If you are looking to start homeschooling preschool aged kids, I would encourage you to focus more on play based learning. The research for this is undeniable. Play based learning is, essentially, to learn while at play. It provides opportunities for children to develop a sense of the world around them. Ideally school should compliment the natural exploration to learn.
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children , play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers
Here are some of the ways you can help your child learn through play
- Practice fine motor skills – String beads, play with play-doh, finger painting, do puzzles, let them peel and place stickers. These are the building blocks for learning to write correctly.
- Practice sorting by colors, size and shape
- Practice counting through daily activities like shopping and cooking
- Sensory bins – These are shallow containers filled with different materials and small items for them to explore. This is a great way for children to develop their senses. Check out our Pinterest board for some great ideas we have found for sensory bins.
- Play board games and card games
- Build with blocks, Legos or magna-tiles
- Practice life skills by helping around the house
- Cook/bake together
- Spend a lot of time outside – explore nature, visit parks, water play
- Read together
- Listen to different types of music, sing songs that rhyme and dance
- Join story time at the library
- Watch short learning videos that re-enforce basic preschool skills. – I know this doesn’t sound like play, but there is a plethora of video based learning tools, designed to get your child up and moving and interacting with their environment.
Although some children at this age may be ready for more formal learning and bookwork, I wouldn’t force it. Some children are not developmentally ready to learn to read and write. The idea is to foster a lifelong love of learning. Listen to your child, make the most of their little person time with you and save the formal stuff for later.
