When does the 'ed' start?

[BforBee]

Hello, we have an almost 4 yo who we have decided to home educate. Obviously currently he is 'playing' and doing his own thing, exploring and whatnot with our occasional gentle input of ideas (I'm quite "hands off" and love to see him pottering and discovering things for himself).

Does anyone have any suggestions of when his learning should (if it should) become more structured? I don't want him to get bored or be unfulfilled I guess.

He's very articulate and he can spell his name and a few simple words because he is interested in the magnetic letters but he doesn't really enjoy writing or painting/drawing and doesn't yet hold a pen "properly".

Thanks in advance.

Magnetic letters are an excellent resource for learning literacy. Writing and painting can come later when he is ready :-) If you want to help him develop his fine motor control, there are all sorts of ways of doing that which don't get bound up with literacy, it's just that it tends to get lumped together in our culture.

IME, there's no need to hurry with any of this - once a child is motivated and ready to write or draw, they progress by leaps and bounds. Just have the right equipment around to make it possible, and vary the equipment (I have seen a child suddenly become absolutely fascinated by drawing pictures on paper once there were wax crayons as well as ordinary boring old felt tips in the house; and I've seen other children do the same thing the other way round in crayon-as-default households :) )

The learning doesn't ever have to get structured. Some children continue to learn in a play-driven way right through their teens.

I would say that if you are happy with your current approach, just stick with it until such time as it stops working so well. That time may come at any age, or never. If you see your son looking bored and unfulfilled, that means it is time for a change of some sort. That might be in the direction of more formal learning or it might mean some other change.

Don't worry, it will be clear to you. You can experiment to find what works; you don't have to plan things years in advance. It's a like the whole enterprise of parenting in general. There are many different approaches and you'll know when your approach isn't right anymore.

Also, the change is often driven very directly by the child. Your son may ask you for more formal learning and obviously that is an excellent time to let him try it! He may see a workbook in a shop and want one, or ask to join the French class his friends are doing, or tell you he wants to understand grammar better. People from a school background find this highly unlikely - why would a child want to work? - but IME it is very common among kids who have choices!

Hello OP

Just to agree with what has been said so far, you don't need to have any structure if it doesn't suit now or indeed ever.
The joy of H.ed is not having to stick to any particular method and the fact you can swop and change according to your child's needs.
I think the important thing is to follow their lead, look at their interests and make sure they have opportunities to pursue their interests.