It’s Back-to-School season and I know that it may put some of you in panic mode. If this is your first year of teaching home preschool, then I hope this post will be encouraging to you!! I’ve taught preschool at home to my two older boys for 4 years and I just love this age so much! Here are my 10 tips.
1. Set a Schedule
I recommend setting up a schedule for the day. It doesn’t need to be a rigid schedule, but some sort of routine so your preschool will know how the day will go. Here’s what our schedule will be this year:
9:00 – Circle Time (weather, songs, calendar)
9:15 – Read Aloud
9:30 – Literacy Activity
10:00 – Snack & Break
10:30 – Sensory Play
11:00 – Math Activity
11:30 – Lunch and Play Time
1:00 – Quiet Rest Time
And the rest of the day is not very structured and there’s lots of play time!
2. Have LOTS of Play Time
Preschoolers need lots of play time. Learning through play is an awesome way to teach preschoolers.
3. Do Hands-On Activities
I’m a big advocate for hands-on learning activities. Preschoolers don’t need worksheets, they need hands-on learning tasks. They learn best this way!
4. Read, Read, Read!
If you only remember one tip, this is it. READ all the time to your preschooler. Read stories, kid magazines, informational book, and whatever interests your child.
5. Sing & Make Music
I haven’t met a preschooler that doesn’t like music. Sing lots of songs when you’re starting the preschool day, transitioning to new activities, celebrating holidays, or really any time!
6. Follow Their Interests
This is the beauty of homeschooling. You can take time to follow your child’s interests. If they are curious about frogs, then take time to read books about them, make a sensory bin, do crafts, and take a field trip to the pet shop to observe frogs. They will love learning when you follow their interests.
7. Learn From Other Moms
There’s no need to re-invent the wheel. Learn tips and tricks from other preschool moms. I’d love for you to join my preschool moms facebook group to connect with other homeschool moms!
8. Have a Set Area
If possible, try to have a certain area for preschool. We have an office room that we use for our preschool time.
9. Try Homeschool Co-ops
Check into your local homeschool co-op to see if there are opportunities to meet and learn with other homeschool families.
10. Don’t Worry!
Don’t sweat about all the little details about home preschool. I don’t believe you can really mess up preschool. As long as you’re reading, playing, and doing hands-on learning activities you will be good!
If you are in need of some tools to teach preschool, you’ll want to check out this year’s Omnibus.
So what is the Omnibus? It’s a GIANT collection of homeschool resources for the small price of $25. It’s actually a $754 value, but you get it for only $25. Here are the eBooks that I love in this collection:
A to Z Toddler & Preschool Curriculum - This year-long, complete preschool curriculum features a letter of the week and a matching theme.The lessons include ideas for teaching letter skills, numbers, shapes, color, art, music, game time, and snack ideas. Every lesson also includes a simple scripture to memorize and a Bible story. ($10.00 value)
Basic Shapes for Beginners - This guide is a hands-on approach to pre-writing strokes for kids ages 2-5. It is also an excellent resource for those struggling with handwriting or children with special needs. ($6.99 value)
God Said So - God Said So! is a power-packed, 31- day devotional that will help you teach your children ages 5 to 12 important truths from the Word of God. Each day contains: a bite-sized devotional, a scripture to memorize, a practical application, and a prayer. ($3.99 value)
God’s Little Explorers - a 28-week curriculum that’s full of hands-on learning activities with Bible activities. ($17 value)
Hands-On Learning - Hands-On Learning is a collection of the best project tutorials, games, and hands-on learning fun from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers blog, expanded and organized into an easy-to-access, at your finger-tips ebook. Featuring a clickable table of contents for the ultimate ease-of-use, Hands-On Learning is the project packed punch you need to bring your homeschool from weary to wow. ($5.95 value)
Blueprint Homeschooling - A planning resource for homeschool parents of all styles and philosophies. Full of encouragement and humor, this guide teaches how to plan a year that fits your values and goals. ($5.00 value)
Encompass Preschool Curriculum - This 26-week, 4-day per week homeschool curriculum includes morning board activities, group activities, and workbox activities which guide a preschooler through the basic developmental and educational skills expected of a 3 or 4 year old: fine and gross motor skills, music, art, math, Bible, recitation, cooking skills, upper and lower case alphabet, numbers 1-20, basic shapes, basic colors, time to the half-hour, U.S. coins, and more. ($10 value)
Plus my Preschool Alphabet Packet ($4 value) is included in the bundle!
If you were to buy all those eBooks individually, it would cost you $62.93. And these are just a few out of the 77 eBooks!
If you’re ready too make homeschooling easier and find tips and tricks to succeed, then get the Omnibus! You can buy the Omnibus here until August 9th!
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