Fun & Easy Preschool Homeschool Schedule

Your preschool homeschool schedule should be fun and easy for you and your preschooler.

Balancing play and learning at this stage in homeschool should be intentional yet natural.

Currently, I am a homeschooling mom of a preschooler and will be for a few more years.

I have multiple-age children and understand the complexities that can come with creating a fun and easy preschool homeschool schedule while tending to everyone and everything else.

When thinking of how to plan your fun and easy preschool homeschool schedule the most important component is making sure your child feels loved, supported, and encouraged by you.

There will be challenges, but I have experienced firsthand that you can overcome them with a few strategies in place.

I’m thrilled to share with you:

• How to have fun with your child’s preschool homeschool.
• How to take steps to simplify your preschool homeschool schedule.
• Homeschooling preschool with multiple ages of children at home.
• My preschool homeschool curriculum pick.
• Homeschool supply list for preschoolers.
• How long should a typical preschool homeschool schedule be?
• How do you plan to homeschool a preschooler?

If you consider yourself a “newbie” to homeschooling…no problem.

Because here is the one thing you can be confident about.

Nobody knows your child better than you.

As you gather all the advice and tips to prepare to homeschool this year, let everything be established on that truth.

If something in your homeschool schedule isn’t working, you can always change it.

If your child is not connecting with your curriculum choice you can adjust it, switch, or take a break and come back when your child is ready.

Our plans and schedule for preschool homeschool should be able to adapt with our children as needed.

HOW TO PLAN A FUN AND EASY PRESCHOOL HOMESCHOOL

To keep the fun in your child’s preschool you have to leave plenty of room for play and exploration.

But not just the random playing your child does on any given day.

But thoughtful planned out playtime.

Creating fun stations for a day like a baker’s stand for example is a fun way to intentionally place toys out and create an environment for your child to play in.

Once the baking time is up, feel free to put everything away until the next time it’s time to bake.

You can create all types of fun activities without turning your home into a classroom.

Doing simple activities with your preschoolers like planting, play dough, cutting through magazines, painting, board games, and more!

Preschoolers love exploring insects, and nature, creating things out of cardboard boxes, water play, cooking with you, and almost anything involving hands-on learning.

Games and activities that look like play to older children actually are play and learning for younger children.

Time with you as a parent and especially a homeschool parent is one of the greatest gifts to give your child.

Don’t fall prey to over-scheduling and saying yes to every homeschool opportunity.

Slowly adding in extra activities outside of the home, as they fit the rhythm of your family’s homeschool is much easier.

Preschool homeschooling does not mean constantly having to find ways to entertain your child.

But rather, creating simple quality learning and play opportunities throughout the day.

Download this printable preschool reading log and skill log worksheet

CHOOSING A PRESCHOOL HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM

PRESCHOOL WORKBOOKS

Depending on your child’s attention span ability, interests, and influence of other siblings your child may be ready for a formal curriculum. (If not, no worries)

Your little learner’s concentration skills may be ready for basic skills work like using child safety scissors for cutting and pasting.

Color sorting, tracing, connecting the dots, and recognizing differences are also concentration skills that your 3 or 4-year-old may be ready for.

When choosing a curriculum for my child when they are in between toddler and young preschool, I like choosing one workbook that is full of different activities.

This allows me to keep the work part of learning very simple with just one book to work through.

In most of these types of workbooks, you will find reading and writing activities. Mathematics and counting skills work. Logic, problem-solving, and science.

We can complete as many pages as he likes.

Or, skip around to some of his favorite pages within the workbook.

It automatically lessens the pressure of having an entire curriculum package to complete.

The most recent workbook I’ve purchased was the Jumbo Book of Pre-K Fun Workbook for ages 3-4.

This book offers tons of variety, and short lessons and it even includes fun stickers in the back of the book.

Another great preschool resource that focuses on cutting and pasting is Big Skills for Little Hands Cut and Paste.

The engaging and quality activities in this workbook can easily become a favorite for your homeschool preschool.

The lessons are laser-focused and will help your child master the fine motor skill of cutting and pasting.

It’s extremely easy to go overboard as you see all the colorful, preschool books full of numbers, letters, shapes, and more.

But I would strongly suggest that you try to keep things minimal and stick with 1 or 2 workbooks to use in your homeschool curriculum.

As homeschooling parents, we can create playtime activities that can help our children learn beyond workbooks.

Baking, helping clean up around the house, feeding pets, or watering plants are examples of real-life/play activities that promote learning during the preschool years.

For more help creating playtime activities, I would recommend the book 150 Screen-Free Activities for Kids.

This book is great for babies, toddlers, and even older children.

FIVE IN A ROW: OUR PRESCHOOL HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM PICK

This school year we chose to use More Before Five In A Row.

There is never a push for a formal preschool curriculum, but I felt my son was ready for formal learning this year.

More Before Five In A Row curriculum is heavily literacy-based using young children’s classic stories.

The curriculum is designed to be easy to follow while being highly effective for teaching Social Studies, Language Arts, Applied Math, and Science.

You are also provided cute story disks that match the storybooks for the curriculum level you choose, to be used along with the story map.

We chose FIAR as our main curriculum because I wanted to create intentional bonding time while my preschooler is learning.

Using reading as a main source of teaching is also easy for a homeschooling parent.

The objective becomes about enjoying a story together while teaching valuable lessons throughout.

Reading with your preschoolers is also a great way to teach and still cuddle with your younger toddlers or babies.

There are fun activities built into the FIAR curriculum that will reinforce lessons from the stories.

Many of the materials needed for the activities are things you may already have around the house.

Using this homeschool style of a structure consisting of reading with follow-up activities is pretty relaxed and still leaves plenty of time for preschool play.

HOW MANY HOURS SHOULD YOUR PRESCHOOL HOMESCHOOLING DAY BE?

Although most traditional preschools are 2-4 hours each day, Your preschool homeschool schedule can focus more on skills learned instead of hours to fill.

If your goal is to read 2 books and work on cutting and pasting for the day then feel free to end the “homeschool day” once those goals are met.

And allow your preschooler the freedom to learn through play throughout the rest of the day.

Everyone’s preschool homeschool schedule will more than likely look different because everyone’s family dynamic is different.

You may plan to spend an hour outdoors because you want to focus on nature and science in the park for the day.

You may be surprised at where your preschooler’s natural curiosity and interests can take your plans for the day.

A 20-minute walk can easily turn into 45 minutes by just stopping and answering your child’s questions along the way.

Your local park, library, and community are great extensions of your homeschool and count as homeschool time as well.

The more you see your child can complete more goals for the day, naturally, your homeschool day will be a little longer.

This will come with time and as you observe your child’s capabilities.

HOW DO YOU PLAN A PRESCHOOL HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULE?

Planning your preschool homeschool schedule should consist of covering the basics.

But not necessarily covering them every day.

Whether you are following a boxed curriculum or creating your own plan, don’t try to tackle everything in a day.

As long as the standards are covered within your curriculum you will more than likely cover these skills throughout a homeschool year.

Here are some of the typical preschool standards that are included in a preschool program:

• Number of the day 1-10
• Letter of the day A-Z
• Color of the week
• Conversations about the weather
• Days of the Week / Months of the Year
• Understanding Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
• Art
• Music
• Science
• Social Studies
• Storytime
• Number Recognition – Counting to 20 or 30
• Tracing
• Basic math operations – Adding and subtracting
• Basic shapes
• Cutting
• Sorting
• Classifying
• Gross motor skills – jumping, running, climbing, etc.
• Fine motor skills – holding, grasping, pinching, grip, etc
• Developing Social and emotional skills
• Developing communication skills
• Focus, attention, concentration skills
• Imaginative play

I know that is quite the list!

But, taking steps to set small goals each day makes this much more accomplishable.

First, try keeping a simple checklist of skills you want to work on with your child at the beginning of your homeschool year.

You can create a creative goal tracker to help keep track of the skills you have worked on with your child throughout the year.

Using the table of contents in preschool curriculums will also give you ideas of things to include in your preschool plans as well.

Also, keep in mind that one activity may incorporate several skills all at once!

Next, plan how you would like your day to flow.

A morning routine, breakfast, chores, schoolwork, etc.

There is a lot of planning, organizing, and managing your home life as well.

The more orderly your home feels the easier it is to transition into homeschool.

After creating a comfortable home environment you can decide if you want to start homeschooling at a set time.

For example, every morning at 9:00, every morning after breakfast, or after a morning walk.

There is no wrong way to create your homeschool schedule.

But I do believe that consistency is what’s more important.

Reading on the couch, or on a cozy rug, either way, is fine.

As long as your child knows that when _________________ happens it’s time to read.

That’s the secret to planning for a successful preschool homeschool.

Creating consistent parts of the day that signals it’s time for __________________.

Children, especially young children love a sense of routine.

Knowing what’s next often helps them feel less anxious and transition better throughout the day.

FUN PRESCHOOL HOMESCHOOL SUPPLIES

It’s easy to go overboard collecting preschool supplies.

Everything seems like a “must-have” but the reality is school supplies for preschool can be very minimal and few.

A basic general preschool supply list consists of

• Crayons
• Washable Markers
• Pencils
• Glue / glue sticks
• Watercolor paints
• Blunt scissors

*Optional items:

Folders

Counting/sorting manipulatives

Purchasing the basics is a good way not to have a bunch of supplies that you end up not using. You can always purchase things as you see an actual need (or want) for them.

Don’t forget you can download this printable preschool reading log and skill log worksheet here!

TIPS FOR HOMESCHOOLING A PRESCHOOLER WITH SIBLINGS:

Having a positive homeschool experience can become quite the juggling act when homeschooling preschoolers with other siblings, younger or older.

We’ve learned how to incorporate outside support with resources like tutoring, our local library, or fun toddler outlets at places like My Gym.

Not to mention this also gives you a bit of break from your daily routine.

But there are a few tips to help make your homeschool days feel more productive and less chaotic for you and your children.

• Utilize a nap / quiet time of the day.
• Try babywearing to help keep babies close while schooling during the day.
• Safety / babyproof your homeschool space.
• Incorporate group storytime of family read-aloud times.
• It’s okay to plan some activities geared toward older children, while other activities are geared towards younger children.
• Select times during the day when older siblings can help.
• Try to carve out small chunks of one on one time with each child.
• Keep special “school time” activities separate from everyday toys.
• Be flexible with your schedule when needed.
• Prepare in advance planned work and activities.
• Create a cozy quiet place for reading, snuggling, or concentrating.
• Keep some crafts supplies and paper easily accessible to help younger children keep busy.
• Incorporate independent work times for older children.
• Make sure older children understand their daily schedule so they know what’s expected next.
• Frequently discuss technology rules and internet safety for older children using the internet independently.

REMEMBER IT’S ONLY PRESCHOOL

If plans and curriculum don’t pan out, you can never go wrong cuddling your child.

Talking, playing, and reading with your child.

Enjoy these tender years of preschool homeschool!

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