This is a guest post written by homeschooling mama Jazmyne Hunt aka The Maminista! Be sure to check out her site, TheMaminista.com or her Instagram for more homeschooling tips.
The time of year has come. Summer will soon be coming to an end and our little learners are headed back to school or a virtual learning environment. Can you believe it? Here in Memphis, we are going fully virtual. I knew it would eventually happen one day but didn’t expect in my lifetime I guess.
Furthermore, for some parents homeschooling has become the best option and a lot of parents are opting to preschool at home. This new journey may be a little terrifying for some, and then to add the cherry on top, some parents may be homeschooling, not one but multiple children. And if that is the case then my last blog post was written just for the parent who has the task of homeschooling more than one child at a time. So, today I wanted to share with you guys my guide to doing preschool at home.
A lot of times many parents fear that doing preschool at home is not a good idea because of the idea that they are not an educator, nor do they desire to sit and scroll Pinterest searching for lessons to teach your toddler or preschooler in the comfort of your own home.
Well, the good news is….
You do not have to be an educator, nor do you have to scroll through the internet searching for lessons. The majority of lessons are taught to your little ones through play. And you will also be surprised to know that the “homeschool” portion of your day is actually the smallest part of the whole day. For our little ones 5 and under, PLAY is the most important learning tool!
For example: My 3 year old learns more from putting together puzzles or playing a board game for 20 mins than through direct instruction of a concept.
For toddlers and preschoolers, play is their language of learning.
With all of that being said, you need to have a schedule in place or a daily routine. No this doesn’t mean a tight schedule…it just means that a good routine is your road map for the day, you know sort of like a to-do list for each day. And no you don’t have to implement a homeschool schedule every day of the week. I personally like to leave some days free. A lot of times I only plan things for M/W/F and I like to leave the other days open for freedom. Having this outline as a stay at home mom will help you go from Point A to Point B ( and eventually bedtime). Without this daily to-do list, things can quickly become chaotic or aimless. Trust me from experience that having this daily schedule prevents you from having to make up activities as you go. But, let me further clarify that this daily schedule can be the same daily schedule for as long as you would like. A tweak here and there to fit you and your families’ lifestyle. Overall, the point is to not aim for perfection nor to put too much emphasis on every detail. The main goal of homeschooling is to have the flexible schedule that you desire.
Materials needed for doing preschool at home
This list can vary to what you already have and how much your budget is. If you are looking for great resources to begin with, here are my top 5 items:
-Magnetic Tiles
-Large lego blocks
-Dry erase board & markers
-White computer paper
-Markers & Crayons
Last but not least the biggest question of them all…….
Do I need to follow a curriculum?
Remember preschool = play!!!! A structured curriculum can come later in life. Meaning that preschool does not require skill & drill nor worksheets up until about the age of 5. YOU CAN TEACH YOUR PRESCHOOLER THROUGH PLAY!
However you may find it helpful to work off of themes appropriate for your child’s age.
Here is a sample preschool theme outline for 2 -3 year olds.
Week 1: Welcome back to school/Fall Season
Week 2: Farm/ Farm Animals
Week 3: All about me/ Feelings & Emotions
Week 4: Weather/ All Seasons
This is just a small example of a themed outline for planning activities for the week and month. For example week 2 is farm and farm animal themed… for that week the activities throughout the days could include playing a farm themed sensory bin with a toy barn and toy animals, reading a story about the farm, learning to count the farm toys, talking and acting out the different sounds that the farm animals make, and etc. The possibilities are endless. But more importantly, mom and dad keep it simple easy, and fun! Because preschoolers learn through play!
If you ever have any questions about how to structure your learning day at home, or any general daily schedule questions, you can DM me on Instagram (@the_maminista) or leave a note in the comments below.
Happy Homeschooling!
