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How to Homeschool

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Homeschooling During the Primary Years

Remember that during the first few years you are setting the stage for later success or failure. Now is the time to develop good work habits and a desire to learn. If learning is fun and interesting, it will be more successful and you won't get burned out.

If you are removing your child(ren) from a public or private school, it is a good idea to take some time off to adjust and plan. Your children won't "fall behind" because they are always learning and the government school scope and sequence is not divinely inspired. In other words, you don't have to worry about following it (unless you are using a charter school). But if you are really worried about taking time off, remember that you have the freedom to make it up during the summer.

One of the concerns many new homeschoolers have is how they will be able to teach several levels at once and get other work done as well. Once you realize that homeschooling is less like public school and more like an extension of family life, you will begin to see it's not as time consuming as you thought. Keeping activities short and varied will not only make your homeschooling easier, it will also help your child learn the habit of attention. Homeschooling becomes a natural part of your day and it doesn't stop when the "lessons" are over.

In kindergarten, I would be concentrating on the basics in a gentle and fun way. Schooling only needs to take about an hour or two spread throughout the entire day at this age. If you do this, you won't have a difficult time trying to fit everything in and you will see how learning is natural and interesting. Learning to read is a major step in the child's development. For several months to a year, concentrate solely on phonics when it comes to "seatwork." I used Why Johnny Can't Read And What You Can Do About It By Rudolf Flesch.

Once the child is comfortable with reading, you will be able to give them assignments they can complete independently. You shouldn't have to hover over your children the whole day, and it shouldn't be a battle. Below is an example of a Charlotte Mason style education for younger grades.

Sample Schedule for Primary Years

Gospel

Depending on your family size and the ages of the members, you may decide to read the actual scriptures or you may decide to use a children's format. You could use the gospel art kit to look at the pictures while you tell the story on the back, for instance. Or you may decide to read the children's Scripture Readers. These are all available reasonably from Church Distribution. When you feel they are old enough to start reading the scriptures themselves, I recommend using Penny Gardner's highlights of the Old and New Testament and Book of Mormon. Instead of reading from beginning to end, you read the stories from the scriptures. These will make more sense to the children and they will understand more of what's going on and so appreciate the scriptures more. I also highly recommend the New Testament for LDS Families and the Book of Mormon for LDS Families which include pictures, descriptions, discussion questions and other information to aid scripture study with children but the text is the actual scripture.

Music appreciation

Listen to classical music and perhaps discuss the composer, what they think it sounds like, pick out certain instruments, etc. You can do this during breakfast if you like. It won't be long before the children will be able to impress people when they recognize Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi and Bach! Quality classical CDs can be found inexpensively almost everywhere that sells CDs. If you aren't familiar with classical music yourself, start by listening to a classical music station like KUSC.

Reading

When my children were learning to read, I focused solely on that for a few months, not worrying about math or other subjects. I used one simple book, Why Johnny Can't Read And What You Can Do About It to teach all of my children to read.

I created little cards with various letters and words on them and using them to write our own stories and play games. Now some people will say that sounds like a lot of work, but it wasn’t. I made a few cards at a time and added cards occasionally. It would take a minute or less just before each time we did the phonics games. My children loved the word games we played for less than about 15 minutes a day. My son made up silly sentences with the word cards and thought he was the world’s funniest comedian. This worked so well that I used the same method to teach my other children as well. This system cost me about $15 for all my children.

Today there are phonics programs that cost several hundred dollars, but they don't necessarily help your child learn more, easier, or better. More money does not necessarily equal more value. You may decide that the extra money is worth it to you for some reason, and that's great, but it's not essential. Reading to your child, pointing out environmental words, talking about the sounds of the letters and learning to write them is usually enough. You can make it fun by playing phonics games.

Some children do like to do fun workbooks and if it's not overdone (or the sole program) that can be added. (You can get one at discount stores for a few dollars.) Young children usually don't know that workbooks are work, so they often think they are fun, especially if you don't overdo it.

There is no need to be in a hurry. Your children will learn best if you wait until they show signs of readiness, like understanding that letters make sounds and words, recognizing environmental words, and knowing when words rhyme. Not only will teaching your child to read be a lot more fun than toilet training, it will also be easier to clean up mistakes! So have a good time with your child and relax. It's a lot easier than you think.

At night before bed, or some other time, the family can read good literature together that is just for enjoyment, such as a simple chapter book.

History and Science

Read a picture book or chapter about history or other true topic then the children narrate (tell back) what you read (take turns on different days) and illustrate something from the story. You can use historical fiction or any true book. We especially enjoyed the history topics by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire like this one about George Washington. Two other favorite series' we used frequently are the New True Books series and the I Can Read History series books which we got from the library. For girls, the American Girls Series is excellent. Our library has audio versions as well as hardbacks. We also enjoyed listening to story and music tapes about history and science. Take Your Hat Off When the Flag Goes By is a long time favorite. Today there are many online resources that didn't exist when my children were small. If you are interested in audio resources, go here.

Later on in the afternoon, you can all take a nature walk (which can just be in your neighborhood, at a park or nature preserve or any outdoor area). Learn about the animals and plants you see. Perhaps make a nature notebook, writing and drawing about something you see on your walk. You can also read about something you saw on the internet. We have enjoyed annual passes to zoos, aquariums, science centers and museums which make wonderful Christmas gifts that don't clutter up your house. Grow a garden and have a pet. Watch the TV schedules for appropriate nature shows, too.

Math

You don't need a textbook or curriculum for younger grades. Incorporate math skills into your routine by counting dinner plates and silverware, measuring the dog's food, cutting sandwiches into halves and fourths, picking out shapes in signs and so forth. You can also play games (Dominoes, Racko, etc.) with older ones while the little ones nap. If you desire, you can get a simple math workbook at Wal Mart, Costco, or Sam's Club—no need to spend a fortune to teach the basics. Once the child has mastered the basic math facts, calendar and telling time, you can move in to a regular math textbook such as Saxon 54, Math U See or some other curriculum. (I have several popular ones listed on the math page.)

Copywork (Handwriting)

Beginning about age 6, a child can copy certain letters each day. You can get a simple workbook or you can use a dotted font and make up worksheets yourself. Point out the sounds the letters make. Eventually move to three letter words. Once they are reading and can write all of the letters, move on to quotes and poems. Quotes are copied into a notebook in the child's best handwriting, creating a lovely keepsake and helpful tool for giving talks and lessons. I have more copywork information here.

Life Skills

Young children like to help and do chores—until they learn that it's work—so I encouraged my children to help when they were young, so it would become a habit. I moved my dishes to a bottom cupboard when one of mine was two and wanted to put away the dishes. My son started doing laundry at age 3 when he was interested in machines and pushing buttons (he needed a chair to reach them which was part of the fun too!). I paid my kids a nickel a pair to match socks and they got a multiplication lesson as a bonus when they figured out how much money they made. Why spend money on sorting toys when you have real sorting jobs right in your house waiting to be done? My little ones wanted to dust with my special duster,too; I think it seemed like a game Mommy played. I would wait until the dust piled up ( so they could see what they were doing!) and let them move the things off of tables and see the difference. I have a trestle table and they even liked to go underneath and dust the trestle that was hard for me to reach.

Ages 8 and up

When my children reached about ages 8 to 10, I created a simple student planner page for them on my computer that fits in a regular 3-hole binder. On each page I have listed the subjects that we expect to cover that year, for instance: copywork, math, history, science, literature, geography, music appreciation, art appreciation and personal progress/scouting. Each morning the child looks at the planner to see what his assignments are and works independently. If he has a question, of course he can come to Mom for help. The older they get, the less help they need.

I found that when I followed the Charlotte Mason method and kept homeschooling simple and interesting for the child, our homeschool was more successful and less stressful for us all. Developing good habits when the child is young was a big help as well.

We discovered some wonderful books by author Holling Clancy Holling that I highly recommend for ages 8 and up. We enjoy historical fiction and and many titles by Jean Fritz are not only educational but funny, too. We started reading these about age 8.  

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