home educating age 4, please help.

[unicornwonders]

For many reasons i’ve decided to home educate my summer born (august) 4year old DD, i’d say she’s quite smart as it is but i’m stuck, where do you start, continue etc. we’ve registered her as home educated etc but learning wise i feel like i’m a bit stuck knowing at this age what she should be working on etc. She’s sen so i want to make this as natural as possible for her, she can’t handle crowds, loud noises, unknown places/people etc, this is my main reason for doing this. i just want her to do well, i don’t want to fail her

Have you joined any home education groups? Try searching on Facebook for home education and your area name to find local ones. They will have lots of experienced people who can advise.

Also try education otherwise (assuming you’re uk?), lots of resources.

And link up with groups for her type of Sen in your area, in our city there’s loads of events aimed at autistic kids that are not in school for example.

At 4 you have a lot of time to figure this out. For now just keep doing the normal parenting stuff! So read lots to her, encourage drawing, lots of playtime. She honestly doesn’t need more than that for a year or more.

Lovely age to home ed. Look at the world, go out every day, count trees (make a tally chart), jump in puddles, talk about why you need wellies and what they’re made of. Go to art galleries in the week when they’re quiet, choose 1 painting and say what you think about it, listen to Flight of the Bumble Bee and pretend to be bees, cook food (grow food), poke, pick and point at the world. Play a lot. Build things, mark-make, watch excellent tv and have a ball.
My youngest child is HE but 16 now. I miss the joy of those early days.

You could look at the EYFS statutory framework to see what is being covered in school at this age. I think the main thing is developing prncil xontrol and a basic understanding of phonics for early reading and mathematics. At this age, pretty much anything you do can be an opportunity to teach them something: baking is great for mass; nature walk for counting, shape hunting, learning about environment, seasons; decorating tree for counting baubles; wrapping presents for cutting skills and writing names on labels.

I'd enormously recommend a Twinkl subscription - they have all sorts of resources based on any interest your child is likely to have. So you can stick in her learning stage, whatever area you want to work on, and her interest and they'll almost certainly have it i.e. eyfs unicorn maths/eyfs dinosaur pencil control/eyfs Santa crafts. They've got their own reading scheme too and loads more.

Our teen is home educated and we have a 3 year old and twin 2 year olds and tbh they are learning every day, walks,books colours words etc etc you don't need to be rigid. The more relaxed and happy you are then the more they soak up. Oh and I come from a very large home educated family some with various need others not. The adults of us all did really well and have good jobs or our own businesses now. And I have autism and for the first year of my life did go to school and still remember the trauma of bullying and I will never be anything etc.
Our 13 year old just had his check up with the education people to see how he was doing and what work he does. And there letter last weekend says they can't believe he is already past gcse level and has been doing uni level work books. He only does lessons 3 days a week then rest is helping around the house,,family outings etc learning that way. I wish you all the luck but don't worry to much take it easy.Feel free to message me 😊

She'll get a huge benefit out of individual attention and the flexibility to do whatever is right for her without the sometimes overwhelming stresses which school would have inflicted. There's really no risk you will fail her! The everyday things you do with her will teach her all about the world very effectively. Talk to her, take her to the sort of places she can manage, find her a few children to play with if she seems to want that, read to her, offer her crafts or the opportunity to plant and care for flowers, let her count out money in the shop and perhaps have pocket money of her own, show her videos about subjects which interest her.

Many home ed parents do not do any formal adult-led work at all with a child of this age, letting them learn naturally through play and observation and discussion until the time comes when the parent feels the child needs more direction. Given the choice, most young kids prefer to do self-directed "discovery learning" rather than using workbooks or curricula designed by someone else.

Some of us continue with this approach indefinitely, and find that our kids eventually learn everything they need to know, just not in the same order and at the same ages it would be taught at school. Insofar as a skill is important to understand - arithmetic and reading, for example - children will encounter the need for it time and again in their daily lives, will realise it is something they want to do, and will apply themselves to learning it.

When they are older, a goal - becoming a police officer or sports coach or doctor - can motivate them to undertake the formal qualifications they'll need to achieve that goal. Parents work with them to identify the resources they need to do that.

By the way, if you live in any of the countries of the UK, you didn't need to register your daughter as home educated. If you want to home educate your child from the beginning, all you need to do is NOT register her at a school. From the time she reaches "Compulsory School Age" (which in England and Wales is the term after her fifth birthday), you have a legal obligation to provide her with a suitable education. This does not have to involve formal school-style learning. You just quietly get on with it.

Local Authorities sometimes mislead parents by implying that you have additional legal obligations, such as allowing the LA to visit and "inspect" your provision. This is not the case. LAs also sometimes offer "support" to home educating families. However, they tend to know little about the theory or practice of home education and may offer up inappropriate school-style suggestions. You'll get better support from other parents who have actual experience of home education.

I suggest that if the LA gets in touch before your child reaches CSA, you remind them that she isn't yet in scope of any education laws. After CSA, if they contact you, you could come back here or on another home ed forum for advice on how to respond. People will be happy to lay out your options and point you toward the relevant laws.

My July born 4 year old is doing another year in nursery based purely on her age. She will start reception next year. If you wanted to follow the national curriculum I would say she is too young for reception aged curriculum.

thank you so much for all your replies! i didn’t realise i could be a bit relaxed with it, she’s always doing something and you all right age does learn from things. Thanks for everyone’s ideas and advise i feel alot calmer now