Homeschooling a preschool child is totally left up to the parents/guardians. There is not one state in the U.S. that mandates teaching a preschooler by following a standard curriculum. Many parents seem to want to start teaching their preschooler at home, though, and there are a great number of resources available to these families to start teaching skills that preschoolers should know.
I am going to start with the skills that preschoolers are learning when they attend a traditional preschool facility during the day. These skills include:
- Learning the alphabet
- Learning their numbers
- Identifying shapes
- Identifying colors
- Learning to follow directions
- Learning patterns
- Working on fine motor and gross motor skills
There are other skills that they learn as well, but this list just includes the basics that encompass many other subsets of skills.
Now you need to know where to go and get the curriculum and activities that help teach these skills to your preschooler. Curriculum designed specifically for preschoolers includes:
- New Horizons Preschool by Alpha Omega Publications
- Preschool Curriculum.com - Designed especially for homeschoolers
- Creative Discoveries
- The Learning Box
- Time4Learning
When I say "curriculum," I mean workbooks or online places that offer all subjects for preschoolers in one comprehensive package. They include math, language arts, science, and other subjects as a bundle.
Now I will tell you about a few online resources that provide thousands of free preschool worksheets, online games and activities, and coloring pages galore. This is a great option if you want to teach your preschooler by making your own curriculum, or to just go about teaching her in a relaxed, unstructured atmosphere (which is perfectly okay). These resources can also be used to supplement a comprehensive curriculum, if you desire.
- Teaching Shapes to Preschoolers - Fun activities that teach
- Teaching Colors to Preschoolers - Fun activities that teach
- Shirley's Preschool Activities - Includes worksheets and lesson plans
- KidZone Preschool- Lots of printables
- Learning Treasures- Lots of printables and lesson plans
You will quickly come to see that there is no shortage of resources available to you, if you want to start homeschooling with your preschool child. In fact, the choices are overwhelming, and my advice is to make a list of the skills that you want to teach, pick a few interesting topics that your preschooler might enjoy (like farm animals, "all about me" lessons, etc.), and stick with your goals.
My other suggestion is to remember that your child is a preschooler, so make lessons and activities short and fun. They are not ready to sit and learn for hours on end. In fact, about 30 minutes a day of instruction will teach your preschooler all he needs to know by the end of the year. I know...I've tried it both ways, and learned the hard way. At least I had three boys to practice on!
Have a great weekend.
