**Let me preface this post by saying my intention for posting this is not to cause your heart to beat faster or wonder if you are doing "enough" or think your kid is abnormal because he can't do these things. Children learn at different paces. These are just things you can work on teaching, don't expect them to be able to do everything.**
Teaching preschoolers at home is a lot less complicated than many people think. In fact, these are things you should work on whether you are skipping preschool or not. There are some basic concepts that are building blocks for further learning. This isn't formal learning. These are things you can teach with play, while reading stories, or out for a walk at the park.
Put a name on nouns (and verbs for that matter). Body parts, animals, objects in their every day life. Give them a vocabulary by talking to them, reading, pointing out all the different objects you see. When you read don't just read the words on the page but help them discover what is in the pictures. If they are interested in airplanes teach them the words for the different types of airplanes or the different parts of the plane. Great teaching tools: children's fiction.
Upper and lowercase letters. Say the A,B, C's and recognize the letters. I don't push phonics at this age. Teaching tools: letter puzzles, letter magnets, books.
Numbers. Beyond just counting. Teach them to touch each object as they say the number. Sing counting songs. Point out the written number when you see it and say the number so they can put the word and symbol together. Once they can count to 20 or 30 (or higher) you can begin counting backwards from 10. Remember, not all children can do all of these tasks by 3 years! It's O.K. if yours can't. Teaching tools: counting books, blocks/balls/cars or anything you have 5 or 10 of.
Shapes and colors. Use books, shape sorters or found objects in a room. Go on a color hunt. Find all the green things you can find in the house, etc. It helps if they can touch and see things to learn the concept so touching a rectangular block and a DVD case to notice that they are both rectangles will help put the concept together. Fortunately our world is full of shapes and colors so this one is easy. Teaching tools: puzzles, books, blocks.
Senses. Put words to the five senses let them explore. Let them feel different textures, smell different smells, see, hear,and taste!
Position relations. in, over, above, next to, between, under, you get the point. Perfect activity while playing with blocks or cars or stacking rings (or about anything). Make a fort and get "under" it, then come out and sit "next to" it or tear it down and jump "on" it. Teaching tools: blocks, stacking rings, everyday objects.
Rhyming. Kids love to rhyme. It can be a difficult concept for some children so don't get distressed if they aren't getting it right away. Read books with rhymes (think Dr. Seuss, Giles Andreae, Sandra Boynton, etc.), sing rhyming songs and make up your own rhymes. We rhyme all the time. "It's time for bed, red, fred, said..." Teaching tools: books, songs.
Comparative words. fast-slow, big-little, etc. Demonstrate these things and point them out while you are doing them. Make it fun. Play "run fast", then practice going slow. Exaggerate so they'll get the idea.
Right and left. I've read that you should always say "correct" instead of "right" when telling a child they did something correct (I don't do this). Also, say the rights and lefts while getting them dressed.
Small motor skills. Beading, pouring, scooping, beginning lacing etc. Teaching tools: measuring cups of different sizes and small bowls to pour into, pipe cleaners with small beads, shoe lace and round pasta, puzzles, blocks, making cookies, etc.
Large motor skills. running, jumping, throwing, kicking, climbing, balancing. Go outside, get to a playground. Hold his hand while he walks along a curb balancing. Jump over cracks in the sidewalk, kick a ball around the house. This stuff is easy. Teaching tools: balls, tricycle, playground.
Teaching how things work. When she asks "why", do your best to explain it. Talk about why the toys in the tub float or sink. Why things grow, turn on, etc. She might not understand yet but that is OK. Try to simplify your answers so she'll understand at least part. Teaching tools: children's fiction, google :)
Sorting and matching. Use anything you have on hand. Sort different shape blocks, match the socks while you are folding laundry or match the blue blocks with the blue blocks and the red blocks with the red blocks, etc. Of course there are special toys and educational resources for all of this but if you are creative you probably have something on hand. Free paint chips from Home Depot work well too for matching! Sorting small objects (supervised) is a great way to work on small motor skills. Teaching tools: assorted mixed dry beans and an empty egg carton for sorting, puzzles for matching size and picture, Memory game (homemade or not), colored blocks, etc.
I'm sure I left something out but this pretty much sums up a lot of the "tasks" this age group is capable of learning. Teaching your children is fun. Look for the little moments and opportunities. Don't just read through a story book but spend time looking at the pictures and talking about what is going on. Count the objects on the page or talk about the different colors. Don't just stack blocks but talk about putting blocks on top of or between or sort them by color and shape. Sign songs, listen to music, make up stories, make believe. You get the point, just have fun.
Have toys on hand that encourage creativity and imagination. Toys that are "one trick ponies" aren't the best. Think blocks, baby dolls, play kitchen or play food, dress up clothes, instruments, crayons and paint, etc. Simple Mom has a great list of basic toys that are worth the investment and a list of cheap or free toys that will get you thinking. If you already have a lot of toys, think about putting half of them up somewhere and rotating them. We are moving next week and that is my plan because we have way more toys than we know what to do with (and we've already given a ton away).
Overwhelmed? Assured? Was this post even necessary? I have a post about teaching 3 to 4 year olds in the hopper but I'll trash it if nobody is interested! Do you think about a child's play as learning? How do you teach your child the basics?
