Homeschooling Through the Stages

Let’s walk quickly through the stages of your student’s development and consider what he or she actually needs this coming school year. 

Preschool (ages 2-5)

Preschool-aged kids need to explore their world. These kiddos are happy to learn at home with mom & siblings or explore outside on their own. Lots of tactile or hands-on learning is ideal. Offer your child sensory experiences at home such as water and sand play. Household chores like dishes, cooking and gardening can provide wonderful sensory learning activities for your preschooler.

Reading aloud to your child every day from classic picture books will help the language center of her brain develop. Unit studies which combine picture books, hands-on projects and life experiences all focused on a topic of interest to your preschooler are ideal at this age. Example favorite topics may include: seasons and weather, animals, transportation, insects, and dinosaurs.

If you have older children, look for opportunities to include your preschooler in art, science, music or geography lessons at their level. When they get bored or restless, no problem. Have age-appropriate “school toys” available in your school area so your little one can play nearby while you work with older ones. These are fun, but quiet toys that only come out when mom is working with the older siblings, which makes them especially enticing. Be sure to rotate your school toys so they don’t lose their appeal. Playdough is great for this, as it combines a tactile learning experience with a quiet table activity. Kids this age also love helping in the kitchen. Make this playdough recipe together with your student. For more about preschool, I recommend The Homegrown Preschooler.

My preschoolers having fun with sensory play.

Primary (grades K-2, or ages 5-7) 

Primary stage kids are ready to learn phonics & math, and will quickly be reading and writing. Same as preschoolers, these kids should be read to daily and enjoy unit studies, exploring outdoors, and sensory play like their preschool siblings. They can absorb tons of Bible, science and history facts and enjoy related games and projects. While unit studies are still great for this age, you’ll want to add a good English Language Arts and math program with your student’s learning style in mind.

Field trips and enrichment activities are great at this stage. Community helpers themed field trips double as social studies. Visit your local fire station, police station, bakery or grocery story, post office and library. Monthly or bi-monthly park days or art classes are plenty of enrichment for this stage.

My littles at our last Fire Station Field Trip.

Grammar (3rd-6th grade, or ages 8-11)

In the grammar stage, kids are now reading to learn and can begin to do some independent reading in Bible, history & science. They still love facts and can now answer questions about their lessons in written form and draw pictures to illustrate their studies on note-booking pages or in a journal. They should read classical children’s chapter books, and their academics should now include all the language arts: phonetic spelling, writing, grammar & speaking (presenting what they’ve learned). 

These kids can benefit from enrichment classes, and additional help with English Language Arts (classes or tutor) might be helpful at this stage if this is not the parent-teacher’s strength. 

One of my grammar level classics

Dialectic or middle school (7th-9th grade, or ages 12-14)

Dialect level students are going through lots of physical changes and need some grace, however the changes in their brain make them capable of new ways of thinking which can be exciting for you, as their teacher. These kids can recall the facts they learned in the grammar stage and make connections between concepts. 

During this stage, your student needs a strong foundation in math and language arts in preparation for the more complex ways of thinking the high school level demands. Students in the dialectic stage can learn to write a persuasive essay and their language arts curriculum should focus on this as well as literary analysis of classic books. Classical students might also study algebra, logic, Latin grammar and debate during this stage, since these subjects are appropriate for the new way these kids’ brain works since they have gone through puberty. 

These kids are also social and may benefit from co-op classes where they can have some peer competition and different teachers to provide additional accountability for their studies as well as teacher-guided discussions with their peers that can help them develop their thoughts and ideas about science, history, Bible, and literature. 

Your student might resist school work at this stage. I highly recommend outsourcing more challenging courses to other teachers to help you continue in your homeschooling journey. For my own students, I created a reward system where I award participation points during our family read aloud and discussion times that can be turned into cash or prizes at the end of the week. For other home schools, I also offer my services as, what I call, “the mean teacher-lady.” I’m not actually mean, but I can and will meet regularly with your students and ask to see their school work, if you think this service could help you. Most kids won’t say "no" to the teacher-lady, and the pressure of the upcoming meeting should get them working for you.

Rhetoric or high school (10th-12th grade, or ages 15-18)

This stage begins when your pubescent teen emerges from her cocoon and rational thought has returned to her brain. These kids have a more mature brain that can now evaluate and synthesize! They are evaluating all ideas in the world around them and forming their own personal opinions. 

Synthesis of research and personal conviction culminating in persuasive writing and speech is the Language Arts goal at this stage. These kids should also read and analyze great books which not only exposes them to great language, but gives them some good examples of experiments in living they can evaluate and compare with their own values. Teaching high school level literary analysis is my absolute favorite. Check out my current offerings here. 

These kids can also tackle the complex maths & sciences at this stage, and may benefit from co-op classes taught by moms who are passionate about these more advanced subjects, or they could take some of the more challenging courses at a virtual academy or community college. 

Sports, arts, co-ops and youth groups can provide your students with plenty of social opportunities throughout the week and school year. Make sure you leave room in their schedule to develop friendships and life skills, which are both very important at this stage.