Decided to homeschool for now

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alidvx

New member
We live in an area where the pandemic is not taken seriously. But, our oldest (going into kindergarten) has health issues that put her in the high risk category. They just announced that masks with be optional for everyone, regardless of vaccination status. So, we decided that I will homeschool her and our 3 yr old. We also have a 7 month old. I've been going through a mix of emotions. I'm happy that I'm able to do this, given her health. I'm bummed that she doesn't get a super social kindergarten year. I'm overwhelmed with planning curriculums and merging Pre-K and K. (We did Playing Preschool last year so my youngest will do part 2 this year. Thankfully that is super easy to follow.) I'm excited for a twist on what I've been doing for the past 5 years. I have no idea how I'm going to do this with a 7 month old on my hip. I'm encouraged by the support we've seen from family and friends in this decision. I'm happy for one more year with my oldest at home. (I seriously felt like I was losing a limb with her going. I knew she would love it and it was going to be great for her, but I also knew I would miss her so much.) I feel judged by people that don't know our situation. But I also know that this is the best decision for our family right now. The past year and a half have been a rollercoaster for everyone so I know I'm not alone.

Anyone else tackling homeschooling this year?
 
@alidvx How was playing preschool?? I love most things busy toddler does and have been considering the program for my own (very) busy toddler.
 
@tiffy420 It's so good! I really liked it. If you do the whole thing in one go, it can be as short as 30 minutes, depending on your toddler's attention. But I broke the day up. It has 2 activities for each day. So I would do the morning routine and the book after we decided to get our day going. Then we would play outside and have a snack. Then I did one activity. And after their afternoon naps/quiet time, I would do the other activity. It's really easy to work with your day. For the price, I thought it was really good. All the books were at our library, or we had them at home.
 
@tiffy420 I've done playing preschool 1 and 2. It's very easy and fun. Good activities that only require minimal preparation and it's easy to get the weeks supplies ahead of time. I did find it difficult to get books that would match the curriculum at the library during Covid. But it's also do-able without the recommend books.
 
@tiffy420 I thought is chime in as I bought it as well.

It's fantastic value for money and Id definitely reccomend it as well.

The only con I found was that the books were really difficult and expensive to track down in the UK. I found a lot of them too advanced for my 2 year old. We did it during lockdown as well and I think it would be much more manageable with access to the library.
 
@alidvx The homeschool subreddit has been pretty helpful for me this last year. I homeschooled my 4 and 6 year olds so it was pre-k and k. I was also bummed they didn’t get to have more socialization but the homeschooling went pretty well. The library was an amazing resource that we used a lot. There were good days and bad days and mostly realizing it doesn’t all have to happen during a specific time of the day. Some lessons happened while I cooked dinner or when we went for a walk. Some days we had to throw the whole plan out the window and just play or color or paint.
 
@alidvx Come on over to /r/homeschool - we'll get you sorted. You can total do this. K is not that much hands on work compared to PreK if you don't want to really force academics. (And at K - it really should be mostly play based still). Some programs that you might be interested in are: Lavender's Blue, Torchlight Curriculum, and Blossom and Root - all of those curriculum's can be used for the K and PreK simultaneously.
 
@alidvx The good and the beautiful has a free home schooling curriculum. My friend used it last year for her two kids and really liked it. It is some denomination of Christian but she said you could easily not include those parts of you wanted.
 
@darryl50 Yes, we are actually using TGATB for LA and math. We are not religious at all, but my friend told me the exact same thing, you can sort of brush past the religious components. ... However, it's definitely not free. I believe they offer free lessons, but if you're wanting a full curriculum it costs money.
 
@darryl50 It's MUCH cheaper if you buy the pdf and print it yourself, but it still costs money. It's possible somebody who purchased the pdf shared it with her. Or yeah, maybe she only uses the free lessons. ... hey, whatever works!
 
@alidvx We pulled our kid from PreK before it even starts tomorrow. Going to be doing Playing PreK with him and some other stuff. I’m also going to allow one friend here (they are vaccinated and had covid in Jan and the dad almost didn’t make it) since she is showing signs of delayed speech and needs some form of intervention. I’m going to distance the two kids in our playroom turned school room so they still have some interaction but are distanced. Both our families are taking every possible precaution. I’m a certified EC-6 teacher but have been a stay at home mom for 4yrs. So really there is no excuse for me not to homeschool. I just hope by kindergarten things are under control. I loved school and I know my son will too.
 
@alidvx Yup, my 4 year old is immunocompromised and not a single school in the area is following the CDC's recommendation on masks. So we are doing homeschool pre-k and I'm actually really excited about. I would recommend finding homeschool groups in your area, even if its just Facebook groups. I recommend finding secular groups because in my experience the religious ones are anti-science, anti-mask, etc. To each their own, I have religious friends, we just can't be around unvaxxed folks and ignorance at this point in time. 🙃

We live in an area with 4 seasons, so until it gets too cold we will do our best to do outdoor, socially distanced activities for socialization. Once Winter hits we will do an occasional Outschool class just so he is at least seeing other kids' faces.

Good luck, you will do great!
 
@alidvx Thank you for posting about play preschool! I’ve been looking for something to give some type of enrichment to my almost 2 year old. He’s too smart for his own good and needs something but honestly with covid, and me having a 4week old, I’m scared to enroll him in activities.
 
@alidvx I was in your shoes last year, except it was my husband's immune disorder that made us decide to keep our oldest at home. We are keeping him home again for 1st grade and now I'll do kindergarten with my middle child and keep the the toddler happy. 😅

For curriculum ideas, I've heard good things about Torchlight, Blossom and Root, and Build Your Own Library. All three having weekly planning schedules laid out, which I think is super helpful. If you want, I share more about them. I just don't want to write too much. 😆

But as other commenters have said, it's kindergarten and doesn't have to be super rigorous...I was in newborn/post-partum survival mode for a lot of the last school year so we didn't always do school everyday. 💁🏼‍♀️

Lastly, idk your area, so there may not be one taking covid precautions that you're comfortable with, but you could look for a FB group or co-op. We joined a co-op that is masking even at our outdoor meetups. Even if your family isn't ready to do in person stuff, it would be a support group for you. 🙂
 
@alidvx She’s so young. You really don’t have to plan anything or do anything formal. A bit of writing practice, maybe some reading. Everything else can be real world. Cooking and baking are awesome for math. Subtitles on favorite shows help tons with reading. Science is as easy as an app on your phone to tell you what plants and bugs are when you’re on a walk. Social studies can be learning address, phone number, and how to identify community helpers.

So much of public kindergarten is learning to be in a classroom. How to sit still, raise hands, follow the schedule, etc.
 
@alidvx I’m sorry you’re in this situation, but I understand high risk kids and this pandemic. Your situation must be difficult, but it sounds like you made the right choice! Our son is 2.5 and has cystic fibrosis, so we’re unsure about what’s to come with school next year. I was wondering if you thought he might be too young for the Playing Preschool you mentioned? I feel like I should be doing something more while we’re home. Is it something I buy online? Thanks for your help :)

Sorry for the judgement you get from outsiders. I hate that! We’re just doing what’s best for our kids.
 
@sistertabitham Yes! I think he would love it. My son will be 3 this month and we did it with him last year. You can get it from Busy Toddler online. It's just under $40 for the whole curriculum. Even if you don't stick to it religiously, it still has great activity ideas.
 
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