Homeschooling With Preschoolers
By Deb Turner
Thirty years ago, this very young mother put her daughter onto a big yellow school bus. That precious 4-year-old seemed so small. I stood there and watched her step onto the bus—lifting her feet high to climb the tall steps. I was ready to wave, but she didn’t look back. A new chapter for her had begun, and the simple, uncluttered years had come to an end.
Four years old is young for kindergarten. In our state (New York), if a child is going to be 5 by December 15, he is expected to begin kindergarten. However, it is not mandatory until the child turns 6 years of age by December 15. The pressure is on to get our children enrolled right away, and since that long ago day when I put my first child onto the big yellow bus, the pressure has increased, and the age has been lowered—the sooner the better, so the experts say.
As homeschoolers, how concerned should we be about teaching our preschoolers? We face many challenges in catering a homeschool menu to a variety of ages—not the least of which is what to do with our preschooler. There are no “twelve steps to success” for homeschooling with preschoolers in the home. Every family is different, every child is different, and each set of circumstances is different. (more…)