Balancing Academics and Play in Preschool Homeschooling
Balancing academics and play in preschool homeschooling is easier with Apologia’s expert tips. Learn the best strategies to foster early learning while keeping education fun and engaging for young children.
Have you ever marveled at how preschoolers are preloaded with questions? Curiosity, observation, and questioning are not only enjoyable but also really important. Sometimes, as homeschooling parents, we feel that we need to answer all of the questions as soon as they are asked. If, however, you encourage your preschooler to think aloud, you will soon realize that they are asking themselves the question most of the time. In place of direct answers, you can guide your children to their own discoveries.
Engaged not Overloaded
Homeschooling a preschooler is about providing a safe environment for your child to explore. Learning happens naturally when little minds are engaged instead of overloaded. It’s important to realize that most of the world is yet to be discovered by a preschooler.
Curiosity makes us look closely at something that has piqued our interest. That interest and the time spent observing something leads us to ask questions, and questions lead to gathering information and learning about our world. Engaging your child within the moments of your child’s play is a way to ensure simple exposure to concepts so that your child develops an awareness of and interest in our world.
You can guide your preschooler and ensure that your child’s heart and mind are engaged instead of overloaded by detailed instructions. Preschool children conquer the unknown through thought, trial and error, and determination. Your job as a homeschooling parent of a preschooler is to encourage exploration within a safe environment that you’ve created.
Understanding the Importance of Balancing Academics
Staying patient and positive can sometimes be difficult when the day is full of must-complete household duties. The good news is that the preschool years are just that, pre-school. So don’t stress yourself out if your child didn’t get one-on-one academic instruction today or even this week. If you incorporate learning into everyday life moments, you’ll soon become confident that your preschooler is learning regardless of the situation.
The preschool goals should not be to duplicate school but rather to create moments of exposure and wonder. When you do that for your preschooler, the learning will happen naturally. Something might look like a simple bead maze to an adult, but if one is put in front of a preschooler, they can spend a lot of time mastering eye/hand coordination.
The balance in homeschooling a preschooler is recognizing that learning is play, as well as fun! You can spend an hour interacting with your child as they play with a toy farm, and in that moment of mentoring, you can introduce animal names, sounds, and care. You can spend a rainy afternoon doing arts and crafts, and you will have introduced colors and shapes to your preschooler.
Designing a Balanced Schedule
Structuring your day in a fluid manner that allows you to maintain control is important. Only you can create the perfect setting and schedule that fits your family. But there are a few ideas and tips that you can consider adopting:
- Time with Friends & Family – Relationships, gratitude, kindness, and worship are the traits that make humans made in the image of God. Make sure you take the time to model these things every day. Children imitate what they observe. Include family and friends in your scheduling.
- Volunteering & Worship – Look for volunteering opportunities where your little one can contribute, like packing grocery bags for families in need or making cards for people living in nursing homes. Help your child become absorbed in worship–in church, at dinner, at bedtime, etc.
- Getting Ready for the Day – Simple routines help introduce your preschooler to time management and planning skills. Your preschooler’s day could start informally by reviewing a family calendar and checking the weather. Are there any activities planned outside of your home? Does the weather dictate a certain type of clothing?
- Chores – You can foster confidence in your child by having them complete a task assigned on a chore chart. Young children love to help, contribute to the family, and feel useful. Allowing your preschooler to complete a task in his or her own time will help your child develop an important sense of independence.
- Self-Care Skills – It’s the preschool years where children learn how to use the bathroom and wash up. Set them up to succeed with the needed items, like a step stool to reach the sink. Self-care skills are wonderful items to include in your daily schedule. Consider adding encouraging posters to model important skills.
- Reading Time – Set aside time to read with your child. Books should be readily available and reachable if possible to encourage time spent reading. Simple picture books can be used by a child even when a parent isn’t available to snuggle up on the couch. Always try to have a cozy spot your preschooler can access with a book of choice at any time. A child who learns the power of reading is unstoppable.
- Outside Time – Make time to be outside. There’s a whole world waiting to be discovered just outside your door. Whether it’s a formal field trip or a day in the backyard, every day should include time for play outside.
Keep in mind that structured and unstructured learning times don’t require a definitive line. Take, for instance, a play kitchen where your child imagines him- or herself, the chef preparing a delightful dinner for you. Playtime doesn’t have to stop as you introduce the concept of “washing your hands” before you start to cook.
Exploring Creation Outside
There is no better gift to give your preschooler than the time and opportunity to explore and contemplate the beauty of creation and our Creator. Time spent outside in all seasons will introduce science to your preschoolers and teach them that creation is locked together in rhythmic cycles established by our Creator.
The more your child is free to explore our world, the greater his or her realization will be that the rhythm of our own lives is intertwined with the cycles our Creator gave us. For instance, just noting that the moon changes shape over the course of a month introduces a child to our standard calendar year. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter are seasons that bring noticeable changes. There are holidays and holy days associated with certain seasons, too.
During the preschool years, take time to establish with your child that science is a process of discovery and creation, but it is not creation itself. Science is discovering what we, as humans, do not yet know about the structure of life and a universe that already exists. Thus, there is a true connection between science and Christianity. We need both to see the entire picture. Don’t hesitate to include God in your scientific discussions with your child.
Observation skills are extremely valuable throughout life. Invite your child to see things you observe at different times, like a unique insect sitting on a rock where you are gardening or a colorful bird perched outside a window. You can even consider having ready-to-go outdoor exploration stations you grab on your way out the door. Going to the beach? Have buckets, sieves, shovels, and a shell collection box. Hiking in the forest? Make a bracelet out of tape with the sticky side out, and allow your child to collect leaves, acorns, and small objects to examine later in the day. Save the containers you get from eggs and use them as storage stations for your preschooler’s collections. Teaching a child how to sort materials such as rocks, shells, and trinkets is the beginning of scientific classification.
Community
Searching the internet for communities that meet in the park, library, gym, or other social setting is healthy for you and your preschooler. In these group settings, you will glean insight from other parents of preschoolers, learn about books that have helpful information, and even find out about opportunities and other communities you might like to explore.
Curriculum
Choosing Creation-based preschool learning materials (like those that Apologia publishes) helps children understand that life is more than just a story about themselves. Knowing who they are and how and why our world works prepares children to become stewards of our Earth and, eventually, Christian leaders of the next generation.
Fine Motor Skills
Age-appropriate learning goals should recognize that preschool children between the ages of 3-5 are typically working on mastering their fine motor skills. You can add many simple things to your home environment to promote this type of learning.
- Manipulatives: puzzles, an abacus, bead mazes, trains and train tracks, etc.
- Art Supplies: safety scissors, construction paper, pencils, crayons, and plenty of coloring pages
- Science and art are a wonderful combination.
- Dress-up Supplies: buttons, snaps, zippers, and laces, etc.
- Hands-on learning: pouring water into different shapes, molding dough into shapes, and stacking building blocks.
Fun and engaging educational activities don’t have to be formal. In fact, you can incorporate literacy and language skills, as well as early math concepts through play and everyday activities. Grocery stores are a great place to expand their vocabulary, discuss math, and discuss geography.
Monitoring Progress and Adjusting
No one will ever know your child as you do. Observing your child’s development is an honor and a blessing for which every homeschooling parent can be grateful. Only you can truly assess your preschooler’s skill level, and you can adapt the schedule and activities based on your child’s needs. Don’t ever feel pressured by society to accept what is deemed appropriate. You’re building a worldview that will stay with your child for his or her lifetime.
Recognize that each child is unique. One child might excel at reading, another at counting, and another at empathy. Each child is perfect. If you feel that some areas need to be addressed, adjust your schedule and source of play rather than trying to adjust your child. Pressuring a child to learn the alphabet or numbers will not aid them in learning them any sooner. Rather, consider more opportunities to point out different letters when you see them naturally, like the letters S-T-O-P on a sign during your walk around the neighborhood.
Final Thoughts
Life experience is personal. Your home is a sacred place, and you have the honor to fill it with materials that will grow your child’s heart and mind. When it comes to balancing academics in your homeschool you must choose your materials carefully. Well-written materials can help your preschooler engage with larger concepts. At Apologia, we believe that the author of Creation has instilled in us a curiosity to explore the unknown, and in the journey, we will become closer to our Creator. May you always have joy in your journey.
