Before I had kids, I always thought ... I'd never want my kids to learn much before school. I want them to be kids. Plenty of time for learning when they go to school. Then I got our two boys and they proved me wrong. It had nothing to do with me and what I had planned and everything with their personality and learning styles. I don't teach them. They absorb information from any source they find. So I gave up on holding them back. I am excited about the speed with which they learn!
I do sometimes think about the future, especially since we are considering homeschooling at least for DS3.2 but most likely also DS4.9, though he's registered for K this fall and we are hoping he will go through K ok (only half day). After his Kindergarten year, the school we belong to will be closing down and he'll belong to a different school, at which point we'll decide what's next. I am quite sure they'll go through the curriculum a lot faster than they would in a regular school. The question is, do I want them to learn faster? For now, my "plan" is to just follow their lead. If they learn faster and keep asking for more in a particular subject, they will get more. But aside from that, I am hoping to use the extra time that we'll get by them learning faster so they can explore other areas. Areas that really interest them. My goal isn't for them to be in college by 12-13. My goal still is for them to be kids ... but not the way others around us think kids should be / act ... I want them to be the kids THEY want to be. If that means acting like kids, than fine. If it means acting more mature for their age, fine too. In the later case, we can make adjustments to our academic plans and they can head in whatever direction we all see fit. I wasn't PG, more likely, I was HG/HG+ but I know for a fact I WAS mature enough and emotionally ready to start college by the time I was 14/15. My kids might be the same way but I would NOT want them to be in college that early. Taking college classes for dual credit, yes but not full time college. I'd much rather give them one or two gap years and have them explore their interests. But again, we follow THEIR lead so who know what will happen when they are in that age
