Preschoolers and Homeschooling: My Secret Revealed

I have 3 children, ages 6, 3, and 19 months. I homeschool my oldest who is in first grade. So what do I do with the other two?

Here's my secret: they sleep.

Napping outside at Sequoia National Park

We don't do school in the morning. We'll read stories or do field trips, library trips, co-ops, nature walks, and other assorted activities in the mornings. But we really don't crack open any "schoolbooks" until 1:30. That's the magic hour. That is naptime.



And school time.

Last year I told myself she was doing "half-day" kindergarten. Well that schedule has been working out so far for us this year, too.

Did I mention my kids are great sleepers? They are amazing sleepers. They don't take piddly little naps. Oh, no. It's 2.5 to 3 hours just about every day. You can get a lot done in 2.5 to 3 hours.

I actually have a whole box of activities for my 3-year old to do while we're doing school, but she never gets to use them because she sleeps through it all. It makes her sad, but I'm okay with that. She'll stop napping soon enough.

But for now, I heart nap time.

Art in the Park

Last week I planned a preschool art play date for the moms group at my church. It was a lot of fun and wasn't too tough to put together. I made six different stations:

1. Sidewalk chalk

You'll need chalk.

2. Crayon Rubbings

You'll need crayons, paper, and an assortment of objects with interesting textures like leaves, paper clip, and coins.

3. Shaving cream sculpture

This became paint the tree trunk white! You'll need shaving cream and some kind of tub.

4. Suncatcher Collage

You'll need tissue paper squares, clear contact paper squares, and optional glitter. Put a piece of contact paper sticky side up. Put tissue squares on one at a time. Add some glitter and put another piece of contact paper on top.

5. Colored Bubble Art

You'll need bubbles and food coloring, but be careful! Mix at least half a little squeeze bottle of food coloring (the McCormick kind) into a small (3 oz.) bottle of bubbles. When you blow they bubbles, catch them onto white paper and they will splat into a subtle, but beautiful print.

6. Finger paint

You'll need finger paint and paper.

I put up a few sign so people would know where the activities were, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. It was a great way to get together with friends, be creative, and make a mess somewhere other than my house!

Do you ever have art play dates? I'd love to hear about them!

Lesson Learned

Never ever ever leave food coloring out. Even if it's waaaaay back on the counter. He will get to it. Oh yes he will.

Preschool Activity: Mini-writing center

One of the best tools I have added to my arsenal of independent preschool activities is this great little kit. One side is a dry erase board that is also magnetic. The other side is a chalkboard that opens up to hold a bag of chalk and an eraser (these were not included) and a bag of magnetic letters and numbers (which were included, minus the bag). No dry erase markers for her just yet, thank you very much! The best thing about this activity is that it feels very school-y, which makes my 3-year-old feel very "big" and thus loves it. At this point she spends most of her time matching the magnetic letters to the letters printed around the edges of the board. As she gets older she can advance to more complex skills like writing letters and making words.

Oh, and did I mention the best part? I found it at Big Lots for a price that I can't remember exactly, but I'm sure was less than $10. My frugal self rejoices!

Click here to see other independent activities for preschoolers.

Click here to see how I use these activities while homeschooling.

Preschool Activity: Bead Patterns

The bead patterns activity bag is a popular one around here. It works on fine motor development (getting those little beads on the stem) and math skills (pattern recognition) at the same time as being lots of fun. In the bag are some pattern beads made of pony beads on chenille stems. I hot glued the beads on to make them permanent.

I also included some plain chenille stems and some pony beads to imitate the patterns already made or to make a different pattern. At this point my 3-year-old just gets those beads on the stem any old which way and the patterning will come when it comes.

Click here to see other independent activities for preschoolers.

Click here to see how I use these activities while homeschooling.

To see other great preschool activity ideas go here.

Preschool Activity: Pasta Sorting

One of Amaryllis's favorite activities from the preschool basket is the pasta sorting. I took several different types of pasta and dyed them. (Scroll down for the recipe.) I included part of an egg carton to help with the sorting.The pasta can be sorted by colors... or shapes...

or use them for other creative art projects and play.

Recipe for dyed pasta or rice

You will need:

• Pasta
• Rubbing alcohol
• Food coloring
• Zip top bags
• Waxed paper

Directions

• Put the pasta into a zip top bag.
• Add a tablespoon or so of rubbing alcohol.
• Add a few drops of food coloring
• Zip the bag and squish until the colors are blended.
• Add more food coloring if desired for darker color.
• Immediately spread pasta onto waxed paper and let dry completely.
• Store in a plastic bag.

Note: Dyed past is NOT edible!

Click here to see other independent activities for preschoolers.

Click here to see how I use these activities while homeschooling.

Preschool Activity: Homemade Puzzles

Most days Gracie and I do school while Nate and Amaryllis are taking their afternoon naps. So far, this has worked great, but I do have a backup plan. I have a basket of preschool activities that Amaryllis can do independently if she should wake up before we are finished. So far I have only had to use them a handful of times, but as she gets older that might begin to change.

I keep the basket with our other school materials and away from the toys so it feels more like school for Amaryllis. They are also reserved only for school time, so they maintain a sense of novelty, although I've made a few exceptions since she hardly ever needs to use them during school time!

One activity I have is some homemade puzzles. To make the puzzles I cut interesting pictures out of magazines, glued them onto some card stock from my scrapbooking supplies, and cut them into interesting shapes. My reason for putting the card stock on the back was to make the pictures thicker and little more durable and to keep the separate puzzles distinct (I used a different color of card stock on each picture), but it also makes a good color sorting activity! It took a three-year-old to figure that one out!

To store, I put each puzzle into its own sandwich-sized Ziploc bag and all the small bags go into a gallon-sized Ziploc and then into the activity basket. Most of the activities are in gallon Ziploc, and I have the rule of one bag a at a time in order to keep things under control. At least that's my plan!

I'll be sharing more of my preschool activity bags in future, so stay posted!