On Homeschooling with Preschoolers

I asked a veteran homeschooling mom to several born-very-close-together children, “How did you do it when you were homeschooling with preschoolers in the house?”  She looked genuinely puzzled and said, “I don’t really remember.”  And she didn’t.  I thought, “It must have been so bad, her mind has blocked out that part of her memory!”
 
So, in order not to forget, I’m going to do some posts on how we are homeschooling with preschoolers in the house.
 
First, these posts wouldn’t be complete without giving credit to a book I read that has changed my life.  Not many books, except the Bible, change my life.  They may change my way of thinking, open my mind to different time in history, or teach me something, but few change what I do in my day-to-day life.  This life-changing book was called Managers of their Home by Steve and Teri Maxwell.
 
In her book, Teri encourages scheduling every minute of your day and your children’s days in ½ an hour blocks.  For my detail-oriented personality, this was a fabulous idea.  (For those of you a bit more free-spirited, it will work for you to because you schedule in “free time” for you and the kiddos.)  Teri also suggests ways to build your children’s schedules to allow you one-on-one time with each child.  She gives many real examples of schedules as well.  Two of the biggest scheduling tips I took from the book are – have a schedule for everyone and schedule “alone play” time for everyone with a special set of toys.

To help you understand the dynamics here at Russell Homestead, let me review with you the ages of our munchkins.  (I refer to them on my blog using made-up initials.) 

We have AJ leading the pack at 5 years old, followed closely by his brother CJ, who is 4.  Next, comes our 2.5 year old boy JJ, and we finish up with the little 9 month old girl of the household, MJ.  In the 2015-2016 school year, AJ is in preschool.  CJ and JJ aren’t officially “in school” yet, but I’ve told many people that I feel like I’m homeschooling 3 children, not 1.  And that’s okay.
 
In my next posts, I will explore topics such as our school schedule, how we handle chores, how I attempt to keep the house clean, etc.  I hope you busy mamas out there – homeschooling or not – can pick up a tip or two to keep your household running smoothly.  And I would love to hear from you as I do this series!

Read the next two posts in the series by clicking on Part 1 and Part 2.