Home School Tips

Children Actively Learn When They Are Having Fun

Every homeschool mom will explain that meaningful learning is best done when the kids are having fun. Singsong poetry, academic lyrics to children's songs, educational videos delivered by personified frogs; children love fun and learn best when they are having fun. In the academic circles it is often referred to as “engaging” the learner, finding a hook that can suddenly make a difficult concept crystal clear, a sequence of numbers or shapes can suddenly make sense if either of the patterns begins to sing or dance to a little tune.

As you begin to shop for the Christian preschool or kindergarten homeschool curriculum you want to use in your home, remember that at this age, the true objective is for the child to have fun and spend a bit of time actively engaged with academics. The academics should not be formal but rather colorful picture books, pattern blocks and beads, number cards for game play and other concrete concept tools used for the purpose of introduction and play. As you shop for the perfect curriculum, a wonderful new program that focuses entirely on the academic learning styles and patterns for most preschool and kindergarten learners is the 3 & 4 program available through Sonlight Curriculum®. This remarkable preschool and kindergarten curriculum is filled with quality children's literature, manipulatives, writing tools and other age appropriate academic products for children ages 3 and 4. Fiction, Fairy Tales and Fun for Little Learners is designed to provide a variety of educational opportunities within a fun format, providing enough curriculum for the school year, but not so much as to overwhelm a young mind. Many of the books and supplies are intended to be enjoyed by parents and children alike.

The Toddler Years Should Be Filled with Snuggling, Story Time and Music

Toddlers are a challenge for even the most patient and loving parent. Children that are suddenly mobile cannot be held back, as adults we have forgotten how exciting it is to suddenly be able to go wherever our eyes can see. Toddlers are designed for exploration, down to their pudgy little fingertips and toes. It is important to protect this time in their young lives while not limiting their curiosity. As your baby progresses into the toddler era, make sure that your house is “baby safe,” electrical outlets blocked, poisons and cleaners on a high locked cabinet in the garage and all other potentially dangerous items are well out of reach. Before turning your young one loose in the house, get down on all fours and look at things that might fall, trip, crush or otherwise endanger your baby.

Once you have secured the premises, let your toddler have freedom to roam and interact with your home. Be sure that you remain in the room with he or she at all time, watching, talking and training as questions are asked. When you talk and interact with your toddler, get down on the ground, look your child in the eyes and speak clearly. Remember, while very simplistic, this is a homeschool environment for your young learner, model behaviors such as curiosity, imagination and shower your child with love. Whether you decide to homeschool long term or just during the first five years of life, remember you are your child's first teacher. Now is a great time to visit Sonlight.com to purchase their Fiction, Fairy Tales and Fun for Little Learners. This package is a fun and exciting way to introduce academics without actively teaching a homeschool program. If you begin to implement the basic concepts of literature and music in your toddlers daily life through quality Christian preschool homeschool curriculum you will soon discover that as your child grows, so will his academic abilities and interests.

Don't Be Afraid To Ask Local Businesses For Donations For Your Homeschool Materials

Many preschools, private schools and public schools will often hold public sales or auctions to sell used art supplies, flash cards and other items that the teachers are updating. These auctions can often provide many treasures that might otherwise find their way into the trashcan. Do not hesitate to take them, as you can often clean them up and get many years of use from them.

It is often a good idea to make friends with teachers at your public school, letting them know of your needs within your homeschool classroom. Many may make personal donations to you when they are replacing things in their own public or private classroom. If the teacher is aware of a student need, often many will send it along your way rather than throw it into the trash. Extra copies, school supplies, abandoned workbooks, other classroom items can easily be modified to fit into your home school classroom, and we all agree that free is a very good price. As you seek out homeschooling materials, it is often a good idea to contact art galleries, art supply stores and craft stores. Many retailers have discontinued or opened items that cannot be returned to the wholesale agent and must be sold, it is often possible to purchase such items at a huge discount, thus increasing the supplies you can access within your own teaching materials

Through the Eyes of the Young, the World Is New Again

When a family initially begins to homeschool, they should fill the classroom with homeschool books and materials designed to inspire a young mind. While the nature of the homeschool classroom allows for the teacher to seek out learning opportunities in everyday situations and questions, there must be appropriate homeschool supplies to support such curiosity.

For the young learner at preschool and kindergarten age, children have so many questions about the things that happen in each day and the world around them but don't realize that all things are connected. Having the liberty to create and teach an individualized curriculum allows the parent to focus the learning to the child's growing interests is the first way to inspire a young mind to want to learn more everyday. Approaching education as an exciting learning activity transforms the drudgery of workbook pages done in the public classroom into the excitement of personalized exploration in the homeschool classroom.

Using life moments as educational opportunities opens the eyes of the student to the wonderful world around us, showing through exciting and educational exploration that everyday life is filled with opportunities to learn more about ourselves and the world around us.