Homeschooling Preschoolers

In today's world of "Head Start" programs, "Kindermusic" classes, and "Teach You Baby to Read" programs, there is alot of pressure on parents to start "teaching" our children as much as possible as soon as possible. Surely this is required for ultimate success, right? And its important not to waste those "formative" years! I think the pressure can be even more for homeschooling parents, where the there's a subliminal challenge to "prove your child is smarter than the average population" or "prove that homeschooling is actually beneficial".

On that note, I thought I'd share what we did with Isaac and Ezra to ensure that they'd have that desired academic edge and preparedness:

nothing.

Well, ok, not really nothing. I'll try to elaborate a little more:

We taught them to read, and we read them good books.

That was it. Isaac did not start any "formal" type schooling until he was 6.5. No flash cards, no workbooks, no counting drills, no extracurricular preschool classes.

Surely, we did more than that, you're thinking? Well, ok, here's more of what we did:

He was with me, all the time. We talked about life's day to day happenings. We talked about how to pick out good apples and peaches at the grocery store. We talked to the elderly man next door about his garden. He sat on the counter next to me as I did dishes. We sang songs. We read, alot. We didn't watch TV, or play computer games. We played on the playground, and he played with his brothers. We went to church, and spoke about God in everything. He was surrounded by those who love him best, secure in his world of family.

We did what babies and children are wired to do naturally - we interacted. We explored. We imagined.

And when it came time to start a more formal education, it happened without struggle. His mind was ready, primed from the years of being allowed to grow at its own pace, rather than already exhausted from force-feeding it facts and figures before it was ready.

Now, I know that I've mentioned that I am doing "preschool" with Nathan (age 3) and Joel (age 5.5). Has my philosophy changed? Have I suddenly seen the light and regretted that I wasted all of those opportune years with my olders, so I am making sure to do it differently this time? Nope, not one bit.

You see, things are a bit different with older children in the house. The littles want to "do school" like the older brothers they look up to. They also want and need some of that one-on-one mama attention that the olders got so much of at their age, but that isn't as readily available as it once was. So, to make that happen, I carve out "preschool" time into our schedule.

However, our choice of curriculum for these preschool years aligns exactly with our main goals for this age of discovery:

Teach them to read, and read them good books.

Sonlight's preschool curriculum is not one of worksheets, flash cards, drills, or forced lessons. It is simply a compilation of good books. The new Instructor's Guide for P 4/5 includes light, basic activities which are easy (and help me to remember to do the little fun things I used to love to do with the children but now sometimes forget as my littles get bigger and my time is spread more thinly). The rest of the day, they listen in on some of the discussions we have with the olders, but mainly their job is to just "be" - exploring, playing, imagining, working and loving.

And they learn so much. They really do.

So, mamas of littles, if you are feeling the pressure of getting a good "head start" on your preschoolers' learning, or feeling discouraged or overwhelmed thinking that perhaps you're not doing enough - let it go. Your child learns so much, every day, just by living and interacting with you. Take time to be with them. Read good books, play fun games. Your home, and the real world with you by their side, is the best schoolhouse there is.