Today is day 22 homeschooling preschoolers of the 31 Day Free Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.
You’re tough, you’re tough! You have hung in there with me on this series and this is the official 10 day countdown.
Before I started homeschooling I had read an article where it said that the major portion of an individual’s personality is well established before school.
Suddenly, my ideas of homeschool preschool learning changed because I realized that those years would form the very attitudes and patterns that would be lasting. WHOA!
And I had thought preschool was all about coloring and ABC’s.
Certainly, homeschooling preschoolers is so important because it’s the very foundation of all future learning.
Homeschooling Preschoolers
I knew that if I didn’t find a balance between easy going and exacting that anxiety, doubt, worry and fear would drive me to the public school. Guess what? It did.
Doubt turned to fear, fear turned to feelings of failure and feeling he was already behind in kindergarten, I sent him to public school for part of that year.
Let me tell you the rest of this story by telling what I did and did not do before I sent him to Kindergarten.
I did
- teach him how to write and read by Kindergarten.
- play, do crafts and learn music.
- keep the roads hot and heavy by traveling to all kinds of field trips and museums.
- sing nursery rhymes to him.
- read from beautiful books and cuddle every day.
I did not
- know, let alone worry about standards because I was blissfully ignorant about any kind of standard.
- use a formal curriculum program. Brighter Vision Learning Adventures is a box that came each month to my home with a bright colored workbook, a craft, a book and music. Mr. Senior 2013 loved it and I loved it too. It no longer is in business.
- worry about socialization because we had music classes and gymnastics.
- stop worrying about what is coming up in the next grade and this led to me sending him back to public school.
Looking back now and after the first few days of public school Kindergarten, I realized that he was way advanced.
Tips for Homeschooling Preschoolers
It’s true that children are hardy, I just wished that I would have aimed for soaking up cherished moments.
I didn’t know Kindergarten was about learning to read and write. I put extreme pressure on Mr. Senior 2013 to perform.
What I have learned is that preschool is just that!! PRE- means BEFORE school.
That is the time to focus on “readiness” skills. That is NOT the time that our children learn to hold a pencil grip correctly, but that is the time to train them to hold it correctly.
This is NOT done by holding a pencil, but by playing games, being outside and doing crafts that help them learn fine motor skills.
Children are capable of so much more during these years than we sometimes give them credit for.
Burnout out looms in Kindergarten or first grade because “formal school” started way too earlier.
You have to let go of the feeling that your child will be behind because you spent the day doing crafts, playing and reading and that surely there should be something more “serious” that you should be doing.
It is not easy to combat the thinking of the education world that early teaching has to be formal. Children learn by play.
There is a reason we learned all those fun nursery rhymes and that is because memorization and hearing word patterns is a skill set need for reading.
How to Homeschool Preschoolers
Mustering up the courage to take my son back out of school during his Kindergarten year was not easy, but I had learned a VERY valuable lesson.
No longer would I question what I done even in my ignorance.
The struggle empowered me to put faith back into the naturalness of homeschooling. I know not everyone homeschools for faith based reasons and I respect that in my workshops.
For me though it is the very core of my homeschooling.
Parents have been given the responsibility of educating our children and viewing it as the next extension of parenting helps you to meet the challenge.
During their toddler years and preschool years I have rocked, talked and cuddled and read to my sons and it has given them an excellent start to their formal education. Homeschooling with preschoolers is not for the faint hearted, but home is for the brave.
Will you meet the challenge?
Have you missed any of the previous post on this series?
New to Homeschooling Start with the Basics
1 – 7 Start with the Homeschool Basics
- 1 Learn The Lingo (& free glossary)
- 2: Homeschool Roots Matter
- 3 What is NOT Homeschooling
- 4: Confronting Relatives & Naysayers
- 5: The Wheels on the Bus Go ‘Round & ‘Round
- 6: Homeschool Hangouts & Socialization Situations
- 7: Tied Up with Homeschool Testing?
8-14 Homeschool Organization 101 for Beginners
- 8: Organize Your Home – Then School
- 9: Carpe Diem: Homeschool Schedule by The Day, Month, & Year
- 10 Grocery Shopping Cooking Laundry
- 11: Swoonworthy Learning Spaces & Homeschool Rooms
- 12: Creative Storage Solutions for Homeschool
- 13. Streamlined Record Keeping
- 14 Homeschool Supplies List
15 – 21 Best tips for New Homeschoolers Choosing Curriculum
- 15: Discovering Learning Styles
- 16: Practical Tips for Learning Styles
- 17: How to Choose a Homeschool Curriculum
- 18 Teaching Young Children – Elementary Homeschool
- 19: Guiding Homeschool Teens
- 20: Homeschool Lesson Planning
- 21 Time Tested Tips For Homeschool
22- 28 Homeschool Preschoolers, Highschoolers, and Unique Learners
In addition look at these other resources for homeschooling preschoolers.
Other Homeschooling Preschoolers Resources
- A Unique Flexible and Beautiful Preschool Homeschool Planner
- How to Teach Homeschool Preschool From the Inside Out (And Preschool Skills)
- Homeschool Organization – Preschool/Kindergarten Free Morning Routine Flip Cards
Finally, look at some of these curriculum resources.
Curriculum For Homeschooling Preschool
12 Homeschooling Preschoolers Resources, Activities, and Curriculum
There is no doubt play-based learning is hands down the best way for preschoolers to learn.
You'll love some of these resources which can help you both teach and schedule if you want to do a bit more formal teaching.
n Mommy, Teach Me author Barbara Curtis, a mother of twelve, shares secrets on how to turn everyday experiences into learning opportunities for preschool children.
Designed to be used with children ages 2 through 4, Before Five in a Row is a rich treasury of creative ideas that help you gently, consistently prepare your children for the lifelong adventure of learning.
Preschool Course Book, Preschool Folder Activities, Preschool Practice Sheets, Access to Learning Songs and Videos
Encourage a love for learning as you engage your child in active, hands-on learning with this BJU Press Homeschool Pathways for Preschool Activity Packet!
With the fun, engaging Horizons Preschool Curriculum Set, preschoolers are introduced to social studies, language arts, math, phonics, and science.
A bit more pricey but they provide themed kits each month.
We have loved every subscription box we did in the preschool years.
It’s time to change the way we see toddlers. Using the principles developed by the educator Dr. Maria Montessori, Simone Davies shows how to turn life with a “terrible two” into a mutually rich and rewarding time of curiosity, learning, respect, and discovery.
Blossom & Root Early Years was designed to provide parents with a preschool (Vol. 1) or Pre-K (Vol. 2) curriculum that focuses on the development of the whole child. Each of the 36 weeks of lesson plans
This newest addition to the best-selling GIANT Encyclopedia series expands the scope of the series by offering complete lesson plans. Written and created by teachers, The GIANT Encyclopedia of Lesson Plans has more than 250 complete lesson plans, covering topics from colors and numbers to seasons and nursery rhymes.
Since children don't come with directions, a retired kindergarten teacher with over 25 years of experience wrote this how-to manual which bridges the gap between home & school. It is a money-saving preschool resource which informs parents & caregivers as to what they could & should be doing to teach basic readiness skills that are necessary for a child to achieve success in school.
Looking for a homeschool preschool curriculum for your child? Meet Playing Preschool Year 1: a new way to preschool at home. This is a 190 day program of hands-on, play-based learning. Themed units anchor the learning as children explore math, reading, science, art activities, and much more!
This post has been just what I needed to read. I am about to start preschool with a just-turned-.3-year-old and pre-preschool with a 1.5 year old and I generally just try to focus on enjoying ourselves and trying new things, but sometimes I worry that we’re not doing enough. Thanks for the advice – I will try to worry less and hug and read more! And the curriculum would be amazing!
I do not have a website, but I do have a website, but I do have a four year old. My husband and I adopted Tyler when he was a day old, we are older (grandparents) but when friends could not take Tyler we jumped at the chance even though he could be drug addicted. Well turns out he is not, and now at 4 reads at 2nd grade level does math, builds anything, collects bugs knows the names of them all, the states the planets, etc. I definitely want to homeschool him, but anxious about how to go about it. I love this site, it is such a help, but am I to old for this, does he need more?
Sorry I messed up on the website thing, I do not have a website. Do not know yet how to set one up or do I need one?
Joanne,
You did not mess up anything! Do not worry about any of that here. Techie and not techie people alike are welcomed here. You are doing fine. My suggestion is KEEP reading to him and doing hands-on.
When you’re exhausted because of his appetite for learning, take him to the library for reading aloud and see if there are some homeschool co-ops in your area so he mingles with other kids and can bounce some of his ideas of their working creative brains..lol
Hang in there, you’ll do fine. You may not be young, but girlfriend you have experience and LOVE!
Hugs
The Encompass Preschool Book is precious! We are homeschooling our 6 year old, 4 year old, and 2 year old boys, and this gem looks so helpful! This will be our second year of homeschooling, and, while I feel like I have a handle on what to do with my new first grader, my two littles are along for the ride. I’d like to be able to focus on my four and two year old guys, and the Encompass Preschool Curriculum looks to fulfill my needs!