Cheap And Easy Preschool Tips From an Opinionated Mom Who Does Not Like To Drive

By Katharine Grubb

Preschool? Didn’t we just bring that baby home from the hospital last week?

Now that you have a three-year-old, you’re going to need to make a decision about his education. You could sign him up for your local preschool, but you don’t have to. There is another way . . . you can teach your child at home.

I am not writing this to talk you into doing something you don't want to do - I realize there are moms out there who actually like getting out in the weather, facing traffic and signing up for baking cupcakes for the Valentine's Day party. But if you'd like another option, this is to encourage you that there is a way, and it isn't that hard to do.

I have a degree in Elementary Education. During my classes in college, it struck me that a great deal of educational theory, especially for the younger set, was mostly common sense. I really am baffled how they stretched out my four year program, when it could have been condensed to two years. (I'll spare you my conspiracy theories.) What I see, as both a mom and a professional educator, is that modern day preschools are just trying to recreate home life. And if they can confidently teach a child, so can you.

If you went to a reputable preschool and looked around you would probably see these things:

•An art station
•A play kitchen
•A place to read books
•A playground
•Toys
•Dress up clothes
•Places to hold personal items like bookbags and coats
•A snack area
•Displayed artwork

Each of these areas is designated to support their educational objectives: fine and gross motor skills, dramatic play, number sense, spatial relationships, and language development. And this is the dirty little secret about preschools: there is nothing, absolutely nothing they do, that you can't do at home.\

Preschool's purpose is to prepare a child for the rigors of kindergarten, kindergarten for first grade, and so on. I'm not convinced that first step is necessary, when all preschoolers do, really, is play, explore the world, and catch germs from the kid with the runny nose.

If you were going to set up a preschool in your home, you wouldn't have to do much.

1. Schedule your day to make time for small educational moments. I would suggest no more than 20 minutes per objective.
2. Find all those toys that introduce the ABCs or numbers or shapes and put them in one area. Then use them for quiet time or table time or when Mom needs to do the dishes.
3. Have plenty of art supplies. Ready for the extensive list? Here we go: Crayons. Paper. Glue sticks. Scissors. Play dough. That's it. That's all you need. If you want to go a little supermom on me, get markers, glitter, construction paper and pipe cleaners. Paints are an advanced move and not for the weak of heart. But even with that, your supplies should stay simple and inexpensive. Don't buy coloring books; print out what you need from the internet instead.
4. Gather your kid books and put them in one space. Don't have many? Don't worry about it. Get a library card and make weekly trips.

Then of course, you need to think like a preschool teacher. This requires two big words: Educational Objectives! Objectives are just the specific goal you might have in a "daily lesson." Teachers are trained to write this down every single day to satisfy the requirements of the administration. But if you decide to preschool at home, you ARE the administration. I believe, that at the preschool level, your objectives should be simple and broad. 

Daily you should: (and for only 20 minutes or so at a time)

1. Practice fine motor skills This is everything that keeps little fingers busy. Someday, your child will need to hold a pencil correctly and write. With daily fine motor skills practice, little finger muscles are getting stronger. What to do: Draw and color with crayons, play with play dough, put puzzles together, pick up toys, sort small items like beans or string beads or stack blocks, draw with chalk, cut up magazines, play card games, peel a clementine, fold washcloths, roll out cookie dough and pound on musical instruments.

2. Practice gross motor skills This is everything that gets your child moving. Somewhere I read that there is a connection between gross motor skill development and reading readiness, and from what I understand of cognitive development, this makes perfect sense. If your body is exercising, your brain is too! What to do: play the playground, walk around the block, play Wii, Stroller Fit, play hide and seek in the house - anything, really, that's active.

3. Be exposed to words, both verbal and written: Do you talk to your child? Then you're already there. What else to do: Read picture books from your collection or the public library, listen to music with lyrics, listen to audio books, watch television shows like Blue's Clues, Word World or Between the Lions, play with magnet letters, have your child tell you a story and dictate it, create a notebook of words from magazines, play with those ABC games in the closet, or do anything from the other lists and talk about it.

4. Expose them to numbers: The first building block in math skills is what experts call number sense. This means that children need to be aware of numbers. This can easily be incorporated by talking about numbers and counting. What to do: Ask a lot of questions about quantities, measurement and time. Examples: How many forks do we need when we set the table? How much do you weigh? How tall are you? How much did it snow last night? How long is a minute? Ask this, and then with them, find out the answers. Play games like Dominoes and Go Fish. Do Dot-to-Dots, and learn songs like Ten Little Indians, and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. Take them grocery shopping with you and look at prices. Ask how many apples are in the bag and which box of pasta is the biggest. All of this discussion will open their eyes to the world of numbers and get them ready for math.

5. Explore to spatial relationships: Spatial relationships are how shapes fit into the world. This concept is often ignored in school, but I believe it is critical in learning to read and understanding higher math concepts. Don't let that intimidate you. You can teach spatial relationship development by doing jigsaw puzzles, stacking blocks, building a town out of Duplos, playing checkers, playing Wii, stacking books on shelves, sorting similar objects, putting toys in the right bins.

6. Explore the world outside of home; this broad subject covers preschool level social studies, history, science and geography. At the preschool level, it is quite simple and can include meeting new people, chatting with neighbors, going on nature walks, collecting flowers and pine cones, talking about clouds and the weather, growing beans in a paper cup, visiting a fire station, talking about the pilgrims at Thanksgiving and George Washington on July 4th.

7. Dramatic play: Your child already does this if they play with stuffed animals, dolls, cars, or action figures. This supports language development, cause and effect, and fine motor skills. Don't dismiss this - it is important.

A thought about reading. Preschools generally do not teach reading. They leave that to the Kindergarten teacher. I have some strong opinions on why this isn't always the best strategy, but I won't expand on them here. I believe that you, as the Mom/Preschool teacher shouldn't worry about reading until Kindergarten, at the earliest.

And then there's this whole idea of socialization. If you really, really want your kid to have tons of friends, then you can find them at the playground, in classes or at my house. But I'm not convinced that three- and four-year-olds need anyone else intimately close to them except their own family. I personally find it healthy to hand-pick the families you associate with and take control of, if you can, the influences that surround your child. By not putting my kids in preschool, I have avoided inappropriate language and innuendo, pressure to "do my share" within the school, bondage to the school calendar, expenses for wardrobe, transportation and supplies, and billions of unwanted germs. Perhaps I'm a little xenophobic. Perhaps I just don't like to drive. But stay at home preschool works for us and I have no regrets.

Preschoolers are pretty simple. It's all about being with Mom and talking to them on an emotional, not logical, level. I think that if all your preschooler did was to be your little shadow all day, they would be at a great advantage in their emotional and cognitive development.