My name is Katia and while not new to BrillKids, I am definitely new to the forum. I have been following it for a while and was always impressed by the advice, experience and wisdom parents are sharing with each other. I would like to be a part of it… We are currently based in Central London, UK and have two sons, 4 years and 2 years old. A handful, obviously…
When my eldest was around 1 year old, I did quite a lot with him using BrillKids materials which he really enjoyed. But life happens, the little one was born and there was less time to go around. Now, I am at a point again where both boys would hugely benefit from and enjoy the Brillkids materials so I am eager to get started again.
I am also considering home-schooling my 4 year old and would love to hear fellow parents advice!
Hello Katia!
My name is Ariel and I am currently homeschooling my 5 year old and 3 year old in the United States. I must say that home schooling is very rewarding for all parties involved and many people on Brillkids go about different schedules but usually tend to use similar products.
I try to keep a relaxed and somewhat structured schedule for my boys (especially since my little one has become very energetic). Our subjects consist of Reading, Math, History, Science, Writing, Music, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese in a very hands on fashion. They do Gymnastics and
Martial Arts for exercise. Trampolines are also very wonderful. Personally, I find it extremely important to start volunteer work early as well so that they will also develop compassion and humility and hopefully become noble men that love helping others. Also, joining a homeschooling group is a must! You can get support, make many friends, and many times have very cheap group field trips to places that are usually very pricey if you were going as a family. Even going to the park as a group sometimes feels like a field trip and the kids always have fun. Homeschooling groups can offer mom night outs, free class exchanges, free art work shops, and great discounts through knowing people. Having a system that works helps ease my mind and gives me the strength to be the mom I want to be.
English subjects are done in the mornings throughout the week and then we do Spanish and French after noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Mandarin and Japanese are done on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Foreign Languages: We find as many programs as we can such as Little Pim, Your Baby Can Read, Muzzy, Baby Learns Chinese, etc. Wink to Learn has beautiful flashcards but most of the DVDs, in my opinion, do not have good quality. Sometimes you can do a fun language exchange for the children for free with a foreigner who is trying to learn English (I found a local who is a native from China who is a really good friend now.). We have play silks to dance with and laundry baskets to tote the boys around during foreign language music time. Labeling objects around the house, arts and crafts, flashcards, and books help and I try to stay a step ahead. I am studying the languages as I am teaching them as well and I find it a lot of fun learning the languages this way. If you decide to study languages with your children I would definitely look into italki.com which is free foreign language exchange from around the world.
Music: Soft Mozart Piano is a win in my book! It teaches piano through a game type software. We will add Suzuki violin and cello over time.
Math: Marshmallow Math is a book that teaches counting to 100, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in a hands on approach. First Start Math uses the abacus.