How to Homeschool a Preschooler

Today, children enter Kindergarten already knowing the skills that children a few generations ago expected to learn in Kindergarten. If your child doesn't attend preschool, you will need to be sure he or she learns those skills at home. More and more parents are becoming concerned about actually homeschooling their preschool age children instead of letting them play until they are five or six years old so that they do not start their school careers already a step behind. Luckily, homeschooling preschoolers is not very hard or scary and almost any parent can successfully get a child ready for Kindergarten.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Crayons
• Scissors
• Paper
• Glue
• Picture books
• ABC/123 magnets or other manipulatives

1. Make reading to your child and reading in front of your child a part of your daily routine. Bedtime stories are great, but you can also read the cereal box or the toy ads. Learning that reading is part of every day is an important step in reading readiness.

2. Use manipulatives to help your preschooler become familiar with letters and numbers. Take alphabet practice on the road by looking for a specific letter on signs and by singing alphabet songs as you drive.

3. Do simple crafts that involve coloring, cutting and pasting. Try to find crafts that involve other skills, too. For example, creating a dog shape out of several blue squares allows your child to practice colors and shapes while completing the craft.

4. Shop for a preschool readiness workbook for your child. Help your preschooler complete several workbook pages a day, emphasizing the importance of following directions. Don't forget to explain the concept first. For example, telling a child to circle all of the squares on a page without spending a bit of time looking at squares and talking about what they are will lead to confusion and frustration.

Tips & Warnings

• Break skills into little steps.
• Look for ways to incorporate learning into your environment.
• To add the socialization element that preschools provide, sign your child up for storytimes at your local library.
• Have fun. There is time enough for serious learning when your preschooler attends traditional school.
• If your child gets frustrated, you may be trying to squeeze too much learning into the day. Preschoolers take snack breaks, play breaks and naps in between doing structured learning.

Resources

• Free Preschool Printables
• Early Childhood Education Printables

[vdeneen]

on 7/27/2008 This is a fantastic resource. Homeschooling a preschooler can be a lot of fun and very rewarding. Thanks for sharing this!