Dear Parent,

Thank you for your question!

Combining two different school programs can be challenging even for the most experienced homeschooling parents. If this is your first year homeschooling, I would recommend choosing the program you want, and staying with it. As you are probably learning, each program has a different focus, and each has its positive and negative points to consider. There are of course many different homeschooling programs, and you must choose the one that best meets your needs and the needs of your student.

Since I do not know the other program that you wish to combine, I can only tell you what I know about CHC's materials. I think that CHC's preschool/kindergarten program will be an excellent program for your daughter without having to include any other programs. It is light, will require little seatwork, and encourage growth in many areas. If you follow the directions as outlined in the lesson plans, I think that you and your daughter will enjoy teaching and learning. I am not sure what you want to include when combining from both programs. However, if you are using two math programs, two reading programs, two religion programs, then yes, you and your daughter will probably find this overwhelming.

If you feel as the teacher, that you are overdoing it with the assignments, then you probably are. It is important that you not second guess yourself in the teaching process. As the teacher, you set the pace and you guide your child into the learning process. Generally for a five year old child, actual schooling time should be about one hour, to an hour and a half at the most. Two hours is really a long time for a five year old. To keep her interest level, you can do a little schooling at a time throughout the day. Also, if you find that she is getting discouraged or bogged down with her assignments, then you are most likely overdoing the teaching. Particularly at this age, it is easy to incorporate learning into the day, without the child feeling that he or she has to do schooling. For instance, you and she can sing the alphabet song while you are taking a walk. You can read books together during reading time. As she plays with blocks and other hands-on activities, you can gently guide her into counting, sorting, and comparing these.

How can you tell that you are under-doing teaching? As you work with your daughter you will know what she knows and what she doesn't know. If you find that, for instance, she knows all her numbers with ease, then you can work on the next step with her. If you find that she knows her colors, you can introduce to her more enriching activities. Generally, if your daughter can easily learn any given thing, most likely she will show that same enthusiasm as you teach her more.

One way to help keep her interest, is by incorporating many hands-on activities and various learning techniques which CHC already provides in their lesson plans. As you teach her, you will get an idea of what your daughter likes to learn, and how she likes to learns. I will also add that just like any other person, her interest level will change. There will probably be many topics she might want to learn, and many that she will not be very enthusiastic about. Your role as the parent and teacher, is to help her find her interests and what she likes to learn, but also teach what she needs to know to ensure that she receives a well-rounded education that will assist her through adulthood.

I am glad that you are getting a head start on planning the school year. One of the best ways to ensure a successful school year is through careful planning and establishing a routine for you and your daughter to follow.

Thank you and God bless you and your family!

Laura Nicholson