BJU Press Blog

early learning

Is Your Child Ready for Homeschooling?

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Closeup of cute little girl drawing with color pencils 10415731
© iStockphoto.com/vgajic

Is it time to start homeschooling your young child? As I pointed out in my previous post, people start homeschooling their children at different ages. Individual family situations play a large role in the decision about when to start homeschooling, so I listed a few questions to help you think through your unique situation. But there’s another major factor in the decision—your child. How can you tell if your child is ready?

If you were placing your child in a school setting, the school would probably give your child a kindergarten-readiness test.  You can do a similar assessment at home. Think about the following questions, and jot down your observations.

1. How well does your child listen and follow directions?

A good early childhood curriculum includes a lot of active learning, but your child does need to have the ability to sit and focus for short periods of time (ten to fifteen minutes is a good goal). Your child also needs to be able to listen carefully, to respond to questions, and to follow directions so that he or she can get the most out of learning activities.

2. Does your child have the necessary fine motor skills?

Can he or she use a child-sized pair of scissors? Does your child attempt to color within the lines when coloring? Is your child able to hold a pencil correctly and do simple tracking and tracing activities? (These skills should be refined before attempts are made at writing letters and numbers.) Your child needs to have strong fine motor skills in order to learn how to write.

3. Is your child enthusiastic about learning?

Most experts agree that a child’s individual enthusiasm for learning is the strongest indicator of future success in school. Does your child ask to “do school”? Does he or she pretend to read or write?

You know your child best, but if you want a second opinion about whether your child is ready for school, you might want to consult your child’s Sunday school teacher, pediatrician, or other family members and friends who have had multiple opportunities to observe your child. And don’t forget to pray! The Lord promises to give wisdom to all who come to Him in faith.

When my oldest daughter was ready to start formal schooling, BJU Press materials helped guide her learning. Next week I’ll share my family’s experience with their Footsteps for Fours curriculum.

Are You Ready to Start Homeschooling?

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Closeup of mother and her little girl coloring drawing 10415816
© iStockphoto.com/vgajic

I recently came across a copy of a homeschool magazine that contained a series of articles about homeschooling very young children (ages three to five). The articles all centered around one big question—at what age do you start homeschooling?

That is a big question, especially if you’ve never homeschooled before and your oldest child is three, four, or five, the age when most children around the country are starting preschool or kindergarten. Should you start this year? What if you wait a year or two—will your child fall behind?

There are a lot of different opinions about when a child should start school. Some educators seem to think “as early as possible,” thus the creation of programs such as Head Start® and other preschools. Other educators think it is best to wait as long as possible. There are homeschoolers at every point along that spectrum. Why? Each child is unique, and each family situation is unique.

Here are some questions to help you determine if you’re ready to begin homeschooling.

1. What does your state law require?

Your state homeschool laws may require you to register as a homeschooler and start instruction when your child reaches a certain age. Some require attendance records and/or other “proof” of homeschooling. Do some research or contact the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) to find out what your state requires. A friend of mine, Cindy, started homeschooling her children when each of them was five. Her only reason for doing so was that her state’s law required it. She said that otherwise she would have waited until they were older.

2. Do you plan to homeschool long-term?

Another friend of mine, Mary, started homeschooling her son with a preschool curriculum when he was four. She and her husband weren’t completely sure about homeschooling and were considering placing their son in a private Christian school for kindergarten. But she wanted to give homeschooling a try. She also wanted to make sure that their homeschool ran at a similar pace as the Christian school so that her son wouldn’t be behind if they decided to enroll him later.

3. How comfortable are you with homeschooling?

Sue also started homeschooling her four-year-old. She didn’t have any training or experience teaching, so although she was convinced that homeschooling was the best option for her family, she was really nervous about it. She began with a preschool curriculum when her daughter was four because she wanted to do a “trial run” before starting kindergarten material.

4. What’s going on in your life right now?

Although Rachel’s son is almost five, she has decided to wait another year to start homeschooling him. Her family is anticipating a move and a new baby within the next few months, so she and her husband have decided that homeschooling would add too much to their already stressed household.

So are you ready? Even if you are, your child might not be. Next week, I’m going to be giving some tips on how to assess whether your child is ready to start homeschooling.

P Is for Party!

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Preschool and K4 students work their way through the alphabet letter by letter. They need to learn to recognize letters by their shapes, and they need to know what sounds the letter makes. These are important pre-reading skills that will help them when they get to K5 and beyond.

Learning the alphabet doesn’t have to be boring. Since young children learn best by experiencing the world around them, parents and teachers can make learning fun by involving all of the senses.

October is both National Pizza Month (according to pizza.com) and National Popcorn Poppin’ Month (according to popcorn.org). Put these two ideas together for a fantastic p-themed party that will help teach little ones about the letter p.

Dress

Encourage the kids to dress up as something that begins with the letter p. Examples include a pirate, parrot, princess, painter, pumpkin, policeman, popsicle, or postal worker. Or you could let them wear their pajamas to school!

Food

Every party has to have food. For this p-themed party, pizza and popcorn are on the menu. Below are some great easy recipes for treats you can prepare ahead of time.

caramel popcorn in a treat bag and bowl

Caramel Popcorn

Ingredients

4 quarts popped popcorn (unsalted, butter-free)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup light Karo® syrup

1 stick margarine

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
        1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil and coat it with cooking spray. Add popped popcorn.
        2. Combine the margarine, salt, brown sugar, and Karo® syrup in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a rolling boil.
        3. Boil for five minutes without stirring. Remove from heat, and quickly add the baking soda and vanilla; stir until the mixture turns an even caramel color.
        4. Pour mixture over popped popcorn and toss to coat evenly.
        5. Bake for one hour, tossing every fifteen minutes. Allow to cool; store in an airtight container.

veggie pizza with pizza cutter

Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls

1 cup sour cream

1 8-oz. package cream cheese

1 package dry ranch dressing mix

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1½ cups broccoli, chopped

1 carrot, grated

Directions
            1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
            2. Pat crescent roll dough onto a greased jellyroll pan. Pierce with a fork.
            3. Bake for ten minutes. Cool completely.
            4. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, cream cheese, and ranch dressing mix. Spread onto crust.
            5. Add chopped vegetables. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour or more in the fridge. Cut into small triangles and serve.

Games/Activities

Don’t forget about your kinesthetic learners. Below are some p-themed activities to get the kids moving.

Parade

The day before the party, ask the children to bring an object to school that starts with the letter p. Sample objects might include a stuffed puppy, a small pumpkin, a pencil, or a puppet. On party day, let each child carry his object as you all line up and walk around the school building. Be sure to smile and wave at the people you pass!

Musical Pillows

The day before the party, ask the children to bring a pillow to school. Play the classic game of musical chairs, but use pillows instead!

Peanut Toss

Materials

Bag of circus peanuts
Two buckets or other open containers
Masking tape

Directions
                1. Divide the children into two teams.
                2. Use the masking tape to mark two starting lines on the floor. Place the buckets two to three feet away from the tape marks.
                3. Challenge the children to try to toss the circus peanuts into the bucket. The team that gets more circus peanuts in the bucket wins.

As you can imagine, the possibilities for a p-themed party are endless! If you have a  p-themed party idea, please tell us about it in the comments.

Playful Learning

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I have three daughters at home. One is a newborn, but my other two (3 and 5) are into everything. Nothing is safe. My three-year-old in particular seems to have a knack for making messes. Every open container of water must be explored (she loves pouring water into other containers); every food item within reach must be touched (this is why we had salty pancakes this past weekend)—you get the picture.

At a homeschool conference I attended earlier this year, I went to a workshop about homeschooling preschoolers. One big take-away from that session was the fact that young children learn best through experiencing the world around them. When babies put things into their mouths, they are learning. When toddlers mold dough into shapes, mix paint colors, and touch things like peanut butter, they are learning.

Paint on hands
Paint on hands by Ingvar Kjøllesdal (originally posted to Flickr as DSC_2470)/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA-2.0

I’m really glad that BJU Press understands this. In fact, the introduction of the Pathways for Preschool Teacher’s Edition talks about this very thing: “Children learn best when they are involved in activity—their play is their work. A setting that allows them to observe, explore, interact, play, and discover is vital to their development” (p. xii). BJU Press recommends using centers to create this setting and gives many ideas for centers throughout the curriculum.

As a homeschooler, you can arrange your home to encourage this type of learning. Designate spaces in your home where your child can role-play, create art projects, build with blocks, read books, and so on. Invest in toys that inspire creative play. Set aside time to do crafts, cook, and play with your child. Below are some resources for inspiration.

What are some fun learning activities that you have done with your small children?