Homeschooling a Preschooler: Here’s How to Get Started
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We started homeschooling when my oldest son was in Kindergarten and my twin daughters were in pre-school. Since we began our journey, I have had many friends ask me about homeschooling – even when their kids are as young as 1 or 2 years old! I can definitely appreciate their enthusiasm for home education, and encourage them that they will have so many options and opportunities when their kids reach the age for formal education.
We moms have a strong desire to make sure we are giving our kids the best education and experiences possible, and we can start when they are young. The most important thing to remember, if you have a child approaching preschool age that you want to homeschool, is to relax, play a lot, and enjoy your moments – you won’t mess it up!
Is homeschooling your preschooler something you’ve thought about? You might be asking yourself questions like: should I follow a curriculum? Should I not follow a curriculum? Is it necessary to do homeschool preschool?
As our children grow from their toddler years to their preschool and even kindergarten years we need to understand their need for play and for structured learning. The more we interact with our children, the more they practice learning based play.
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Homeschool Preschool: Choosing a Curriculum
Homeschooling preschool is a natural extension of what your young children already want to do.
They want to ask questions about the world around them and are naturally curious about new things. These children want to understand what is happening and they want to be exposed to new experiences and ideas.
A homeschool preschool curriculum provides a little bit of a structure to that curiosity and learning. A curriculum will give you a plan and a list for exposing your children to different activities and interests in life.
For instance, perhaps you live in a place where it never snows, so a preschool curriculum might have a lesson planned where you emulate snow and experiment with the effects of snow on the world around: salt, heat, the freezer, food coloring, or making ice cream out of snow. These are things you might not think to expose your young children to in the normal course of life, so a curriculum would benefit your child.
Homeschool Preschool: No Curriculum
I will say it again and will probably continue to do so another time or two in this article: young children are curious. Do you need a homeschool curriculum to explore topics covered in preschool with your children? Probably not.
Your children ask questions and they explore things that are new and different to them. They will continue to learn through their play as well as interactions with you, other adults, and other children.
If you want your child to start learning how to read, get them letter blocks, teach them the alphabet song, and spend some time helping them to hold a pencil and trace letters.
[Mom-Recommended Educational Apps for Preschool]
If you want your child to start learning math, count things with them, sort objects into piles, add and take away toys, and sing number songs. These free preschool calendar printables would also be a great help!
Taking your children to gardens, the zoo, or children’s museums should be something you are already doing to engage their interest and grow together as a family. Ask questions about the experiences your young children have, and tell them something new and interesting to help them increase their knowledge.
Homeschool preschool doesn’t have to be formal. The fact that your young children are learning is the important thing.
The Importance of Preschool
However you decide to teach your young children, you will technically be doing homeschool preschool. As long as you are encouraging them to grow, play, ask questions, and learn, your children will be learning and preparing for the rest of their life in more formal education.
If you are a lists and schedule person (like me!), a preschool curriculum might be best for you. There are lots of free options out there, or you can create your own curriculum based on what you like best of others’ ideas or what you have compiled on your own.
Take the time to have structured play and learn time with your preschooler so that you can expose them to more of the learning that they will encounter as they get older. Structure and predictability are two things that every child thrives on.
If you are a more free-form play and learning type of person, you may not need a scheduled time each day to sit down with your child and teach them new things. Take your child’s cues and answer their questions, play with them and expose them to new things along the way. It doesn’t have to be regimented every day.
Whatever your approach to preschool, you are going to be doing some homeschool preschool. By engaging your children, playing with them, answering questions, and exposing them to new things, you are furthering their education and preparing them for the next stage of their educational life.
Preschool Learning Picks
I would love to hear from you in the comments: do you have a preschooler you are homeschooling right now? Do you have a favorite curriculum or activity you love?
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- How to Start Homeschooling: What You Need to Know
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