It is developmentally structured, multi-sensory and perfect for both boys and girls. It’s foundational to ensure future academic success. It’s cost-effective and has the statistics to prove its success.
Are you on the edge of your seat yet? Here’s a hint- It’s not Obama’s proposed state mandated early babyhood programs.
This great curriculum?
Mom. Or in some homes, Momma. Or Ma. Mother.
Since I’ve been at this home education thing for several years now, I’ll have younger moms ask me about the best curriculum for their young ‘uns. And my response is always the same: You.
So many parents are in a hurry to get their child into a school setting for fear they’ll be left behind. This is simply untrue. Unless of course “aggressiveness” is something you relish seeing in your child because that is what, time and time again, is proven to happen when a kid is dropped into a pen with a bunch of strangers’ kids for the majority of his day.
The very young—ages 4-7 or so will thrive with a “curriculum” of mom reading to him. And nature walks. And baking cookies. And snuggling. LIFE.
People forget that the institution we call school is a relatively new invention going back to the early 1900s. Until that point, children learned at home. They learned to read, write and do skills basic to life. They spent time mingling in the real world, learning to relate to others. (When was the last time YOU spent your day in a roomful of people the same age as you?)
And we forget that children are natural learners. They didn’t need to attend “Fork Academy” to learn how to eat with a fork nor do they need a scope and sequence to build a complex Lego house.
Providing an atmosphere that invites their curiosity in a loving supportive environment is something that could never be packaged and sold.
So the next time you see a glossy ad for some curriculum for your peewees–rest assured, you’ve got what you already need. And your checkbook will thank you too.
Used with permission. Written by Theresa Lode .You can see the article at her blog .
AKA Theresa Lode or, simply “T”, is a freelance writer who is seriously and madly in love with her family, addicted to coffee and would like to destroy her bathroom scale. She loves reading, writing and chocolate and suspects there is a relationship between these things and her animosity toward the aforementioned scale. An accomplished writer and speaker, Theresa’s been published in several national publications and various newspapers. Her humor column, “The Mother Lode” has been bringing smiles to moms for nearly 10 years. She lives with her husband, Jay and her three (nearly) perfect children, Daniel, Molly and Caleb, in the wilds of Tennessee.
