Homeschooling your preschooler doesn’t have to be difficult. My son is turning five this September. But he won’t be starting Kindergarten this year. Because he misses the state’s cut off date by 10 days. Though he’s not starting Kindergarten doesn’t mean he cant start learning the basics. I can help him through homeschooling.
At first, I was upset about him missing the cut off by a few days. I didn’t want him to be the oldest kid in his class. But I know it’s probably better that he doesn’t start for another year. The extra year gives him time to mature.
Since I have an extra year with him at home, I can still teach him and try to prepare him for kindergarten. I would like to send him to a Pre-K class. But with school up in the air right now because of the pandemic I thought I could create a homeschool preschool for him.
Since my daughter will be taking part in distance education for at least the first quarter of the school semester it might be easier to homeschool my son as well.
What I want to accomplish with homeschooling preschool
- Recognizing the letter of the alphabet
- How to count to 20
- Practice writing letters and numbers
- Learning some sight words
Of course, if he did learn how to read while he was at home with me that would be a bonus.
How can I teach my preschooler at home?
I plan on using workbooks, printable sheets, games, and apps to teach my little one.
Workbooks
I bought these workbooks for my son earlier this year. And he loves working with them. Often times he will grab a workbook and say he needs to do his school work. The cut and paste workbook is his favorite.
Games
Playing games makes learning easier and teaching more fun! We have a game called Zingo. Zingo is good for teaching your kids sight words. It’s perfect for preschoolers to help them build language and matching skills.
A deck of cards is also a great way to help your little ones learn their numbers. You can play games like go fish which can help them to recognize numbers.
Apps
You can turn screen time into learning time by using apps like Khan Academy Kids and ABC mouse.
Khan Academy Kids is a free app that has a collection of activities, books, videos, and coloring pages. There is also a book reader that allows kids to follow along with recorded audio narration.
ABC Mouse is a subscription-based program for kids age 2-8. If you subscribe you can access the programs from the website or the app. The subjects available are reading and language arts. Also, math, science, health, social studies, music, and art.
Printables
You can find many printable workshets online to help your little one learn. There are many free printable worksheets or ones you have to pay for. You can also make your own sheets at home by using a free program called Canva.
I have some printable sheets that I make for him to use like these ABC coloring sheets.
Preschool Curriculum
I’m not worried about having a curriculum to follow for my son. The main purpose of teaching him preschool at home is to introduce school to him.
If you want a curriculum to follow you can go to the Teachers Pay Teachers website and find one there. If you’re not familiar with the Teacher Pay Teacher website, it is a popular marketplace for original educational resources.
It’s a useful site to go to if you need resources or inspiration to teach you little ones. Educators create these resources, so they know what works to help kids learn.
Also, you can search on Pinterest to find a ton of resources, most of them are free. Check out my homeschool preschool board for inspiration.
The reason why I want to teach my son preschool at home is that I want him to be ahead of the game when he does start Kindergarten next year.
How many hours a day should you homeschool?
Homeschooling your preschooler shouldn’t take hours a day. I only plan on actually teaching my son for about half an hour each day. The rest of the time I will teach him through play. Again I’m not trying to formally teach him. I’m just trying to help him learn basic skills before he starts Kindergarten next year.
The Last Thing You Need To Know For Homeschooling Preschool
Now would be a good time to start homeschooling my preschooler. Because I think he would be more interested in doing school work. Since his sister will also be at home doing distance learning.
I will use workbooks and printable sheets to teach him numbers, letters, and sight words. The rest of the time we will be learning through play by using games and apps.
I hope you found this post on homeschooling your preschooler helpful. How do you plan to teach your little one at home? Let me know in the comments:)
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