Well...BB and I attended this great Expo last week all about the local Independent Schools...you know, Montessori, Private, Christian, Catholic, Charter...the works!
In the first place, I had no idea that there were so many options beyond the public school system that were within 10 minutes of my house! I am ecstatic!!!!
Then, we started to read the paperwork, all about registration fees, tuition, payment plans, supply lists, rules and regulations...and none of the pamphlets or booklets, stated what, precisely Captain Chaos would be able to do at the end of a year of Pre-School that would cost us a house payment.
I realize that the socialization is important, and getting to know what a "formal school day" would be structured like is also important...however, are people really paying that much for their children to go to a private Pre-School so they can learn PHONICS?!?!?!?! It's not as though some of these places are saying "your child will be reading at the end of the school year." If that were the case, I'd totally sign him up and pay on the spot...but when they say "we do 'center learning', and the children are more self-guided than taught...they learn through 'exploratory play', and we just make sure that no one is being out of line or eating things they shouldn't" it makes me think that I'm just paying money for glorified babysitting.
I was an education major in college before I switched to journalism, so I know what things are in the State's standard requirements. I know that I can teach my son how to read. Heck, we've already taught him his colors, shapes, letters (both sound and visual recognition), he knows how to set the table, fold the socks, and helps me cook...do you think that I can't teach him how to learn through play? We do that all the time at our house...
Needless to say, I've looked back at some purchases BB and I have made both during my pregnancy, and since Captain Chaos was born...we have an entire Math system up to 6th grade math, including time and money, an entire pre-reading system that uses both phonics and "real" reading, that then segues into a fabulous reading system that we have. I have a library card, we have the internet, and we have the backing of some incredible friends who have decided to homeschool their kiddos also.
After debating and going back and forth about how we were going to find the money to pay for pre-school, I looked at BB yesterday after lunch, before the Super Bowl, and said "do we really think he's ready for school yet? I mean, he'll have the pressure of potty training, plus the pressure of some other "big kid" things if we send him at barely past 3...I'm not ready to send him, and I'm still thinking I'd like to home-school him. A lot. I hate the idea of not knowing what things are being taught and the things he's being exposed to!"
Now, if I lived somewhere like FarmWife (as she and discussed last week), I'd have no qualms about sending Captain Chaos and Tiny Princess to public school...however, I live in a very liberal county, with a rather liberal school board, and I'll say it here, loudly, that I think that "No Child Left Behind" is good in theory, but not in practice...I think it has made things worse than they were before...but I'm an educational snob that way...
SO, sue me, tell me what a lousy parent you think I am, that I'm crazy, whatever...but you know what? I know my children have the capacity to learn amazing things, and do even more amazing things with that knowledge, and I fully intend to do all that I can to fill their brains with loads and loads of knowledge...I want them to learn all they can through their father and I, values, information, knowledge...then, when they are a bit older, and can understand that not everyone is like we are (truth, people...no one is exactly the same as anyone else), and they are old enough to make decisions, I'll think about sending them somewhere else...however...for now, I'm planning on home-schooling, and it begins now!
SO...I took to BB several workbooks with activity sheets, in order that I may use them multiple times with both Captain Chaos and Tiny Princess as they learn Phonics, Letters, Numbers, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Spelling, Reading, Geography, History, Science, Literature, Physical Education, and everyday practical things like how to cook, do laundry, iron, and clean...as well as tie their shoes, and ride their bikes.
Captain Chaos can already tell you all the letters in the alphabet, both in the song (in order), by sound, and by seeing them. He knows shapes such as octagons, hexagons, pentagons, triangles, squares, circles, cones, pyramids, cubes, trapezoids, ovals, ellipses, colors from primary on up to the full color wheel, how to use basic hand tools properly, and can separate and categorize similar things (he sorts the socks when they are clean, and matches them, he sorts the silverware by utensil type down to size), and he will sit and read with me for hours at a time...he builds towers with blocks and Legos, and knows already some basic structural engineering principles. He's learning physics as we play ball, and I know that he is excited about chemistry as he loves to help me cook and mix things in the kitchen...yup, I think we'll do just fine.
That being said...anyone out there have a curriculum they love that they'll share with me?!?!?!?!?
3 comments:
My kids are in a charter school that uses the core knowledge curriculum.
I think it's pretty great, but my husband is more into the self-propelled models.
There are some really good homeschooling resources, too. Sounds like you have contacts for that. I also have an online friend who does Unschooling. Let me know if you want info.
You sound like a great mama!
I agree, you sound great and Captain Chaos sounds like he is a genius!!S
I have to say, there might not be a need beyond socialization & preparing for a school setting for Captain Chaos if he already knows all that. Our pre-k was a center learning one (public school is big on center learning around here). The kids learned songs to help with letters & colors & numbers....but I'd say Cap' knows more now than most of the kids entering kindergarten around here.
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