Bernadine Sevy

Little Ones

Here are a few ideas for Home Schooling with pre-schoolers. They are sometimes too little to do what everyone else is doing but we don’t dare leave them out because it can be dangerous. In my home they’d be making a mess in another room, heading for the street or turning on the television. Television has it’s place, but resist the urge to plonk them in front of Teletubbies and try some of the following.

• Play dough and cutters
• Beads and shoe laces
• Pattern blocks
• Small puzzles
• Paper and crayons
• Sewing cards
• Magnets
• A small chalkboard and chalk
• Blocks
• Lincoln logs
• Magnetic letters
• Wipe off books and wipe off crayons
• Stickers
• Watercolors and rocks to paint on

Use shoe box size plastic bins to organize these activities, so that you and the children can see what is inside, this prevents them from dumping everything out and then rooting through it all.

Decide how many activities you want them to have available and then fill the need. The idea is for them to pick a container and sit in the same room that you have Home school in and keep busy, rotating to a different activity when they are done with one. Encourage them to clean up one bin before getting out another. Playing at the same table with your home schoolers can be distracting, so another spot would be good. When pre-schoolers are in the same room with you, they are more likely to be interested in school themselves and it is amazing what they pick up while they play. Also they won’t feel resentful and demand attention, disrupting your line of thought as you’re trying to explain something.

It is a good idea to try and keep the projects simple, using as little of your help as possible, and educational, remembering that play is learning for children.

Lastly, save these activity bins only for school time only. That way they will have something to look forward to each day.