Skip to main content

Homeschool Preschool



Sometimes in our modern culture it gets forgotten that preschool children really learn best through play. If you have found yourself unexpectedly homeschooling preschool (or, you’ve been planning to anyway!) here are my best tips.

First, I  would invest in some imaginative toys - play food and pans are usually a big hit (Ikea has good ones) dolls, a toy phone that doesn’t do anything (requires more imagination!). A sand box is great if possible. Play dough. Crayons and paper. Music toys! Play silks! Less is more but having good imagination building toys will really help your child learn to play and discover.

Next, create an environment for learning. Have a gentle, flexible routine that includes read aloud time (with picture books), outside time, rest/nap time, and “helping” with house chores (life skills!) Play music around the house and keep the tv off as much as you can. Go for walks. Point out flowers and birds. Collect pine cones and paint them or turn them into bird feeders. Find a shallow creek to play in and make mud soup in an old bowl.

If you are the primary caregiver, schedule a break for yourself. This can be a Signing Time dvd, Mr. Rogers, etc episode, that gives you 30 minutes to drink a cup of coffee and reply to emails. This - in addition to nap/rest time - needs to be intentionally used for either tasks that need to happen OR things that refresh and recharge you. That means yes, start the dishwasher or read a book in a hot bath, no, do not doomscroll on Twitter feeling agitated about things beyond your control when your child will need you present and engaged in fifteen minutes.

Preschool aged children can be intense to parent but they are learning SO MUCH so fast, so try to enjoy it and be intentional and enjoy the ride!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Favorite YA Books from our Family

I'll never stop loving great older books, but I have to say that I am amazed by the creative, well written, and inventive newer books I'm enjoying now with my kids. Many of these recommendations come from Read Aloud Revival , one of my favorite podcasts/blogs - if you don't already follow Sarah Mackenzie and listen to her podcast , you're missing out! She also has a brand new book out that I cannot wait to get my hands on - The Read Aloud Family  - and I definitely recommend her book Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakeable Peace  as well. I read it last summer and it really was a recharging and refocusing read for me. 1. Edge of Extinction (2 book series) This is a great first dystopia for kids. I read these and loved them and was so excited to hand them to my 9 year old - and I was not disappointed! He devoured them and we had great discussions about the story and characters. Dinosaurs roam the earth again, and you have to move quickly...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dear McDonalds - why aren’t there sound absorbing acoustical panels in the Playplace?!

Hi, McDonalds! Mother of 4 kids aged 4-10 here. Big fan of your southwest salad. And iced coffees. And 20 piece nuggets. Also cheap drive thru cones! We recently took a weekend road trip & we visited two different McDonalds Playplaces. They were a huge hit with the kids, eager to play and full of  excess energy from hours in the car. So... I’m sure you’re not aware, but the sound reverberates hellishly in your children’s Playplace. This is partly because children are loud, but largely because the room is a glass and metal amplifier. I’m going to assume that you don’t intend to torture parents who have just purchased 4 happy meals and want to sip their caramel macchiato in relative peace while their offspring race for the top of the slide. I’m going to assume that your architect somehow dropped the ball and failed to adequately explain to you the value of good acoustic tiles, and how, unlike METAL CEILINGS, they do not bounce sound back at people like a deranged game of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

10 Ways to Happy Up a Houseful of Littles

This is an old never published post I discovered in my drafts - I'm guessing from around 6 or 8 years ago, when all my kiddos were really small. I've polished and edited it and added Amazon Affiliate links. Enjoy! :) Sometimes you just are all having a rough day.  Maybe people aren't feeling well, maybe mama has a headache, maybe it's just a grey drizzly day and little bodies can't go work off energy outside. Generally I can't think of anything when we're all in the middle of the crankies, so here is a list for me (and you, if it's helpful!) of things to try to shake the sads and bring back the smiles for mama and her small fry. 1. Bubble bath!  Break out the rubber duckies and enoy the soothing warm water.  Take some plastic containers for pouring and floating. (Bonus: if your kids really enjoy the water, you can recharge it several times to keep it warm and supervise with a cup of tea and a book!) 2. Snacktime!  A little something for the tum...
Post a Comment
Read more