Grace-filled Preschool

So I feel like being completely honest by saying that I sincerely hesitated to write this post. That being said, let me start off by saying that I’m by no means a homeschooling expert and hope I never come across as having it all figured out… I definitely don’t! Here’s a little peek at what the start of our “homeschooling” journey has looked like for us though!

Out of our three kids, I’ve taught two of them at home so far… though in Susannah’s defense, she’s just 7 months old so I guess we can cut her a little slack!

I’ve always known I wanted to homeschool my kiddos so when Jackson came along I couldn’t wait to get started! When he was almost almost 3 I bought his first workbook. At that point he already knew all of his letters, was needing a little more structure to his day, and thoroughly enjoyed working on his little worksheets.

At the time Lydia was about a year old and some new and serious medical issues (that meant lots of attention and doctor’s appointments for her) had popped up. I quit working outside the home to stay home full time once again. With the changes in routine we started setting aside some time a few days a week for “school time.”

School time usually lasted anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. We had a little desk in the living room and typically we’d spend the morning playing outside, come inside for lunch, then depending on our exhaustion level (and Lydia’s cooperation) we’d do “school” before or after rest time. Lydia was NOT a great sleeper so I very rarely planned anything for nap time. I feel like I should add that Jackson dropped his naps early and was done sleeping by about 2 1/2 or he’d be up WAY too late at night.

Here’s what a typical routine looked like for us with Jackson:

• Bible story- our favorite is the Jesus Storybook Bible
• How to spell his name
• Calendar time- days of the week, months of the year
• Flashcards- colors, shapes, letters, or numbers depending on the day… he also had bug flashcards he loved to use
• Workbook- a page or two out of his workbook
• Sensory play- usually this meant play dough, but sometimes it was a sensory bin or a hands on activity/craft
• Game or movie- if we did school before rest time I’d put on an educational movie for him to sit and watch. If it was after we’d usually play a board game (Sneaky Snacky Squirrel was his all time favorite!)

Jackson’s preschool routine was very “traditional” and it worked well for us! Throughout the day we’d listen to lots of educational songs, read lots of books, and play outside as much as possible.

As Lydia got older though, the traditional route wasn’t working well for us so I tweaked it some.

We switched curriculum from Horizons to The Good and the Beautiful for Jackson’s Kindergarten year and I loved the layout! I’d started listening to podcasts and using Instagram for a little bit more than just posting pictures of my kids. I heard about Charlotte Mason and Montessori and started looking into all the different homeschool methods a little bit more.

I’m still not set on one specific method for homeschooling and that’s honestly how I plan to keep it! There are so many good things about each one that I just take what works and try something different with what doesn’t! I know this may not be how most people homeschool, but it really works for us so far!

I didn’t feel like Lydia was ready for formal learning as early as her brother was. At 2 1/2 we were still figuring out some of her health issues and were more focused on things like her balance and gross motor skills…. although from all the waiting rooms and car rides she had her fine motor skills were ON POINT! Stickers and coloring were (and are) the way to this girl’s heart!

Instead of stressing out about workbooks and formal sit down learning we did a lot more intentional playing! She still sat with us while we did our “morning time” learning (More info on that is coming, but for now just know that it didn’t always happen in the morning!), but she rarely did her own worksheets unless she asked for something so she could be like Jackson!

Disclaimer: When Lydia was three I also found out I was pregnant again and started working outside of the house again. This had a huge impact on our schooling method last year! Thankfully I was able to bring the kids with me to work and squeeze in learning during work, but honestly I still would’ve done a similar routine with her if we’d been home full time…. just surrounded by a lot less stress!

Here’s what a typically routine looked like for Lydia… please keep in mind that this was usually NOT all done in one sitting as we were squeezing it in between customers, naps, and teaching Jackson. Last year our learning happened in 5-15 minute chunks most days:

• Bible story- if we were at work we went over her Cubbies book, or at home we’d read from the Jesus Storybook Bible
• Calendar time- days of the week, months of the year, weather
• About me time- how to spell her name and we also added in our address, my phone number, daddy’s phone number, and practiced saying what she’s allergic to
• ABC/shape/color flashcards or magnets- we’d pick a few out and say their names and sounds
• Journal- I’d have her color a picture or do a little activity in her little notebook while I worked with Jackson. Sometimes it was learning related like “trace the letter A with every color crayon” and sometimes it was “draw a picture of your favorite thing to do in the summer.”

Honestly that was about it as far as structured learning went as far as official “school” time. She had a few little worksheets that we’d occasionally work on together, but mostly she just sat and colored while I worked with Jackson.

Instead of sitting at the table we spent most of our time reading books, coloring, singing songs, playing, and (please don’t cringe) lots more screen time than I ever used with Jackson. Lydia rarely spent more than 30 minutes, 2 or 3 days a week, with focused learning time and honestly is at the same level Jackson was at this age… actually she’s a little more advanced simply from listening as I teach Jackson.

Now that I’ve done it twice, I will definitely focus less on worksheets and more on reading books and playing when it’s Susannah’s turn… bonus points if I’m not completely overloaded with work and exhaustion when the time comes too so I can really enjoy it! I don’t think worksheets are bad for little ones, but definitely not the main focus for our family!

Like I said at the beginning of the post, I would never claim to be an expert on homeschooling and know there are FAR more knowledgeable mamas out there willing to share their expertise! I hope this isn’t the typical preschool post with lists of curriculum and activities you have to do. What I do hope you see is that there is no perfect way to do this!

One of my main reasons for homeschooling is the flexibility it gives you to do what works for both your kids as individuals and your family as a whole. For us that meant that for one child we stuck to a more structured routine for almost three years before he even started kindergarten and for the other we took an extremely relaxed approach and will really only be starting her with an actual workbook one year before kindergarten… and since we’ve only just started I’m still not sure how structured even that will end up being!

I’ve said repeatedly that I am so grateful that we have both the option and desire to homeschool our kids. I can’t imagine the stress all of the parents having to make the decision about school choices right now are going through. I pray that whatever your decision is, that you give yourself, your kiddos, and their teachers (if you’re going the public or virtual route) the grace we will all so desperately need!

With all of that being said, IF homeschooling is something you’re looking into and you want to give it a go with your toddler/preschooler, I would LOVE to make a separate post with some of my favorite activities and supplies all in one place! Let me know in the comments or over on Instagram and I will help make it as easy as possible for you!

Finally, I would like to add one more disclaimer: I am fully aware that homeschooling is not a desire nor an option for everyone. I am fully aware of the blessing we have in this opportunity! I hold absolutely no judgment whatsoever towards anyone’s school choices!