I am not much further along the journey than you are.
- what made you choose it?
We chose homeschooling because we couldn' find any options for school wiothin a decent distance that we would feel happy to send DS to everyday.
- from what age did you start homeschooling?
Birth
Okay I decided to start homeschooling when my DS was almost 4, but what I do now is not that different from what I have been doing since he was born. DS was the kind of child that need stuff to do every single day, so we did a lot of craft and things anyway, it was just a matter of keeping up with his developing influences.
We actually started doing curriculum when not long after that, because I was running out of things to do. Another trigger was a holiday we took to visit family and they gave my DS some preschool workbooks.
I wish I'd done that long before!
- do you follow a very structured timetable or do you go with the flow?
Bit of both. We have a rhythm. I wouldn't call it a timetable.
- what do you think of unschooling for younger kids?
I consider myself an unschooler, but part of that is doing what works for your child. My child NEEDS structure, so he gets it. (I have posted aboutt hat elsewhere, and my own struggle with that) Some people wouldn't call that unschooling. Shrug, I don't need them in my life anyway. I also consider myself Montessori, but I don't use all the materials and replicate a classroom at home. I believe "follow the child".
- do you only follow the required information type learning or do you go indepth as much as your child wants before moving on?
To me, the whole idea of homeschooling is that I don't have to stick to the required information. Most gifted children pick that up themselves anyway. But again, follow the child.
- what advice would you give to someone starting this with young children?
Well, I'm still there, but I suppose a big part of my journey - ongoing - is to try to make connections now, so when it all gets 'official' I will ahve the support I need. BUT be careful, because some of the people who are homeschooling older children will act as if you are not really homeschooling. This hasn't happened much, but enough for me to avoid some people who do it.
- what would you change if you could start home schooling over again?
Try very hard to doubt myself less!
If you are interested in home education fo gifted children, I would really recommend "Creative Home Schooling: A resource Guide for smart families" It goes through lots and lots of considerations and outlines differences between different approaches. It is a really helpful read for someone just starting out.
