could find friends to play with.

[FloridaLisa]

It sounds like you ultimately want to homeschool your younger ones but only when you have more margin. Am I reading that right? 

 

If so, I've realized after years of homeschooling and lots of stages and ages, there's never a huge margin for it. If it's something you want to do, then you can adjust life to fit it. It's kinda like the question of when is the perfect time to have a baby? There's no *perfect* time and a baby at any age creates a huge adjustment. 

 

Schooling kids at those age ranges can be done. it's not easy, but it is do-able. Yes, your high schoolers may be more independent school wise in a few years, but they will still take up an incredible amount of time -- grading, overseeing, discussion, managing, schlepping to classes and work and volunteer, keeping records, college tours, college prep and tests, scholarships. 

 

So it might be better to decide if you want to homeschool, if homeschooling will help you achieve the goals you want for your kids, and then choose curriculum, classes and a schedule that make it workable. For me, it's much easier to have everyone homeschooling rather than keeping 2 in preschool (or school) and having to accommodate that schedule, field trip, class party, teacher workday, early dismissal and all of the bring a white t-shirt for Friday, have a science project done for Tuesday.  :huh:

 

A bit rambly this afternoon, but I hope this helps you think it through. :) 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Start homeschooling when and how it benefits your family the most.  Our needs within a family can come into conflict sometimes and so you have to prioritize.  If your son was having a very difficult time in school, where it seemed like it was harming him to stay there, then I would advise that you bring him home even if it means that it is a less than convenient time for you with a new baby.  (Lots of families do homeschool with babies and while it has its challenges, it can be rewarding as well.)  If your needs as a mom of a baby are such that it would make it hard for you to meet your family's needs, then wait.  Social needs can be met in various ways.  Sometimes they are met just fine within a family no matter what society says, and sometimes they aren't.  Only you will really know which is true for your family.  Just know that no matter what you choose, real life means that it will never be always smooth sailing.  We have to choose the best, knowing that it will never be the perfect.  ;)

[Ellie]

If you know you want to homeschool, I see no good reason to wait.

[Chris in VA]

You have to do whatever works best for your situation, of course.

Even though I'm a preschool teacher, I honestly don't think kids need preschool, if they can play at home and mom or dad is somewhat intentional with reading to them and giving a reasonable amt of attention (IOW, not just TV all day).

 

So some questions--

 

Has your dd made friends at school this year that you could go to the park with or invite over from time to time next year?

 

Can your olders keep your youngers occupied--one holds the baby while you work with your younger son, or one plays with your preschool dd while you nurse the baby and do math with your younger son? You know, sort of rotate the care a bit to get in 15-20 minutes of more guided work.

 

Do your littles still nap? A lot can be done at that time.

 

Do you have the option of sending your dd just a couple of days a week next year?

 

What I might do--YMMV--I might go ahead and finish up the year, then pull your son next year and your dd after that (or reduce to 2 days a week if she's now going 5). I'd look for a very efficient set of curricula choices for your ds and plan only the 3 R's, science (maybe thru reading and nature study, or a Home Adventures kit or two--low stress), and history. I'd use history for copywork and narration, and pick a read aloud from history every couple of weeks or so, not heavy. If your bigs could help a bit, fantastic. Two birds, one stone idea, you know? Have the eldest read to the littles while you work with the middle schooler. Have the middle schooler hold and walk the baby while you do history with the (then) 1st grader.

 

 

 

ETA: Oops--I didn't catch she

is in her LAST year of preschool (preK). So forget the "send her 2 days a week" thing. I'd just pull her next year along with her brother. First grade and K are easy-peasy to homeschool.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Chris in VA

[Peaceful Isle]

Maybe you could pull out your son and start home schooling him for the rest of the year. Then, you could decide over the summer what to do with your little girl. There is nothing wrong with not homeschooling her right now, if you feel she truly enjoys her preschool. You can always make that decision later when she will enter kindergarten.

Edited February 13, 2016 by Peacefulisle

[fourisenough]

I have a big age spread, and I found that having the littles attend preschool/kindergarten (we used a private half-day montessori) enabled me to concentrate on the olders while the younger ones were having their needs met, playing with friends, and doing the age-appropriate stuff that I didn't have time and energy for at home. I can see why you'd want to keep them there for another year or two. For us, where/how to educate has always been a year-to-year decision for each child. Don't feel like you have to do the same for both (your preschooler and K child) and don't feel like it has to be for a certain length of time. Make the choice that is right for each, each year. If I were in your shoes, and I'm certainly not, I'd probably keep both in school for next year since your SN child is getting great services at school, and preschooler is having fun with friends. The next year, I'd have to see where everyone is and determine what makes most sense at that point.