Hi Momma.
Your little one sounds like where my #3 was last year (and 6). I encourage you to go ahead and start slowly. Perhaps begin with our Preschool and Kindergarten suggestions and if he takes to them well, progress into a formal year 1. Charlotte encouraged parents to take advantage of the desire to learn, even before 6. She also cautioned that if a child was having a hard time or desiring to do something other than a “lesson” (they should all be organic and informal before grade 1), allow him to do so.
Our Kindergarten guide encourages families to go ahead and add math and reading lessons as a child is ready. We also do not encourage learning to write letters with pencil and paper until a student is at approximately the 3rd level of Delightful Reading.
Last year my 6 yr old was ready for formal math lessons (although we had weeks where we took a break for his brain development) and Delightful Reading Level 2 (he knew letter sounds but needed to learn blends and putting all of the sounds together). We included poetry, read-aloud, picture study, habit and Spiritual training, and nature study. This was plenty for my little guy. At the start of the year he struggled with 7-10 minutes for a formal lesson. By the end of the school year I could hold his attention 15-20 minutes for some lessons. The transition this year has been a smooth one for him.
