HI!! I am new to the conference.  I am not "officially" a homeschool
mother because my oldest just turned 4 in May. I have researched the
subject extensively and decided it is the best for my children.  I
have been teaching Brandon since he was 18 months and showed a big
interest in letter names. He knew all of his letters, some sounds and
numbers 1-20, colors (9), shapes(6), etc. before he turned 3!! Can you
see me beaming with pride?:-}!  He has a strong desire to learn and is
very easy to teach. It just seems natural for me to do it. I can't help
wondering if my 20 month old daughter will learn as quickly.
Any one else out there starting to teach preschoolers?  Are you juggling
more than one child?  What methods do you use to teach?  I am
planning on trying "Teaching Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons" by
Siegfried Engelmann.  It has mixed reviews in my local homeschool
group, but I figured I would give it a try since my son is so eager to
begin reading.  Any thoughts on that?  I seem to be a minority here
since many are taking their elementary-aged children out of school to
home educate. It is really growing fast here in VA.
What does your local homeschool do?  Ours is small and unorganized.
There are only 88 families here. Of that, only 6 or 7 show up for the
monthly meeting on a regular basis.  In Newport News, a neighboring
city, there are about 2-300 so I have been told. We do not have many
resources or activities.  I am considering going to the closest
neighboring city, Yorktown, for their group.
I am taking a break from teaching right now while we are cleaning
up and settling into our new home. I plan to resume on a daily schedule
in August. I do review because I do not want him to forget anything.
We live on a 14 acre farmette with chickens, peafowl, turkeys, a sick
dog, 5 cats, quail, geese, ducks, a goat. . .and lots of wild things.
Plenty of educational opportunities! We are in Guinea an area in
Gloucester, VA that is known for the watermen who live and work here.
There is a PBS show on about them this month in my area.  Maybe yours
will pick it up.  It is called "They live in Guinea" or something
similar.
What room do you spend most of your time educating?  We educate through
out the day wherever the opportunity arises.  The room we use the most
seems to be the kitchen right now. Eventually we will connect an
existing cottage to our house and use that for a
library/computer/craft/homeschool storage/etc. room.  I have a
feeling that we will end up in that room the most.
 When would you recommend sex education?  I am talking about good vs bad
 touches.  There seem to be a lot of molestings going on in church
 nurseries.  We are looking for a church home, and safety for my
 children while I am in the sanctuary is a concern of mine.  We lock our
 church buildings when we leave them, but we make our children
accessible to perverts. It is a scary world out there.  Good thing I
have Jesus to hang on to me.
I am making up my K4 curriculum focusing on the basics.  I have
considered using ABEKA for K5.  Do you think buying a K5 curriculum is
necessary?  Is ABEKA's Advanced K5 much different from the regular K5?
If yes, how so?  I have considered purchasing only Ann Ward's _Learning
at Home:Preschool and Kindergarten_  "A Christian parents guide with
day-by-day lesson plans using the library as a source." Have you any
knowlege or thoughts on this?  All advice will be appreciated.
Also, I have a computer-lacking friend in Ohio who also will be
homeschooling.  Vicki has the following ?'s.  If you finish one grade
level before the next level is "suppose" to start-what do you do?  Do
you notify the school system in say, January that you are exceeding
their requirements and advancing to the next grade level?   Do you test
them for the grade level they are working on, or according to their age
level?  Are teacher's manuals necessary for the lower grades?
Looking forward to lots of mail.  Let me know where you are. Anything I
can do for you?  Did I ask enough ?'s for you?:-)!
I hope your day is full of cool breezes, children's laughter, and gentle
sunshine. . .
 Wendy
PS  Clint is my hubby:-)!
 * SLMR 2.1a * "O taste and see that the Lord is good" Psalm 34:8
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