Not sure if this counts as homeschooling...

[mom2one2]

So I'm not sure this counts as homeschooling, but I'm hoping for some insight or advice.

I am the mom to a very bright, social, and happy 3 year old boy. We started PreK at an "amazing" local preschool that turned out to be not so amazing in our opinion. We ended up pulling him out as of today. I won't go in to detail, but it was not a good fit for us at all. I will say that I'm thankful we're done there! My son is also very relieved to not have to go back. That said, I don't know where to go from here. I never planned on homeschooling! I love love love being a SAHM and I adore teaching my little guy, but all of our friends are still in PreK. We do some outside classes/playgroups each week just not sure if this is the direction we should go. If PreK is this bad (at the very best school) I cannot fathom what kindergarten will be like! I'm sort of fearful now of sending him off to school. I realize PreK probably doesn't count as homeschooling, but I would love to keep him in a school like routine at home this year and maybe next year as well. I should add that we live near "great" schools and almost zero homeschool programs that I know of...

I guess my questions are: When were you *sure* that homeschooling was right for you?

How did you find support for homeschooling?

Has anyone else "homeschooled" for PreK and had kids who adjusted well to Kindergarten?

What kind of homeschooling did you do for PreK?

Thank you all so much for answering my questions! This has been one of my first stops in trying to figure this all out & I appreciate any advice you have:)

[elliemaejune]

Before children are 5 or 6, it isn't homeschooling. It's what all involved, motivated parents do with their children, whether they plan to keep them home or not.

I wasn't sure homeschooling was for us until I allowed my older dd to go to kindergarten and first grade at a private Christian school. I took her out of first grade at Easter break because she was totally burned out, poor thing. Even then, it was probably three years before I was sure I would always homeschool. And I did.

[hscoach]

Homeschooling was actually something I said I would never do. My two boys were in a Christian school when I pulled them out. Once I made the decison to homeschool, I felt complete peace. We've been homeschooling now for 12 years and we've loved every minute of it.

Lots of moms homeschool their preschool aged kids. Some use an official packaged curriculum for this, but I am not in favor of that. I think when children are that young, they need lots of free play and fun. But they can learn a lot too. You can do learning activities with them, but just don't make it high pressure. Make sure he has lots of time to just "play" and use his imagination, etc. My biggest piece of advice is to take him to the public library every week and check out lots of books that interest him. Then read aloud to him often. This is the one thing that will help him develop a love of reading and learning.

Here are some links where you can find a homeschool support group near you.

http://www.home-school.com/groups/

http://www.localhs.com/

Some homeschool groups will allow you to join when you have a preschool age child (just ask). If not, you can definitely join when he turns 4 or 5. If you don't have a group close by, you could start one. Just find one other mom who homeschools and has a child the same age as your son and decide to meet at the park one day each week for a play date.

When boys attend tradtional schools, I think it is really hard for them. It is completely against their nature. They are forced to sit in desks all day and do lots of written work. They hate it! Lots of schools now don't even have recess on a regular basis. Boys need to move! They are active by nature and with homeschooling, you can allow them to move. You can come up with many creative ways to make learning fun for your son. Best wishes!

[mom2one2]

Thank you so much for the replies!!

Hscoach-Thank you so much for all the info! If homeschooling is the direction we end up going I sure hope we have that kind of peace! I will check out those links for sure:)

I totally agree about boys! My little guy is already reading some on his own...he LOVES to read and is so curious...we've been going to the library once a week since he was a few weeks old;) In so many ways I really thought school would be great for him-he's pretty laid back and super friendly, but you're right-it does seem to force them in to an uncomfortable way of learning...he definitley wasn't happy there...just can't tell yet if homeschooling will be a good fit or if he'll like traditional school more once he's older....it's so tough!

elliemaejune-I love your story...it was so tough for me to pull my little guy out of preschool....I imagine it was harder at first grade! Thanks for your insight!