Homeschooling the
Preschooler
Tina Rice
As a Mom of a preschooler, I was overwhelmed when my mentor asked me what I was doing to help organize my preschooler
and my preschool. All I could think of is,
“How do I organize a hurricane?” I knew
I didn’t want a rigid schedule but knew I
needed some structure in our lives. Do you
ever feel that way?
In working with preschoolers and their
families over the past 27 years, I have talked
with thousands of parents and I have yet to
hear anyone say that their preschool child
was born organized. Some children lean to-
wards being organizers (I have one of those)
and some children, no matter what we do,
lean toward being unorganized (I have
one of those). Then there are children who
fall somewhere along the organizational
spectrum. Chances are good if you have
more than one child you will have different
levels of organization in your homeschool.
Preschool children learn by doing and
they cannot learn if you don’t let them become part of the organizational process. I
know it is faster and easier to do it yourself rather than to train your child how to
put away toys/books/clothes but in the long
run you will save yourself time by partnering with your child to organize! Starting
a toddler on sorting toys and clothes teaches them a valuable skill and helps them
to learn so many things. When you sort
toys by color–you are teaching the names
of colors to your child. When you sort by
type you are teaching your child to classify
things. Often we don’t think of organizing
as a part of the education process, but it is!
Homeschooling is one of the greatest
gifts you can give your preschool child!
Who knows your child better then you? In
a homeschool setting it is easy to implement developmentally appropriate practice
(DAP). DAP can be defined as a practice that
meets children where they are and enables
them to reach goals that are both challenging and achievable. Putting DAP to work in
organizing your preschool and preschooler
may mean that your 3-year-old sorts and
puts away their own clothes while their same
age friend only carries laundry around.
Because you know your child, you can
focus on child centered learning where
your child has experiences that they learn
from. DJ Schneider Jensen, author of Monday Memo: Creating Change in Early Childhood Education, One Message at a Time
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
Often we don’t think of organizing as a part of the education process, but it is!
Organizing your Preschooler
and your Preschool
