Homeschool World Forum

My dd just turned 3 in July. I've backed off on my efforts to "school" her; we just read a lot and talk about letters, her name and her sister's name, etc. But now she's "pretending" to read and spell. Should I just continue to let her learn as she goes, or should I start working a little more formally with her? I have Little Hands to Heaven, which is for 2-5 year olds. I haven't used it yet. She doesn't really do well with anything "teachy", I guess I'd say. If I sit down with her and have a plan, it always seems to fail. She jumps up and grabs something else for us to look at . Not that that's bad, just way different from my personality (I'm the queen of The List). What are your thoughts? Thanks
Sandy

I don't think "pretending" to read and spell at age 3 is a bad thing. I would see no problem with my child doing that.

I too love lists! But I've learned to adapt to my kids in ways like the following:

You sit down with your planned lesson of the day, and she grabs another thing to look at with you. That's how you find out what today's real lesson plan is. You proceed to use whatever she selected to teach her something at her level.

Your planning has not failed.

Your planning has worked.

You are a mastermind!

HTH,
Ramona

Hi! I don't know...as someone once told me: Push them now, or Push them later! I rather like that, and with all the academic demands on our kids these days, it holds a lot of truth!!

I would introduce (not push) for a few minutes every day. I would find really colorful books, or ABC cards (or whatever) about subjects she LOVES for beginners. I think the key is to use tools that GRAB her attention and keep it long enough for you to explain - just keep it short and be consistent! The dollar stores have tons of educational stuff for cheap!! And she won't get bored if you rotate your material!!

Let her know how important letters, numbers or reading are...and make it a priority every day, even for only 5 minutes. Make it fun! We used stickers. After each lesson my dd got to put a sticker on the wall and we both screamed YEAHHHHH! So she really enjoyed that.

I started with my dd at a really young age (18mo), so I guess I am the princess of push...but she has really responded well. She's 4 now and can read, write, count...we are working on basic math. Don't get me wrong, we still have issues to work on, like sitting still and listening, which I'm praying she will mature on very soon!

Even when my daughter resisted, I insisted that we have our 15, 5, 10 minutes of homework, but I tried to make sure she was fed, rested...

All in all, consistency is key...we did a letter/number a month. I posted it all over the house. I wanted to be sure she really had it.

I devoted a year teach letters, numbers shapes and colors, and by the end of that year she was really familiar with the information. We have to review maybe once a month the basics, so she doesn't forget what she's learned.

I could go on and on. Let me know if you want more info... My daughter was reading at 2 and knew her numbers, shapes and colors. It was hard work, but that foundation has been laid, and now we will build from there.

Good luck!

Well, things are going well! We spend about 1/2 hour a day having "school". She asks me for it, wants to do more when we are finished. I'm so motivated by her excitement!!! I'm learning so much about myself, too. Overall, I think I made the right choice, although sometimes I still have doubts. I worry that I'm teaching her the letters and the sounds they make in a way that will forever stunt her ability to read. But, I think we're doing well. If nothing else, I'm learning valuable lessons for the upcoming years. Thanks for all of your comments.
Sandy

Sandy!
Good for you!!
I once heard a retired teacher at an educational store say that children needed the "introduction" to the basic skills. Even if they don't get it a hundred percent, at least it won't be their first time SEEING the material. (That's one reason why I am introducing my daughter to math so early.)
I was always a good reader, but not too good in math - in college I struggled with my higher level math courses...SO, I don't want my daughter to have that "fear" of numbers/math like I did.

I figure if she sees it enough, eventually she will grasp on to what is going on...it takes time!

Chow!