If you ask homeschooling friends what to do for homeschooling kindergarten, you may feel you have only two options: An academic year full of curriculum, or unschooling. There is at least one more choice: Developmental kindergarten.
Rae has dysgraphia and couldn’t write her name until she was 7. She did every single writing lesson “late.” She didn’t write an essay until she was 16. But she was able to get A’s on essays in college at 17. This is how homeschooling helped her get there.
I’ll admit it, when I started homeschooling, I thought it was a temporary thing. I never thought we’d last. I am honestly amazed that we homeschooled all the way.
After homeschooling 3 kids for over a dozen years, and working with many more, I can honestly tell you that the idea your child should be reading, writing and spelling all on a single “grade level” is a HUGE lie. Each of these skills is individual and develops in its own time and in its own way for each child.
Have you been told that your child has executive function disorder but you don’t really understand what that means? Problems with executive function can occur in people with ADHD, autism, and other learning challenges and be very frustrating for parents and caregivers to understand.
Every year, I hear about homeschool families debating if their 5-, 6- or 7-year-old should “officially” skip a grade. I always say “NO.” Why? There are several reasons, let’s look at this gifted child at different ages.
Life is full of milestones, walking, talking, even getting married. We don’t do those at the exact same age, so why do we start school at the same age? Should we rethink educational milestones?
Remember the story of the slow but steady Tortoise and the fast but lazy Hare? We are supposed to admire the tortoise’s persistence and admonish the rabbit for taking a rest, but is that the best way to see this lesson?
Developmentally appropriate education is when a curriculum is designed to match what children are biologically—physically, mentally and emotionally—ready to learn. It meets children where they are, gives them plenty of play opportunities, and helps them grow and develop.
Do I need to do all of Five Senses Literature Lessons programs in order? Today I answer this common question about our Color-Coded levels.