Homeschooling Your Toddler or Preschooler

There are many reasons for homeschooling your toddler or preschooler. Some families plan on homeschooling their children for all of their school-age years, and so it’s a natural thing to do. Other families plan to send their children to school once they reach kindergarten age, but don’t feel that preschool is right for their families. Sometimes this is because they feel that their child isn’t mature enough to handle the separation, and sometimes it’s because parents worry about the over-emphasis on academics in preschools today. Whatever your reason, homeschooling your child can be a fun and rewarding experience.

When planning how to homeschool your young child, it’s important to remember that their most important learning tool is play. Children have so much to learn about the world that even when they’re just playing with toys, they’re still learning. Kicking a ball around outside teaches balance, improves strength and coordination, demonstrates the laws of motion, gravity, and cause and effect (of course, your three year old won’t realize that he’s learning physics!). He learns that if he puts more force into his kick, the ball goes further. He learns that if he kicks the ball down a hill, it goes further than if he kicks it up a hill. Your young child learns so much from every simple activity and isn’t even conscious of it.

It may be helpful for you to plan a curriculum for your preschooler. If you decide to do this, remember that a curriculum is more for your benefit than your child’s. A curriculum will help you to stay organized and reassured that you are actually teaching your child rather than just playing. To your child, however, everything should be based in play. He shouldn’t have a sense that there are “lessons” being taught and he shouldn’t be forced into doing any activities he doesn’t want to do. The goal is to foster a love of learning, not to make him dread sitting down to do worksheets for 15 minutes a day.