Homeschooling a child that is also going to preschool, preschool is WAY behind. Adverse effects?

Question

I have a 3.5 year old that is bright. She is already done with the K curriculum that I purchased in May. I didnt want to 'push' her by getting the 1st grade level. My mistake.

We placed her in preschool 2 days a week, just for her to have fun with other kids. They have recently started doing A Beka for 3 year olds. They are going over colors at the moment. She really enjoys it because she gets to color and play with the other kids. We asked if she could be placed with the 5 year olds during their school time and were told they follow the local school standards for age/grades so she can not be moved . I have contacted other places and have been told the same. I wouldnt want to move her anyway, she really likes this place.

Do you think this is a hinderance on her? We still do our thing at home and she continues to learn. Other than a few things like raising her hand at home to talk and use the rest room, we are fine w/ what she is doing at school. Could keeping her there cause problems

Answer 1

My little sister was the same way. Her 3 older siblings were all homeschooled, and she wanted to learn like she saw us doing.  She was way ahead of preschool, but thats okay. If your daughter likes it, then let her enjoy it. The social aspects make it valuable.

Answer 2

No, if she likes it let her stay.  All you'll end up with is a eventually a 4th grader in 2nd grade, but that's the school system!

Answer 3

I think you are doing the right thing by having her in a preschool she enjoys.  If she wants to learn at home, then keep teaching her at home.  Really, I don't think you'd WANT to be doing a lot of academics 5 days/wk with a lil kid, so doing them the 3 days she is home is probably best.

I have hs'ed for 10 years, and have 2 kids.  My husband and I are members of Mensa, so the kids are pretty bright, and are both 2 years ahead of where they'd be in school.  There are CERTAIN THINGS that come with age, and if a child is in a higher grade, as they get older, these things become more apparent.  One of these is writing ability.  I've read and been to conferences that expressed that 'most' kids were ready to take off with writing when they were 'about' 9 years old.  This was true for both of my kids, although they were in more advanced grades at that point, such that their writing skills did not math their other skills.  The other thing I found was that as you reach grades 4, 7, & 9, every subject gets harder in every curriculum, and requires more of an attention span than a child might have if their age does not match the grade.  My kids got ahead in school at the very beginning,and since then have done one grade each year.  We could go faster, but I am just thinking that would not be to their advantage.  Plus, my kids are going to graduate at ages 15 and 16, and we are facing certain decisions about their futures that we would not face if they were older at launch-time!  I did not consider any of these things when they were little bitty like your daughter is, so just keep these things in mind.  Plus, you might want to take into account - do you intend to continue homeschooling as she is older?  If you are going to enroll her in school, the school more than likely will NOT allow her to go into a higher grade, so she will be very bored if she can read and do math well.  If you are going to enroll her when she is older, I would suggest just doing the barest minimum with her in reading and math, and to concentrate instead on science and history and art.  She will make a lot of vocabulary and small motor skills gains and will add to her store of knowledge, but will not be so far ahead of the other kids when she starts school. If you are not aware of the website, you might want to look at Rainbow Resource for hands-on science kits and other things you could do with her.  Also, I think that A Beka has GREAT art for kids, stuff that other places does not have.  They have stuff for ages starting at 3, and you could do the stuff at home even if she'd do it later in daycare.  When my kids were small we did 2 or 3 of the A Beka art books every year, so we did all of those early ones multiple times, and my kids NEVER cared.  A Beka also has 'readiness' books for K-4 & K-5 [or at least they used to] that your little girl might like; they are sort of art-y type books.

Answer 4

A three year old cannot be placed with a five year old group due to child-care and preschool regulations, so please don't worry that the center is just being stubborn or anything.  The preschool is not behind, she is just ahead!  =)  By letting her stay at preschool 2 days a week is not doing anything bad for her learning, the interaction is great for her!  

Now I am going to sound like a "homeschool is bad person" but I am not, I just have seen bad results in my family-I have seen lots of kids do GREAT with it.  I am so thrilled to hear that she is in preschool as well and the homeschooling.  My step-siblings were homeschooled and had to rules regarding it, so when they did go places they were so out of sorts, so you are doing a great job in making sure that she has interaction!

I do not see any problem at all with her being in the preschool group.  I doubt that they will catch up to her anytime soon as she will always be ahead, but it is great that she goes to play with hids her age and be a typical three year old!  =)

Answer 5

No, keeping her there won't cause problems. It's preschool, and only twice a week. Putting her with the 5yo's wouldn't be a good idea either since 3.5 is soooo young and small compared to a 5yo, regardless of academic ability. You might look at a multi-age grouping like a Montessori preschool, but otherwise, what you're doing is fine.

Answer 6

First take a deep breath she is a KID!!!!! She is 3.5 let her enjoy the next couple years. It is cool that you want her to have a jump on life but there is more to life than school. Social skills for one street smarts for a second. You can be the smartest person in the world if you do not know how to talk to people and interact with them that could be worse in the long run. I know you have met someone in your life an d**n their smart and dumb at the same time. Maybe you should look into Private school they usually have strong curriculum's and she will be able to interaction with peers her own age. Also I was a school teacher for a little while I know I do not write well but I taught CISCO in a public school in VA for a couple years. And from my experience of dealing with students that where home schooled their social skills where lacking and there was all most always behavioral issues. And usually the parents would always side with the student and tell them it was basically OK to break rules. I would highly suggest rethinking your strategy I highly recommend Private schools them seem to be a good mix of discipline, education, social skill and extra curricular activity's.

Answer 7

Yeah!!  What they all said!   (Except krytrons1...)  

:)

Answer 8

I have no doubt that you have a very bright 3.5 year old, however placing her with 5 year olds is not going to benefit her in any way.

First, the most important part of her development is emotional, she needs to be 3 years old, she will be 5 soon enough.

Second any gains, or academic skills most children make this early on will more often than not regress later, or simply even out by the time they are around 8 to 10 years old.

The most important part she will have missed, instead of gained is being a child.

As her mom, don't be in a such a hurry, just enjoy being with her, play with, and read to her.

EDIT:

Than follow her lead up to a point, but set limits in a healthy manner, that's what a parent does since children do not have that ability yet.

Just because they want something does not always make it the best choice for them.

It is our job to make sure that although our children are often capable intellectually, and physically, we do not put them in situations that they may not be ready for emotionally, and this applies at any age, or stage of their development.