The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Homeschooling preschoolers requires two things: ( 1) a desire to teach a child to love learning and ( 2) a big huge heart with the capacity to embrace quirky kid stuff and their pea-sized attention spans.

Take the 1000 Good
Books list to the library
with you and discover a
stack of reading for you
and your preschooler
to enjoy . . . .

She asked me where I find my curriculum, and I smiled the maniacal smile that always seems to naturally emerge whether I mean for it to or not. It’s just sort of a reflex. Whenever I’m asked about homeschool curriculum, the first things that come to mind are the massive vendor halls I’ve encountered at various homeschooling conventions over the years and how unbelievably overwhelming all of those materials can be. Math-U-See? Rod and Staff? Charlotte Mason? What do these and the hundreds of other homeschool buzzwords and company names mean to someone who’s just beginning—someone like my friend who desires to homeschool her nephews or perhaps someone like . . . you?

I wished that night that I could just hand her a toolbox full of everything that would be helpful to prepare a preschooler for the next few years, but there are really so many variables and so many options. Aren’t we blessed? From dollar-store coloring books to high-quality preschool television shows to pre-packaged, all-inclusive curricula, there is something out www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

Preschool Toolbox Toys and Tools
•;Waldorf;Dolls
•;Corolle;Dolls
• CitiBlocs
• Legos
•;Kettler;Trikes
•;Brio;Trains
•;Wooden;Puzzles
•;Red;Wagons
•;Stack;and;Roll;Cups
•;Fisher;Price;Farm
•;Lace;and;Trace;Cards
•;Wikki;Stix
•;Homemade;Play;Dough
•;Fruit-Scented;Play;Dough
•;Stockmar;Beeswax;Block;Crayons
•;Jolanthe;Erb;has;created a;treasure
trove of early learning printables for
you to use with your preschoolers,
and every single one is free: home
schoolcreations.com/EarlyLearning
Printables.html.

• Elizabeth Foss and friends post wonderful, creative, and inspiring lesson plans that can turn a preschooler’s day into a delightful literary adventure: www.ebeth.typepad .com/serendipity.

• Our5-year-oldpositivelysquealswith delight when one of Shirley’s craft packages arrives in the mail: www . shirleysprepackagedcrafts.com.

•;The;magazine;that;is;chock;full;of ideas for families also hosts a site with searchable resources for games, parties, crafts, and reviews: www.family fun.com.

•;If;your;preschooler;is;itching;for;work-books, Rod and Staff offers a quality, time-tested, and affordable preschool curriculum: www.rodandstaffbooks .com/list/Rod_and_Staff_Preschool.

•;Take;the;1000;Good;Books;list;to the library with you and discover a stack of reading for you and your preschooler to enjoy: www.classical- homeschooling.org/celoop/1000- primary.html.

•;The;Crafty;Crow;is;a;lovely;compen-dium of crafts even non-crafty moms like me can pull off: www.belladia . typepad.com/crafty_crow.

• Terrific and free unit studies, lap-
books, and lots of other preschool
goodies: www.homeschoolshare.com
there to get the job of teaching letters,
numbers, shapes, colors, and an aware-
ness of our communities for every type
of teaching and learning style.