The Why and How I Teach Preschool in Our Homeschool

Ever since I quite my job

as a public school teacher,

most years my husband and I make ends meet

by my babysitting in our home.

In fact,

I think that was one of the reasons 

I made the transition into homeschooling

my own kiddos.

I decided I needed some type of structured

learning time

for the littles to participate in.

I loved it-they love it-

and all this teaching in my home

made me want to bring my own kiddos

in on the fun!

This year,

I am keeping the following kiddos

during the week,

all part-time:

Girlie V

This little has been coming to me,

on Monday afternoons,

usually from 3:00 pm- 7:00 pm,

since she was one.

She is now 3,

and her personality makes us all laugh-

a lot!

She loves girly stuff-

like getting her nails painted

and playing with baby dolls...

...but she has NO PROBLEM

getting her hands dirty in the great outdoors, either!

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Smiley B

At the age of two,

this little guy entered the doors of our home.

He has perhaps the

BIGGEST imagination of all the kiddos I watch.

He is now almost four,

and I NEVER know WHO he will come

to my house as.

He might be Iron Man, Super Man, Bat Man,

a fire fighter-

the list goes on and one.

In fact,

he is THE reason we ended the last school year

with a big...

...Super Hero Unit.

Who wouldn't be inspired by this little guy

to teach about caped crusaders and the like?

Smiley B has a younger brother

who is now around a 18 months-

...we call him Mad Max.

I believe the tyke would do about anything

for a cookie,

and I can already see the makings of a

future athlete in this boy.

And, boy-

is he ALL BOY!

Which we adore in our house,

since I have one very similar to him...

I keep these boys two days a week

Mondays and Wednesday,

through the months of

August until May...

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Next up is...

...the Puppy Prince.

Another boy who is ALL BOY,

he is a big helper around the house,

and ENJOYS helping the kiddos and I

with our household chores.

He has a sweet heart,

and the most infectious laugh,

and really wants to be everybody's friend.

And if a sport involves a ball?

Buddy,

he is gonna play it!

The Puppy Prince is the older brother

to a little moppet we like to call...

...Pretty Princess Pants.

She comes dressed daily in dresses

with matching hair bows,

but is as tough as nails if you test her.

At the tender age of 14 months,

she is in no rush to "grow up"-

Why worry about walking until you are over a year,

or saying too many words,

when you have a million other people in your life

who want to help you out?  :0)

With her quiet determination

and silly sense of humor,

this child is destined to something interesting in her lifetime.

I keep these cuties on

Mondays from 7:30 am-3:30 pm

and

Tuesdays-Fridays from 7:30 am-12:00 pm.

****************************************

Finally,

the latest addition to our brood is...

...Little Miss Sunshine.

At only 23 months,

this smart little girl has a pretty

good grasp on the English language.

She has only been coming to our house

since the end of last Spring,

but since she knows no stranger,

you would think she has known us

all her life!

I would classify her as the "girliest" 

of my bunch-

I mean,

she already giggles and flirts

with the older boys in the neighborhood!  ;0)

The things she says and the silly way she plays

keep us all FULLY entertained,

and we make certain she get plenty of dirt and sand

under her fingernails.

She comes to our house

Tuesdays-Thursdays,

from 7:30 pm-5:30 pm.

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Now,

HOW do I run a "schedule" with all

the little ones coming and going,

and still find time to 

Homeschool my own kiddos?

That, my friends, is where the 

WONDERFULNESS

of the...

...Work Box System comes in!

This is our third using workboxes

in our homeschool.

After doing some research on

The Workbox System,

I went out and purchased three craft carts

at Sam's Club,

one cart for each of my kiddos.

Later,

I purchased another one for the preschool activities.

(You can no longer get the 10 drawer carts

in brown,

but they still carry the rainbow colored ones.)

With this organization system in place,

I am able to keep my kiddos

(who are currently in the 6th, 3rd, and 2nd grades)

working while I watch the preschoolers.

******************************************

Here is how a "loose" schedule runs in our household:

6:45 am to 7:30 am- I get up and get ready for the day.

7:30 am to 8:30 am- Welcome different kiddos into my home,

get them breakfast, and dress anyone who needs dressed.

8:30 am to 9:30 am- My kiddos are up by now,

getting breakfast and getting dressed, and then they play

with the littles while I get breakfast cleaned up,

maybe throw something in the washing machine 

or get supper started in the crockpot-

and grab a cup of coffee and breakfast!  :0)

9:30 am to 10:00 am- Check the littles diapers

and put Pretty Princess Pants down for a nap,

if she needs one.

10:00 am to 11:00 am- Get school started.

During school,

I will begin with some kind of Calendar Time,

which the littles and Little Wild Man participate in.

We then will move...

...to the back door,

and go over/review

the letter of the week,

and then read a book or two

related to the day's lessons.

I will then guide the littles in one to three activities

found in their Workbox.

Sometimes my older kiddos participate too,

other times they do not.

If they are not helping me with preschool lessons,

they are either working through their 

Workbox drawers

or

playing with one of the toddlers.

To engage the toddlers...

...I have put together some busy boxes,

and there are also a couple of big boxes of toddler toys

available to them in the living room.

11:00 am to 12:00 pm- Have a snack and

then go outside!

If the weather is poor, we might watch a show

or just free play inside.

Again,

my older kiddos may play,

or they may continue to work

on their school assignments.

I also check on Pretty Princess Pants during this time

and get her up from her nap.

Then I will start making lunch...

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm- Lunch time

After we eat, the older kiddos keep the little ones

entertained while I clean up the kitchen

and possibly switch out a load of laundry.

1:00 pm to 1:30 pm- Play until nap time/rest time.

1:30 pm to 3:30 pm- Nap time/Homeschool time

All of the kiddos I watch take naps,

with the exception of Smiley B.

So,

he usually gets the iPad at this time

and plays games

while I work with my older kiddos

on their different homeschooling assignments.

If possible,

I do Science with them during this time,

since there are not many distractions.

3:30 pm to 4:00 pm- Get kiddos up from their naps

and give them a snack.

I will also change diapers,

put their shoes back on, fix their hair, etc.

so we can go play outside.

3:30 pm to 5:30 pm- Playtime

Most days,

we go outside, as long as the weather

is good.

If not, we just play inside,

maybe watch a movie,

and my older kiddos help play with the littles

while I prep supper,

switch out the laundry,

pick up around the house, etc.

During this time,

different kiddos will be picked up at different times,

depending upon their parents' work schedules.

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By the time supper is HOPEFULLY ready,

all my toddlers and preschoolers have gone home.

If my older kiddos have finished all their school work,

they are free to go and play with friends.

If not,

they get finished up.

Also,

evenings are reserved a couple of nights a week

for extra curricular activities,

 such as dance and youth group,

so there will be no playtime with friends on those evenings.

Two or three evenings a week,

Super Dad will teach their history lessons to them

so I do not have to worry about getting that subject fit into

our busy schedule.

Our schedule is crazy,

and there are times that it CERTAINLY does not

go as planned,

but it works for us most days.

And that-

my friends-

is how I teach preschool

among the chaos...

And I am

thankful.

:0)