About to start in August and I'm a little nervous and overwhelmed!

[myall4him2]

I'm planning on starting to homeschool my 4 year old dd when my husband goes back to work (he's a teacher) in august. I'm very nervous though!

I'm nervous about screwing up, like not being able to give all my attention and focus to her when her almost 3 year old brother and 1 1/2 yr old sister are running around crazy.

I'm nervous about me not having enough energy (I'm 20 weeks pregnant right now).

For 4 year olds, are you pretty relaxed? Or very structured?

I'm just not even sure where to start. I plan on using Heart of Dakota for now.

Anyways, any advice and encouragement to a soon to be new homeschooler would be awesome!

[iris0110]

My youngest is 4.5 and we are very relaxed. Mostly it is just playing with crayons, reading together, playing with math manipulatives and using educational websites. He is learning how to use a computer (because we do most of our curriculum online) and starting to learn how to form letters. He knows the basics of addition because his big brother taught him using dry cereal at the kitchen table during lunches (this is how I taught Kearnan too). In Tx Tharen isn't old enough to attend public school until next school year so I'm not too concerned yet. At this age it is more about having fun and learning to enjoy learning than actual disciplined class time. I am pretty laid back about school in general. I find that if I am too rigid about it Kearnan (who is doing 2nd grade work) shuts down. I am considering the possibility of sending Tharen to PS K because I am just not sure how to teach him but we will see when the time actually comes. Like I said he has at least one more year to go anyway.

[frenchie]

We didn't even start homeschooling until DS was 5. My advice is to give it another year. Relax and get through your pregnancy. Just take the kids on educational day trips, do crafts, and play together.

[dsccwhiz]

Just relax and enjoy this time w/your little ones. Read lots of good books. Color, play with Play-Doh and let her lead you. If you are going to use Little Hands to Heaven, that is a wonderful program and very light. We LOVED it. Don't stress about academics, it is so unnecessary at this age.

[rubyrain]

Originally Posted by dsccwhiz Just relax and enjoy this time w/your little ones. Read lots of good books. Color, play with Play-Doh and let her lead you. If you are going to use Little Hands to Heaven, that is a wonderful program and very light. We LOVED it. Don't stress about academics, it is so unnecessary at this age.

YES-this!!

Do not get too stressed about this age, it's all about getting kids to enjoy learning. READ, READ, READ. I think it's good to get a rhythm to your day by starting with circle time or something but don't get locked into a "structure" at that age.

Encourage this age to help with daily chores like folding washcloths, putting away silverware, sweeping a small part of the floor with a small broom/dustpan, wiping out bathroom sink, etc. Over time, talk to them about doing the chores without you asking them.

Giving them responsibilities like this will help them in the long run to be able to work on "school" work more independently.

[RJmomof4]

I feel ya mama, I have a 3 year old and 10 month old. I think everyone else is right prek isnt the time for structure its time for fun learning and the other kids can get involved, like have reading time where you read to all of them. good luck mama.

[vintagegyrl]

Maybe start during nap time of the little ones, then you can focus and learn how to use the curriculum and not get stressed. If your LO's aren't trained to sit and play quietly or stay in a Pack N Play during a short little lesson it will be tough and stressful. So maybe start in the afternoon with your 4yo til u get the hang of it.

I did not use curr. for below K but we might work a little on letters if DS wants to do that. I am mainly focusing on my 1st grader and that is it. We didn't even do that much for K. the other ones pick stuff up and teach themselves, really!

I also think as they each get older u might be able to do more with the younger ones each year. - adding something new, etc. with the oldest only 4 I would not stress about it too much and just focus on reading to her/coloring and answering her questions, etc. you and she can learn that way together!

[pink&bluemommy]

We are pretty relaxed also, ds 4 this year will really just be learning to read and have a bit of structured writing time.

[Designsbybequi]

I have a newly turned 4 year old, 20 month old and am 7 months pregnant and have the same worries that you do. I feel a lot of pressure b/c all of my 4 year olds friends are going to PreVK in a couple of weeks and when I look at her, I can't help but feel she will get behind. I love this site b/c it's helping me get over my anxiety about the fact we are homeschooling. Anyway, what I plan on doing is one hour a day with her unless she wants more. I bought the book, "Learning to read in 100 days". It got amazing reviews for being easy to teach kids how to read. They recommend not starting before 4 years old. So they are 20 minute lessons a day and in 100 days, your child will be reading. After that 20 minutes, I plan on going through the alphabet and just having her practice writing a letter a day. Then maybe later, she can do words, like dog or cat, then her name. Also, number recognition. There are so many coloring books that teach that stuff and she thinks she's just coloring. I color them with her and we joke and laugh a lot. I bought the Hooked on Phonics PreK set that has a ton of things in it but I find I'm busy in her 'coloring' books, but may open it up in a couple of months. I plan on starting her 'formal' one hour a day, the day all her friends start PreVK (maybe for my peace of mind??) and calling it school, in case they talk about it, she'll feel she's in school too? I want to do it right after breakfast around 9am, then just have fun the rest of the day. She's the most alert in the morning and her sister likes her morning movie. For fun, we play games like Candyland, puzzles, HiHoCherrio, OldMaid, Crazy 8's and I have a lot of educational toys like talking clocks to tell time and alphabet singing toys, etc. So she's getting educated in many other forms. But like I said, I think I want the formal one hour a day to start the reading and writing and for my peace of mind, to feel she's not missing anything. She's my first kid, so of course, I'm more stressed about it. I'm sure by my second and third kid, I won't care and just start formal lessons at 5 in kindergarten. We'll see. But I feel similar! Good luck, I'm due in Oct '10!

[babybelle02]

Originally Posted by frenchie We didn't even start homeschooling until DS was 5. My advice is to give it another year. Relax and get through your pregnancy. Just take the kids on educational day trips, do crafts, and play together.