Education without 'schooling,' part 2: Preschool

We covered why you should educate your kids at home in part 1.

Now we’re going to cover the “how,” which involves sparking your child’s interest and imagination from as early an age as possible. Three things will help you meet this goal enjoyably and effectively.

My number-one book recommendation for parents, right from the start, is to obtain a really good guide to children’s books.

Let’s start with what is the 100% most important thing to do. The most effective way to spark learning for young children is so simple, and it’s good for you, the parent, as well.

1. Go outside

The more time children spend exploring the outdoors, the more their curiosity is piqued and the more they learn. And this learning is the best learning, through their God-given senses.

Don’t skimp on outside time. Go out several times a day, weather permitting, and don’t rush them back inside. Walks are great!

Nature provides the best classroom, wherever you live (or visit): beauty, colors, and patterns to see; birdsong and leaves rustling and dogs barking to hear; cool breezes and warm sun to feel; velvety flower petals and rough bark to touch; and (with supervision!) fresh berries or tomatoes from the garden to taste.

Side note: Play is a child’s first job, and outdoor play is the best workplace. Playing with your children (out or inside) is one of your most important jobs, too. Laughing and enjoying each other should happen often each day!

So introduce them to the glories outside your door, let them experience it, and give them language to describe it. Don’t worry; this is what we naturally do when we’re present outside with kids. “See the pretty flower?” And, as age-appropriate: “What color is it? Feel how soft it is! No, we don’t want to pick it — let’s let it keep growing here.”

Which brings me to the second-most important part of your child’s curriculum.

2. Talk. About everything.

You will be rewarded with a more verbal child, earlier, who can share his/her thoughts and needs more effectively.

Talk to your children outside, talk to them inside, talk to them while they’re eating, talk to them during diaper changes.

Point things out, describe them in adult language, ask them to name the things you’re pointing out.

This starts with nouns (“See the ball? Can you say ball?”) but eventually they’ll be able to add adjectives (“purple ball”) and other parts of speech, leading eventually to phrases and sentences.

Side note: Treasure each adorable mis-pronunciation (yeah, get those on video if you can for the grandparents), but continue saying the words properly. Don’t correct them — just say them properly when you say them. They’ll get it.

3. Help them learn to love books

The last subject in our must-have preschool curriculum is “Introduction to Books.”

Books — hard-copy books that children can touch — should be introduced from the very beginning.

Cloth books made for teething babies are plentiful, and by all means let them gum away on them — but also turn the pages and show them the pictures, again speaking about what they’re seeing (“See the black square?”).

Books made of waterproof material are available for bath time, as well. These “chewable” books tend to be mostly images, which is what you want, for these purposes. You won’t really be “reading” them as much as describing them.

Board books will carry you through the first few years, when children aren’t yet able to be gentle with “regular” books. These should have brief, simple text and colorful, interesting images. Invest in a library of these, because you will use them over and over.

There are some time-tested classic board books (see list below) and quite a few that are outstanding for bedtime (again, see suggestions). You should keep board books in every location where your child might want a story! But keep the bedtime books separate, since they often become part of your bedtime routine (remember our principle of “order”).

Also, do teach them to respect their books. Discourage throwing or standing on them — “let’s treat our books nicely” is a lesson they need to learn so they can move on to picture books. This is the category of regular children’s books (with regular, tearable pages!) that we are aiming our children to be able to enjoy.

This level has so many good selections (again, see suggestions below) that you will probably run out of childhood before you run out of books. Again, you can have bedtime books, books for the car, books for different rooms. You can’t have too many books. (Well, that might be an exaggeration, but as a book lover, I defend my right to push this idea.)

We haven’t talked about content of board or picture books yet, so a few quick notes. First, I have seen a tendency for Christian board books to include concepts that simply aren’t appropriate for board-book-age children. As a grandparent, I ordered a couple of recommended board books and found the text of one of them to be far too advanced for a toddler; another was better but still included ideas that I deemed too much for a young child.

While I’m warning about Christian books (of all things), let me point out the obvious — the world is full of children’s books that are inappropriate in every way for any child, and that certainly includes yours. Before buying, I recommend that you quickly read through every page and scan the images (good habit if you use the library, too).

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What to keep out of your home (and a bonus arts curriculum idea)

Since we’re talking about things to avoid, here’s one that will probably involve some discipline on your part. But the truth is, your child could go without any screen time for the first 5 or 6 years of his/her life and be the better for it. Andy Crouch’s book “The Tech-Wise Family” suggests no screens till age 10.

Studies demonstrate that screen time is a net negative for young children, so don’t create a habit that will be painful to halt. If you have already allowed it, pull back now — the sooner the better.

Don’t read Kindle children’s books. Don’t let them play video games. Don’t teach them they need a screen to be entertained.

You may have to teach them this by example. GET OFF YOUR PHONE.

Do you want a child who wants to sit in front of a screen being entertained? Or do you want a child who loves to play and learn outside, talk to you, and spend time reading books together?

I cannot state this any more clearly: SCREENS BAD.

However, there is one way you can use your TV for a net benefit. Play symphony orchestra performances (easy to find on YouTube). Your children may learn what musical instruments look like, but more to the point, this will provide outstanding early music education as they listen during daily activities and while they play.

Your first curriculum purchases

What follows is a brief selection of really good books you may find helpful, in a number of categories.

Very first books

You won’t have any trouble finding cloth or bath-time books. Sensory books, with textures the child can touch, are also great starters, like:

Board books

Just about anything by Sandra Boynton. Favorites:

Since we just mentioned a bedtime book, just a couple of must-haves:

A couple of Christian board books that are more age-appropriate:

Classic picture books

Just a few favorites:

Many of these authors have more than one classic book, so browse their other titles as well. And, of course, there are thousands of other outstanding picture books. So many books, so little time!

Guides to children’s books

My number-one book recommendation for parents, right from the start, is to obtain a really good guide to children’s books. All of the volumes below are excellent, and I don’t think it’s going overboard to have all of them in your personal home library. And yeah, these can be on your Kindle, if you prefer!

Congratulations!

You have just completed Home Education 101 — the Preschool Edition. Everything you need to know to prepare and get started “homeschooling” your precious littles: