When Homeschooled Preschoolers Are Causing Mayhem: A Gift Guide

And a review of a new homeschooling book, Monica Swanson's "Becoming Homeschoolers."

Aug 29, 2024

Children Playing On The Beach, 1884 - Mary Cassatt — “NO, Mother, I would NEVER hit my sister with this shovel.” Cassatt, *Children at the Beach*, 1884. Preschoolers can go from picteresque to wildly disregulated in a split second. Which is not great when you’re busy trying to teach their older sibling fractions.

Dear Friends,

I have two homeschool-related pieces to share today, and then some questions for you.

FIRST:

Do you need to know what to do with your preschoolers during homeschooling? Or how to help a homeschooling family with young children?

Look no further. I have a guide full of gifts and tips over at the Arena today, plus some thoughts on homeschooling preschool in general. Read here:

“Gift guide: What to give homeschooling parents whose preschoolers are causing mayhem”

**Note: I wished I had suggested buying kid scissors to go with the tape book...it makes the activity useable and fun even if the kid has trouble tearing the tape!**

SECOND:

I also have a review of a new book on homeschooling by veteran homeschooling parent and blogger, Monica Swanson, up at Current today. It’s highly practical — if you’re interested in how homeschooling works (or need some ideas), you may want to take a look:

“A Manual for Homeschooling”

FINALLY:

There has been some significant discussion in the comments of a couple of my recent posts about how to handle homeschooling young children, kids ages 3-7 or so. Preschool was of particular interest, as was the age of beginning formal reading instruction (beyond singing the ABC song, in other words).

So I thought I would ask you:

- Do you find that young children benefit from formal academics?
- What has worked for you with young children, whether homeschooled or not? What do you think they need most?
- Have you had experience with early reading, late reading, or reading that ended up needing specialized intervention (tutors, therapists, etc.)? What was your experience?