My son is 3 1/2 years old, and already reads at 1st grade level.?

Question

The school won't take him until he is five for kindergarten. Are there any independent homeschool programs that I could use to start to teach him at home?

Answer 1

I'd recommend an autonomous/unschooling approach. Present him with opportunities to learn, have lots of books on hand particularly since he's already reading, visit 'educational' places, suggest activities and projects to do together and then follow up on whatever he's interested in. Of course by the time he's five goodness knows what level he'll be working at. I hope you're happy to stick with homeschooling for the long haul :-)

Answer 2

I was in your position EXACTLY just about four years ago.  My son was reading and doing Math at a first grade level at 3 1/2.  He would go through those "kindergarten workbooks" from the grocery store like most kids go through coloring books!

After a LOT of research, I found K12.  It is a rich and rigorous curriculum that you can take entirely at your own pace.  My boys thrive with the program.

Ds (now 7) started with K at 3 1/2 and now is doing a mix of 4th through 6th grade materials.  We have enjoyed it all.

You can find more information here:

http://www.k12.com/

Good luck!

: )  P

ds 9

ds 7

Answer 3

Absolutely.

The thing to remember at this age is that he thinks like a three and a half year old, despite his reading ability.  So you will want to make sure his reading material is suitable for his developmental level.  Check out this website:

Answer 4

Send him to Preschool. They will accept him. It's usually ages 3-4. My mom owns one. And that kids a genius, send him to a private school.

Answer 5

The school is right in not taking him; however smart he is, he's not mature enough.  Keep this in mind; he's unusually intelligent, but he's only 3.5 years old.  It is important for him to be involved in age-appropriate activities.

If he's coordinated enough to use a computer mouse, you might try this math game:  http://www.equalsmath.com/  

You can get the free trial version first.

Answer 6

There are several preschool and early elementary programs.  You would want to match them to your son's learnign style and your teaching style.

If he's a self-taught reader (like my son), I encourage you to teach him phonics so he'll know the *whys* behind the words and their spelling.  This really helps later with spelling work.

You may just find that you enjoy HS'ing so much, that you won't send him to a public school for Kdg or 1st grade.  :-)  He will most likely be a year or more ahead of his peers by that time.  Most PS districts won't let a child skip kindergarten.  He could possibly do it, though, and then skip over 1st grade.  I'd contact the school district for long-range planning.  It was obvious when my son was 4 that public school was not going to work.  His very own public preschool teachers told us to HS him.  The district said that again when he was 7 and formally tested for IQ and academic achievement.

I recommend you read on this extensive site for more information:

http://www.hoagiesgifted.com

EDITED after "sanders" wrote:  I've also used the K12 curriculum for 5 years with my son.  It's been a great fit for both of us!

Answer 7

I totaly agree with the Dragon answer. There are all sorts of homeschooling programs you can get for him. Try your local teacher store or online.

Answer 8

He is only a very small kid. What is it you want to teach him? Does he want to learn it? If he is asking for more academics, by all means provide it. If he isn't, reign yourself in :) At this age, I'd provide as little academics as the child allowed. Perhaps you can divert his attention to art or something.

You don't sound as though you've done much research into homeschooling. This is your first point of call?

These sites are a good start:

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/meth...

http://homeschoolreviews.com

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/reviews/

Answer 9

There are many things you can do with him at home.  You might find that it works so well that you don't want to send him to school at all!

There are various approaches to home education.  You can follow the formal route, which is like "school at home", or you can go the "unschooling" route as previously mentioned.  You might want to check out homeschooling sites to do some research in this regard.

Regardless of how formal you wish to be, I would suggest that you read "The Well-Trained Mind" by Susan Wise-Bauer.  Even if you don't want to be a formal educator, and want to unschool, Wise-Bauer's book is an excellent resource for insight into teaching children, especially for pre-schoolers like yours.

I would categorize our home schooling method as primarily "unschoolers" for the most part, but I have used The Well-Trained Mind to find ideas, resources, etc. that have worked very well for us.

Best of luck on your home educating journey!