Limit Television Time
Television is a great tool and there is a wide selection of programs during the day to keep your toddler entertained. As an experienced mom, I feel that the television shouldn’t be your child’s only source of entertainment. After all you want your child to learn how to entertain themselves. They should be able to play with their toys and use their own creativity to come up with their own activities as long as they aren’t putting themselves in danger. Too much television gives the media the chance to influence your child in a negative way. I am a firm believer that what you put into your child will be what you get out of your child.
Be Flexible
As you are planning your day, it is important for you to be flexible. There will be time when things do not go as planned and other days you will find that you quickly run out of ideas to keep your child entertained. If you find yourself running out of ideas, you can always search the internet and find cool ideas for craft time or learning materials.
Give Your Child Some Control Over Their Daily Activities
Let your child make a few decisions about how they want to spend their day. This teaches them responsibility and allows them to make their own decisions. After all, parents are usually telling their child “no” on a regular basis and allowing them to make a few of their own decisions is a great way to boost your child’s confidence.
Get Your Toddler to Help With Household Chores
Most of the time you can get the household chores done while your child is napping or during the evening hours; however, I think it is important for your child to be involved in helping and learning how to do chores. You would be surprised how much that your toddler can actually do to help you with accomplishing the daily chores. For example, you can easily get your toddler to help pick up their toys, help you move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, and even put grocery items away. My youngest son loves to help out and it makes him feel good for helping his mommy or daddy. I always give him age appropriate chores and praise him when he does what I ask him to do.
Find Play Dates or Play Groups in Your Area
Play dates or groups are a great way for you and your toddler to get out of house. It is also a great way for your child to have the opportunity interact with other children. A play group is a great way to meet new friends and find new activities to do with your child based upon your schedule. You can search for play groups on MeetUp.com or Facebook.
Homeschooling a toddler can be challenging but with your commitment and dedication your hard work will pay off. A great home preschool program will allow your child to learn new things and be prepared for kindergarten. My youngest son has learned so much at daycare and I realized how important it was for me to continue teaching him when we decided to pull him out of daycare. So I decided to find a preschool program that I could follow at home.
How much television do you allow your toddler to watch during the day?
Comments
12 responses to “7 Tips To Successfully Start a Preschool Curriculum At Home”
These are great tips!
Thank you Jennifer.
Hi Christy,
Your post brought back old memories 🙂
Yes, when my kids were this age, they were easily distracted by so many things, and television was a HUGE one I’d add. But as you mentioned, we always had fixed time for television and this is one thing I’ve carried on to date, even though my kids are well into their teens. I guess with time they’ve got so used to it now.
There were certain rules they had to follow – like finish all their home-work, and other chores, before switching on the TV, and they were allowed only an hour, still are in-fact, except on weekends and holidays then a movie or perhaps 3-4 hours are allowed. It’s worked pretty well with us.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Harlenna thank you for sharing your experience. So far my schedule is working out nicely and he is allowed to watch a max of an hour and a half of television a day.
Great tips. 🙂 I am starting to think about school more, as my oldest is going to kindergarten next year most likely. (I’m going to homeschool him). My middle boy, who is 2 works into these tips perfectly. He’s a great helper with the laundry – putting into the dryer and washer and pressing all the buttons I as him to. 🙂 Folding.. that’s another story. lol My 4 year old is a great help with folding. ;)’
I do think I use the TV to much. They shows they watch are strictly ones I pick though. NO cable. So it’s Super Why, Curious George or Mighty Machines really. 🙂
I did find when my oldest was younger on youtube he gleaned A LOT from KidsTV123 videos. (http://www.youtube.com/user/KidsTV123?feature=playlist) Noah did as well. Although I think interaction and play AWAY from the TV is best. Something I need to implement just a bit more then I do. 🙂
Sarah thank you for sharing the youtube video channel. I will have to look into using that as a learning tool as well. He love interactive play but gets bored pretty easy.
Great tips Christy! I also like your new presentation with your header points, and breaking up your paragraphs. Much easier to read:)Hope you don’t mind random feedback like that.
Thank you for your feedback Courtney. 🙂 I want my posts to be easy to read.
I have been looking for a preschool program in our area but I love the idea of following a program from home.
I am enjoying it so far and love the flexibility that a home school program offers. My son is loving the additional mommy time that he gets to spend with me during the day.
A big YAY on the importance of those playgroups! We used to find that those were frequently the best parts of our homeschooling. Not only did they get a break and have fun, but they’d end up having the chance for field trips and co-op classes, and mom chat. Enjoy!
I am still searching for play groups and hope that I can find one in my area. I know that it will help both of us and give us activities to do.