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Tips From a Homeschooling Mom, Part V by Sara Rayvych, MSEd
TIPS FROM A HOME SCHOOLING MOM
PART V: YOUR PRESCHOOLER
BY SARA RAYVYCH, MSED
As a professional educator I’ve been fortunate to see students at various stages of learning, but as a homeschooler I’ve been privileged to be with my children from the very start. Our community is blessed to have very talented and hardworking morahs for our preschoolers. Even so, virtual learning can be an extra challenge for our youngest students – more so than older students. Because of this, many parents will feel the need to play a greater role in their preschooler’s learning. I will confess; as a homeschooling mom, I do little, if any, formal education at the preschool age. This doesn’t at all mean my little ones aren’t learning. I make my home into a “rich learning environment.”
Kids, as you know, are like little sponges. What they hear you say today is what you’ll hear them repeat tomorrow (for good and bad). Adults underestimate just how much kids learn from play and experience. As a parent, you can set up your home to be a natural learning environment for your child. Providing hands-on toys such as blocks, crayons, dolls (for both genders), and kitchen and pretend play items can create an environment that will give your child many of those crucial pre-learning skills. Put on music, stories or an audiobook, even if it’s just on as background noise.
Children learn from observation, especially watching their parents. If you’re cooking in the kitchen, hand them a bowl and spoon to mix their pretend cookies. If you’re cleaning, hand them a broom.
Preschoolers are busy learning many of the skills that will prepare them for the bigger kid subjects they will encounter when they get older. These crucial beginner skills set the stage for more mature learning.
PRE-READING AND KRIAH SKILLS
Books are amazing, and kids of all ages love books. Read to your child, and let them “read” picture books to themselves and let them see how much you enjoy reading books or periodicals. This early love of reading can become a gift of lifelong learning. When you read to a child, they begin to make the connection between letters and words and that words have meaning. Pointing to words as you read them out loud makes this connection even clearer. Many curious little ones will even ask about the letters, their sounds, and what the words mean. Many children’s books contain repetitive words or phrases, and children enjoy being able to join in and “read along.” Point to pictures as you go along and ask basic questions to help with comprehension. The questions don’t need to be complicated; you want them to enjoy and follow along, not get stressed.
Many songs and books contain rhymes and playful sounds. Kids benefit from learning how to hear the sounds in isolation and pick up on the different sounds within a word. In order to read, children need to not only hear a word but recognize the distinct sounds made by each letter. Games that revolve around rhymes and sounds further encourage this skill. The sillier it is, the more they’ll enjoy it.
Singing the alef bais or ABCs gives the child familiarity with the names of the letters. Many songs that are readily available online give playful ways to sing the alphabet and teach the letters’ sounds. You can sing as you cook, sing when you’re stressed or whenever; it doesn’t need to be a formal lesson. If they can hear it, then they’re absorbing it. Many puzzles, magnets, games, cookie cutters, coloring sheets and other toys or household items come in letter shapes that kids enjoy.
PRE-MATH SKILLS
Math is everywhere and shouldn’t cause the fear that it does. It’s one of the subjects parents are most afraid to teach, yet is naturally in your home environment. Especially at the preschool age, math should be hands-on. Children need to see it and touch it in order to learn it.
Many pre-math skills are easily taught in the home such as shapes, patterns, matching and counting. Count out loud with your children whenever it comes up and let them see you point
to each item as you count. Sorting teaches children to differentiate based on different criteria. Folding laundry and putting away groceries and toys all teach kids to separate and sort items based on size, function, or purpose. Talk out loud as you go so they learn why things are being grouped togeth er; socks by color and size, fruits with fruits or Legos separate from dolls.
Cooking is math in action. Whether it’s figuring out how many eggs you need or counting cups of flour, math is involved. Simply thinking out loud such like, “I have two eggs but I need three. How many more do I need?” is an opportunity to teach.
These are just some of the ways you can foster pre-math skills in preschoolers.
PRE-WRITING SKILLS
Children naturally enjoy coloring, and it’s a great way to encourage pre-writing skills. Crayons, markers, paints, and chalk are all tools a child can use to create their own masterpieces.
Besides being a helpful way for children to express themselves emotionally, coloring and doodling encourages many of the skills they will later need when writing. Lines, zigzags and circles are some of the basic shapes or opened paper/plastic bags to make clean-up easier. Different colored paper adds variety. Your child may enjoy showing off their artwork, and it makes a great gift for grandparents or loved ones.
they will eventually use to form letters and numbers. Playdoh and blocks are examples of toys that help build fine motor skills.
Make sure that all supplies are washable and non-toxic as crayons look surprisingly tasty to toddlers, and walls appear as the perfect blank canvas to a little one. Before putting out paints or other messy items, put down a disposable plastic tablecloth
LIMUDEI KODESH
The frum household is a natural learning environment for teaching children about our beliefs and customs. Parsha and Jewish-themed books and stories are readily available as are coloring sheets (aish.com and chabad.org are two sites that have
coloring sheets).
The Shabbos table is a perfect opportunity to give over a little parsha, it doesn’t need to be too long. Daven and bentch out loud so your kids hear.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much limudei kodesh was covered in the kitchen. Parsha- and yom tov-themed desserts are so much fun. For years, making Har Sinai cake has been a highlight of our Shavuos celebrations and the kids remember so much from the project.
I know parents are busy, stressed, and overwhelmed now. I don’t expect parents to do everything on this list. Look at the basic things you are already doing and try to find the learning inherent in them. Talk to your children and involve them in your everyday tasks whenever possible. They will easily absorb the learning and love much more than you anticipate.
Sara Rayvych, MSEd, has her master’s in general and special education. She has been homeschooling for over 10 years in Far Rockaway. She can be contacted at RayvychHomeschool@gmail.com.
