Toddler toys and puzzles?

[Karen Reck]

I am planning to homeschool my elder son, who is now 4-years-old. As a beginner, I am not sure of the supplies that are needed for this. Can someone here suggest me few puzzles and games that are used in the traditional Montessori system?

[Neighbor]

Not me sorry, but  I will join with others in prayer for you and your endeavor to raise and educate your elder child, if you might desire such prayer from those on this board.

May God bless your effort.

 

[Sower]

1 hour ago, Karen Reck said:

I am planning to homeschool my elder son, who is now 4-years-old. As a beginner, I am not sure of the supplies that are needed for this. Can someone here suggest me few puzzles and games that are used in the traditional Montessori system?

Hello Karen. You have already started on the right path by asking your questions among believers concerned with doing the will of God instead of the secular  government run indoctrination into atheism. You would do well to find a group in your area, your church possibly, of other like minded parents, that are also homeschooling their children. My wife (mostly) and I homes schooled our kids back in the early eighties, all the way through high school, and they now school their kids also. We and other parents formed a local group to meet and discus the different curriculum's available, Bob Jones and Abeka  were popular at the time, and the  Montessori system was a school for gifted (to be?) children, used by the catholic church. Today the internet is overrun with curriculum available.  We also belonged to the Home School Legal Defense League, two hundred dollars annual fee (very well worth it at the time) a nationwide group of Christian lawyers that would come to defend any member when confronted with over zealous local school district/principals. (Home schooling was illegal back then if you didn't use government, public school,  curriculum). We and other parents learned early on to NOT try to copy what the public schools were doing, but to structure your day according to your own needs. My son would have been on medication (Ritalin) if he was in public school, as being a normal boy, he was full of energy. My wife would usually send him outside about ten thirty to run around for thirty minuets to get that energy run off, then back to school work. Their day was tailored to their needs, and not a bureaucrats idea of what OUR kids should do. My son could read before the age of six, as his older sisters enjoyed playing teacher. Do your homework, and ask a lot of questions, and seek your sources from friends and your church with like minded intentions. Even in our church, some criticized us for not allowing our kids to be "socialized" with other kids.  Not knowing, that was the whole idea, allowing us to have the input for our children as their young curious hearts were seeking answers. We allowed our kids as babies and young children to investigate everything they could get their hands on, with very few taboos.   They seemed to gravitate towards the things they could create on their own, from my junk piles, and not so much the store bought educational toys and such. When you chase them out of the house, ( no screen time, thumbs free!) they LEARN to play, actively, create, and how to interact with each other, without electronic stimulus. You don't need authorized  Montessori puzzles and games, to teach. And acknowledge and trust God in your decisions for your children, dedicating them to the Lord.

[Karen Reck]

17 hours ago, Gary Lee said:

Hello Karen. You have already started on the right path by asking your questions among believers concerned with doing the will of God instead of the secular  government run indoctrination into atheism. You would do well to find a group in your area, your church possibly, of other like minded parents, that are also homeschooling their children. My wife (mostly) and I homes schooled our kids back in the early eighties, all the way through high school, and they now school their kids also. We and other parents formed a local group to meet and discus the different curriculum's available, Bob Jones and Abeka  were popular at the time, and the  Montessori system was a school for gifted (to be?) children, used by the catholic church. Today the internet is overrun with curriculum available.  We also belonged to the Home School Legal Defense League, two hundred dollars annual fee (very well worth it at the time) a nationwide group of Christian lawyers that would come to defend any member when confronted with over zealous local school district/principals. (Home schooling was illegal back then if you didn't use government, public school,  curriculum). We and other parents learned early on to NOT try to copy what the public schools were doing, but to structure your day according to your own needs. My son would have been on medication (Ritalin) if he was in public school, as being a normal boy, he was full of energy. My wife would usually send him outside about ten thirty to run around for thirty minuets to get that energy run off, then back to school work. Their day was tailored to their needs, and not a bureaucrats idea of what OUR kids should do. My son could read before the age of six, as his older sisters enjoyed playing teacher. Do your homework, and ask a lot of questions, and seek your sources from friends and your church with like minded intentions. Even in our church, some criticized us for not allowing our kids to be "socialized" with other kids.  Not knowing, that was the whole idea, allowing us to have the input for our children as their young curious hearts were seeking answers. We allowed our kids as babies and young children to investigate everything they could get their hands on, with very few taboos.   They seemed to gravitate towards the things they could create on their own, from my junk piles, and not so much the store bought educational toys and such. When you chase them out of the house, ( no screen time, thumbs free!) they LEARN to play, actively, create, and how to interact with each other, without electronic stimulus. You don't need authorized  Montessori puzzles and games, to teach. And acknowledge and trust God in your decisions for your children, dedicating them to the Lord.

Thank you so much, Gary Lee, for you have spent your valid time to answer my query. I believe, there is simply no better way to educate a child. I could find that in a recent comparison of SAT scores, homeschooled children averaged 568 on the verbal test and 525 on math; the national average was 506 on the verbal and 514 on math. This shows that homeschooled children perform better on standardized tests. Moreover, who can be more dedicated to helping a child learn successfully than that child's parent? They dedicate their lives to help their children successfully grow to maturity. One factor that is known to be extremely important to educate a child effectively is the teacher-to-student ratio and homeschooling is done largely on a one-on-one basis: there can't be a better teacher-to-student ratio than that. Through homeschooling, a child's education can be tailored to his/her capabilities and personalities. Their education in a particular area can be accelerated, if they excel in that particular area, or if they struggle in a particular area, additional resources can be brought to bear to help. Also, the way children are taught can be based on how the child best learns because of the child's personality. I still don't know why many of them out there still oppose the idea of homeschooling besides all these positives. I asked for your suggestion regarding Montessori games and puzzles since I want her to concentrate on practical life also, which will help her to gain real-life skills needed to master her environment, whether that is dressing, cleaning or learning skills. I think I have found a couple of stores online which can fulfil my needs. I will consider it discussing in my church group for more opinions. Thank you once again.

[Neighbor]

On 8/7/2017 at 7:27 AM, Karen Reck said:

I am planning to homeschool my elder son, who is now 4-years-old. As a beginner, I am not sure of the supplies that are needed for this. Can someone here suggest me few puzzles and games that are used in the traditional Montessori system?

Hi again,while I can't suggest puzzles etc. and will be in prayer for your endeavor to be of great benefit to your child and to you, I do have some exposure to home schooling, private Christian schooling and public schools as well.

I have seen failure at the home schooling effort within my own family. Three now adults have no education and they struggle in life because they were home schooled by  a parent who thought she could do it, but was not at all suited to the task. One on one is as good as the teacher/parent- and as bad! I have been around mixed success with two home schooling groups at church. They can't seem to agree on much and so they  are two separate groups. The kids, well they are a bit odd thinking themselves adult and in general lacking the deferring respect for adults that kids  benefit by having. That is a generalization. I know one boy that was taught by his parents ( plural) without support of  a group at all, and he is now an outstanding young man  of his community and church!

My family members started a Private Christian school grades Pre K through 12 20 years ago. It now has 320 students a year, and one of it's graduates has gone on to become the school administrator. The kids do well in college entry and also  in graduation rates. That school is independent of any church is conservative in it's policies. It has managed to avoid being trendy and going this way and that way over the years. it holds to strict standards for the children in all aspects of their lives.

 I have worked for another Christian School for 14 years, the  "programs" and methods have changed there over the years hampering it some, but it too has 300 students grades K-12. That school has been in operation 37 years.It too benefits now from former students that now are college graduate employees serving their Lord jesus at the school they grew up within.

I suspect you will find ALL private Christian schools, out of financial necessity,  now accept  funds from various government  grants and programs. That is an unfortunate and in my opinion very risky proposition, as government does have it's nose under the tent of private schooling as result.

Plus, private schools now have their eye on foreign students, especially from China, for the revenue needed to fund the rest of the student body that cannot pay full tuition. I know one Christian school that has 40 such foreign students and those 40 with their tuition cover the total payroll of the school!

For many decades the two schools I have been associated wth  refused any government funding opportunity. Now it is not possible to continue without  it. There just isn't the private tuition support alone available  to cover the high cost of education.

And the public schools, hey they have some excellent schools as well as bad.  Locally we have  charter schools in the system some are really great.

Kids are going to be exposed to the world! They are going to be challenged in their faith too. So it is best to educate them to that fact early on, show them faith and show them  that the world does not embrace faith in Christ Jesus too. Teach them how to defend the faith in  our Lord Jesus, and they will do well for they will be well armored.

My own grandchild goes to public school a good one too. There are programs in those public schools that no private school can afford to engage in. There is also the downside, that  God is not in the school system-but Godly teachers still are! It is a matter of parental support what happens with a child. Ther eis no magic system that will work without great determined effort by  parents. And it is  a world where education good education is necessary  in order ot get a great start in adult life.

With helicopter parenting, and organized out of necessity "aftercare" programs kids do have it rather tough. One of the very worst aftercare programs is run  by the YMCA  in the public schools in our area. Those session are a course in survival of the fittest, just terribly hard on the kids in my opinion. So churchy sounding names  are not a seal of good stewardship over the young. It can be just a business and be poorly run.

You are about to run the gauntlet, lots of paddles and pitfalls to avoid, may God guide you and may your stamina hold through the long process of educating a child.

As to kids being drugged with Ridlin, that is another industry altogether, one I first  learned about as a landlord when my tenants started having their kids declared to be problem children so that they could get the government money each month for their child's need. They said, it pays the rent! There are good non invasive methods of helping children develop cognitive thinking skills and behaviors. It does not require drugging a child into submission to adults. Part of it does require limiting computer games that teach fight or flight skill without reasoning  being developed, and also watching carefully dietary habits and excesses.

May God bless as you do your diligence in preparation for your child.

 

Edited August 9, 2017 by Neighbor

[Neighbor]

On 8/8/2017 at 3:16 AM, Karen Reck said:

Thank you so much, Gary Lee, for you have spent your valid time to answer my query. I believe, there is simply no better way to educate a child. I could find that in a recent comparison of SAT scores, homeschooled children averaged 568 on the verbal test and 525 on math; the national average was 506 on the verbal and 514 on math. This shows that homeschooled children perform better on standardized tests. Moreover, who can be more dedicated to helping a child learn successfully than that child's parent? They dedicate their lives to help their children successfully grow to maturity. One factor that is known to be extremely important to educate a child effectively is the teacher-to-student ratio and homeschooling is done largely on a one-on-one basis: there can't be a better teacher-to-student ratio than that. Through homeschooling, a child's education can be tailored to his/her capabilities and personalities. Their education in a particular area can be accelerated, if they excel in that particular area, or if they struggle in a particular area, additional resources can be brought to bear to help. Also, the way children are taught can be based on how the child best learns because of the child's personality. I still don't know why many of them out there still oppose the idea of homeschooling besides all these positives. I asked for your suggestion regarding Montessori games and puzzles since I want her to concentrate on practical life also, which will help her to gain real-life skills needed to master her environment, whether that is dressing, cleaning or learning skills. I think I have found a couple of stores online which can fulfil my needs. I will consider it discussing in my church group for more opinions. Thank you once again.

Here is a thought: a combined SAT score of 1093 will not be all that much  of an accomplishment, and it may not meet the mark, failing to hit  the 25-75 percentile for most universities.  While it may be  a bit higher than the average of all public school students, it doesn't mean much if it is a failing standard accomplishment  born of home schooling.  

If the goal is also to reach college a parent had better learn what the universities are going to accept into their schools. Will they accept home schooling or will they reject the home schooled- better find out before high school age approaches your own young if they may want to  go to college.

Locally Homeschoolers must get testing every two years. Some private schools provide the testing. In general the home schooled  are a grade level or two grade levels  behind the private school students. It is hard for one teacher to do at the level what two three or four specialist teachers and administrators/counselors can do for a child. Some private and some public school programs monitor teacher results along with student accomplishment weekly, that's every week. If a student  is falling behind they are spotted  in a week and corrective measures  are started for that student. Can a home schooler get the same? I suggest it isn't an easy  process for the home schooling parent.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Neighbor