Unschooling Preschool

0

Preschool is a common construct in our society. For a variety of reasons, many parents choose a preschool program for their children at ages 2, 3, 4, or 5. Sometimes it’s a logistical choice – the parent (or parents) work and need someone to watch over their children, so they decide it will be a good use of the child’s time and the parent’s money to have the child instructed in a preschool or daycare. Sometimes it’s an academic choice. The parent chooses a program that they believe will best prepare the child for their upcoming academic career. Others prioritize social learning and find a setting where their child will experience being in a group of peers and are led through activities and lessons by a teacher. Religious and philosophical beliefs also inform the parent’s decision about preschool. In our area, there are limited public preschool options, but in other communities, preschool is publicly funded and therefore those programs are standardized and designed to flow directly into the public school system.

In our family, we have chosen to homeschool. More specifically, we unschool, which means we don’t use a curriculum. Our kids learn by living life together with us, their parents. We trust that they will learn what they need when they want to and/or when they need it. So, what does that look like? In our home, it looks like a relaxed schedule as often as possible. We have a few standing weekly engagements like church and one child’s therapy appointments, but otherwise, we have a lot of flexibility in how we spend our days. At home, the kids move between various activities of their choice: playing with toys, coloring or other artistic endeavors, playing outside, watching TV, reading books, helping with cleaning, imaginative play, etc. When the weather is nice, I like to plan outings like going to the Montgomery Zoo and exploring local parks and playgrounds. Rather than signing up for traditional swim lessons, I intend to make a weekly family visit to the Sportsplex pool to let them explore the water. I’ve no doubt they’ll learn to swim on their own with enough exposure.

“Strewing” is a concept that many homeschoolers are familiar with. It means intentionally putting things in your child’s path that they may find interesting without any expectation of how they will interact with it. It’s something any parent can incorporate into their life with their child. This can be done with books, toys, tools, art supplies, items found in nature, food, musical instruments, games, videos, shows, songs, and more. It can also be done through experiences like hiking, going to a concert, going shopping, going for a drive, meeting neighbors, cooking, sensory play, attending a sporting event or playing a sport, travel, going to museums, watching construction workers on the job, playing in the rain, driving through the carwash, doing a service project, or attending a cultural festival.

This spring, in addition to swimming at the Sportsplex, I’m hoping to take my kids strawberry picking at Dempsey Farms and hiking at Kreher Preserve and Nature Center. I’m planning to build a backyard water play area like this one I found on Pinterest. We’ll celebrate Easter and three birthdays within the next month. We have plans to spend time with grandparents and cousins. We’re getting excited about visiting Busch Gardens and Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA. So, we watch POV (point of view) videos of rollercoasters and water slides we will get to experience, and they like to measure their height frequently to see which rides they’ll be tall enough for!

Life can be full of learning without school or preschool, and we enjoy the freedom this lifestyle choice provides.