If you’re planning to homeschool your preschooler you may be asking, “What should I do?” “Where should I start?” There are so many checklists out there for what your child “needs to know” that it can be mind boggling. (Here and here are a couple of lists). As I continue to share here about homeschooling, and specifically home preschool, I wanted to share some questions that may be helpful in determining what and how to teach your preschool child:
- What do you want your child to learn? You’re the parent, so what do you want your child to learn over the coming year? Some things that may be at the top of your list are Bible facts and verses, manners, cooperation, reading, and self help (as in dressing themselves and getting their own needs met). It’s helpful to know that children are born learning so a lot of the academic stuff like colors, shapes, and names of objects will be learned without your explicit teaching. Perhaps surprisingly, as you can read in this article, many kindergarten teachers want students to know how to listen appropriately, follow directions, cooperate with peers, and have some independence over being able to add, subtract, and spell. However, for the homeschooling Christian mom, learning about Jesus is at the top of the list. If your child learns nothing but that Jesus loves them and died for their sins, in my opinion that’s a pretty good start to the homeschool adventure.
- What does your child want to learn and what are his interests? If your child loves animals, capitalize on that and teach her concepts through working with animals. Count how many dogs you see outside on a walk, point out what colors the different fish are at the pet store, teach her to be gentle with animals and let Little Brother have a turn throwing a stick for a dog. Learning doesn’t have to only happen at a specific time you do “school” with your child; especially for a preschooler, school is life! Children are always learning, so take advantage of the day’s events to teach your child.
- How do you learn and how does your child learn? Most people learn better by doing rather than just completing a worksheet, and the same is true for preschoolers. Keep learning fun for your child and it will instill in him a lasting love for learning. Instead of counting pictures on a page, count out actual objects and make it into a game. Instead of looking at a worksheet about emotions, act out the emotions between the two of you. When teaching prepositions have your child crawl under something or stand between something, rather than just showing a picture of it. This will make his understanding of the concepts much more concrete and be more memorable for your child.
Homeschooling during the preschool years is the beginning of a long and amazing journey, so there’s no need to rush into pigeon-holing yourself and your child into a rigid schedule or curriculum that might make your child dislike learning. Take your time, trust that God has your child’s best interest in mind, and have fun! Have fun exploring the world with your children and the academic learning will come. Take advantage of your child’s interests and just learn to love being with your child. They are only small enough to sit on your lap for a while, enjoy it and thank God for it!
Are you or have you done any sort of home preschool with your child? If so, what have you enjoyed and what has been challenging? What are some of the things that you most want your child to learn? If preschool is still in the the future for your little one, are you considering home preschool? What are your top home preschooling questions?
(Post by: Addie)
