10 Do's and Don'ts for Preschool Homeschooling

The most important thing parents of little children need to do is to learn to RELAX and to TRUST that your child is naturally curious and WILL WANT TO LEARN about the world and WILL WANT TO LEARN SKILLS like reading, writing and maths in his/her own time.

All you need to do is create a stimulating environment, read to your kids daily and help them to learn IF they need your help – they may not!

DO

1. Spend time with them
2. Teach them to work in the home
3. Work on character training and building a healthy self-image
4. Give them lots of free time to play
5. Make sure they play out of doors and that they get moving – so limit time in front of screens and gizmos
6. Read aloud daily
7. Encourage them to memorise nursery rhymes, poems, songs and Bible verses
8. Expose them to a wide variety of music
9. Let them count real objects frequently
10. Keep lessons short and fun

DON’T

1. Don’t start drilling the reading and maths – keep learning fun
2. Don’t buy workbooks and try to replicate school at home
3. Don’t have a rigid agenda for teaching your kids
4. Don’t see yourself as the teacher, but rather a learning facilitator or co-learner
5. Don’t pass on any negative attitudes you may have about any subject
6. Don’t decide when they must start formal learning, let them take the lead
7. Don’t panic if they take longer than other children. Focus on what they DO enjoy doing.
8. Don’t do more than 15 minutes of any activity that requires focusing close up, to avoid eye strain
9. Don’t make kids sit still for long periods.
10. Don’t keep them indoors in front of the TV, pc, tablet or smartphones. They WILL learn to master technology with ease at a later age. Also keep educational online games to a minimum.

Education is not a race. They are never behind. They are just where they are on their unique learning path, so don’t compare your family with others. Do your homework and keep learning more about how children learn and about how YOUR children learn.

All of the above do's and don't are explained more fully in my free gift to you this month - this webinar on Preschool Homeschooling

Developmental Activities

Fine motor skills

Let your child trace the outlines of a pair of shoes onto newspaper to make about 10 footprint shapes. Help him to cut these out to use in this week’s gross motor skills activity. Make sure you have both left and right feet and talk left and right (laterality).

Gross motor skills

Place the footprints you cut (in the fine motor skills activity) from newspaper on the floor and let your child walk on them. When she steps with her right foot, she must swing her left arm forward and turn her head to the right and vice versa. Vary the distance between the footsteps to make it more fun!

Visual perception

If you don’t have a loose mat in your home, use a piece of wool to create a large rectangle shape on the floor. Your child must first walk along the edges of the shape and then crawl around the shape. Encourage her to make sharp turns at the corners of the rectangle. Ask her to jump from side to side over the rectangle. Talk about the two long sides and the two short sides. Both of you (or two children) lie down on the floor together and use your bodies to create a rectangle shape.

Auditory perception

Choose five objects from around the house that will each make a different sound when dropped onto a hard surface like a counter or table top e.g. a teaspoon, a wooden block, a plastic cup, a book, a pair of scissors. Show them to your child and then let her turn her back towards you and listen carefully as you drop each item in turn. She must try and tell you which item was dropped after each time.

Language and thinking

Look around your home and ask your child to name as many things as he can see that are: Made of wood Made of fabric Made to wear Made to use Give light Give heat Made to store things Can be eaten etc.

Faith building

Continue your habit of reading a Bible story each day. Start teaching your child to memorize short verses of Scripture.

For example:

Matthew 19:14 - Jesus said: "Let the little children come to me."

Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another.

Ephesians 6:1a - Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right.



Till next time...

Regards
Shirley

Crashproof your homeschooling by getting the answers you need to start well, to handle your worries and doubts and to build your confidence. Shirley offers her experience as a veteran homeschool mother, author and consultant via online webinars to help you avoid the common traps that befall so many new homeschoolers.
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