Tips for Homeschooling Your Preschooler

Preschool is a great place to start homeschooling for various reasons. First of all, preschoolers are generally curious and love to learn new things. Additionally, preschool is not mandatory from a legal perspective, so it is a great time to ease into homeschooling and figure out what works for you and your family, before the pressure of record keeping, testing and so on become required.

Here are some tips for homeschooling your preschooler.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #1: Involve your preschooler in your daily life.

Preschoolers, as well as children of all ages, need to be taught in more than academic areas. For preschoolers, everything is a learning experience. Because of that, homeschooling your preschooler can and should be done throughout the day and should not be confined to weekdays only. For example, showing your preschooler how to put away non-breakable groceries on lower shelves teaches sorting and organizational skills. If you involve your preschooler in your every day life, your preschooler will learn a lot even if you don't use a formal homeschool curriculum.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #2: Go to the library as often as possible.

The public library is a great place to supplement your preschool homeschool curriculum. Most libraries have story times, craft times, and perhaps even live music and other forms of educational options that can be enjoyed by your preschooler. Naturally, the public library is also the best place to acquire books free of charge that will greatly enhance your preschool homeschooling curriculum.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #3: Use hands on activities.

Preschoolers are busy little people, and your choice of homeschooling curriculum should reflect the fact that sitting at a desk is not an optimal way for preschoolers to learn. This isn't to say that preschoolers should never sit at a desk, but the majority of the time spent homeschooling your preschooler should be spent doing, rather than sitting.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #4: Provide simple workbooks as part of your preschool homeschool curriculum.

Although as I stated in the point above, preschoolers do best with hands on learning opportunities, workbooks (especially the ones with stickers) are a great way to ease your preschooler into seatwork. They are also useful when it comes to homeschooling children of multiple ages. Simple workbooks can make your preschooler feel less left out when his older siblings are doing seatwork and many preschoolers feel like they are doing "real school" when they sit down with their workbook. Just remember to use workbooks sparingly.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #5: Don't be afraid to use a big vocabulary with your preschooler.

Never talk down to your preschool age children. Preschoolers have a great capacity to learn in many areas, including vocabulary. Speak to your preschooler using the same words as you would with an older child or adult. Your preschooler will likely ask you what a word means if he doesn't understand it.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #6: Invest in museum and zoo memberships.

Most museums and zoos, even the ones geared for older students and adults, often have areas well suited for preschool aged children. When you take your preschool child to a museum, you let someone else plan the lesson, provide the hands on learning opportunities, and clean up the mess. Additionally, you develop a love for museums and the finer things of life in your preschooler.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #7: Don't demand perfection.

Unless your preschooler is acting in defiance, don't make a big deal out of it when he fails to color inside the lines, if her cutting is less than neat, or if he struggles with learning new concepts.

Preschool Homeschooling Tip #8: Have fun!

This is by far the most important tip for homeschooling your preschooler. Preschool homeschooling should be fun, for parent and child alike. Making it fun lays the foundation for positive and enjoyable homeschooling in the future.