Educating and Entertaining the “Pre’s”

In a beautiful, teachable moment in our always quiet, organized day (wink, wink) this happens: “Okay, son, when we are writing sentences…(interruption from little one: Mommy I need a snack) remember that a sentence (I’m REALLY hungry) starts with a capital (MOMMY!) letter”! Or, “I want to do school, when can I do school??” As if homeschooling didn’t present enough challenges, it’s definitely “creative classroom” when you are homeschooling AND you have a preschooler. I began homeschooling with a preschooler who is now in 2nd grade, so this age is near and dear to my heart. Now I also have my sweet K4 girl who thinks she should be in the throes of schooling with us each and every day. She desired to be included last year at 3 and was interested in a few parts of actual “school” but has proved to all of us that this year she means business! She wanted scissors, glue, a spiral notebook, the WHOLE lot and she wasn’t going to stop talking about it until she spoke it into being!

I actually LOVE including her but let me tell you–I already have a greater appreciation for those of you homeschooling multiple children in multiple grades—my teaching hat off to you!!!! So, what to do with the busy beavers called “preschoolers”? After all, can’t educating and entertaining be perfectly blended so that they are happening simultaneously? Can we get through one subject with the older ones without interruption?? Well, we can certainly hope, right? But let’s start with the 3-year olds: I tried to have just 2 days a week where I really had something for her to specifically do: coloring pages to learn colors, shapes, etc., learn a song together, read a book to go along with whatever Big Brother was learning….the other days, I had manipulatives or play-doh out so that while we working she was included in our time but didn’t directly need me. I also went ahead and had a snack and drink ready and in our homeschool area, so that when she asked me for one, we were set, with minimal disruption. Here are a few of my favorite tricks that kept her busy at 3:

I stashed TONS of lids (off of the milk, OJ, sodas, etc—but all plastic) and put them in a little container…she enjoyed sorting, looking at different sizes and shapes, and telling me what color they were. I would run a little bit of warm soapy water in the sink and let her wash “dishes” and by dishes I mean plastic tubs and cups. I bought a set of those letters and numbers (you know the ones we’ve ALL had on the fridge or dishwasher??) and put those in a container too and had a small cookie sheet with them so they would stick to it. We’d spell her name and other words but mostly it was just for her to have something to do independently. I kept (and still have) a huge sticker box and I would hang a big piece of chart paper on the wall and let her stick until her heart was content.

Of course, as we all know, a HUGE cardinal homeschooling rule is be flexible…there were days when I set something aside to do, and we didn’t do it, and there were days when a video of Blues Clues and Teletubbies did the educating. But the point is, she felt included and a part of our homeschool activities.

Now, on to K4—this year is a bit different for us…because Little One learned so much simply by default last year. DISCLAIMER: I am not saying she speaks a foreign language or can write a 3-point expository paragraph but she simply listened to us so much that she enjoyed talking about temperature or life cycles and I felt she was ready for a little more structure and activities this year. I will say that I prepare something for her to do everyday but we don’t always do everything. I think the most important thing when homeschooling preschoolers is to not be too scheduled or too serious. If she’s not feeling something, I don’t push the issue. Here are a few of my tricks for this year:

I let her “journal” in the morning with her Brother (in that blessed spiral notebook she begged for). She draws a picture of what she’d like to say on the given topic (today she drew a kitty for what animal she’d like to be), I let her narrate and I write for her. I have a specific game, puzzle, or flashcards already on the table to play with at any given time (we still love play-doh, too). Later in the year, I will start Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (I used this with Big Brother and LOVED it). We also use Language Lessons for Little Ones (a very Charlotte Mason style book) and I have a pocket labeled “Julia’s Book of the Day” that she can go to, find her own book (this makes her feel VERY special) and “read” by herself…she enjoys looking at the pictures and even “reads” to her stuffed animals. I found another great resource called: Where is Thumbkin? that has weekly themes, songs, activities (very unit oriented, across subjects)…this week is “Me, Myself and I”. We made a Feely Box in Science, Patterns in Math and Finger Painting in Art. This has REALLY been a fun resource. However, our latest fave: Do-A-Dot Markers (these are similar to Bingo style markers) and Do-A-Dot Activity Books!! Lastly, I think having a calendar time—with weather, “today was…”, “tomorrow will be”, etc. is GREAT for this age to get involved (because the older ones lose interest in this part) and we found ours at the local Dollar Store. I am giving the list of those favorites I mentioned and some I didn’t….

Preschool Resources:

Where is Thumbkin? —Pam Schiller and Thomas Moore
Snip It! Snipping and Cutting Activities—published by Mead
Language Lessons for Little Ones—Sandi Queen
Everything for Early Learners—American Education Publishing
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons—Siegfried Engelmann
(this is actually for a span of ages but you can start whenever you feel
your child is ready)
Little Kids….COLOR! —Teacher’s Friend Publishing
The Preschoolers Busy Book (365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep Your 3
to 6 year old Busy) —Trish Kuffner

So, let’s hear YOUR ideas???? What are you doing with your preschoolers??? Use your comments to share and let’s get some great new ideas!!

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Tiffani can also be found writing at Bears and Belles

Photo by phitar

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