Activities for Homeschooling Preschool Skills
Homeschooling for Preschool Learning-Games and Activities to Teach
Oct 28, 2009
With so much attention being paid to federally funded Head Start preschool programs, families who opt to homeschool may wonder if their child is missing out at home. Luckily, the goals of Head Start aren't that complicated, in fact they aren't even academic. According to the Federal Register, “The overall goal of the program is to bring about a greater degree of social competence in preschool children from low-income families.”
Homeschooling Preschool
Homeschooling parents may want to question the validity of a program which removes children from the real social world of the home in order to subject them to a contrived social environment, a classroom, in order to bring about social competence. Since social competence isn't defined, one can assume that it means standing in line, taking orders and setting aside their own inner urge to run and play in favor of sitting still and following rules. Why low income children are targeted is another question that isn't answered in the article.
Preschool Skills
Regardless of the Head Start Preschool standards, there are simply things that children age 3-5 are expected to learn. Verbal communication, self awareness, compassion for others, basic shapes and colors as well as the names of various animals, weather words, words that relate to sizes and relationships are all things that preschoolers learn and they can all be learned through simple conversations and activities, outside of the classroom.
Homeschooling for Preschool Socialization
One caveat some families have about homeschooling is the socialization factor. Veteran homeschooling families often counter with the idea that the family is the most natural and healthy source of socialization and that to remove children from the home and place them into group situations can create negative socialization instead. John Taylor Gatto's essay on “The Six Lesson School Teacher” is often offered as food for thought in this situation.
Activities for Homeschooling
Once parents decide to go forth with homeschooling, having made a conscious decision to skip institutionalized preschool, they often find themselves in the market for a preschool curriculum. Luckily, preschoolers have an agenda of their own which is curriculum enough. Spending time each day at the park allows preschoolers to burn off energy and watch the seasons change.
Verbal Language Skills for Preschoolers
Holding hands as they stroll, a parent and preschooler may discuss the animals they see, the people they pass or the activities of the day. Retelling of events is more than just a fun activity for preschoolers; it gives parents insight to their perceptions, more accurately than an academic test would. If a word is mispronounced, parents may correct the child but it would be just as effective to simply use the word correctly, perhaps with emphasis, at a later time.
Home Based Preschool Skills
Waiting turns doesn't have to take place in line; families are known to share bathrooms, computers, televisions and telephones. Sharing is a universal skill that preschoolers need not be forced into learning, under stress. It can be joyous when they're in the company of a loving family.
Games to Teach Preschool
Popular games for preschoolers include Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders and Hi Ho Cherry-O. These games allow children the opportunity to count, take turns and play together. Outdoors, games like Hide and Seek, Marco Polo and Simon Says are enjoyable and educational for preschoolers.
Preschool is a joyous time to be a child and parents of preschoolers can derive great pleasure from watching a child's normal and natural intellect develop in absence of a forced agenda or curriculum. Homeschooling a preschooler isn't about duplicating an oppressive classroom situation, it's about allowing them to continue exploring, as they did when they were toddlers. It is also about appreciating their progress, adding verbal food for thought, and answering questions as they arise, as well as looking forward to kindergarten homeschooling, too.
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