homeschooling preschoolers

Most parents introduction to homeschooling is when homeschooling preschoolers

Preschoolers learn by exploring, playing and doing, so when homeschooling preschoolers you should let them play and explore. Most experts seem to agree that when teaching preschoolers, just let them

Try and lay off the formal way of teaching until they are a bit older. 

You will notice that when you try and teach preschoolers it will literally go in one ear and out the other, so let the preschoolers play and explore. There is plenty of time for learning so why start too young. Try to lay off teaching the alphabet as it is nearly a waste of time, as your children have to unlearn it when they start to learn to read. If you are going to introduce your preschoolers to the alphabet then bring in the phonic alphabet and teach that. 

I brought in the Montessori way of reading and writing as her system uses sandpaper letters. And the kids love the feel of the sandpaper when tracing the sandpaper letters and saying the phonic sounds. Also Montessori has sandpaper numbers you can bring in to start your preschooler off. But don’t be in a hurry to bring in the + or the – as they will just forget them. 

The more games you can play the better, kids love games. For numbers I use a soft toy dice about 3 – 4 inches square. Kids love it and as they get older I bring in two dice and the preschoolers can then add or subtract the numbers, but then they are getting into 5 years old. 

For more information about homeschooling preschoolers and other homeschooling resources see our Homeschooling page.