ds has just annouched he wants home schooling - he's 4 -sorry long.

[frustratedmom]

Any one else dealing with a bright child who is due to start school in sept but has been ready for over a year and has decided that he needs schooling NOW and that I need to do it NOW.

He has been home schooled before. Once to kill a temper tantrum that lasted 4 hours cause his cousin was at school and he was too little (he was 2) that soon stopped and a neat trick. Last september the request raised its head the first time for proper. it controlled his behaviour (which were struggling with at the time) but his nursery found out and it was made clear in front of him that they felt it was damaging to him. I set it up so he did 5 mins reading, 5 mins writing / letter formation, 5 mins counting, had playtime mid morning, lunch and afternoon. Messy play and directed activities so was not outside the capabilties and expectations he had of himself.

He has finally got over the damaged caused by the nusrery and after a day of temper read an ORT reading level 4 book almost fluently (it confidence and prefers level 2 when not). His writing skills are coming on a bomb and maths is onto sums and grasping concept of multiplication and division.

Do I go with his wish and drive and ignore the concerns of the health visitor and GP over the implementation of home school. or do i go with their views. or do i do a mix ?

Concerned he will be bored at school but concerned he will loose love of learning.
HELP!

I'm no expert, but those who 'home school' will tell you that it's not so much about 'formal learning' as fostering a love of discovery for themselves.

I think bright children will begin to educate themselves despite whatever nursery/ HVs etc say. My DS1 was never 'taught' but knew all his numbers, could read, and had an amazing general knowledge before he started school. It would have been cruel to stop him - he enjoyed finding stuff out!

I think the distinction needs to be drawn between early learning through play/ self-directed activities and more formal teaching though. It doesn't sound as if you are 'pushing' him particularly.

Nurseries are now told that they mustn't 'teach' children literacy/numeracy these days I believe? My Ds1 learnt all his phonics at pre-school, but 3 years later DS2 didn't, as this was no longer 'approved' of by the educational establishment .

I'm not sure why you have to formalise things so much by calling it school (the naming it as school may be freaking the professionals out).
I do the odd bit of writing and sums with my 4 yr old twins (who start school on their 5th birthday which is fine by me),but I don't call it school. We do it after lunch so it's a routine thing and they love that bit of regular time with me and their books.
Lots of children thrive on routine and most nurseries are organised that way so having a schedule at home is nothing out of the ordinary.
So in short I think you're getting stressed over a non problem.Carry on doing what ever makes your child happy. Ignore your hv/gp (why would you have told them in the first place?) and say 'mmm' to anyone that questions you.
Bestb not to judge the school and if he'll be happy before he's started.
Deep breaths?

Erm, I don't think I really understand fully what you mean, but it sounds as though you are over relying on the term 'home schooled' and are just planning activities that he enjoys doing, which for your DS includes reading, counting etc. As long as you are not pushing him and he is initiating it, I can't see what the problem is.
I would also add that you need to be careful to add in all the other areas to maintain balance which it sounds as though you are doing.
Why would it even effect your HV or GP, he is starting school in September, so it is not really home schooling, just activities (albeit in a more structured way) It wouldn't be for me,but am not sure what the problem really is?
Apologies if I have missed the point!

why does he need schooling in any formal , structured capacity now?

i don;t think you can mix home school and school education once he is in school, but why does it have to be called schooling now?

surely sitting and reading and letting him learn about what he is interested in is healthy anyway?

i think you need to decide what to do, but it sounds like you are being led by him, and he is 4, and you are th parent

what do you want? home schooling is a big undertaking, and oyu have to be totally committed.

sounds like he is very bright. but school would not necessarily stifle that

even if he does go to school , you will still have a big part to play in his education. and can encourage him and help him move forward. learning does not only go on between 9 and 3 on school days

miaonline you have said what I was thinking.
Just enjoy your child and encourage his quest to soak up new things.
Your child sounds like most children I know. Easily bored and always looking to do new stuff. I dont really see how this means he needs home schooled. Just plenty of attention, like all kids.
Good luck

"ds has just annouched he wants home schooling"

Sorry but I agree with the rest. The above are not the words of a four year old. Are you sure that you are not projecting on him?

If he is that desparate for schooling (or education or whatever we are calling it) then it may be an idea to tell him that he can only have it as a treat for good behaviour - at the moment you are rewarding bad behaviour by caving in to tantrums. Try to steer clear of school curriculum as he will only be bored when the topic is repeated in class; go for something that is not covered at school (dinosaurs is always a favourite: complicated names, classifications, timelines, etc. Or geology or astronomy or ...)

ditto fembear OP sorry but you made me

OK conclusion - using the words home schooling when he was two was a big mistake.

He is bright and needs the challenge and routine -normal for most kids.

School encouraging about where he is - he has had his first visit already and was writing and reading and counting as well as the other kids. They said they'd stretch and deal with what they got when they got it.

Encourage basic skills of reading and writing as and when he wishes. Otherwise pick topics which are varied and outside of curriculum as much as possible.

Maybe he associates home schooling with structure and order. I am ADHD and struggle with routine when not imposed. He on the other hand craves the strict rountine we impose when we have done 'home schooling' in the past. Perhaps i need to sort my routine out better and that is what the real issue is -lack of predictability?

Have i basically got the point now?

Oh also anyone got any ideas for museum trips and activities in the northwest area as beginning to run out of ideas. We've done all but manchester art gallery in the Manchester / derbyshire area.

I think it would be a mistake to home educate so young. He will miss out on so much...

School is much more than about formal learning. The early years (nursery and reception) are about exploring learning, to become more independent, and separate from home a little, not needing parental guidance to structure learning and it is about learning to be social , making friends and being part of a group. There is so much home schooling can't provide at this age .. like being in a nativity play, singing in a group, playing as a crowd. I'm not knocking home schooling there are good reasons and it can be successful but at a later stage.

You will be fully involved after school and will have plenty of time (the holidays are very long)to teach/guide him.

Find a school you are happy... What will be important is to see how your chosen school manages children at different levels..

When sept start he will be great. the issue is more how do we many the nxt 4 mths?unfortunately he has already mastered self learning. if you cant find him he is either testing what food disolves best in water or practising his reading And car trips are a mire of mummy waht does 4 plus 9 type questions -which i am afraid I reply what do you think. He has never been attached to me or any toys until the last month. so seperation is not an issue. Its not he dopesn't care it just didn't occur to him to miss something as there was so much to explore and discover.

But I think i agree there are a lot of social skills that need developing at the young stage of education. However, his playschool leader sees no problems other then he out paces the other children so bores easily and needs structuring to stop inappropriate behaviour that arises from boredom. I however, have notice that attachment to other children is a weak point and saying goodbye to his nursery friends is still an after thought. Except one little boy who gets up to mischief with my little sweetie (deeping on the side of the bed discoverd).

Well- geology would be good in your area- all those cavern- you could learn how they were formed etc.

That's a surprise - I thought that you would bite back after I'd been so rude to you!

Can't help with activities in the NorthWest beyond

1. NAGC, although this comes with a caveat as I have heard that some other parents can be a bit intense (this is aimed at NAGC nationally, no idea of the state of play in the NW).
2. what's the waiting list for Beavers like round by you? Have you got his name down yet? Some kids really love going off and doing extra badges than the rest of the pack are following. (Whispers quietly so that she does not ruin her own DS's street cred: I actually started mine in Rainbows, which starts at an earlier age than Beavers.)

Ds1 was quite taken with the idea of worksheets at around that age. He loved doing them, making them for us to do, grading them, etc. He also likes a lot of structure. I don't see any harm in setting aside some time to do things like that. It sounds like your ds would enjoy it.

Would it help if I told you that he sounds like a totally normal 4 yr old? They do like always learning new things, they do master self-learning, and respond well to routine and stimulation.

I agree with OMDB, he sounds exactly like my dcs have been at 4yo, more than ready for school, desperate to learn anything going, amasing ability to learn and recal information, able to project and apply theories and rules at basic levels. The only real difference is that my dc did not know the term "home schooling" We did all the things you are doing, they went to school happy and prepared. IME fast starters level off once they get to school and slow starters catch up. I cannot say (and i have said this before) if school is making them level out or if they would have leveled anyway. I suspect it is the latter as I continued to educate and encourage my dc as before but they still leveled IYSWIM.

I wouldn't have thought that at that age you would have called it home schooling, but that you would have just been doing lots of activities with him. For example there are lots of games that you can play for both number and reading- I also made my own.
In car trips we used to have lots of different games, looking out for things-'I went to the market and bought' where you memorise a list , 20 questions etc. Cooking is good-get him to weigh the ingredients. Give him a shopping list of things to find when you are out. He sounds quite a normal 4 yr old to me, but perhaps no one is stimulating him enough. Join the library-in mine some of the books are graded according to reading levels-a bright DC will teach themselves.
I don't think you want to sit down with worksheets.
There are lots of websites with maths games etc-I can give you some if you want.
I don't think he will be bored at school-they differentiate the work and are used to bright DCs-just choose with care if you are going to send him.

I realize that worksheets get a bad rap as busy work but it appeals to the child who wants a concept of "school". Obviously there are many other hands-on activities that could be and should be done with him as well.

If worksheets are his concept of school he will be a bit disappointed when he gets there!!

oh, ffs, I'm off this thread.

Take a look at the bigeyedowl for ideas and agree with piscesmoon he is unlikely to find worksheets in a good early years class.

Jabberwocky, I think pieces was just pointing out that they do not do many worksheets when they start school rather than knocking you?

Manchester Art Gallery has an art club and very good quality fun days. Whitworth Art Gallery is wonderful, they have very open ending sessions exploring the space through art, dance or music on Mondays. We return to MOSI again and again.

I have a September born daughter who is also desperate to start nursery class at school in September but very differnt to your son. She is very resistent to any letter work but craving the social side of it, obsessed with making friends her own age...maybe she and your son would balance each other out! She has a very bright friend who is obsessed with volcanos actually....could be another project for your DS?

This blog has fun experiments and activities:

www.unplugyourkids.com/