You Can Do Preschool At Home!

I'm going crazy raising my third munchkin these days. She's the third of three kids I've not sent off to an "official" preschool.

Now, before ya getcher pretty smocks all in a wad and start flinging paint, I want to preface this post by saying: I'm a big fan of preschool. It can be a win-win for parent and child alike. But it doesn't work for everyone--usually because of philosophical, financial or logistical reasons.

This post is for those in that boat. In my case, it's a boat that likes to go nowhere and has zero to no need for human interaction.

How can that not be awesome?

Let me back up a bit.

By the time my beloved first child was old enough for preschool, I didn't have the energy to cart him around town right when my second babe needed to be fed, needed a nap, or needed to scream for ten minutes about the war in Iraq. (At least that's what I assumed the fuss was about.) I figured I could stay at home, save money, and do a pretty-okay job of teaching my boy what he needed to know. After all, I knew my colors. Most of them.

So, for a know-it-all, reclusive cheapskate like me--preschool at home is what worked. It can work for you, too--and I'm here to help make that happen.

Here are three things to consider when keeping your preschooler at home:

1. Engage the brain.
   
   
   
   • With books: Read, read, read. It's fun, first of all. Good for bonding, secondly. And all that exposure to language does amazing things in the child's mind. I like to work from a reading list to help weed out the twaddle and get to the good stuff. Many lists are online--my favorites are Sonlight age 3/4, Sonlight age 4/5, and The Read-Aloud Handbook. However, I also think it's fine to just pop by the library and pick up a big ol' stack of books.
     
     
     
   • By teaching the basics: If you're reading to your child, this will take care of itself. Colors, numbers, concepts, and vocabulary. As for writing skills, I don't recommend focusing on that til age four. Before then, it's like teaching a pig to sing--it wastes your time and annoys the pig. But when the pig child is ready, the best resource I've found is the Developing the Early Learner series (books one, two, three, and four). Please trust me when I say the workbooks sold at the big box stores are a waste of time and money. The Developing the Early Learner series is a delight to work through and is effective at teaching pre-reading and pre-writing skills.
     
     
2. Encourage the heart.
   
   
   
   • By fostering a respect for adults: Oh, listen. This concept right here is ten-ty billion times more important than making sure your kids are "smart." Let me just say from personal experience that a preschooler who is not taught to listen and follow instructions soon becomes a grade schooler who doesn't want to listen or follow instructions. And you know what a child has to do in order to learn? LISTEN and FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS.
     
     
   • By teaching them to respect other kids: This is where siblings and playdates come in pretty handy. Maybe I'm a micro-manager, (MAYBE?!) but I like to be present when my darling little preschooler plays fights with her pals. That way I can use the immediate moment to walk my child through a better way to handle the situation. Did I mention my children are perfect? Well, no, but they have plenty of opportunities to learn how to respect other kids.
     
     
3. Enjoy the moment. You know, I do spend a part of each day going banonkers. But I also spend a part of each day soaking up the things that make preschoolers so sweet: squashy little hands, made-up silly words, and an excitement for the most mundane things of life. It took me until my third child (slow! learner!) to relax about the academic thing and simply enjoy my girl for who she is.

What I like about those three points is that they all overlap, and fit naturally and easily into a life at home. With each of my three kids, doing preschool at home has been well worth the time, money, and effort I've put into it (and it's not that much). You can do it too!

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