My thoughts on home-schooling Kindergarten (part 1) (Because you cannot ask a homeschooling veteran of 11 years to put it all into one post!)

Kindergarten is on my mind, not so much because I have a son who will begin Kindergarten this year – but because a friend asked me about it.

You might think it is an easy question. “What curriculum do you recommend?”

It’s not, though…for I feel that in order to tell which resources I use I first need to lay a philosophical framework. Oh, dear friend who asked…Did you want the short answer? I find that I can’t give it. Here’s the long answer, instead.

(And you should know the lengths I went to, to actually get it written. First, I had to make sure that the stars were all in alignment and that my 4 littles were napping at the same time. Then, I took the laptop into the laundry room where I had white noise with the dryer running so that I could think. Then, the phone rang and the laptop crashed. This is why you don’t get thoughtful posts from me very often. I have the thoughtful posts within me…they just aren’t allowed to come out to play!)

My fifth child is five, almost six. Personally, I opt for later rather than sooner when it comes to calling what my children do “school.” Although he has truly been working at his schooling for a long time now, this year we will formally say that he is in Kindergarten.

With my first child, I started formal education as early as possible. He was bright, I was a hard-driven over-achiever who was determined not to fail at this thing called home-education. That was a bad combo.

Yes, he did well, even when I crammed his little schedule full of everything that the consummate K-5 should experience. He did well with Abeka’s cursive handwriting, with little grace from Mom thrown in for the fact that he was….five.

I will bless you today with brevity regarding my hard lessons learned. (Don’t confuse that with brevity over-all.) But please, just know that there is an easier way. Believe me when I say that your child can still be a brainiac and high academic achiever even if you don’t start heavy duty school until third grade. (Or she can just be a normal, well-adjusted kid who performs on an average level and I think that’s fine, too. We have enough children that I can’t dwell in stereotypes or one-size-fits-all. We have, love, and accomodate all types here.) I read back, now, over my journals from our first few years of school, and I think…”Woman, you needed to RELAX.”

My tendency now, after 11 years of homeschooling, is this: I consider it ALL homeschooling. From the moment that damp, unfurling infant is placed in my arms, she begins to get acquainted and to adapt and understand her world. This…is her school.

The toddler years are filled with lots of play, books, experiences, and toys that allow them to think and build. They live each day, surrounded by their brothers and sisters and their daddy and me. I have come to see that while tracing letters is indeed important for the pre-schooler; learning to put his clothes in the hamper and to live and work within a family is actually more vital at this stage for his over-all development. In general, it is safe to say that our societal problems are not because we do not have enough academics or information. More often, our problems are because we have not helped our children learn self-control or responsibility. A child who spends the majority of his time with parents who care will not fall behind academically. (I say these things with humility, knowing that I have 8 children who are still in training.)