Kindergarten is optional. 
Not even the state of Texas requires kindergarten. 

Ruth Beechick wrote that the 12 years of schooling are a random division of data that the powers that be decided should be taught to everyone.  The choice of subject is random; when a student should study a subject is random; how often the subject should be studied, random; what is included under that subject heading, random. 

She also wrote that around the age of 11, (it could be d be 9 or 10 or 8 or 13) most kids are developmentally capable of understanding most of the concepts that they "need" to understand. (I have to put "need" in parentheses since it took me longer on some concepts than school allowed.) 

She wrote that if you wait on academics until around 11 or 12 years of age, grades K-8 can be covered in 2 years.  Grades 9-12 can be covered in another two years.  When a child is pushed to do something they are not developmentally prepared for, they can get frustrated and phobic.  Some kids are diagnosed with reading disorders who, left to "get" the decoding of reading in their own time (even as late as 11 or 12 years old), wouldn't have that problem. 

You have decided to avoid placing your child in an institutional setting. 
Take advantage! Enjoy your children (for they grow up before you know it). 

Play with them. 
Read to them. 
Explore. 
Take walks. 
Look at the stars. 
Hunt for bugs. 
Listen to music--Raffi, Joe Scruggs, Joe McDermott. 
Tell stories and listen to theirs (and record them).
Take trips:
  Visit farms
  Nature centers
  Botanical gardens
  Children's Museums (where you live and then in any town to which you travel)
  Aquariums 
  Art museums 
  Libraries 

Camp. 
Bake. 
Cook. 
Bike. 
Hike. 
Swim. 
Travel--day trips and further. 
Play in the rain. 
Watch a thunderstorm through the window as you sit cosily inside.
Build a fort (use old sheets or cardboard or wood). 
Plant tomatoes, basil, watermelon, marigolds. 
Plant a butterfly garden. 
Hang a birdfeeder and spend the afternoon identifying the birds.
Cut and paste
  paper
  fabric
  sticks
  yarn
  leaves 
Paint 
  paper
  fabric
  rocks
  wood 
Fingerpaint with shaving cream on the kitchen table (mix in food coloring if you want). 
Make playdough. 

Go.
  Go grocery shopping--have them help you find familiar foods or match the coupon with the food.
  Go to the library. 
  Go to parks. 
  Go fishing. 
  Go to Homeschooling Park Days.

Have your child save money for a special item (Lego blocks, models, bike, game, their favorite restaurant, movie, shoes...) and help them record their savings in a small ledger. 

Draw with sidewalk chalk. 
Play in the hose. 
Color--outside the box. 

Write for them [write their stories, their experiences (journaling), their poems, their songs, their thoughts]---take dictation... or get a recorder if you don't have time. 

If you are passionate about something, share that with your kids. 

Keep available:
  blank paper
  crayons
  washable markers
  pencils
  glue
  scissors
  If you want, add 
    paint
    construction paper
  Blocks
  Balls
  Dolls
  Measuring cups and spoons for
    water
    sand
    flour play
  Magnets
  A scale
  Books
  Books
  Books

A couple of good books for parents to read:
Your Five-Year-Old Sunny & Serene by Louise Bates Ames & Frances L. Ilg.
The Mother's Almanac by Marguerite Kelly & Elia Parsons

Listen to your kids. 
Hug them. 
Let them know they can expect the listening and the hugs every day of your life. 

by Betsy
Homeschooling mother of three children who are now homeschool graduates.