how much kindergarten?

And since I just posted about our daily planning ... I was emailed a post link a couple of weeks ago:

how much to do in kindergarten and first grade?

The general consensus from that blog, as well as with people I've spoken to directly, is that kindergarten should be as relaxed as possible. Read to the child, practice handwriting, learn how to count ... and let them play. That's part of why people homeschool in the first place - so their 5-year-old isn't stuck at a desk with workbooks all day.

As a general concept, I agree with this. Sunny, however, is bored with it. Like I already said, she's asking to do math. Actual arithmetic, not just counting games. The read-write-count-play gig is what she's been doing since she was 2 or 3. It's certainly the level Posy is at. After some discussion with AC, we've decided that we'll "do kindergarten" with Sunny for the 10 weeks until we leave on vacation. She already knows how to read and is starting math. The only major hole is her handwriting, so the goal is to have her able to write all of the letters by the time we leave on vacation.

When we get back from our trip, we'll reset our week-count back to 1 and start Sunny on the full first-grade curriculum - literature, history, spelling and grammar, math, science, and more handwriting practice. The whole shebang. If she's ready, why wait? Isn't that also one of the main reasons for homeschooling? So the kid can work at his/her own level and pacing? We'll have a 7 or 8-week "term" in August and September before I break to have the new baby, pick back up at the end of October, and go until Christmas. I already have big plans for December - lots of arts and crafts.

Posy turns 4 in October, and she can start kindergarten (either in August or at the end of October). She's already working on the handwriting with Sunny - she asks every day to learn to "draw" the letters. I just need to get her going on some number games, start teaching her to read with a phonics book (she already knows the alphabet and all their sounds), and voila! The ideal kindergarten. Just at age 4 instead of waiting until she's 5.