Anyone out there homeschooling?

Question

I am homeschooling my 6 yr old and will soon start with my 3, soon to be 4 yr old. Anyone have any tips on how to balance 2 different curriculums with 2 kids that are completely different and are at different learning levels?

Answer 1

Set aside individual time for them.

You might want to consider just letting your 3 year old be a 3 year old though.....just a thought.

Answer 2

I homeschool all 3 of my kids. They all use different books.

For those ages I would maybe use unit studies for some of it so you can work together.  Things like science and social studies can easily be done together.    Obviously math and language arts are seperated.   You can get your 6yr old going and then work with your young one.

However, at 4 yrs  of age you don't need formal curriculum.  You are better off reading together, playing together and discovering the world around you.  

If you want something formal, I'd seriously look at Five in a Row.  It's based on story books.  You can sit and cuddle while you read and yet it's amazing how much the kids learn from it.  

http://www.fiarhq.com/

Answer 3

Individual time for each child with lots of hands on projects as a family. Congratulations on your homeschooling adventure!

Answer 4

i just wouldn't

Answer 5

I've always been impressed by people who can get 4-year olds to follow a curriculum. Those little buggers are full of energy, and trying to whip them in to shape that early seems a bit Sisyphean to me. If I had kids, I probably wouldn't have the guts to try. Kudos to you for the effort.

An easy way to cover a subject with each of them simultaneously would be to watch a documentary together. While your 6-year old will be learning math with his schoolwork, you can teach your 3-year old basic math by making a bowl of popcorn with him. Let him measure if you're making stovetop popcorn, or count down from ten with him while you watch the microwave. (Pardon my default masculine.) Have them both study the same things at the same time, if you can. Watch the same documentaries about the same things, and your kids will get what they can out of them. When they get a bit older, you might try having the older one explain things to the younger one as part of his schoolwork. It will take some of the burden off of you and the older one will have to really know what he's talking about.

These are just things I've heard other homeschooling parents say; I'm not a parent myself.

Answer 6

I have 6 homeschooled children.  At 4 I don't see the child needs a rcognised curriculum.  Heaps of stories, outside play and always let the 4 year old be around watching the 6 year old doing lessons.  Teach the 4 year old the alphabet play lots of number games and when the child is a bit older start formal schooling then.  I juggle all the different books and curriculum easily.  We let our teenagers decide at the beginning of the school year what their subjects will be and after buying any books or resources needed to study the kids are fairly independent learners.  The younger children need more adult imput but it balances itself from day to day.