So many people want to do homeschool and then try to COPY the public school system. Sometimes they just try to replicate the education they had. Some people even go as far as getting real school desks!
Now I’m not going to sit here and say this is wrong. Quite frankly it might work for some people. But if you are trying to copy everything the public school system is doing, then you are missing the point.
Homeschooling is NOT about doing public school at home. Then what is homeschool about then?
It’s about:
*Finding your child’s unique learning style and using that to teach them
*Fostering a love of learning
*Teaching independent learning so they can continue learning on their own when they are adults
*Going at your child’s own pace
I witnessed a woman complaining about her 4 year old not wanting to do handwriting lessons. Well the child is 4 years old so he might not want to learn to write yet or he simply might not be ready. Sure some preschool kids can write, but the beauty of being the teacher is that you can slow down and let them be kids. She was saying she would discipline him for not doing his work. Again, he is only 4!
I get it. I really do! We all want our children to excel and do well. If you are making them do work to early when they are not ready to learn it, then you are fostering a hate for learning. This is especially true if you punish them for not doing it. Punishment and consequences can come when they are much older and are just purposely avoiding work.
Preschool and Kindergarten is for learning through play. Not for formal education. If you are also worried about your child’s handwriting at such an early age and they clearly get frustrated and are not interested, then you still have options! Try things such as:
*Finger Painting
*Color Sheets
*Writing their names in sand (fill a shoe box top with sand and let them practice!)
*Painting with Q-tips.
There are lots of way to foster learning through play and this can be applied to any subject. Make it fun for them! RELAX and enjoy this time together.
