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If you are thinking about homeschooling, or homeschooling your preschooler for the first time, you might wonder if you can teach your child and how you should go about doing it. I remember spending so much time trying to figure out what to do (because information was not as readily available as it is today) and feeling very unsure at times.
Looking back I would tell myself that Yes, you can teach your child! And yes, there are many ways to go about teaching! I’ve found out that each one of my children has different bents, learning modalities, and interests. Through the years I’ve learned how to be flexible and incorporate components my children need in order to enjoy learning and to learn and work with my teaching style.
I am now teaching my 6th preschooler at home! Over the years we have done things differently for each season, but for our general framework, we have always used a letter of the week approach. This post goes over what we are using this year, ABC tools and curriculum, and tips for teaching preschool at home.
I am not an organized planner. But I do plan. 
I rarely have large amounts of time to work on gathering materials and pull things together. I share this with you so that you know a little of my personality. I do not have my day planned to the minute. I struggle keeping written plans and don’t feel guilty about it. I am a wing-it planner. So when you read this post, I want you to take what looks interesting and make it work for you. And for those of you who are just starting out and might have an organizing personality more like me, you can do this! Pray, ask Him for a plan for your school and be flexible. Here are some tips that have helped me stay on track:
Set a framework for each day.
We started using a letter of the week approach when my oldest (who is now 16 years old) was a preschooler. It helped me to be able to plan my week around a theme and know what to do. We often would do unit studies based on the letter we were studying. It was a way for me to have a routine and focus. Notice I said me. My brain doesn’t seem to function until noon so this was our routine to start our day. When noon hit, I was ready to tackle individual lessons with my kids.
While I did pull everything together with my older children, for the last 2 children I have used a combination of Raising Rock Stars Preschool and All About Reading Pre-Level 1. We start off our day with all my younger children ages 8 yrs., 6yrs., 4 yrs. and almost 2yr. old meeting together going over our Letter of the Week board. Even though my 8yr. old already knows how to read, we use this time to learn memory work together, listen to a story, and to create a morning routine for everyone.
I purchased a tri-fold board and used double-sided tape to secure page protectors on the board. {The left side now has page protectors added as well.} Four book pockets or scrapbooking envelopes are also added at the bottom and “laminated” with clear packing tape. Most of the pages that will go on this board are from Raising Rock Stars Preschool. There is a Bible verse, song, and application story/poem. The others will be whatever I feel like we need to focus on. Currently my 4 year old is learning to “read” color names, so I printed out the color names from The Preschool Mom.
Our letter learning circle time can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending if we add several read-alouds, songs etc. Everyone then breaks for individual work and activities. I also fold up the board and safely tuck it behind a cabinet. My kids aren’t gentle with things. 
Want to peek at other tri-fold morning boards?
I didn’t come up with the idea at all. In fact, mine is pretty simple compared to these awesome examples.
Homeschool Creations Morning Board — I got the skip counting printables here
In Lieu of Preschool Morning Board
1+1+1=1 Organizing Raising Rock Stars
Intentional Homeschool Morning Board
Find a preschool organizing system that works for you.
This year I decided to organize everything in 2 crates. I don’t have everything printed out, but I do try to have several weeks already printed and ready to go. I’ve also gone through our personal library and pulled books that would fit in with each letter. This summer I came across a whole series of ABC books called My First Steps to Reading by Jane Belk Moncure. So I have at least one book for each letter.
Since I’ve gone through the alphabet before, I’m also revisiting all my old ABC posts. I have an ABC book listed for each letter plus activities that we did.
I like having the folders in a crate because I can easily pair books, games, and other letter-specific materials in there as I come across them. The point is to come up with an organizing system that works for you. If you opt to use a full curriculum, organize materials ahead of time to help your day, week, and month go smoother.
Playtime is important!
Sometimes when first starting out, it can be easy to focus too heavily on academics. That’s understandable, especially if you have a few naysayers in your life or if you aren’t confident in what you are doing. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can structure your day to work best for your child and your family. One thing I like to leave plenty of time for is play.
Usually I have a combination of structured playtime and open-ended playtime. Structured playtime might be pulling out our Wedgits or wooden blocks to build (meaning I picked this activity for my child) while I’m working with another student. It might be a sensory bin or a game.
I also leave time for them to use their imaginations and pick activities that they would like to do. Play is learning. Deborah from Teach Preschool has an excellent article that sums up what I believe about play— that it is a vital component of early learning.
Give yourself grace.
It’s easy to be hard on yourself. Don’t. It’s easy to compare your homeschool to what you “think” everyone else is doing. Pinterest and FB images only paint a portion of the picture. They usually showcase the best and ideal moments. We all have our frazzled days but usually those don’t get shared. Give yourself grace. If your school day is overwhelming, ditch the plan and go have fun with your child. If your child is overwhelming (it will happen from time to time ) go give yourself a 10 minute break to pray, regroup and maybe indulge in chocolate. It’s ok! This is a journey.
Later this week I’ll share some of my favorite preschool resources and websites.
What tip would you add?