Deciding to homeschool your preschooler is a big decision to make.
When should you start?
How should you go about homeschooling at a young age?
What will work best?
How long should the preschool day be?
This article may contain affiliate links to products that may help you when homeschooling preschool.
There is so much to consider and think about, however, homeschooling a preschooler isn’t as structured as you might find when they begin kindergarten or first grade.
If you’re on the fence about homeschooling preschool, here are some of the things to think about if you are asking yourself, “Should I homeschool my preschooler?”
What Exactly Would It Be Like to Homeschool My Preschooler?
Get Them Ready
When it comes to homeschooling your preschooler it is all about getting them ready for when their official academic journey begins in kindergarten or first grade.
Holding a pencil, coloring, learning through senses, and developing their gross and fine motor skills are all the work of preschoolers.
There are many things you can do with your preschooler to get them ready for homeschooling when you will be following a more structured curriculum.
Focus on Motor Development
Motor development is comprised of both gross motor skills, which are large muscles, and fine motor skills, which are smaller muscles.
Both of which are important and developed in different ways.
Things you can do with a preschooler to develop gross motor skills:
- Hopping on one foot
- Skipping
- Walking on a line
- Learning to throw and catch a ball
- Jump rope
- Walking up and down steps
Things you can do with a preschooler to develop fine motor skills:
- Cutting with scissors
- Holding a pencil
- Playdough
- Buttoning clothes
- Lacing
- Adding beads to a string
These are all things that can help your preschooler and form part of homeschooling at this young age.
Reading Together
Reading is one of the easiest ways to help your preschooler as you homeschool.
They can learn to follow the words, recognize the sounds, and see the letters.
You can also help them with memory retrieval as you read a book and ask them to remember the end of the sentence or the next word.
Reading at this age is about the exploration of books, so have fun with it!
Learning Through Play
Learning through play is always going to be one of the best ways to homeschool your preschooler.
Playing with things like play dough or role play, and even crafting and coloring are so important.
These are things that can help them when learning new things.
Learn Through the Senses
One of the best ways to help your preschooler when homeschooling is to consider learning through the senses.
Whether you ask them to taste something new, hear something, smell, or touch things it gives them experiences they might not otherwise have.
It is an interactive way for them to learn different things and explore their environment.
You can also do this by taking the learning outside of your home for a walk or heading to the play park.
All of these opportunities are opportunities for growth.
You Are Already Doing Homeschool Preschool
Finally, as so much learning is done through everyday life and through play, you are likely already on some sort of homeschool journey anyway.
It just depends on how much you focus on these things, add structure to some of the activities, or just let the learning take its natural course.
So, if you’re wondering, “Should I homeschool my preschooler?” Our answer is a definitive yes!