When did you start to homeschool your child? Is it possible to start a child in homeschool kindergarten when?

Question

When did you start to homeschool your child? Is it possible to start a child in homeschool (kindergarten) when they are younger than five years old?

Answer 1

I was and am homeschooled. Except for

in1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th,7th,8th,9th that is because I didn't want to and my parents couldn't because of some reason but if it wasn't for that and my parents working I would have been homeshooled in all of my grades. HOPE THIS HELPS

Answer 2

You start at birth.  They learn how to talk, crawl, and walk by listening and watching.  You encourage them as they try new things.  It is amazing what children can learn from unqualified and  uncertified parents. (smile)

You just keep on teaching and they keep on learning.

Answer 3

I started sending my son to pre-school @ the age of 2.3yrs. It is advicable to start schooling @ the age 1.8-1.10yrs. Kindergarten starts @ the age of 4yrs.

Answer 4

Homeschooling is a lifestyle and starts when you have kids.  :o)  In your case, if your child wants to learn, by all means help your child. However, I always say to never force a child into bookwork before they are ready unless you want a constant battle or to turn your child off of learning.  That is the main problem with US public schools, now:  the early introduction of subject-oriented studies before the kids are ready -- and school admins wonder why they feel the need to medicate their charges!

For us, though, we bought the public school mantra, sent our two older kids, and didn't pull them out until my oldest was 9; that was three years ago.  

It is only at the legal age of compulsory attendance in school (check your state/country's laws) that you technically "school" them by continuing to keep the kids at home or by sending them to public or private school for their education.  

:o)

Answer 5

You can start whenever you want to. A Beka has a great curriculum for kids as young as 2.

Abeka.com

Answer 6

Absolutely!  There are some preschool programs like "Before Five in a Row", and also some phonics programs.

I started my son right after he turned five and was still in "four-year-old" public preschool (as a peer model).  I would have started him sooner, but I was still researching HS'ing him and different curricula.

When my son did start, he had a mix of grades from Kdg to 2nd grade.

Answer 7

In our family homeschooling is just a part of our life, so we've always homeschooled. I don't ring a bell and make my 5 year old sit down at a desk for 4 hours though. We read a lot of stories, we do many craft projects which involve counting and measuring and we also love to go outside and explore nature. The great book "The Well Trained Mind" as well as "Baby Games" were terrific starting points for our family. We love learning - and so it is part of our whole life, not just from 9-3, M-F 180 days a year :)

Good luck - read lots and HAVE FUN!

Answer 8

I started when my oldest in second grade and my middle was in PreK. For my son we went to walmart and bought those workbooks that teach basic phonics and numbers and the really basic stuff. This year for him we did basically the same thing with the exception of math we bought the Math-u -see Primer book and Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. He 5 this year but you can teach this stuff to a 4yo if they have the patience to sit through it and actually listen to you. My son has developmental delays and the attention span of a young 4yo so if I can do it I know you can!

Answer 9

Yes, you can start your child whenever they are ready for it.  Homeschooling is not age/grade correlated like classroom schools.

I have a good friend who started her 4.5yo in kindergarten, and he's doing wonderfully.  He's the youngest of 3 and learned a lot just from listening in on his sibs' lessons, so he was more than ready to start.

My son started on K work when he was just barely 4, in a gifted private school.  He's now 10 and starting algebra.  I don't push him, it's just what he's ready for.

The beauty of homeschooling is that your kids can work at their individual level in each subject; they are not regulated by scope and sequence standards or what the board of ed in your district/state says they should do.  If your child is ready for K, go for it!

Answer 10

My son is 6 years old and twice exceptional. I would like to hear from both students who are homeschooled and parents alike as to what your experience has been and the wonderful yet challenging experiences it brings. I am scared to make the wrong decision for him and afraid homeschooling may be detrimental to his social needs. Are there support groups in Louisville where gifted kids get together? He feels "different from everyone" --his words.

Answer 11

Home schooling from the beginning is the simplest way since you do not have to deal with children needing to de-school, un-learn, and re-learn.

Homeschooling is simply a natural progression in raising your children; you are only going to add academics to the equation as they are ready for it; one step at a time.

When is this, or when it is the best time for you child is up to you, and the child.

Are they showing interest, are they asking the questions? If so start with the basics, if they show little or no interest yet then only introduce some simple things, like playful math, reading, and words slowly if they like it continue, if not wait a while longer.

Home schooling is about developing a love for learning, and this can come in many forms; formal education, worksheets, textbooks, and such being just one of many.

Children that age learn much more through being read too, play, watching DVDs, and  board, and computer games.

Good luck.

Answer 12

In one sense I've been homeschooling since the birth of my first child, however in the sense that most people think of as "schooling" it was sometime around her 2nd birthday when I started teaching shapes and colors in an organized way.  She has never been to school and probably won't be until college.

Answer 13

I'm a homeschooled high school senior. My mother began homescholing me my junior year of high school. I belive you can start homeschooling your child at age 5.

Answer 14

some people start age 2 or 3

there are no regulations or formalities anywhere until age 6

Answer 15

You can enter into a structured hoeschool shedule at any time. However, kids at this age, don't really need a lot of stucture and very little if any actual 'class' time. We did get a kindergarten boxed set for my DD through AlphaOmega. It really did us no good because she knew all of it. We are finding we are more what they call eclectic when it comes to our HS style. My daughter learns alot from reading now, she loves to do worksheets too, her best friend is in public school K and she likes to be able to show him her work. So we keep a 1st grade workbook that I found at walmart and we work on a few pages every few days or so. If there is something we work on that I see she really did not understand much, I print some more sheets off the internet and we go over it a few more times, or we do a project that will require her new skill to help reinforce it.

My daughter will be 4 in January, but she has pushed us to HS her so much so soon. Depending on the laws of your state, you might not legally have to start schooling until the age of 7, but if you wish, you can certainly start prior to that.

Answer 16

My siblings and I have been home educated all our lives. I was about 2 when I started pestering our govie (back then) to "play school" with me. Consequently I'd learnt to read and write by the time I was 3.

So, yep, it's possible to start at any age...altho most unschooling parents like mine would say there is no starting point to home education because it is just a continuation of the lifelong teaching you've shared with your child, starting from the day he/she was born (a simple continuation from teaching them to walk, talk, pull up their own socks and tie their own shoelaces!!)