Q: HI, my husband and I have decided along with our son to home school him. He is in kindergarten and I have found some curriculum online but would like to know if anyone has any suggestions or ideas on a good curriculum? I feel anxious about this but I think that my son will have a better chance at succeeding if we do homeschooling. So any suggestions would be great! And please no criticism. Thanks to everyone in advance!!!
A: Welcome to the world of homeschooling! My advice would be to not use a formal curriculum for Kindergarten. At that age, they learn best through play and non-formal means and it will give you time to research the options available and find what will work best for your son. Instead, try a book called Ready for Kindergarten (I believe the author is Susan Wilcox? I got the book from Amazon), What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know (by the Core Knowledge Foundation-available at your local bookstore and most likely at your library) and other publications. You can also check out the World Book Encyclopedia website-under the parents section, there is a "Typical Course of Study" for each grade level. A Beka (a popular publisher of materials for private and home schools) also has a Scope & Sequence available for download at their site. You can visit http://www.HSLDA.org to find out the legal requirements for homeschooling in your state. Kindergarteners are usually not of compulsory attendance age, though, so you will probably have a lot of freedom this year (although homeschooling offers a lot of freedom thoughout all years). They also list organizations in your state, so look for one there or at http://groups.yahoo.com (type in "MyState Homeschool). I recommend that you join one of those groups and the other homeschoolers will be more than happy to let you review their curriculum, so that you can get an idea of what it consists of before you make a purchase (which can be a waste of time and money). \ For the most part, frequent trips to the library and field trips to the zoo, museum, etc. will meet his educational needs for Kindergarten. We used fun resources such as Brain Quest, games such as Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, software from Jumpstart, and books such as More than Numbers and Story Stretchers at that age. My daughter LOVED her formal curriculum. Workbooks, etc. easily fit her learning style. My son HATED them, though, and so we had to find ways to accomodate his learnign style (NOT all children learn at the same pace or in the same manner). We personally use A Beka, tailoring the curriculum to fit our needs by supplementing with other resources, either in addition to or in place of the A Beka. It works for us! I wish you the best!
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