Tips to involve your preschooler in your homeschooling

We were not always a homeschooling family.

Our daughter, however, has always been home schooled.

She was three when we began our adventures at home.  I quickly learned ways to involve her in our learning process, keep her happy and allow for academic growth at her own pace.  I'm sharing a few ideas with you today, they may work for your family as well!

1) Let your preschooler work with the big kids.

Not only does this help them feel a part of your family projects, but it is a great opportunity to teach your older children about inclusivity, patience and consideration for littler ones.  There doesn't need to be a goal or expectation of what your preschooler will learn - they just need to have fun!

2) Give them 'big kid' activities as well.

My preschooler loved having worksheets, handwriting assignments, or math work to complete.  Many of her color sorting and counting activities were extra fun for her because I presented them like I did for her older brothers. It really didn't matter if she did them correctly or if they were made up - it was great practice for her to trace letters, match colors, or just pretend to be as big as her siblings.

3)  Encourage them to watch.

If your preschooler is interested, allow them to learn by osmosis.  Try not to save all your schooling for nap time. My older children just love to show off for the littler ones.

4) Give them something to do with their hands.

Each day, give your preschooler an activity to work on during school.  This can include any sort of crafty or manipulative activity, just save anything involving glue for bath day.  Crafting was always something that helped my little one sit for read alouds.

5) Enjoy being all together; it's one of the greatest blessings of homeschooling.

In this picture, my preschooler asked to practice tying my shoes while her brothers worked on spelling words with sidewalk chalk.  I missed my older children while they were away at 'regular' school, and I have treasured being spared the same separation from my youngest.

Some days are tougher than others with preschoolers underfoot, but if you work with the personality of your child and try to focus on their interests, you will have a wonderful year.  What works for your family in terms of homeschooling with preschoolers?