Home-Schooling A Preschooler

This is coming from a mom who was super excited to send her toddler to preschool... But home-schooling is what we had.

This is coming from a mom who barely managed to do her own art project/ art lessons but for this toddler, we are cutting cardboard at midnight.

This is coming from a mom who is home-schooling her child for more than a year now, of course with help of some resources.

Home-schooling is here to stay for a while, so let’s try to make the best of what we have.

You can home-school your kids either yourself or with the help of a home school tutor or through an online tutoring website. I choose to use a mix model.

I Will share in brief what helped us or how we started

• Be flexible, patient and start slowly – I started formal theme-based home-schooling when my child turned 2.5 years old.
• Follow Pinterest accounts/watch Youtube videos/Read articles that inspire you to do kids learning activities
• Check Pinterest activities/Youtube videos as per kid’s interest
• Follow kid's interest (most of our activities have cars and wheels as per my child’s interest)
• Take help from learning apps if you feel short of ideas

Sharing a list of resources which we used to homeschool my Preschooler.

Books help in developing early literacy skills. Try to introduce 2 new books in a month. Some of my favourite picks are

• Books By Julia Donaldson
• Books By Eric Carle
• Usborne (Board Books and Lift the Flap)
• Read it yourself with Ladybird
• Junior Dictionary/Encyclopedia
• Maple Press Mythological tales
  

If you are okay with screen time - go for app-based learning. But be mindful, even with apps, you have to sit with them to make them do activities.

• Don't do anything more than one hour a day
• Take breaks, fix one time to do the activity, let them know one hour in advance that it is the class time now.
• Choose as per your Budget and material requirement.

Flintoclass - (Nicely designed activity bags with all materials, have stickers, rhymes, gross motor play, sensory plays, puzzles, small books and much more)

Class monitor - Have lots of worksheets, literacy skills and pasting activities

(Tip: Prepare activity for the day in advance as require cutting and preparation time)

• Listen to Rhymes, ABC songs
• Alphabet Board book
• Sensory Bin Alphabet play
• Match the Alphabets
• Do Name craft 
• Do fun art around Alphabet

Oh, so many activities can be used designed around numbers. Our number play started at less than four months - Remember Five little ducks

• Trace number car track
• Count particular fun art of toys
• Count spoons
• Paste stickers and count
• Pom pom fill with count
• Finding missing numbers

Development of pre-writing skills, both gross and fine motor skills is important before kids actually start writing. Some of activities are :

• Making Dots with Dot marker
• Using Crayons - Make lines, circles
• Writing salt tray
• Finger painting
• Masking tape - Put and Peel

Download free printable from Web/Pinterest. You can design your own word. Some of easy one to do are :

• Trace the line
• Opposites
• Match Animal parents to babies/ homes
• Shadow Matching

Best form of play-based learning, there are no fails in sensory plays and gives hours of fun with little mess.

• Playdough
• Hand print painting
• Sand art
• Shaving cream painting
• Toy Car wash
• Slime, ice, crushed paper

• Jigsaw Puzzles - Max 20 pieces, we started with two pieces and four four-piece DIY puzzle
• Flashcards - Transport, Action Picture, Fruits, Vegetables, Colour, Shapes, Flowers, Flags, Emotions, Seasons are our favourite picks
• Stickers
• Velcro sheets
• Tangram
• Blackboard and Markers
• Magnatiles
• Blocks
• Lego

     Do engage children in some Yoga and Exercise. Don’t stress much about learning and have fun while engaging your child in play based learning.

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Divya is Mom to three years old cute little Child Nivaan. She is first time mom raising a happy and compassionate child.