I think it's helpful to teach/sing nursery rhymes with children because it helps them understand rhyming and used properly, can also extend their vocabulary. I also introduced my daughter to certain famous poems from an early age like Macavity by TS Elliot, The Tiger by William Blake, The Friendly Cow by RLS and Shakespeare etc.

By the time she was one, she was making up her own words to songs or changing the words of nursery rhymes to suit her mood. I was so pleasantly surprised and that convinced me that exposing them to such things is very useful. She always used to make up her own words to "Are you sleeping Brother John" like "I dont want to sleep, I dont want to sleep, I want to play, I want to play, Rain rain go away, I dont want to sleep". It didnt always make sense though!

Incidentally, another useful thing you can do is teach a nursery rhyme like Jack and Jill and then make flashcards of rhyming words associated with it i.e. words that rhyme with 'Jill' like dill, pill, fill, till, bill and use pictures so the child knows what the words mean.

Homeschooling has been absolutely BRILLIANT for me so far. My daughter is like a sponge and that is what is such a joy...when you realise that she is actually retaining things. She has never been that into Glen Doman Math flash cards so Maths is really the only subject I am struggling with but everything else is going great. I am also learning new things and the day passes so quickly. I love homeschooling!

Thank you Bella/Viv,

I have am going to start homeschooling her from Monday. I hope it goes well. But you are right...it is fun doing all this with your child.

xxx

Celeste

I just think this whole baby einstein thing has become really overblown and unnecessarily alarmist and vitriolic. I think these people are annoyed because they were foolish enough to think that plonking your child in front of the DVD would make them geniuses and thereby absolve the parents of having to teach the child. And BE was silly to say that it creates smarter babies.

BUT, on the other hand...doesnt everyone remember what rubbish was on offer before BE, YBCR and Brainy Baby? I do. Absolutely inane, idiotic children's shows. At least BE is laced with classical music, art and nature. And some of the books are really good and can last for years such as 'Animal Homes'...and "the ABC of Art" is also really good bcs it teaches the alphabet in reference to paintings rather than silly pictures/cartoons. So some BE products are really good.


Also, I think TV in moderation does not harm your child...in fact, it may do some good in order to show things like how a monkey moves or what whales and dolphins do as books cant really convey this. In fact, my cousin doesnt let her three year old watch ANY television and when she takes him to other people's houses where such a rigid ban on TV is not in operation, the child is just hypnotised by the TV...he cant take his eyes off it because it is something new to him. That is also unhealthy. I am not saying that a child should regularly watch TV but rather that TV can also be used as a learning tool or a 'digital board book'  as BE likes to call it now.

Thank you for all your advice. Much appreciated. Just to let you know, I have decided to take her out of school for the entire year and will review the situation next year when she is 3 plus.

By the way, Mother of Faith - you are absolutely right when you say that with such a wide age group older kids can get bored and the younger ones dont really engage. I didnt think of that.

xxxx

You know, I was really worried about that and something interesting happened this week. I used to show my daughter flash cards of famous people since she was about 6 months old and the last time I showed her that particular set of cards was when she was 15 months. She is now 2.5 years old and just a few days ago, she was in the lounge while my father and I were watching a documentary on National Geographic about Nefertiti. She toddled into the room and said, "Look...that is Nefertiti!" My father was shocked and asked her if she liked Nefertiti and she nonchalantly replied, "No...I like Tutankhamun."  Now I last showed her those flash cards over a year ago but clearly, it got ingrained in her subconscious.

So dont worry...something does sink in and it may just all come out later when you least expect it. Dont test them because then they feel as if they are being put on the spot and deliberately say the wrong answer. Basically, your child will tell you when he/she knows and not vice versa!

My instinct is actually to take her out because I do feel that safety is more important. The only thing that is making me doubt my instincts is whether I am putting her at a disadvantage by taking her out this year and putting her in next year when she is three and a half.

Another thing is that while I was sitting with her during her first week at school, I noticed that in her class (18mths to 2+), there was really only singing, arts/craft and playing in the garden...much like a daycare. Now she does all that and more at home and I do Glen Doman with her so she is way more advanced than the others in that respect. But as for socialisation, like I said, she cries for me even after a month of being at school, everyday was a production to get her to school and now with this month long break of schools being shut due to security concerns, she is out of the routine! And now, due to security, you have to deliver your child at the door and the parent cant even go in which I feel will be very traumatic. I may be wrong but I hear that in the West (USA and Europe), children start school much later ...at three or four. Is that right?

I have a problem and I need some advice urgently. My daughter is 2 and a half and I put her in a lovely pre-school in September. After a month, she still didnt completely adjust and kept missing me and crying, although once distracted she would generally have a good time. But then, all schools  in our country have closed because of the security situation (suicide bombings, hostage threats etc). They are due to re-open at the end of the month. Despite this, my husband and I feel it is still not safe enough to send her. I was wondering if I should take her out for the whole year and put her in when she is three and a half...or will that be too late?? So I wanted advice on the following:

1. Is 3 and half an ok age to send a child to preschool? In my country kids generally go at eighteen months or two. Her teachers say this is the best age and early socialisation is important.

2. Will she be at a disadvantage if I send her next year when she is three?

3. She doesnt really enjoy school (sometimes she does) - the problem is that she misses me. Also, the things they do...arts, games and singing, she does that at home anyway and besides, she knows the entire alphabet and her numbers and these are things they wont even be teaching her this year.  I taught her all this at home. But her teachers tell me that at this age the important thing is SOCIALISATION.

PLEASE HELP. I have to make a decision by the end of next week.

I came across a website called physicscentral.org with a coloring pages free downloadable book all about Abigail Atom and other basic physics concepts. I really liked it. The other very good website I came across is tlsbooks.com.

I am so sorry Nikita ...that sounds so traumatic. I cant believe the teachers refuse to do anything about it and wont even hear a complaint about this boy. Actually I went through much the same thing when I was in school in London...it was a posh school and there was a lot of underlying racism. Perhaps you can change her school? Are there any other good schools in your area? If your daughter is averse to home schooling, why dont you have a go in another school and if that also turns out to be a bad experience (and I hope it wont be), then you can put forward the homeschool option to your child again and maybe she will be more amenable.

I hope things get better. I remember what it was like to be bullied and it  really undermines a child's confidence, particularly if the teachers dont help. But even if the teachers do step in, then the children/bullies persecute the child later on when the teacher isnt looking so the 'victim' is often scared to  tell the teacher. In any event, my advice is  to take your child out  of  this school which doesnt protect and respect both your child or you.

xxxx

I came across an interesting website of Jefferson County schools which contains some interesting power point presentations for downloading and other useful information like curriculums, games and advice.

I think the website is j-cschools.net. Or you can type Jefferson County School or JC Schools into google and get through to the website

 I suppose it is wrong to compare my daughter with her peers and I shouldn't dumb her down just so she can fit in as rightly you say. And children learn at different rates and different things spark their imagination...Your son may have a flair for numbers and language and can therefore count in 3 different languages (which my daughter certainly can't do). Her interest lies in rhyming words and stories so she is more inclined towards that direction right now. As a friend of mine says, in the end, they all catch up...they just take different learning paths.

Thank you for the good advice.

My daughter has just started pre-school/nursery (in my country, they start early - at 2+ or even earlier.) Anyway, she really enjoys it but she is very ahead of her class. She recognises the entire alphabet (the teachers dont yet know that she can read certain words as well), her conversation is much more advanced (she uses words like reflection, shadow,actually...),she knows all the nursery rhymes already...etc. The rest of her class can barely string a sentence together. So, I am wondering whether I should take it a bit slow so she can fit into her peer group.I havent decided what if anything to do yet.



 

On the advice of a midwife, I started drinking raspberry leaf tea towards the end of my eighth month and my labour was 5 hours which is meant to be short for the first child.