How to homeschool: Preschool + my top priorities at this age
I’ve now taught four children at the pre school age. Wow, that sentence makes me feel old…and honored to have the chance to cultivate the hearts of these 4 boys.
I want to share some insight I’ve gathered through that experience.
Before I do that, I also want to share a little background info about myself with you. I started babysitting at the age of 12 and I watched countless children in my church. It got to a point where parents were bummed if I was already booked with someone else at church, kinda makes me laugh now because I understand. When I look back, I really think that season of caring for other people’s children showed me what I wanted to do when I had my own children and what I did not want to do. I guess in a way it shaped my values for parenthood long before I was even dating anyone. In that time I was often in the role of a preschool teacher, just on a smaller scale.
Ok, back to preschool years for my boys and the things I prioritized. When Reid and Eli were little, I began to research curriculum, trying to find the right fit to make sure I was “doing things right”, that thought deserves it’s own post. I hemed and hawed and struggled to make a choice, but in the end I chose to do a very loose curriculum and read aloud A LOT.
If I’m honest, it was a season of survival in our family and it was all I could do. In that season of survival, I learned that academics are important, but that a few things were more important for me to focus on. I still taught letters, numbers, scissor skills, pencil grip and the ABC’s, but I knew that connection, the environment of our home and creating space for living were more important than academics and my curriculum choices. The academic part of our homeschool just took up a smaller amount of time in our days than the things listed in my top priorities below.
My top priorities at the preschool age (2-6):
Fostering a love for reading
Creative, open ended play-both inside and outside
Training character
Life skills: this translated to a lot of kitchen time
Cultivating family connection
So, before you spiral and panic like I did, trying to find the perfect curriculum to have a successful homeschool, ask yourself what matters in these little years. Take some time to do a thought download to name what matters and go from there.
Any additional questions or thoughts, leave a comment below.