Homeschooling a Preschooler: Where to Begin (Without Feeling Overwhelmed)

The Ultimate Homeschool Guide for Preschool

Do you have children in the preschool age group who seem ready for more advanced learning? 

Are you considering homeschooling them instead of sending them to preschool?

Setting aside some time each day for learning activities with your little one is a great idea! However, if you don’t know where to start, homeschooling can be overwhelming. So I’m here to help you get a handle on homeschool best practices that keep you on track and your kiddo engaged. Check out our ultimate homeschool guide for preschool now!

Key Takeaways

• Preschool at home works best with a flexible routine that blends learning, play, life skills, and sensory activities into the day.
• Planning in short blocks of 3-4 months allows parents to adjust lessons to a child’s pace while still keeping structure.
• Tools like chore charts, planners, and hands-on resources make it easier to track progress and keep learning fun.

 

Is Your Child Really Ready for Preschool?

Children are typically incredibly curious. They ask questions about everything and anything, especially when it comes to understanding the “why” behind the way the world works. If they’re already asking questions, you might think they’re ready for preschoofl, but there are some more concrete metrics to help you gauge their readiness:

• Recognizing letter sounds
• Speaking clearly
• Understanding how to sound out words
• Showing an interest in reading
• Actively engaging in storytime
• Pretending to write and read
• Knowing their ABCs

While your child doesn’t need to check off every item on the list, this is a good place to start if you’re wondering whether they’re ready for more serious progress.

Where to Start

Once you commit to preschool at home, you need to plan out your preschool home curriculum for a few months at a time. If you have the time, plan out the entire year! However, we recommend 3-4 months of planning to keep your time investment short and allow for easy changes if your child grasps a concept very quickly or requires a bit more time with a certain lesson plan. Here are a few ideas on where you can focus your time:

• Life skills
• Routine
• Playtime
• Field trips
• Sensory time
• Outdoor explore

So what type of curriculum does each of these topics require? Let’s take a deeper look.

• Life Skills

From potty training and proper handwashing to tying their shoes and listening to directions, life skills for little ones should be simple and repetitive activities that they’ll need to do every single day. Here are a few life skills you should cover as part of your daily lesson plan:

• Hygiene activities
• Simple household chores
• Writing the ABCs
• Writing their name
• Learning numbers 1-10
• Learning the days of the week, months, and seasons
• Practicing holding a pencil
• Practicing tracing letters
• Understanding shapes and colors

Make sure you keep these activities fun by making them into games that your children are excited to play!

• Routine

Creating a routine is integral to your child’s education. It helps them adjust to structure and provides them with building blocks for sticking to a routine when they get older. While keeping your child to a schedule may be too intense at this point, a routine allows you to do similar things each day without adhering to a specific timetable.

• Playtime

Playing is a critical part of your child’s education. It allows them to freely associate many of the concepts they learned throughout the day and process them on their own time. Learning games and board games are the best ways for them to explore, make mistakes, and absorb new information. Adding in funny stuffed animals can make pretend play even more engaging while reinforcing concepts through imagination.

• Field Trips

A day at the zoo, aquarium, or park learning about the world around them is an exciting way to engage with your child. When you incorporate occasional field trips, you stay within your routine but still provide variations that encourage even more curiosity.

• Sensory Time

Your child is still getting to know their body and how it interacts with the world. Whether you spend time getting messy with paints and clay or exploring physical activities, every type of sensory experience provides important feedback for their body and mind. For children who experience the world differently, autism parenting resources can help you adapt sensory play to their unique needs. 

Sample Schedule

So what should a typical day look like in your preschool routine? Here’s a sample schedule that can help you build out your time:

• Breakfast
• Morning chores: Making the bed, cleaning up dishes
• Hygiene: Brushing teeth, combing hair, choosing clothing
• Bonding time: Reading or cuddling
• Physical activities: Going for a walk, using the jungle gym at the park
• Short learning activities: Choose two – numbers, colors, shapes, animals, ABCs
• Lunch
• Field trip: Learn at a museum, park, zoo, aquarium
• Nap
• Arts & crafts time
• Free play
• Dinner 

Your timing can be pretty flexible, but try to hit every activity throughout the day.

How to Teach

Homeschooling is a great way to get your child learning because it doesn’t rely on rigid scheduling or lesson plans, encouraging more creativity and engagement through play. However, as a parent, you’ll need a bit more structure and guidance in your planning.

We recommend working with a planner and incorporating a chore chart and meal planner. You should also have some sort of progress tracker, so you can plan appropriate activities as your child learns. Finally, explore some teaching resources that are easy and fun for both you and your child. These may include printables, coloring pages, flash cards, practice workbooks for drawing and writing, building blocks, and learning apps. You can also tap into classroom activities for kids that provide ready-to-use lesson ideas. Any combination of these can assist you in specific lesson planning and tracking.

 

Ready to get started? Discover how quickly your child learns and grows when you incorporate learning activities into their everyday routine to start preschool as early as possible!