for littles

What I think is meant by “formal schooling” is the formal sit-down type academics, where you expect them to finish and master something.  I don’t think it is a problem to ‘play around’ with letters, sounds, etc as long as you keep it that way: “playing”.  While I’ve done some of that in our home, I’ve found myself amazed by how much my little ones have picked up naturally just from life, and from simply drawing their attention to things that just come up in everyday situations.  We also read aloud a LOT, which I think is one of the most valuable ‘academic’ sorts of things you can do with littles.  One of the things that has been such a blessing to me since I discovered CM was a release from feeling pressured to replicate a formal ‘preschool’ program at home for my littles simply because there is so much to be learned from life, and especially doing life together with my kids.  There is lots of time for the more structured, sit-down stuff as they are older.   Have you read through the stuff on the early years portion of this site and/or the early years book?  LOTS of good stuff there – it will give you ideas of good things you can do with your littles without requiring ‘formal academics’ too early.