Six Keys for Successful Home Preschool

Home preschool is a wonderful opportunity to teach your child, have fun together, and prepare your preschooler for kindergarten. These six tips will help make your homeschooling experience meaningful, educational, and fun for your preschooler.

Advantages of Homeschooling for Preschool

I’m that mom who cries the night before my child’s first day of kindergarten. And again the next morning when I wake up. And again when I leave my child at school. And again…

I am always excited for the kids to have the new fun and adventures of school, but I really, truly miss them when they are away all day. I can never believe how fast they grow up. For me, the years before public school are precious and fleeting. So it is no surprise that I choose to home-preschool.

However, there are many advantages to keeping your child home for preschool. A few of these benefits include the ability to cater to your child’s individual needs (this is every school teacher’s dream!), spend time together, and engage in a variety of activities that require flexibility such as field trips.

Choosing to homeschool for preschool doesn’t determine what you do for kindergarten. Homeschooling your preschooler allows your family to try-out homeschooling and see how it works for you and your family.

Additionally, I hear a lot of families express concern because they cannot afford to send their child to preschool. However, you can teach amazing lessons and have an incredible time together on a very small budget.

If you need more convincing, this post has more advantages to home preschool.

What about the Social Skills of Preschool?

I believe kids need sociality. They need to practice sharing, learn how to listen, and experience the difficulty of not always getting your way. More importantly, we are social beings and friends can be an enormous source of joy.

There are countless ways to help your preschooler develop social skills while homeschooling.

• Invite other families to join you for home preschool. You can take turns teaching in your various homes.
• Organize or join a playgroup.
• Attend story time at your local library.
• Go to the park and encourage your preschooler to play with others.
• Have a friend over for a playdate.
• Remember that interactions in the family between parents and siblings are probably the best avenue for learning and practicing social skills.

Whether you are doing preschool with a group of moms or it’s just you and your Little (we have done both with success), there are several factors that will make your home preschool experience a meaningful, educational, and fun one for your preschooler.

Six Keys for Successful Home Preschool

1.  Plan a Consistent Time for Home Preschool

• Don’t fall into the, “We’ll do it later” trap. Pick a time and stick to it. Make it a scheduled event just like soccer or violin lessons.  Decide if you want to do it once or twice a week and for how long.
• For example, I have found that the time that works best for us is Monday during Little #4’s morning nap.

2.  Plan a Back-Up Time

• Your Little might be invited to the social gathering of the year during one of your scheduled preschool days. Maybe there’s a fun event at the library. Don’t miss out on either! Schedule for that joy of flexibility by having a back-up time for home preschool during the week. (This is why our scheduled time is early in the week. Back-up day is Wednesday.)

3.  Make it Different

• Although you are doing fun and educational activities with your Littles all week, make preschool time something different. Give it a name like Home-Preschool or Mommy and Me Preschool.  Talk about it like it’s an event.  It is a joy when someone asks your Little, “Do you go to preschool?” and she responds, “Yes!  Mommy is my teacher!”
• Put on your teacher voice. Act like a teacher in a classroom. Teach your Littles to raise hands, sit nicely in a circle, and follow directions in a flow of activities. This is part of teaching social manners in general and preparing your Little for kindergarten in specific. Plus, it is fun for your Littles to feel like they’re at school too!

4.  Plan a Variety of Activities with Structure

• One of the benefits of preschool is that your Little can begin to follow directions and learn how to stay on task.  Flowing from one activity to another during home preschool will prepare your Little for the routines of kindergarten.  Additionally, a variety of activities is necessary for learning, attention span, and fun.
• Both in home preschool and out, be sure to include the five daily habits that prepare your child to read. These include talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing.
• I am sharing TONS of free lesson plans that incorporate these five habits and a lot of variety if you want to use them. They include skills in reading, writing, math, music, art, science, and more.
• Remember life lessons. Brainstorm what life lessons your preschooler needs, such as learning to share or practicing patience. Incorporate these into your lesson plans.
• Plan according to your preschooler’s needs.

5. Be Flexible

• Another joy of home preschool is that your child can set the pace for learning and activities. If your Little has a lot of good questions, take the time to explore them.
• Alternately, if an activity is not peeking interest or meeting its purpose, cut it short.
• When a good idea hits spontaneously, go with it.

6.  Make Preschool at Home Fun

• The years before your Little leaves for school are the foundation of how your child will feel about school when it’s time to begin. Foster a love and enthusiasm for learning by making your preschool time something that you both look forward to. This is accomplished through the kinds of activities you plan, the way you talk, and your own attitude.
• Learning at this age should be in different forms of play, both structured and not.
• Keep your expectations simple for each task. We’re not sending them off to college quite yet!
• Remember the purpose for this time is to have fun together learning academic and life skills. Above all, we want our Littles to feel our love.

A while ago, someone asked Little #3 what his favorite thing about the week was. We done a lot of fun things that week, and I was interested to see what he would choose. I was surprised and gratified when he said his favorite thing was Preschool Time with Mommy.

These really are joyful times together learning and having fun. I hope these six keys will lay a foundation for your own successful home preschool.

What other tips do you have for making home preschool meaningful, educational, and fun? Please share in the comments.

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