I know of a standards based program that will have a schedule for you to follow every week. You don't have to guess about what your child should know at that level. It's a great program, highly organized and all you need to do is make sure that your child does the homework. I have three homeschooling and it works great for us. Parkridge Private School- (562)424-5528

You may want to look at some Homeschool Programs. Often you can pick and chooses the pieces you like. I used to work for Calvert School in Baltimore and they were the founders of homeschooling. Here is their link
www.calvertschool.org/home-school/


Good luck!

My son's dyxlexia tutor just gave me this information. It's a book giving you suggestions on what to introduce your child to in literature. Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. Because the child is so young still (I have one starting kindergarten next year as well), you can do a lot of read and repeat with him/her. Start a story and have them follow your finger a long for a sentence or two. Then, have them repeat what you just said. They may not know how to read yet, but they will start to recognize words and sentence structure. Then, instead of teaching letter names, teach letter sounds. The names are really not that important. After all...a picture of a cat is not a real cat, just as a picture of a letter only represents a sound. Play lots of games - make your own closet out of construction paper, then draw pictures or collect from magazines, things that go into a closet. Same for the zoo, grocery store, etc. I'm also reading a book called What Your Kindergartener Need to Know by E. D. Hirsch Jr. He really gets into putting a lot into your child - much more than most public schools (in my area anyway). It's a good book for me because I am a more structural non-school parent.

I do have to agree with blissmama. With her being so young you really don't have to worry about "formal" homeschooling. This is really the time to get to know your daughter and play. They may be learning play but it's still play to her. Follow her lead. Like blissmama also said see what is the law for homeschooling in your state.

First, if you haven't already done so, it's a good idea to find out the home schooling regs for your jurisdiction. Then find decide what YOU think your child should learn in kindergarten.

Our state has compulsory education for children ages 7-16. Check the regs in your state. Unless you HAVE TO officially start home schooling, what's your hurry?

Every family home schools differently so it's really up to you. But a good start is to find out what kind of learning style your child has and then you'll have a better idea of what kinds of materials to use to formally educate at home.

A good book to start with is "In Their Own Way", by Thomas Armstrong.

Happy travels on your journey!

I'm not a current homeschool parent, but I homeschooled my 4 kids for 3 years, until this school year. One thing that's great about homeschooling is YOU are in control. This means, you can teach your child any curriculum you wish. You can go basic, Christian, eclectic, anything...you can even create your own! Just make sure you register yourself as a "private school". A lot of districts also offer homeschool instruction that follows their curriculum. Of course, this takes the control out of your hands and puts it back into that of the School Board. When I homeschooled my children, WE created our own curriculum. I let the kids help with the lesson plans, by offering them options of what they wanted to study each week. Allowing them choices helped keep them interested. Having a classroom, desks, chalkboard, and bulletin board made it more "real" to them, as well. They knew that once we sat down in our desks, it was classtime. You can have a strict curriculum and STILL have fun!
We were also very hands on. Instead of reading a book about elephants, we'd go to the zoo and spend hours observing and discussing them. We'd even pack a picnic basket.
The main thing to focus on, in my opinion, is your daughter's needs and desires. If she likes ladybugs, then make that a major component of you plans for a week or 2. Work with her on drawing circles to create a ladybug. Count the number of spots. Make up stories that involve adding and subtracting ladybugs (There were X ladybugs on the flower, and Y flew away. How many were left?) Just use your imagination, and soon you'll be teaching like a pro!

I agree with tjlove. Click on the link she gave and it will take you to the homeschooling group here. All this really depends on what style your child learns best through. Some kids are visual learners while others are more hands on and still other's are auditory learners. This will also depend on what she knows now. This will also depend on what kind of teacher you are also and what exactly you want from homeschooling. People homeschool for all different reasons and do it in a verity of ways. I hope you join the group and ask more questions you might have. The first year is the hardest but it does get better with time.

Hi there,
A great place to get a question like this answered is the Homeschool group.
Here's the link:
community.greatschools.net/groups/11543