ok so i have been thinking on home schooling my son, but not sure what to do and were to start. can anyone help me. he is going to be 3 and i would like to start him on a preschool program and start from there. i have so many questions....

Ask away. I love to answer questions about homeschooling. I've been doing it since 20 year old was preschool age. My best advice for preschool age is read, read, read to them and let their interest level determine how far you get into the academics at that age.

If you google home-schooling preschool or home-schooling, getting startted you will probably get an overwhelming amount of info.

Nancy

My son is four- I am not an experienced homeschooler yet.  I started by collectiong information- go to the library and check out  your homeschool section.  The ladies here will suggest alot of good books.  Read them .  Check out your state's law.  That  is the foundation.  You will need to know what  your state requires and what age you need to start documentation and notifying the school district.  My state PA is seven years old.

I have read and gotten on many different sites- 3-4 year olds are preschool and there is no officical curriculum  needed.  This is where MOM finds what works for her and doesn't.  Just keep teaching  your child the basics ( colors, numbers, alphabet.  what is right and wrong ect.   I started Frankie at 3 with a very flexible schooling.  I just  took every opportunity in our everyday  routine to point out  letter, numbers, and colors.  I used the library alot.  We would visit and he would pick books.  I enrolled him in  Lap bugs ( library group for  3 year olds)  He got socialization and started to learn to sit and listen to a book read and do small activity.  At  Age 4 is where I  might have panic and put more pressure on myself- with advice from here- I chilled and made contact with a homeschool  group in my area.  This is a group of Moms who have been homeschooling their children and have worked with the school district.  They have  experience.  My son was too young for some of their activities but the ones that worked - I went to just  to be seen and make contact.   Still at age 4 there is still no set curriculum( he/she will have enough work in his future)  I went to the library- The Mailbox series has  pre k and older  series of activities that our literature based .  Thematic Units for Kindergarten by Kristin Schlosser is a great resource.  It contains a book list:, and activities to do with the child.  This one refers to class but has great Ideas.  There are many  resources out there that will give  you a book and activity to go with the book.

Caps Caps for sale is a great book to start with your 3 year old.  Read it to him.  The next time you read it to him surprise him with Caps.  Real ones or  I made colored caps out of construction paper.  You can reinforce Colors and have the child count.  Soon he will start to help out the story  by  saying " Caps , Caps  For Sale"  Then you have him tell  someone about the story with the props you have created.   These things are all good for his development and you just spent a few minutes at the library  to get the book.

I have many ideas and activities to go with different books if you want them- I started practicing my record keeping this year.  This september I will be trying my hand with Kindergarten curriculum and documentation for the state.

Hope  this helped.

wow you both gave good info and yes it is over whelming.(sp)

my son knows his colors andnumber so we are working on the abc and writing. he wants to write his number!

how i guess my next questins is do you do homeschooling threw a school? how do you get the curriculem?

and yes i would love some activities that go with books! not sure if it is easier for you to email them to me ify ou have them in a word file or post them here let me know

an other question how do we get the kids to hav good social skills whne you are at home all day?

On this site and other yahoo groups  have alot advise about curriculum.  I have not  decided on a  certain curriculum like Sonlight, saxon 3ect.  Since I will be starting K- I  got the list of kindergarten requirements off the internet and  the library has the book  " what your kindergartner needs Know".   I got from this site  Learning at home  grade K.  I love it. It has worksheets and information and I don't need to spend alot of time on the internet pulling worksheets and ideas off the net.

I will go thru my notebook and slowly start  posting book activities

A great resource that helps me get started and then I expand from there is:  More Story Stretchers by Shirley C Raines and Robert J Canady.

Since your son is starting to write numbers and letters- Go to Walmart and purchase the wipe on/off placemats.  He can use a dry eraser with supervision and when done wipe off for next time.  My son also got  a Thomas  letter wipe off  book at the dollar store.  Check it  out- you don't need alot of materials.

About the school- I don't  have to face them until he is 7 - so I  don't  have any first hand infor.  My school district is a little scarry.  I have gotten  bad and good info about the way they look upon homeschoolers.  I will just have to wait and see  and deal with it.  Some schools are open and you might be able get  a list of expectations for each school grade.  I was told if there was materials available you may get them from the school.   When you get to that level.   Right now , Just enjoy your son and  find  your style and what methods work.  Our sons are always changing so don't get frustrated if something does not work.

Idea-  Since it is earthday this week.  Reinforce the importance of recycling plastic, cans, bottles in your house and take him along to a recycling center.  If you have one nearby and get permission he might like to see cans get crushed.  Also if you google  Earth Day - you can find coloring pages for him to color.  Have count the bottles and cans as you get them ready.    See how easy- you cover many facets of his education in this small activity.

Enjoy

thanks for all the ideas, i need to sit and read the last two word for word and get back to you its been a long day!

What you are required to do for homeschooling varies state to state. Go to a site like www.hslda.org and see what is required for your home state. At 3, you shouldn't have much "requirements". First, you want to develop the love of learning. This is something that will be valuable asset in life.

Socialization - LOL thats what you will hear from people that are unfamiliar with homeschooling ask about. We have to fight to stay home. First, find a local homeschool group in your area that does things like field trips, park days, etc. It also depends on your child's social needs. I have one that doesn't require alot to be happy and the other is a social butterfly that has to have her hands in everything.  He will learn social skills from you, not a mob of wild  kids. He will learn to interact with people of all ages and walks of life as he goes along on your journey.

At 3, your son only needs some play days and lots of mommy time. I agree with the other poster that suggested read , read and read some more. Reading aloud is very important. My 18 yo graduating senior still likes read alouds, even though his reading level is above mine. Someone mentioned "Five in a Row" curriculum in another thread. This is a wonderful literature based curriculum that is very good for younger students. For now, go with his interests. He's only 3, he has plenty of time for academic stuff later. If he's into dinosaurs, then read about them, make stuff about them, go to museums about them, watch TV shows about them, make his own book about them, draw them  and write about them (he can dictate to you).

Best of luck in your  journey. Homeschooling was one of the best decisions we ever made.  It gives you the gift of time with your children, getting to know the individuals they are. It's not always perfect, there are days I question my sanity ;-) Ask us anything you have questions about. There are homeschoolers on this board with childrens of all ages, with all levels of experience and all different stlyes og homeschooling.

You have received some excellent suggestions so far.  Everyone will have their own "secret to success," but with patience, love, and perseverance, you and your kids will be fine!

A few specific resources my children loved were the "Bob" books (preschooler-hand-sized books by Bobbie Maslen that introduce only a few letter sounds at a time-- I taught reading at ages 3 & 4 with these books, at the kids' request, on the couch for 15 minutes or so per day), and the Cheerios and M&M's counting books, which are excellent for sorting, counting, basic addition and subtraction.  You will probably have to buy the Bob books, but the others are usually found in public libraries.

As a mom, I read books about teaching reading, much more useful books than when I studied for a degree in Early Childhood/ Elementary Ed.  The best advice I read was to teach a direct relationship between written letters and their sounds, not letter names.  A child has a chance of decoding the word "bat" for example, when s/he sees "buh, ah, tuh" not "bee, ay, tee."

I hope this info helps.  Oh, yeah, make some great memories and have fun with your children!

bump because there are some good sites i want to look at and i also want some more ideas and help from you laides.

This is a bit off topic, but relates to Holly's suggestion for using the book Caps for Sale.  That's a great book to act out, too.  I used it in our playgroup years (and years!) ago and the kids just loved leaning up against the tree and feeling for the stack of caps on their heads.  They really used their imaginations wonderfully!

I love childrens' books and love seeing kids using their imaginations, so my kids acted out any book we read that was possible to try.  We also had an extensive "dress-up box" filled with old Halloween costumes, stuff from our closets, thrift shops, garage sales, etc. that the kids used to act out books or just dress up in. 

Also, this is totally unsolicited and I don't know anything about the company, but on TV this morning I saw a couple showing some great ideas for really inexpensive things to do with kids and I checked out the website.  It's called Kid Concoctions and the site is p://kidconcoctions.com/main/kidmain.asp.  It looks like they sell books among other stuff.  I didn't have time to check it out much, but thought I'd share the link anyway.  They showed lots of really cheap ideas for doughs, paints, puffy paint, and other stuff.  I only watched for a few minutes and don't even know if they were on one of the morning news shows or if it was an info-mercial. 

Well, that's my 2 1/2 cents worth!

P.S.  I have to add, because it makes me laugh, that my 22 and 24-year-old still occassionally say "Who's that trip-trapping over my bridge?" (from The Three Billy Goats Gruff") when they hear someone knock on the door.  It's a family joke, because they acted that one out so often.