A few weeks ago at the library, another mother saw me doing an art project with my daughter, who is almost three years old. I was startled when the woman asked me, "Do you homeschool?"
Until that point, I had heard several people ask if I planned to homeschool. I had never heard anyone ask if I was actively homeschooling. Until the typical preschool years-- 3-5 years of age-- the majority of children are neither homeschooled nor conventionally schooled. They simply learn through daily experiences at home or daycare. A flexible homeschool curriculum can give your preschool-age child the same educational benefits she's had during her toddler years.
Here are a few tips that have helped me to successfully homeschool my own preschooler.
1. Don't push too hard. When I was looking at curriculum options for my almost-three-year-old I was shocked by the number of early-childhood books available. There's Pre-Pre-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten and more. I couldn't help but feel unsettled by this. Kindergarten used to be an optional precursor to "real" school. Now children are often in "real" school before age 3. Although I do homeschool my preschooler, I don't detract from the amount of time that she needs to spend simply being a kid. Don't force your preschooler to grow up too fast. She's got plenty of time to master reading and mathematics later in her education.
2. Keep it fun. For me, a huge part of the reason for homeschooling is to make my daughter's education as flexible and fun as possible. Particularly during the preschool years, your child needs to be able to enjoy learning. If you resort to the sit-down-and-shut-up technique that dominates mainstream American high schools, you will lose your preschooler's interest quickly and may cause her to detest learning. Modify your curriculum to fit your preschooler's interests and stop teaching as soon as he stops listening. Right now, it's best to teach him when he can't even differentiate between learning and fun.
3. Tailor it to his developmental level. My daughter has always been verbally gifted but physically delayed. She had an easy time learning to identify letters and read short words, but she still struggles to use scissors or draw simple lines and shapes. In a situation like this, it's great to emphasize your child's strong points while also making an effort to overcome her weaknesses. Because it suits her interests, we spend a lot of time reading and not much time writing. But I do make a point of encouraging her to write or cut at least once per day. Ideally, preschool-homeschooling parents should choose a curriculum that appropriately challenges strong-points without over-challenging weak points.
4. Integrate different lessons. In a conventional preschool setting, learning topics are carefully differentiated. A child learns colors in one lesson, manners in another, and letters in still another separate lesson. When you homeschool your preschool, make learning a constant part of his everyday experience. Discuss the origins of the foods on his dinner-plate. Sing the ABCs while you cook a meal together. Learn about colors during a trip to the playground. When you are your child's teacher, learning happens constantly.
5. Take care of yourself. I'm a single mom, I work from home, and my preschooler has special needs. As a homeschooling parent, it would be very easy for me to drown in my own responsibilities, but I force myself to allow a little recreation time into my schedule. If you are homeschooling your preschooler, be sure to give yourself some free time-- especially if you are single or have multiple children. You can't successfully educate your toddler if you don't take care of yourself.
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