Mommy, I want to do school!
I am very excited to have Mrs. Candace from Sonbeams guest posting for Sunflower Schoolhouse today because we will be moving into the preschool at home stage this year with our 2.5 year old twins.
(photo credit wbd)
“Mommy, I want to do school!”, says your little preschool age “BABY” that couldn’t possibly be old enough to think such things.
At this point in your Mommy-life, the idea of your child starting school might feel as far away as college! But when you stop and look, here is your child, now growing up with such an excited, healthy desire to learn. The question changes from Why?, to Why Not?
To your child’s excitement, you announce that you will start school – at home! To your fear, you think – “What in the world am I going to do?”.
You may feel incompetent, not able to teach your child properly – but think on these points for a moment:
- Can your child eat, drink from a cup, talk, and walk?
- Can your child follow directions?
- Can your child sing, dance, play?
Of course they can, and who taught them? YOU were their teacher, their cheerleader. YOU know your child, and their learning styles better than anyone else. YOU are the one that God placed in their life to train up for His glory.
Looking at things from this perspective should encourage you that there is no one better than you to teach. So the next questions – How? And what?
How To Teach Preschoolers
Discover your younger self once again! It’s true, a lot of what your child learns is from time spent sitting in the floor, laughing, reading, and playing. When you get down on their level and talk WITH them, not to be confused with talking TO them, they learn more than you can imagine.
Don’t be confused with thoughts of having to follow a strict routine/ schedule. As a former preschool teacher, now preschool homeschool mommy, I can say that this doesn’t make for very fun school at all. School with littles is far from the idea we have of school – stuck to a desk with tons of paperwork. (Though some children think of this as school, and aren’t happy unless they have some type of worksheet!)
Take time to point out what color of shirt they are wearing, or what shape you cut their sandwich in, or how many children are sitting around the table.
Save coupons and grocery ads. These offer great practice for scissor skills! You can learn to recognize fruits and vegetables; learn numbers by reading the prices.
You can learn colors and sorting skills by doing laundry together. Learn self help skills by teaching them to dress themselves – they don’t need a $15 doll to learn.
What Should I Teach My Child?
Preschoolers should become familiar with their ABC’s, 123’s to at least 10, colors, and basic shapes. You can work on fine motor skills such as tearing, cutting, threading. Then there are gross motor skills such as hopping, jumping, skipping, standing on one foot.
You can find all sorts of games to play to teach these skills. KEEP LEARNING FUN!
In closing, it’s safe to say that many parents do some sort of homeschool preschool already, they just don’t realize it! Take time to read with your child, talk to them, and you’ll find this will take them far.
Mrs. Candace is a homeschool preschool mom to 4 children, and a former homeschool student herself. Based on her past experience as a preschool instructor, she began writing lesson plans for teaching her oldest when he BEGGED to do school at 3. This was the beginning of Sonbeams, a Christian based company offering parents and teachers with resources to “Raise Up SON-beams For Him!”
For more information on her website, or to hear and view samples of her line of Christian products for families, please visit: Sonbeams .