Among Aidan’s 3-4 year old peers, he has very few little friends who are not already in preschool outside of the home.
He won’t be 4 until February. If you would have asked me to write this post before I had kids, or even 2 years ago, it would have been mostly a treatise on how children learn by playing, and how we expect too much of them too soon. I would have written about how I tended toward the idea of “unschooling, ” and that we’d probably be starting formal schooling later than most.
I enjoy teaching, and I LOVE learning, but never felt like I had the right ideas about either growing up. For one, I’ve always tied my worth up in how “smart” I am – which crippled me when I faced challenges out of my easy reach. I rarely pushed myself to master things that were difficult for me, and did not have a good work ethic.
Also, I had only a handful of teachers that I really *learned* from. Most of the time I felt like I learned more from the reading or from my own research than I did from my teacher’s lectures. I never have been able to pin down what kind of “learner” I am. Different things have worked better for me at different times.
Because I know that I needed flexibility and accountability as a child, and didn’t get enough of either, I’m committed to responding to the needs of each of my children individually.
I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to homeschool, but would do whatever was best. So far it looks like homeschool is still a good direction for us to go, but I’ve been taken off guard by the realities of teaching young ones. I realize now that I’ve always assumed that children learn very little beyond the basics of speech and potty training before they enter school. I’ve been unprepared for the huge leaps and bounds of reasoning, communication, and character building that have happened in these toddler years.
Aidan has shown me through his questions, imaginative storytelling, observations, and actions that he is learning every minute. I honestly feel that if I don’t capitalize on this highly inquisitive stage that I’ll miss out on the opportunity to teach him some of the most important lessons he’ll ever learn.
So, we’re starting preschool.
I still absolutely think that school for young children – and all children really – should be highly experiential and fun. I still feel that we place expectations on children that are misguided and focused on the wrong kind of achievements. And I still lean toward unschooling.
That being said, Aidan LOVES his workbooks, craft time, story time, Bible time, etc. He enjoys knowing what comes next in our schedule. He frequently asks what we’ll be doing today, tomorrow, and even over the weekend. He has a great grasp on time and will anticipate things for weeks (w/o complaining about them not happening right away).
So, while we’re taking it easy and we’ll only be doing half days (and this may very well always be true), we’re setting a schedule, and even kind of using a curriculum! We threw a party to get him excited, and we’re diving in.
Here’s what our days will look like (preschool schedule in bold):
6:30-7am – wake up, eat
7:00 – Bible time, hymns
7:30 – get dressed, clean up, play
8:30 – sit down time – letter of the day, reading/writing
9:00 – reading time
9:30 – action game/dancing & singing
10:00 – snack time
10:30 – craft/art time
11:00 – math/numbers
11:30 – outside play (or nature activity)
12:00pm – lunch
12:30 – cleanup & free play
1:00-3 – nap/rest time
3:00-5:30 – free play
5:30-6 – clean-up
6:00 – dinner
6:30-7:30 – family time
7:30-8pm – get ready for bed/read
8:00 – goodnight!
I’ll be planning out the details a week at a time using this printable.
I mentioned that I’m using a curriculum. We’ve printed out Learn Your Letters… Learn to Serve*, and put it in a big binder. I’ve actually been using it for activity ideas for almost a year and I love it.
I’ll also be pulling heavily from these resources:
Slow and Steady Get Me Ready*
I Can Teach My Child
Tot School
Homeschool Creations
And everything else I find exciting around the web is neatly organized and accessible on my Preschool/Homeschool pinboard on (my beloved) Pinterest. :)
Making a "flag."
Time will tell whether or not this new schedule will be much different than our old one, and whether or not this means we’ll be starting “Kindergarten” early (4.5 yrs), etc. I have a stack of books on educational philosophies that I’m working my way through – will keep you updated!
*These are affiliate links (disclosure policy)
Inspiring for sure, Anjanette. Home schooling full-time is still in the back of my mind, yet has not moved up to the front yet. However, we will still have M,W & F to do our own learning. Thanks for sharing your schedule, as it gives me a starting point when thinking “cirriculum” with Callie & Madi on those days. As always, thanks for posting.
I really think that, for better or worse, kids do *most* of their learning at home regardless of where they go to “school!” That’s one of the reasons I’m so comfortable with homeschooling – I’d want to be a teacher to them in any case, and this way I’m able to have more of a say in how the teaching progresses.
I don’t think preschool (or any grade level) outside of the home is *bad* though. I know Callie (and Lily) will have a blast together and that all of my mommy friends are wonderfully intentional with their kids at home. I don’t imagine that Aidan will be smarter (or kinder, or any other “er”) than your kiddos b/c we’re homeschooling! It fits with our lifestyle and our desire for our family’s schedule. I think it would fit with yours, too. I’ll have to do a post or two about our decision to school at home when I get my thoughts gathered.
I think it’s never too early to start teaching at home. You just have to know and understand your child, at younger ages, since they can become overwhelmed quickly. With our younger children we always took a lot of breaks and kept each activity short too. Sounds like you are off to a great start!
Agreed! I will be posting about our things we will do at home in the afternoons soon, but we also have a schedule & activities. I WAS a teacher at one time and my favorite thing was planning & organizing my classroom for my kids! Knowing Eli is doing awesome at preschool 3 mornings a week & then getting to re-emphasize or give the “one-on-one” type learning at home in the afternoons is important to me. Our afternoons overall involve calendar (weather, day of the week, month), field trips, academics (just one a day and then none on Friday which vary from worksheets to activities), games, physical play, read aloud story time, and free play. Anna will be involved in all of this in her own way and she is showing such interest already! Happy schooling!
I think it’s really neat that you’re doing this. And thanks for posting the resources you’re using. I’ll have to check them out. Unfortunately, homeschooling is not an option for my child. I just don’t have what she needs (mainly the ability to speak French fluently). Thankfully the schools around here in Calgary are much better than what I grew up with in Alabama.
But I look forward to seeing how it all works. You’ll have to tell me what books you’re reading, as it all sounds very interesting.