Deciding if you want to do home school preschool?

Preschool already? It hardly seems possible!

Are you wondering if you should do home school preschool for your little one? Wonder if you have the patience, energy, or creativity you need to handle your child's energetic inquisitiveness? How can you ever be as calm and creative as those preschool teachers you have an image of? Will your daughter miss out socially if she stays at home?

If you have ever wondered these questions, you are not alone. I remember when our oldest was in the local preschool here in Asia where we live, and I felt completely inadequate compared to these saintly preschool teachers. I mean, they even took the entire preschool graduating class on an overnight outing to a local hotel together! I could barely even imagine doing a home school preschool with one…

But, really, what parent doesn’t wonder if they can give their child the best start for academics and life to come? Deciding to send your child to an established preschool, or to stay home for preschool, is a significant decision. So before sending your child outside the home to preschool, or deciding to home school preschool for your child, here are some things you need to consider:

Six Fears About Home Schooling Your Preschooler...

1. My child needs lots of fun activities and opportunities for letting out energy at the playground. If she does home school preschool, she’ll be cooped up inside too much of the time.

2. I’d like my child to learn to play in a group and have other chances to socialize with children his own age.

3. My child will miss out on the academic preparation, like working on letter sounds, listening to story time, and doing other things to prepare for school.

4. My child will miss out on exploring arts and crafts and other projects. I can’t stand glitter, and I’m just not into messes and crafts.

5. I get angry too easily and am impatient. Maybe it is better for my child to be with someone who seems more patient than I am.

6. I need some time for myself, and my child going to school gives me a bit of a breather.

I’m not one to say that all of these fears are unrealistic or unfounded and that you should decide to home school preschool no matter what. Home schooling your child may not be the right decision for your child for this season. But, either way, it is important to address some very real concerns you may have about home school preschool and home schooling in general. Let’s take a look at those concerns and see what you might do about them.

...And What To Do About Them

1. My child needs lots of fun activities and opportunities for letting out energy at the playground. If she does home school preschool, she’ll be cooped up inside too much of the time.. If you decide to home school preschool, you will certainly want to make sure you go to the local park, community center, or even the gym together. This will be a needed break for both of you. For us, sometimes we have put on some toddler exercise videos and had a good time exercising together to let off some energy. You can be creative in how to let your child get exercise.

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2. I’d like my child to learn to play in a group and have other chances to socialize with children his own age. Learning to play in a group is certainly a valuable skill to have. However, there may be as many negative influences as positive influences at preschool. Much as the preschool teachers do their best to help children learn to play well together, children will most likely learn at least some negative behaviors that you will then need to deal with when they come home.

   You may want to consider other options for how your child can learn how to play nicely with others with less of a time commitment than a full-time preschool requires. You may be interested in a Mother’s Day Out program or something at a community center. Remember that Sunday schools also can be a good chance to learn to relate to others without such a full-time commitment.

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3. My child will miss out on the academic preparation, like working on letter sounds, listening to story time, and doing other things to prepare for school. Preschools vary widely in how much academic preparation they offer children, so don’t assume all preschools are highly academic. Some preschool teachers don’t focus on academics at all, while others let their students explore letters and numbers in a very natural, play-like setting. But guess what? You can let your child explore letters and numbers at home, too! And you can do much of it with very little preparation.

   Simply playing with small objects like beans or measuring cups and discussing about that can provide a lot of real-life “math” learning. You can play word games while cooking dinner. I still love to play word guessing games as I bathe my preschooler. If you make story time a habit before bedtime or naptime, it can become a highlight of your day. Don’t discount all the real-life learning that happens at home naturally throughout your day when you home school for preschool.

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4. My child will miss out on exploring arts and crafts and other projects. I can’t stand glitter, and I’m just not into messes and crafts. Boy, this describes me perfectly! And, honestly, my kids probably have missed out on lots of gluey, oozy art projects that I just didn’t do with them because I hate the mess. On the other hand, I have learned to step out of my comfort zone and try some fairly messy painting and other projects that even I ended up being glad that we did them. The key? I’ll share more another time, but the main things I learned were to prepare well beforehand and enjoy the process during the activity time. Those two lessons have helped me loosen up and enjoy those messy art projects a lot. Home school preschool doesn't have to mean lots of mess every day, but knowing a few strategies for dealing with mess sometimes does help. Shirley's Preschool Activities for home school preschool has given me lots of ideas for crafts and activities, too.

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5. I get angry too easily and am impatient. Maybe it is better for my child to be with someone who seems more patient than I am. Sometimes it is easier to be patient with someone else’s child, no doubt about that. And preschool teachers do get to go home after a long day with the kids, unlike a home school mom. However, much as I admire preschool teachers for their devotion, none of them loves my child like I do. None of them knows her strengths and weaknesses, has seen her grow over time, will be there over the long haul. But I, as her parent, know these things, and I will be there year in and year out to continue the process of helping her learn and grow.

   Yes, truth be told, doing home school preschool (and older kids!) can bring out the worst in me, and can show my impatience and stubbornness all too clearly. But, at the same time, being home with my child gives us all an opportunity to learn together and grow closer together. It gives me the chance for me to say I’m sorry, to practice sacrificial giving, to bring the Gospel of forgiveness into our relationship day by day. So, while home schooling my little ones tends to show me for who I really am, it also has shown us God’s grace and love for what it is, too.

   Lastly, I remember some encouraging words someone once said to me. God has chosen you to be the parent of your child. He chose you, even with all your faults, to be there for your child. He knew that you would be the best mom for your kids, and you can rest easy in that, even though you’re not perfect. He will give you the help you need to be the best teacher if that is what He is calling you to do. That knowledge can be very freeing for any of us who struggle with these kinds of doubts.

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6. I need some time for myself, and my child going to school gives me a bit of a breather. The need for some personal time for mom or dad is very valid. After several years of almost non-stop intensive caring for your child, you may well be feeling tired and burned-out and in need of rest. Home school preschool everyday all day? Are you kidding? However, you may be able to meet this need for free-time in other ways besides a full-time preschool every day. Perhaps there is a Mother’s Day Out program at a local church, you could swap babysitting with another parent, or hire a mother’s helper from a home-schooled high schooler.

   If you would like to do home school preschool for your child, but having “down time” is your main concern, realize that there are creative ways to give yourself some time without the significant commitment that enrolling your child in preschool may require. There may even be preschools that meet only a few times a week, and you could home school the other days.

This article is not meant to convince you to home school or not. Honestly, I think God has a unique plan for each child, and it may include home school, or preschool, or both. I do hope it has helped you think through some concerns and given you ideas for possible creative solutions to them.

Regardless of whether you decide to home school preschool or send your child to preschool, I hope you will take a few moments to settle in your heart and mind why you will do what you will do, and be prepared for some of what either choice will be like. Being sure of the reasons why you will choose preschool or home schooling will help allay your fears when the doubts come.

Pray about your decision to home school preschool and see if you have peace about the possible benefits and drawbacks. There are pluses and minuses to each. You just have to choose which pluses and minuses you want to deal with.

Finally, remember that nothing is set in stone. Even if things don’t work out as you expected for home school preschool, you can still change your mind. Whether it was for a short season or long, you can have peace in knowing that you made the best decision possible for your child at that time. If you need to re-evaluate, give yourself freedom to do so.

You and your child have a wonderful adventure ahead of you. Enjoy! May your love and enjoyment of your child shine through whether you home school preschool or send your child to an outside the home preschool.

Please feel free to drop me a line and let me know if this material has been a help to you. Just use our Contact Us form.

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