Preschool Curriculum for Homeschool

Some preschool students are taught at home.

Establishing a home-schooling curriculum for preschoolers is sometimes difficult because parents try to find a balance between work and play. David Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts University, wrote an article titled "Much Too Early!" in which he describes how some common educational practices are not appropriate for preschoolers, and how they benefit more from other approaches, such as hands on-activities.

Literature

Learning to enjoy literature enhances learning.

Parents enhance their children's literary skills by reading or telling stories out loud to them. There need not be an assessment at the end; the stories need only be told for enjoyment. Children can look at picture books on their own, or begin to read them if they are up to that level. Going to the library to select books or for library activities also enhances literary skills. Furthermore, parents may buy reference books and CD-ROMs so their children can look up answers to their own questions.

Science

Children can go on walks with their parents to explore plants, animals, birds, bugs and so forth. They can bring along a magnifying glass to better see all of the creatures outside. Parents may also discuss the appearance of both the moon and sun with children to teach them about the cycles of the day, month and year. Children may make observations about the changes of the season with their parents' guidance.

Art and Music

Music and art provide many opportunities for hands-on learning.

Parents may introduce their children to a variety of songs and dance steps that accompany these songs. Children may also begin marching to a beat or playing a musical instrument with instruction. Children may experiment with paints, paper, markers, crayons, chalk and easel boards to create their own pieces of art. More involved art projects include making play dough, building a bird feeder, planting seeds for a garden or cutting, pasting and coloring their own scarecrows.

Field Trips

Parents can check the area to see whether there are any home-schooling support groups. Members of the group may get together to plan trips to parks, museums, national monuments or other points of interest. These field trips can also turn into exercise or physical education activities. Children also exercise and learn about their bodies on trips to the pool, playground, skating rink and so forth. If the area has sports teams for small children, they may join them as well.

History and Math

Parents teach children history and math through many of the aforementioned activities. By reading stories about important historical figures, children learn about the past. Visiting national monuments and other sites will give children a hands-on experience of the culture and the world around them. Discussing science and the number of months in a season or the number of times a full moon appears in a month develops their concept of numbers. Playing an instrument or learning to count beats in music is intrinsically related to math as well.

References

• BestHomeschooling.org: A Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten
• BestHomeschooling.org: Much Too Early!