We homeschool. Aiden is 6, Nathan is 4 and Dylan is 2.
They each "work" at their own level. I had Aiden and Nathan draw up their own "timetables" with subjects that they had to slot into the week. So they often do different things and thats okay. Now my goal is to make it as fun as possible so we do very little paper and pen work and a lot more games etc to learn. This way all three are involved.
When we do do sit down work, they each carry on with their own thing and I help here a bit and there a bit. I KNOW that one day (in the not so distant future) they will be wanting to do things I cannot do (or am not interested in doing), so I am trying to be more of a facilitator than an at-home teacher.
AS for the change over, we spent 9 months playing without any formal work, until Aiden was ready to and asked for it repeatedly and then eventually started doing it on his own. Then I knew he was healed from the school trauma and was really ready. So we went on loads of outings, we played games like chess, scrabble, monopoly, snap, UNO and even babyish games like candy land or whatever. We walked, we swam, we cuddled, we read, we sat in the sun together eating fruit and just being happy.
We don't use school words (they still make him anxious nearly a year later) - so we have a work room, and even I work there. We don't focus on grades or age things or levels, we do what interests us to the level we can take it to (and I try to keep some sort of track quietly on my own). I am not his teacher, I am his mom and as such I want him to enjoy his life and learning. And if he cannot learn whatever from me then I will help him find a credible source. And I tell him (them) this often. I am here to learn with them, but most of all I am here to help them be happy, enjoy their childhoods and enjoy their time with us as a family.
The fact that learning new maths stuff or experimenting with whatever makes them happy kids, well so be it. If we have days of not working, that's fine by me - they learn so quickly anyways its not like they will ever fall behind will they?
At the end of the day, you must do what works for your family... Homeschooling works well for us, and my boys are happier than ever, they are learning more than ever in shorter time spans than ever, and they are best friends too! Which means I am a very happy and content mom
Feel free to PM me to chat!
