Preschool
Preschool, we start small
Everyone is important!
Here is Joseph Johannes, 3 years old, almost four, he is the one of our boys who has not been so busy talking and putting things into words, so I have experienced pre-schooling a little differently with him and been waiting to start. Our second oldest was 2 years old when he was ready to be schooled, and we waited almost 2 more years with Joseph Johannes, we think it is important not to compare the children to each other, as they are so wonderfully differently created with their own gifts and talents.
What is a weakness can sometimes also become a strength later, or what is a weakness in one is a strength in another and vice versa, we all have something that the other does not have and are all important!
We are a family! a big team!
Preschool start?
Have fun!
Preschool is a nice time, we are not in a hurry with anything, we take it at a pace where we have fun, but at the same time learn.
Joseph Johannes loves preschool, but it can actually be an art to get started in the morning, as he has a strong opinion about things, I entice him by saying that there is only a snack after we have finished our tasks. It may require patience, but we don’t have anything to achieve, sometimes it’s just that we work with the little willpower that wants to decide, or to sit nicely on the chair and be engaged the few minutes we are working. Depending on how much we enjoy ourselves, you can stretch it a little.
Joseph Johannes is ironicly as a 10 year old, the most organized person in the morning, he is the first to get up, do his chores and getting ready for school.
When they are very small
Everyone can join
You can’t start too early, right? It’s great to get good routines right away, it’s just easier later.
When our 4th child was a baby, I tried to have her join the lessons as much as possible, on a baby chair beside, she loved it.
With baby number 5, our schoolroom is also our playroom, so as I am teaching 2 younger kids our 1 year old baby is looking through books and playing with toys, sometimes I have to get on the floor and engage with him, but I just get the older kids to come to me and then we continue school on the Carpet.
Shapes, colors, animals, numbers
Letters nature etc.
It’s the visual, but also getting it between your fingers that’s fun. Creating things and seeing their effects, for example, try making a tub of water and see what can float or sink, what is magnetic or not, here on the board we make pizza with shapes, we also use it for animals, who lives on the ground or who flies in the air?
Materials
Its funny, that the more kids we have, the more we have minimized the amount of things we thought was needed. Use what you have, in different ways.
Lego duplo is also a great invetion for so many things with shapes colours and so on.
There are lots of materials on the market for this age, but it can also be expensive if everything has to be bought new, you can of course borrow things, or go to second-hand stores.
We have also been blessed with lots materiels that was secondhand, that people gave to us, but really, you dont need to go and by a lot of stuff.
I think the most important thing to invest in, is BOOKS!
Motor skills
Pearl plates, pencil, paintbrush, etc.
It’s so nice to sit and watch this little guy with his lips pursed in deep concentration, and total fun when he immerses himself in making bead plates, whether it’s big or small beads, the tweezers of the little fingers come out, cute.
When they start to get interested in painting and drawing, it’s really good to get a good start in how to hold the color and pencil, lovingly correct and help them hold it correctly, then you get a good start for school and the muscles in the fingers are trained.
Cut, paste and precision, there are lots of fun and creative ideas from Pinterest too.
Books
and of course books, lots of books, you can hardly get enough of them!
Click here Homeschooling, to see how and why we started + 27 ideas on how to start and pictures for inspiration.
Or how about creative ideas for the little ones – School for the little ones
