Am I doing enough for my 5 year old?!

If you use Delightful Reading, word building is part of it.  I would relax, focus on reading/learning to read, fine motor activities (to help prepare for writing later), counting and numbers, time in nature, and playing.  If she isn’t interested in those other activities, put them away and try again later.  Your 8 year old has a few years of maturity on the 5 year old and is in a different place regarding brain development.  You’re doing enough for the 5 year old.  🙂

There is one workbook I buy for K. It is Kumon’s My first Book of Cutting. Rip put a page every couple days and let them cut along the paths of the page. It really exercises those little hands. If they are destitute to use a pencil, My First Book of Mazes and a Triconderoga black large triangular pencil from Staples. I find they help proper pencil holding training easily. They also get their own blank notebook for nature study training ? . Those are things that help build skill for G1 and make them feel like they are “doing” school. Certainly not CM reasoning but easy to fill a void. Read, play, get outdoors, and read some more! In my mind, K is about easing into home schooling.

Oh and it is interesting. My aunt has taught 1st grade for 33 years. She said years ago kids did not even start learning to read and formal academics until 1st grade; but the end of 1st grade most were reading; but some it was not until 1/2 way through 2nd. She said, sadly now that kids are “behind” because they can’t read in Kindergarten there is so much pressure kids are arriving in 1st grade already stressed out 🙁

She has said time and again that Kindergarten should be a time of “cut, color and paste and learning how to interact and play with others and play alone too. It is more about social learning, how to behave in situations (sound like habit training doesn’t it?) not academics.” She used to not support HS’ing when my mom was teaching us in the beginning; but she came around 🙂

I wanted to add that I think you can do far less for K!  I have quite a bit scheduled for my DD just to keep her busy while the other DC are doing schoolwork.  She’ll probably spend quite a bit of time keeping my 1yo occupied as well.  Some days for math, she just pulls out the pattern blocks, teddy bear counters, or geoboards in place of her regular math lesson.

Most of my DC didn’t listen very well to chapter books until they were between the ages of 6 and 8.  Generally before 1st grade I let my DC participate as much as they choose.  Often they play quietly during the readings and participate in activities like science experiments or art projects.  They also like “mapwork”, but often just scribble on the maps or use it as a coloring page.  😉

I think holding off until your child is six is very hard, but very worthwhile. There is so much pressure from well-meaning friends, grandparents, etc. to “keep up” and it’s so easy to begin to question your decision. Now that my daughter is six, I can see the wisdom in waiting a little more clearly. She is excited and ready to concentrate and give her best effort, she sits through (and loves) the read-alouds, and the skills are coming together quickly. She has not been burned out by years of workbooks and activities I orchestrated, and all those hours playing inside and out have resulted in a big imagination and lots of resourcefulness. Now that we have a “school time” for the six year old, my three year old son plays in a big bin of dried beans (dumping and pouring are great fun and good skills), cuts and colors scrap paper, and I sometimes set out a puzzle or some other simple activity in case he chooses to join us at the school table. (He usually chooses the beans instead.)  I have been known to hide a magnetic letter or two in his beans for him to hunt for and we talk about the letter he found, but that’s about as academic as we get at that age.