This post was originally written February 25, 2008. Recitation or Interpretive Reading achieves several things.  It helps you to learn to read aloud with feeling and meaning, clarity and volume and to practice making good eye contact when speaking. Each term my children have one poet they study and each week they are given a new poem to practice.  They are to read this poem aloud with feeling, practicing clarity as well.  Then once a week we get together and have Poetry Tea.  Julie at Brave Writer gave me this idea. I make a few snacks along with some tea, of course, and that’s it.  It’s not fancy, although a few times I went out of…

In Part I of Starting to Homeschool Your Young Child, we discussed the negative effects of starting schoolwork too young and instead approaching learning in a more informal fashion. Today, I would like to offer you a few more ideas as to other ways a child can learn at this young age (3-6 years).  These are only a few suggestions; there are probably many more out there and I’d love to hear your contributions. Children love to help their mommy’s when they are so very little.  Do not discourage them.  Yes, you could do the job faster and better than your small child but this is a tremendous learning time that…

Are you thinking to begin homeschooling your child and he/she is only 3 or 4?  May I give you a few cautions and some suggestions? I have met many moms who believe they should start their child at age 3 or 4 because their child is READY.   Their child already knows the alphabet and maybe can even count to 100.  They are so smart.  They are READY to learn.  I agree that these children are ready to learn but not in the way most parents want to teach.  In our society we have been trained to think the public way of education is the only way – sit at a desk and complete your work.…