I am teaching my children at home. DS1 is 6 1/2 and would be in year 2 at school in England and DS2 is almost 5 and would be in his reception year. The problem is I just don't know how to do it and I'd like some advice!
With DS1 I have muddled through somehow... I taught him letters and sounds, then some basic words following the ladybirds scheme. I was lucky and he learned fast. Just a year after we started he can now read books meant for children of 8 or 9 and I often find him reading stories to himself. He can write and he can spell quite well. As to arithmetic, he can count, he can do basic sums and he is just starting his times table. The part I don't know is what to next and what am I missing? Should I be teaching him some science for example? And if so what kind of science?
DS2 is more difficult. I think he might be bright but he can't say some letters yet.. r, l and y. Also he can't tell the difference between the sounds of m and n. So phonetics is going to be hard. He wants to learn though and DS1 is trying to teach him.
An added complication is gettign teaching materials because i live abroad so everything has to be ordered via the internet and posted (which is expensive). I bought some of the goldstars books and now I knwo the names of the children's publishers like ladybird, Usborne and Oxford Reading Tree I can get hold of reading books. But how about reading comprehension exercises or maths work books?
I know its a lot of questions, but I really hope there is someone out there who might have some solutions to at least part of the problem?? We are hoping to return to the UK to live next year which will be like emigrating as far as my sons are concerned. They will have to make big social adjustments and we plan to enrol them in school which will be challenging for them too, so if i could only have them at least academically proficient then all they'd have to worry about is learning to adapt to school life. So it is really important to me to get this right!
can anyone help?