Home School Preschool

You don't have to buy an expensive curriculum to home school preschool. Creating learning centers in your home is one of the best ways to teach preschool at home.

Here are some homeschool preschool guidelines, along with a list of skills you should teach your preschooler.

Here are some tips for choosing a homeschool preschool curriculum.

Here are some tips for homeschooling preschoolers.

The following are suggestions for using discovery centers to home school preschool:

Learning Centers

Turn your home into a learning environment by setting up learning centers similar to those in a traditional preschool classroom. Choose a room in your home, or a small section of a family room or bedroom, and stock it with easily accessible materials for your child to explore.

Set up centers for language, math, science, dramatic play, construction, sand/water and music. Consider using the following items to stock your learning centers.

Language

Language centers should encourage love of the written and spoken word. Equip your language center with:

A bookshelf, a basket of books, a lamp, a comfy chair or floor pillows, a CD player, audio books, alphabet letters or magnets, alphabet flashcards, and preschool magazines.

Science

Science centers encourage children to experiment, explore and discover. You may want to keep some of these items in the garage or back patio to limit mess. Stock your science center with:

A scale, a timer, an hourglass, magnets, a magnifying glass, a prism, measuring cups/spoons, pitchers, plastic bottles, pails, utensils, tweezers, a bug jar, an aquarium, sand, gravel, soil, and seeds.

Math

Manipulatives help children explore mathematical concepts. Stock your math center with:

Puzzles, legos, tangrams, linking cubes, peg boards, geo boards, number tiles or magnets, flashcards, lacing activities, and file folder games.

Dramatic Play

Dramatic play allows children to imagine and pretend. It can also be a healthy way for children to express emotions.

Instead of buying prepackaged kits and outfits, look for materials your child can use in a variety of ways. A dramatic play center may include the following:

Old clothes, bolts of fabric, sheets, scarves, hats, caps, visors, backpacks, purses, jewelry, glasses, shoes, toy food, empty food boxes, pots and pans, utensils, play food, and puppets.

Construction

Construction centers turn your children into designers and architects. They allow children to build little worlds, and imagine themselves to be a part of them.

The following items promote constructive play:

Blocks, cardboard boxes, legos, lincoln logs, k'nex, tinker toys, rulers or boards for ramps, small people and animals, and wooden trains or matchbox cars.

Older children may want to hammer nails into wood with adult supervision. Home Depot sponsors free building workshops that are suitable for older preschoolers.

Sand/Water

This center can be messy, so save it for the bathtub, or a plastic pool in the kitchen or backyard. Let your child get down and dirty with:

Sand, water, shaving cream, shovels, a toy rake, buckets, cups, pitchers, measuring spoons, a spatula, a muffin tin, spray bottles, plastic food containers, empty ketchup bottles, a colander, a sifter, funnels, plastic people and animals, toy boats and cars, shells, rocks, and gravel.

Music

Making music is a great way for children to burn off energy. You may want to add the following items to a music center:

Bells, rhythm sticks, xylophone, egg shakers, maracas, drum sticks, a recorder, CD player, and CD's.

You can make your own maracas by putting beans or rice in an empty toilet paper roll and wrapping it with paper. For an old fashioned set of drums, use pots, pans and a wooden spoon.

You can also use games and activities to home school preschool. Here are some preschool activities and preschool educational games.