My philosophy is that WE are our child(ren)’s first teacher whether we consider ourselves teachers or not. We teach them how to communicate, crawl, walk, and many other social/emotional concepts with & without giving much thought to it.

I’m an elementary teacher, therefore my “giving thought” is amplified. From the day I brought my son home, I read to him, even though he had no idea (or care) to what was going on.

Now I have two kids, am working part time, and am homeschooling my three year old. Nowadays it’s kind of a negative judgement if you’re kid is not in preschool, but I beg to differ.

Homeschooling doesn’t mean you stay home all day and never interact with other people, especially peers.

Homeschooling is actually the opposite of its stereotype.

1. My son engages with someone his age at least once a day for at least an hour – practicing his social, emotional skills, communication skills, and problem solving skills.
2. We experience the real world everyday and “see/do” what we’re learning – it’s rarely hypothetical.
3. My son moves at a faster pace with quality & meaningful instruction.

That’s just a few benefits, the list is long.

If you are considering homeschooling, you don’t have to be connected to a specific group or organization for tot schooling (ages 2-3) or preschooling (ages 3-4). The most time consuming part of the day should be PLAY – at least 2.5 hours of it. It’s actually recommended that formal instruction doesn’t take no more than 30 minutes a day for 2-4 year olds.

Now, I’m intentional about some of his play time. For example if we are studying bugs, I’d lead him to an ant hill and talk through observations, make predictions, discuss habitat/food, etc. This could last 30 minutes without him even knowing he’s still learning.

Even though tot school and preschool doesn’t have to be registered to a specific group or organization, it is WISE to collaborate with other parents. For days that are really hard, leaning on others can help you get through. For social connections, resource shares, borrowing sources, and so much more, having a commUNITY helps.

*I also found tremendous value in operating out of the preschool standards for all academic and social, emotional standards.

Typical Home Preschool Day

I homeschool 2-3 days a week for about an hour each time, which includes 30 minutes of hands on activities. I’m also not embarrassed to say that my son watches an additional 30-60 minutes of an educational show, nonfictional or fictional, that relates to or reinforces what was learned during the lesson/activity.

Calendar Time:

• Learning Chant: It’s time for what? Learning Time! It’s time for what? Growing Time!
• Countdown from 10
• Sing ABC song
• Sing Left, Right song
• Sing Days of the Week song
• Sing Months of the Year song
• Last month, this month, next month
• Today is…
• Season is…
• Weather is…
• Today’s Shape
• Vowels (Name & Sound)
• Consonant Blends
• Today’s Letter
• Weekly Sight Word
• Phonics Book/Sight Work Book

THEN…

Theme Activity (sample)