Homeschooling preschool aged children is fun. If you can instill a love of learning in your children early then they will become self learners when they become older. Right now my three youngest are ages 2, 3, and 4. Since they are so close in age it easy to teach them all together. This is what I'm doing right now in our homeschool preschool class.
Letter of the Week
Each week we learn a new letter. I start with "A" and I go through the alphabet until everyone has mastered all 26 letters. Currently we are on our second time through. We learn our letter 4 days out of the week. (The other day we do our Bible curriculum.) Each day we do each of the following activities based on the letter of the week. For example, let's say this week's letter is "C". Below is listed the type of work that we do each day. Plus, you can click on the links to see examples of the worksheets that the children would work on.
- Tracing/Copy work
- Art/Craft
- Phonics, click on the letter C
- Tumble Book, click on the Tumble Book icon and then choose a story book that starts with "C" - like Calliou
- Read library books
I give the children different tracing and crafts each day but click on the same letter on Starfall all week and we also read the same Tumble Book all week. Preschoolers enjoy repetition and also it helps them learn.
When going over the letter I teach letter recognition and phonics at the same time. For example, when I hand out the crafts that start with "C" I might say something like, "here is a cat. Cat starts with "C." "C" says," and then I say the two sounds that "C" makes. Or I may ask the children to tell me what letter it is or what sound it makes. This method is highly effective. And the best part is that the children feel more like they are having fun than learning. Of course learning is fun. So I'm glad that they see it that way.
What about colors, shapes, and the like in homeschool preschool?
I'm glad you asked. We read a lot of library books. And I do mean a lot. I check out books on colors, shapes, and whatever else young children need to learn. We read the books several times during the six week period that we have them. (I have a teacher's library card.) We also learn those things just by going through our everyday lives. I point out objects and tell what color they are. I have the children count to 10 or to 20 when they wash their hands. I start teaching them their body parts in the tub when they are just a little over a year old.
It's all done very casually but the children learn what they need to know. Homeschooling is just a way of life to us. We are constantly learning or teaching throughout the day. You could probably teach a child everything they need to know through Kindergarten without ever actually having to sit them down at a desk and chair and formally "teach" them.
