Is your Mama gut telling you to keep your 3 to 5 year old home despite external pressure from friends and family to enroll them in a traditional preschool program? I’ve been there.
My oldest attended a 2.5 hour preschool twice a week, but the rest of my children have been schooled fully at home. Today I hope to give you the confidence you need to know that you are the best teacher your preschooler could ever have.
Save the 800 bucks you would have spent on preschool tuition and enjoy these precious fleeting years. Homeschooling preschool can be a blast when you keep it simple and savor the sweetness. In this post, I have the full scoop on how to homeschool preschool and actually enjoy it.
Is it OK to homeschool preschool?
Homeschooling preschool is an excellent option for many families. If you are a loving, intentional parent, you are overqualified to teach your little one. You do not need a Master’s Degree in Education to give your child high quality instruction in the little years. Your intimate knowledge of your child’s specific needs puts you at an advantage to gift them a better preschool experience than they could get anywhere else.
Free Preschool Printables
(Daily routine for preschoolers)
I have created a file of 5 free printables to help you get started homeschooling your little one. This is the sanity saving mom resource I needed years ago when I started teaching my firstborn at home. This package includes:
- Visual Daily Homeschool Preschool Schedule
- Blank Preschool Homeschool Loop Schedule
- Preschool Daily Subjects and Loop Schedule (with suggested subjects)
- Preschool Book List (with 50 books to read your little one in the preschool years)
- Visual Screen Free Activities for Preschoolers Chart
Sign up for my email to grab these free printables here:
How To Do Preschool Over Breakfast
In our home, learning begins at the breakfast table as we read through a short stack of books. This usually includes a bible memory passage, a chapter of the regular bible or from a children’s bible, some nursery rhymes and children’s poetry, and a picture book or chapter book read aloud. After the kid’s minds are filled with lovely things to chew on throughout their day, they feel connected with Mama, intellectually stimulated, and ready to go play independently.
Here are some special resources my preschoolers have particularly loved over the years during breakfast school:
The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus In The Old And New Testament
This author does a great job at walking children through major events of the bible and connecting each one back to God’s overarching redemption plan through Jesus. In our home, we have done a mix of bible storybook reading and reading straight from the ESV bible. I have found older preschoolers entirely capable of listening and understanding both after active listen habits have been established through a couple months of daily read aloud time.
Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose by Scott Gustafson
This one is a gorgeous oversized picture book full of classic nursery rhymes still in print.
The New Adventures of Mother Goose: Gentle Rhymes For Happy Times
I have grabbed several used copies of this hilarious nursery rhyme book over the years. The author put a humorous spin on many well-known childhood classics.
A Child’s First Book of Poems with pictures by Cyndy Szekeres
Check for used copies of this delightful book of children’s poetry to save money. This hardback would be an excellent addition to any preschooler’s morning basket time.
Animal Tales (The Jim Weiss Audio Collection)
Our family has listened to this on Audible and in the car on a CD copy. The narrator brings classic Aesop Fables to life for young children. He does a great job at planting a love for story and important moral truths in the listener’s mind through these short animal tales.
Usually by the end of our read aloud time my preschooler is ready to build with magnetic tiles or play outdoors, but if she desires to linger at the table with her big siblings I might do a short lesson on shapes, help her write her name, give her blocks to count and sort, or review phonetic letter sounds. Remember to keep your homeschool fun, light, and full of play based learning.
What do 4 year olds learn in preschool?
In traditional preschool settings, 4 year olds generally learn letter recognition, letter sounds, basic handwriting skills, number recognition, how to count to 10 or 20, shapes, days of the week, months of the year, types of weather, how to listen to directions, how to share and play with peers, and how to listen while a teacher reads aloud picture books.
How can I do preschool at home?
You can keep your home based preschool as simple or elaborate as you want. You can do it for free with a library card, internet access, some paper and a pencil. Or you can purchase an expensive all in one curriculum. I have homeschooled three preschoolers so far. Plus, I have taught a small preschool class at our community co-op. In all instances, I have kept preschool simple and inexpensive.
Although I have chosen to splurge on lots of beautiful picture books that I knew I would use again and again over the years even though I could have gotten many of them from the library. I have absolutely no regrets about the money I have doled out for great books. The time spent cuddling up and reading to my kids has been an absolute joy. I wouldn’t trade our warm read aloud memories for the world.
5 Tips To Absolutely Love Homeschooling Your Preschooler
- Start your days together on a positive note. Put technology away. Greet your child with a smile and excitement when they wake up. Give them a big hug and tell them you are so happy to spend the day with them.
- Go to the playground on weekdays when all the other kids are in school. Swing on the swings and slide down the slide with your child. Have fun and enjoy this short season with your preschooler.
- Welcome their natural curiosity. When you don’t know the answer to something they want to know say, “that’s a great question!” Show them how you can find things out through books, other humans, phone calls to relatives, and simple research.
- Snuggle and read picture books with your child every day that you can. Pause to appreciate the illustrations.
- Remember to laugh and keep things light. Allow homeschooling to be a joy, not a drudgery. A cheerful heart is good medicine! (Proverbs 17:22) Learning is not a race. You and your child do not need to impress anyone. Keep the academics simple and enjoy your time together making memories.
Preschool at home activities
Take the pressure off, Mama. Your 3 year old does not need to know how to decode C.S. Lewis novels and recite their multiplication tables by their fourth birthday. Be gentle with your child and with yourself. Don’t look to social media to see what other children are doing. In the preschool years, you are totally free to go at your child’s individual pace. Make plenty of time and space for outdoor play, trips to the playground, and snuggly read aloud time with you.
Phonics and math are important subjects to learn, but there is so much more you can teach your little ones in your home based pre-k. Below I’ve listed some simple ideas for skills you might want to teach your preschooler in addition to traditional academic subjects. You do not need to teach all of them. These will inspire you to create a simple plan based on where your individual child is at.
Communication Skills For Kids
- How to ask for something they need nicely
- How to introduce themselves to someone
- How to make eye contact, ask thoughtful questions, and wait for a response
- How to resolve conflict with their siblings in a calm, healthy way
Life Skills For Kids
- How to write their first and last name
- How to brush their teeth properly
- How to get dressed independently
- How to make their bed, fluff their pillows, and organize their stuffed animals
- How to scrape food off of their plate and rinse it in the sink after meals
- How to tidy up their toys and bedroom after play time
- How to tie their shoes
Memorization Work Ideas For Kids
- Home address
- Dad’s full name and phone number
- Mom’s full name and phone number
- Grandparent’s name and phone number
- Pledge of Allegiance
- Mother Goose Rhymes
- Poems for kids
- Bible verses, full chapters of scripture, Psalms
- Christian Catechism Questions and Answers
Homeschool Preschool Supplies
- ABC Sticker Book
- Beads and String for bracelet making fine motor activity
- Calendar
- Child Safe Scissors
- Construction Paper
- Counting Bears
- Counting Blocks
- Explode the Code (Get Ready for the Code Book A)
- Foam Bath Letters
- Glue Sticks
- Kinetic Sand
- Lacing Cards
- Letter Blocks
- Letter Flash Cards
- Letter Magnets
- Markers
- Melissa and Doug Puzzles
- Mother Goose book of rhymes and poetry
- Number Flash Cards
- Number Magnets
- Pencils
- Picture Books
- Play Dough
- Sensory Bins
- Shoe Laces and Large Preschool Beads
- Sketch pad and thick markers
- STEM Toys
- Stickers
- Tweezers
- Various counting manipulatives
- Wooden Blocks
Preschool homeschool schedule
I have two types of sample schedules for preschool at home. The first option is a full day block schedule for a 3 to 5 year old. Many five year olds who have a late birthday miss the cut off date for public school kindergarten and are still considered preschoolers.
The second learning routine I have below is a weekly loop schedule for preschoolers at home covering a variety of subjects with a lot of flexibility. Adjust these homeschool schedule ideas as needed for your unique child.
Sample Daily Block Schedule Preschool
Early Morning Block
Use the bathroom
Wash hands
Brush teeth
Get dressed
Make Bed
Breakfast
Family bible time
Practice Memory Work
Midmorning Block
Outdoor Play (1 hour)
Phonics workbook with mom (5 minutes)
Count and sort manipulatives by color, shape, and size
Practice writing name
Work with play dough
Read picture books with mom (20 minutes)
Snack
Practice tying shoes
Take a walk with mom and siblings
Afternoon Block
Simple Table Craft
Outdoor Play (1 hour)
Lunch
Nap or quiet rest time with an audiobook and independent activity
Do Lacing Cards or sensory bin while Mom reads aloud books
Learn simple kitchen math through helping mom prepare dinner
Evening Block
Play bored games with siblings
Dinner
Recite memory work for Dad
Outdoor Play (1 hour)
Read with Dad
Play with foam letters in bath
Bed Time
Homeschool Loop Schedule for Preschoolers
Another way you can go about instructing your little one at home is by following a loop schedule. Unlike block scheduling, loop scheduling doesn’t put your schooling in a box with general timeframes or an amount that you are aiming to get done each day. With a loop, you identify in advanced all the important learning activities you desire to cover with your child, but you don’t do all of them every day. You simply work through your loop at your own pace.
I’ve listed several categories below of subjects you might want to cover with your preschooler at home. There is no need to incorporate all of them in your homeschool. Assess your family values, your family culture, your schedule, as well as your own child’s individual level. Go at a pace that works for you.
To stick these subjects in a loop schedule, you would pick one or two categories to cover each day. Finish what you finish and then the next day (or the next time you do homeschool—it does not have to be everyday!) you would begin the next category.
Sample Homeschool Loop Schedule Preschool
For example, if I determined that our family wants to do language arts, communication skills, life skills, and basic math in the little years, my loop schedule might look like this. On Mondays, we review letter sounds and letter recognition through flash cards and fridge letter magnets. On Tuesdays, we role play and practice introducing ourselves to new people. On Wednesdays, we take a break. On Thursdays, we practice making our bed for a life skill. Then, we do a little math in the afternoon. We count to 20 and sort blocks by size. On Fridays, we go back to Language Arts, review a phonetic sound, and then listen to The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter audiobook while enjoying a snack.
The following week, we don’t get to preschool until Wednesday. No big deal. We pick up where we left off in the loop on Communication Skills. We review how to introduce ourselves to others and add in how to ask others a thoughtful question and be a good listener. On Thursday, we do a new life skill like how to tie our shoes. On Friday, we skip count by 2’s up to 20 and color a worksheet with a big number 2 on it.
On a loop schedule, you are never behind. You just go ahead and do the next thing in your loop.
Another way to go about loop scheduling is to keep one or two categories as daily habits but loop the rest. For instance, you might want to do Circle Time, Fine Motor Activities, and Christian Studies every morning after breakfast, but then loop through the rest of the subjects and only do those once a week, or as you get to them.
Don’t forget that preschool is optional, Mama. You are doing a great job. Your child is not behind. You know what is best and can meet them exactly where they are at.
The most important part of homeschooling preschool is the quality time your child gets to spend with you!
Here are some sample items you could choose from to fill up your homeschool loop schedule…
Language Arts for Littles
Letter Recognition (review alphabet flash cards, write letters in shaving cream with finger)
Phonetic Sounds (use letter magnets on the fridge, find things around the house with that sound)
Practice correct pencil grip and basic handwriting skills through letter formation
For older preschoolers with more developed fine motor skills, practice handwriting
Work through Get Ready For The Code Book A
Listen to a children’s audiobook for preschoolers
Mom reads a stack of picture books aloud
Advanced or older preschooler reads a BOB book out loud to mom
Fine Motor Activities
Play Dough
Kinetic Sand
Lacing Cards
Letter Tracing
Sensory Bin
Sorting small objects by color, shape, and size
Stringing beads to make bracelets and necklaces
Using tweezers to pick up POM POMs
Math for Preschoolers
Number Recognition (use number flashcards, index cards, number magnets, or pencil and paper)
Rote Counting to 10, 20, or 50 (depending on your child’s level)
Mom reads aloud math picture books
Simple Kitchen Math (measuring, counting, baking, timing, dividing, fractions)
Skip Counting By 2’s
Skip Counting By 3’s
Skip Counting By 5’s
Skip Counting By 10’s
Circle Time Activities
Calendar and what day it is
Days of the week
Months of the year
Types of weather
Learn a song or hymn
Read a Mother Goose book
Simple Arts and Crafts
Color in a coloring book
Glue popsicle sticks together to make a craft
Draw freely
Mold with clay
Put animal stickers on paper
Paint freely
Water color painting
Memory Work
Child’s full name, age, birthday, and home address
Parents’ names, address, phone number
Bible Verse
Nursery Rhyme
Poetry
Catechism
Science in the Little Years
Go on a nature walk (observe and collect nature findings)
Read a science picture books
Essential Communication Skills
How to introduce yourself
How to ask a peer or adult a question about themselves
How to resolve conflict with siblings calmly
Life Skills for Children
How to feed the pets
How to fold wash cloths and kitchen towels
How to get dressed from head to toe
How to make your bed
How to scrape food off your plate and rinse it in the sink
How to tie your shoes
How to use the toilet, flush, and wash hands
How to write your name
Christian Homeschool Studies
Read the bible
Read a children’s devotional
Read apologetics books for kids (Check out J.D. Camorlinga’s series for kids)
Memorize scripture
Listen to scripture memory music
Learn special church hymns
Learn a Christian creed
Fun Field Trips for Preschoolers
Children are naturally curious. They love to explore and learn about the world they live in. Here is a simple list of places you can take your little one as a part of your homeschooling.
- Take them outdoors to play
- Take them to the playground
- Take them to a public garden
- Take them to an animal farm
- Take them to the aquarium
- Take them to the library
- Take them to story hour
- Take them to the zoo
- Take them to a local turtle pond
- Take them to see ducks and geese
- Take them to the grocery store and teach them about picking ripe fruit, planning a week of meals, budgeting and getting change from the cashier
- Take them to a pizza shop and ask the owner if they can watch how pizza is made from scratch
- Take them to the fire station and police station if they have special days for children to visit
Outdoor Activities for Preschoolers
Kids were not made to be hauled up inside the four walls of a fluorescent lit classroom for 8 hours a day. When you homeschool, your child can get all the good outdoor play time they need for proper childhood development.
Outdoor play does things that academic work never could for developing young kids. Keep it simple and just get your children outside a couple times a day. With limited screen time and lots of opportunity to explore the outdoors, your children will entertain themselves.
Want to learn more about the importance of outdoor play for kids? Check out this post:
Preschool at home curriculum
There is no need to purchase a preschool at home curriculum, but you have plenty of options if you would like to. I personally like to piece together our learning resources based on my child’s unique level and the things my husband and I desire for them to learn.
If you are interested in purchasing a very gentle but prepared preschool curriculum some great options are Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row.
Here are our favorite preschool at home curriculum resources broken down by subject…
Phonics Resources
Sticker Activity ABC: Over 100 Stickers with Coloring Pages (Sticker Activity Fun) from Amazon. This a very simple $5 workbook with a zebra on the cover. For every preschooler I have taught at home so far, I have purchased two copies of this ABC book and worked through it twice. We cover one letter at a time. I teach them the phonetic sound before the letter name itself. So instead of saying, “this is A” I tell my child “this is ah.”
Together, we practice the sound the letter makes and then together we find the stickers that go to the matching words. When we come back to review letters, I say the letter name and the phonetic sound. This entire process takes less than five minutes per day. Rather than drilling the letters and using this book every day, we utilize it about twice a week and take our time.
I also like the Explode the Code series. For preschoolers, I would begin with Get Ready For The Code Book A.
Language Arts Resources
Audiobooks
BOB Books
Letter Flash Cards
Picture Books
Fine Motor Tools
Before a child can successful write, their fine motor skills need to develop through strengthening of those tiny little hand muscles. My preschoolers have enjoyed making necklaces and bracelets starting at around age 3.
I have found that after a couple months of stringing beads on string, they grow leaps and bounds in their ability to color in the lines, draw circles, and write their names. Other fine motor activities that have helped my children in the prewriting stage are play dough, clay, and kinetic sand play.
Bible Resources
- Regular ESV bible
- Abeka Flash a Card Bible Stories
- The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski
- Steve Green CD or songs online from his albume Hide ‘Em In Your Heart
How do I start homeschooling my preschooler?
Start homeschooling your preschooler gradually. It is quite a lot for a young child to from days full of mostly play, eating, and naps to full blown school at 3 years old. Even an eager child who asks to do school may lose interest in educational activities after only a few days of introducing them. Don’t be discouraged. This is very normal and developmentally appropriate for a young child.
Instead of setting up a school room and determining to “do school” with your preschooler for 4 hours, integrate learning throughout their entire day organically. Weave math in as you count slices of pizza together, measure oil to bake brownies, and spot a row of ducks at your local pond.
Let read aloud time cover the majority of your language arts. Put magnetic letters on the fridge and share phonetic sounds with your child as they are curious. Grab foam letters for the bath and help them spell their name on the ledge.
Utilize the mornings to homeschool your little one. I have figured out through trial and error in motherhood that whatever I get done early in my day is automatically going to get my best attention. Sometimes my morning goals are the only ones that get accomplished.
Life and children through constant curve balls so I have learned to make the best use of my time over breakfast by reading aloud a variety of books to my kids. We read the bible, picture books, chapter books, math books, poetry, science books, and more. We memorize beautiful things and practice reciting them together.
What age should I start homeschool preschool?
Every child is different, but most of my children have been ready for more learning activities beyond play around three and a half years old.
What should homeschool preschool look like?
This will depend on your unique family. In our home, homeschool preschool has looked like lots of time for free play, several daily read aloud sessions, short learning activities, family style learning, simple chores, and extra time outdoors.
Disadvantages of Sending Your Child To Preschool
- Loss of time with your child
- Peer influence from children raised in home environments that might have opposing values to your own
- Increased risk of illnesses brought home from school
- Lack of control over how much screen time your child will get in a traditional school environment
- You and your child will be on someone else’s predetermined schedule rather than one that fits your unique family
Is it OK to not send your kid to preschool?
I hope that by now in this post you will know that it is absolutely OK not to send your kid to preschool. If you have been hemming and hawing for months and debating how your 3 year old’s preschool status will affect their future college acceptance, fret no more. Your child needs a guide in the little years and you are the perfect person for the job. Confidently accept the gift of extra time with your precious one and enjoy the years that lay before you.
Why should you homeschool your preschooler?
For thousands of years, parents educated their kids at home. Whether that looked like passing on vocational skills on the family farm, teaching kids to sew to help put food on the table, or instructing them in traditional academics around the kitchen table, family style learning was the mainstream option until the 1800’s.
Teaching your young children at home is one of the most natural and beneficial things you can do. When you chose to keep your kid out of the ever quickening educational rat race that has become modern schools, you give them an academic advantage that they could never get from even the most well intentioned stranger.
Here are some benefits of homeschooling your little one…
- You get to spend more time with them. Whether the other option is a half day or full day preschool program outside of the home, those hours add up quick. Instead of transporting your child to a building with a teacher you don’t know each day, you have the freedom to make lasting memories with them in your home.
- Your child doesn’t have to be rushed into anything. Do they still need naps most days? They can do that at home. Do they need a little extra sleep in the mornings? They don’t have to be out the door and on a bus at 7am. Do they have occasional accidents? You can keep potty training them at home and not subject them to the embarrassment that comes along with accidents in a school setting. Does your child have absolutely no interest in letters or numbers yet? They can have the freedom to play at home and not be forced to sit quietly for circle time in a traditional school setting. When you chose to keep your child home for preschool, they can enjoy an unhurried childhood and develop at their own pace.
- You get to make your own unique family schedule. Are you world travelers? Do you have a work from home job with a lot of freedom and flexibility to travel? Or a job that requires travel? Homeschooling will allow you to show your child the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and small towns, and vast forests whenever you please. You won’t need to consult with your child’s school or determine how many days are socially acceptable to miss. You won’t feel pressure that your kid is going to fall behind if you take off and you won’t feel obligated to make sure your child gets the most out of their traditional preschool program simply because you paid lots of money for it. You can make your travel plans on off seasons, pack up the RV, purchase the plane tickets, and go where you want to go whenever you want to go!
- You get to pass on your family beliefs, culture, values, and worldview instead of somebody else’s. What is important to you and your spouse? Are you readers? You can prioritize reading to your children in the middle of the day. Are you sporty? Enrolling in a soccer league with evening practices and weekend games isn’t as disruptive to a homeschooler’s family life as it is to kids who are already away from their parents at school for 8 hours a day. Are you Christians? The bible won’t be undermined and scoffed at in your own home the way it is in the public school system. Do you have a servant’s heart? Your little one can mix and stir brownie mix alongside you and take it to the local nursing home to bless the elderly. If you homeschool, you have the opportunity to pass on your unique family culture to your child for 4 to 8 extra hours a day.
How does screen time affect preschoolers?
This wouldn’t be screenfreemom.com if we didn’t discuss the impact that screen time has on young children. Excessive screen time in the early years is linked to behavior issues, learning delays, sleep problems, weight gain, a sedentary lifestyle, irritability, difficulties transferring to a new activity, and disinterest in healthy uses of time such as reading and outdoor play.
One of the incredible benefits of keeping your child at home for their early years schooling is that you as the parent have complete control over the amount of tech time your child will be exposed to. While traditional schools are pushing more and more integration of electronic devices in the classroom (to the obvious detriment of students) a homeschooling parent can exercise wisdom and discretion on how much screen time is best for their child.
How much screen time should preschoolers have?
The recommended rule of thumb is to keep your child screen free before the age of two and allow no more than one hour of entertainment screen time per day. Ideally, that maximum of one hour would be spent co-viewing a show with a loving caregiver.
I don’t know many parents who sit and watch cartoons with their preschoolers. TV has been coined the “electronic babysitter” for a reason. Our default as busy parents with high-energy littles is to put on a show so that we can get things done or get a moment of peace and quiet. This is understandable. The work of motherhood is good but intensive. Mothers need breaks just as much as adults employed outside of the home. However, that much needed break doesn’t have to come at the expense of our children’s best interest.
Screens are not the answer. I have so many resources for you on how to get a break as a mama without handing your little one a tablet, smartphone, or remote. Check out the other posts linked within this blog to learn how to keep your kid busy without an electronic device.
How much screen time is too much for preschoolers?
Too much screen time for preschoolers is when you have exceeded the daily recommended limit of one hour of co-viewing OR when you begin to notice a pattern of post screen time behavior issues and disinterest in independent play.
How much screen time should a 4 year old be allowed?
Keep your toddlers and preschoolers entirely screen free as long as possible. If you have already introduced screens but you are noticing side effects that you do not like in your child, it is never too late to pull the plug, do a rest, and gift them a low-tech childhood.
My personal recommendation is no video games, tablet/iPad games, or smartphone games at all for preschool aged children. I also recommend no fast paced modern cartoons or movies. These shows were designed to reward our children’s brains for continued watching. Most preschoolers walk away from contemporary TV completely overstimulated.
If you desire to allow your preschooler a little bit of screen time, I would suggest 30 minutes of a slow paced show every other day or just on the weekends.
Here are some underwhelming shows that don’t have as many quick transitions as modern TV for kids…
- The Beginner’s Bible
- The Berenstain Bears
- Clifford the Big Red Dog (the original version)
- Clifford’s Puppy Days
- Gigi God’s Little Princess
- Liberty’s Kids
- Little House on the Prairie
- Reading Rainbow
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