Homeschooling a Preschooler

I wrote the following fifteen years ago.  

Now that I’m starting over (after 9 years of homeschooling) with a fresh-faced little preschooler (Jameson is 3), here’s an overview of my preschool curriculum and what I’m doing:

I’m spending a lot of time re-reading Ruth Beechick’s books:  A Strong Start in Language, An Easy Start in Arithmetic, and A Home Start in Reading.

I’m spending lots of time reading fun, yet loosely-defined-educationally-minded  books to Jameson such as The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Bob Books, Basic readers, Bible stories, The Little Engine That Could , Little Bear books, and everything written by Shirley Hughes.

I’m taking more interest in nature (again), such as turning over logs and bricks to find worms, staring at the detail in a bug’s back, discussing spider webs and granddaddy longlegs, and “Why do butterflies do their wings like that?” and “Why do ants like to  bite me -- do they think I’m yummy?” 

I’m collecting leaves, playing with dirt, making mud pies, and saying “ha - yah!” while waving a stick in the air.  (It’s quite fun.)

I’m answering a lot of “why” questions that I thought I answered already. 

I’m playing with bristle buddies, building towns with blocks, setting up train tracks, speaking for a plastic person.

I’m playing with water and measuring cups.

I’m getting dirty -- a lot.

I’m enjoying pretend food.  I’m enjoying pretend people. I’m pretending -- a lot.

I’m painting with watercolors, using templates and tracearounds, drawing letters in the dirt and with chalk on the sidewalk.

I’m correcting a lot.  I’m establishing my authority.  I’m training my little boy.

I’m saying, “What a good boy!  That pleases the Lord!  That pleases Mommy!  I’m so happy when you take turns.  I’m glad you listened to your teacher.”

I’m saying, “What a naughty thing you did!  You displeased the Lord.”

I’m looking at the sky to find funny shapes in the clouds.  I’m noticing street signs and colors and dogs and cats and the man with the green hat or the big moustache in a fresh way.

I’m talking about how God made the world and how much He loves us. 

“How did God put the stars in the sky?  Did He glue them?”

I’m apologizing -- a lot.  I’m seeing new areas of  selfishness in my life.

I’m praying for the stuff hanging on our walls, one at a time.

I’m dressing and playing with teddy bears and bean bag cats.

I’m singing Who Made Mountains with the hand motions.  I’m dancing in the living room again.  I’m dancing everywhere again.  Jameson laughs, but come to think of it, the rest of the family laughs too -- I wonder why?

I’m watching Lady and The Tramp, Charlotte’s Web, and Psalty again.

I’m bouncing balls, playing London Bridge, listening to Raffi, and making cookies -- a lot.

I’m finding great pleasure in watching a leaf bug walk across my porch for a long time.

I’m leaving a spider web suspended in the corner of the porch beside the laundry room window because there are baby spiders in an egg sack and it looks like a paper bag.  Some people might think it looks like we don’t clean the porch but we know better.

I called the Mama spider “Leafy”  because my Jameson called it “Leafy” and he  cares about the babies. So do I.  So does Carl.  Leafy’s gone now but the egg sack is still there.  What will happen to those babies?

I’m squeezing fat cheeks, holding little hands, hugging a little body, teaching a little mind, loving a little guy, shaping a little life, preparing a little preschooler for a lifetime of learning.  Is that all?  My God says He has set eternity in our hearts -- and for me, my greatest joy is knowing that God will use all of the above not only to educate my little guy but to help me build a relationship with him and to keep me fresh.  God uses the time I spend getting into his world to allow Jameson to trust me -- to want to be with me -- and to remind me of His great love for children.  I can just imagine the Savior of the world watching a leaf bug walk across the porch with a preschooler.   After all, He took the time to create that bug and to create childhood.  But by far, the greatest thing I’m doing, with grace for each moment, is preparing Jameson for eternity  -- and that is my preschool curriculum.