The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Bible, some scratch paper, a pen! Write your favorite verses down, and begin over breakfast when your preschooler is a captive audience with her mouth full of Cheerios and her ears wide open to hear. Those littlest ones will be memorizing circles around you in no time.

What else would go into that great big preschool toolbox I’d give to my friend? Books. Picture books and nonfiction and classic children’s books and nature books and books about art and books about God. Books about topics you love (think: surfing, food, pets, cars, camping, etc.). Piles of books from garage sales, baskets of books from the library. Opened, read aloud, and read aloud again.

I’d include as many age-appropriate art supplies as I could fit into the box: crayons, colored pencils, scratch paper, and finger paints are all standards, but I’d also make room for washable markers, yum-my-smelling play dough and stamps— but no glitter. That would just be mean.

There would be room for toys that stretch the imagination and teach through playing. There’s so much value in lining up cars, building a train track, nurturing a baby doll, and peddling a trike as fast as the wind. Little neurons are fired and problems are solved; no worksheet can do the same job as quickly or as thoroughly.

I’d send her an i Tunes gift card to purchase wonderful music that would fill the ears of everyone in her home: classical standards, praise music, tunes from around the world, peppy jazz, and fun children’s ditties like “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “London Bridge.” I’d encourage her to create a playlist to accompany breakfast, one that might soothe a sleepy or frightened child, and one with which to dance around the kitchen like crazy people on a mission to get the dinner dishes washed while having as much fun as possible.

And bubble bath. I’d include bubble bath in two scents: one for the little guys and one for her. Homeschooling preschoolers is hard work, and sometimes the most restful end of the day is one enjoyed in deep, warm water with a magazine and a glass of something cold in hand. Mamas (or aunties) of homeschooled preschoolers need plenty of time to recharge.

I’m already praying for my young
friend who is contemplating the serious
matter of homeschooling her nephews.
She’s going to need the Holy Spirit to
whisper gently in her ear and remind her
during the most challenging days why
she began this whole thing in the first
place. She’s going to need reminding that
her successes and failures are laid bare at
the cross, where Jesus did it all already,
and where she can rest in the knowledge
that He loves her and those two sweet
children more wholly than anyone else
ever will. As with anything God calls
us to do, she’ll be equipped with exactly
what He wants her to have, whether or
not I’ve included it in her great big pre-
school toolbox.

Kendra Fletcher is the homeschooling mother of eight, aged 19 down to 4. She has never known what it means to homeschool without the presence of preschoolers and loves to encourage other moms who are beginning their homeschool journeys with little ones underfoot. Kendra reviews for the TOS Homeschool Crew and is the author of a popular E-Book about creating a Circle Time for your homeschool. Her website and blog can be found at www.preschoolersandpeace.com.