Are you ready to start preschool at home with your child? This is such an exciting time for your family! But, it can be quite overwhelming truthfully.
There are so, so many curriculum options out there, and everyone has their opinion of which is best and good reasons behind their arguments.
But when you are just starting out at the preschool level, you don’t need overwhelming. You need simple, and fun, and enjoyable for you and your kid.
Preschoolers are ready to learn so many different things, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours pouring over curriculum or tons of cash to get materials or programs.
There are so many fun and completely free ways to start homeschooling your preschooler. And it can be much simpler, too!
Check out these simple, fun, and free ways to homeschool preschoolers!
22 Fun & Free Ways to Homeschool Preschoolers
Ready to make preschool at home fun, simple, and frugal?
Look through these ideas and make a list of activities to try with your child. You can make a weekly schedule if that helps you, or just keep a list of activities on your fridge and do a few things each day. Preschool at home can be as fun and relaxed as you want it to be!
Free Ways to Start Preschool at Home:
Before we get to the ideas, I just want to encourage you that you can totally do this. You can teach your preschooler at home. All they need is you, mama!
So breathe, be patient with yourself and your child, and keep trying until you find what works best for you and your child.
You’ve got this, mama!
1. Use the library
Of course, this is number one on my list! We love, love, love our little town’s library and visit weekly.
Reading with your children is one of the very best things you can do with them, and the library offers endless books for free.
My favorite way to use our library is to search for books through the online library system and place holds, so I don’t have to spend tons of time scouring the shelves with my small children at my feet (or pulling all the books off the shelves).
Often, I will have a book theme for the week and choose a few books to place in a basket on our shelf with activities that relate to that theme. For instance, we just finished a week reading about bugs. So, we had several bug books and some pretend bugs to look at with a magnifying glass.
Libraries often have free weekly events for children, too. So make sure to check with the libraries in your area. Ours has a weekly story time that we love to attend.
2. Use the free resources on Teachers Pay Teachers
Teachers Pay Teachers is a wonderful resource to use as a homeschooling mom. There are tons of free resources on there for preschool age work.
I will search for different things and use the filters to narrow the searches down to preschool age and the free priced items.
You will just need a printer and ink, but you’ll find some great material to use!
3. Take books outside
We love to be outdoors and I think there is so much to learn from playing and being in nature.
We keep a bag near the door and will fill it up with books when we head outside to play. I will sit on a blanket and read my book, and the kids will often take breaks to sit down and read a story with me.
This is another great way to include more reading time into your day!
4. Find a free story time
As I mentioned above, our library has a free weekly story time that we love to attend. They read seasonal or themed books, and do fun activities with it. Then there is time for playing with the other kids.
It’s a great way to get out of the house and spend time with other kids, too.
Libraries aren’t the only places to offer story time, though. We have a local park that offers a kid-friendly hike and story time (a great way to get outside and burn energy) and a local dance studio that offers a free story time and craft hour each week.
Check if any local places have a free story time near you!
5. Check out local park programs
If you have a state park or nature center near you, ask if they have any programs for kids.
Many will have kid-friendly hikes or kid classes to learn about nature and animals.
If you can’t find this in your area, consider taking books and heading to the park for an hour to make your own story time. Look for wildlife, do a craft or coloring, count nature objects, and get some exercise.
6. Count household objects
Math workbooks can be great, but truly you can teach math without any special materials. Find objects in your home to work on counting skills.
Here’s some easy ideas:
- Count a group of plastic Easter eggs (advanced – count how many of each color)
- Make a snack and ask the child to put # of crackers, raisins, orange slices on the plate
- Match socks and count how many single socks and how many pairs of socks
- Collect nature objects in a basket (leaves, acorns, pine cones, sticks, rocks) and count each type
There are so many ways to start teaching math, and hands on activities are perfect for the preschool age.
7. Make your own flashcards
Flash cards can be a great tool to teach preschoolers – and you can make your own for free at home!
Find some index cards, construction paper, or cardstock paper and a thick marker.
You can make number flashcards, letters (uppercase set and lowercase set), or use stickers or cut out pictures from magazines or junk mail for vocabulary.
8. Read books and ask questions
I have purchased some preschool curriculum, and many include books to read and a list of questions to ask the child about the story.
You can find books you love and ask your child questions about the book, such as:
- How many _ do you see?
- Can you point to the _?
- Do they look happy or sad?
- What do you think is going to happen next?
- Name something you see on this page (work on vocabulary).
Kids can learn so much from reading books and talking about what you read.
9. Set up a color hunt
For preschoolers working on learning colors, you can set up a simple color hunt around the house.
If you have colored construction paper, you can cut out pieces or find lots of things in that color to hide around the house.
Go around with your child with a basket and say we are looking for the color _.
Look through all the things you found and name them to work on vocabulary.
Another activity to work on colors is to draw a bunch of shapes on a paper and ask your child to color each one a different color. Let them pick the color from the basket of crayons/markers.
10. Set up a shape hunt
Similar to the color hunt, you can hunt for shapes.
You can do this by looking for things around the house in a certain shape or cut out shapes from paper to hide around the house.
Another activity to learn shapes is to draw them on paper and have your child trace and color them.
11. Help around the house
A great way for kids to learn is just by helping you around the house.
Sometimes it takes longer to get the job done, but your kids will never learn if you don’t let them help. And they will keep learning and keep improving, and one day they will be a big help to you at home.
Let them help in appropriate ways:
- Add clothes and soap to the washing machine.
- Press the right button on the dryer.
- Add the dishwashing soap and start the dishwasher.
- Put the clean utensils in the right places (sort forks, spoons, etc.)
- Help mix cookie dough and add ingredients.
- Fold small towels and match socks.
- Put shirts on hangers.
- Make their bed.
- Sweep a small mess.
- Set the table for dinner.
There are so many ways even little kids can help around the house. This helps them feel a sense of responsibility and pride, and that they are part of the family team.
Working together and learning new skills is a great way to start learning at home.
12. Learn letter sounds.
Use your homemade flash cards to teach letter sounds. For each letter, make the short letter sound and talk about what starts with that letter.
Search for youtube videos if you are unsure of the letter sounds to teach.
13. Label things around the home.
If you child is ready to start reading, you can label things around the home that they will see. Talk about what letters make up the work and how to make those letter sounds.
You don’t have to push this too soon, but if your child is ready to learn to read, you can start with simple things like this.
14. Make a letter notebook.
For my 4 year old, I have made a letter notebook from a composition notebook.
We add one letter at a time. I would put the uppercase letter first (starting with A) and print pictures of things that start with the letter A. She could trace the letter and name all the pictures make the letter sound.
Then, we move on to uppercase B and so on.
After we finished the uppercase letters, I added the lowercase letters and additional lowercase letters written with a highlighter for her to trace.
15. Practice writing their name.
Write your child’s name with a highlighter or pencil and have them trace it. If you have a laminator, you can laminate the page and use a dry erase marker to use over and over again.
I start with writing their name larger and then work towards writing it smaller when they are able.
16. Make art.
There are so many fun art projects you can do at home for free. We love to draw, color, do cut and glue projects, and simple crafts.
You can search Pinterest or find free crafts or coloring pages on Teachers Pay Teachers.
I like to find crafts and coloring pages that go along with the book themes we have. Some popular books will even have corresponding craft ideas, too.
You can also check book websites for coloring pages and crafts, for example Little Blue Truck has some great resources.
17. Have pretend play time.
There are so many ways to learn from playing, and pretend play is a great way to learn. I love to make little shops and games for my kids.
We have made a donut shop, hot cocoa bar, grocery store, restaurant, flower shop, Chick Fil A, farmer’s market, and more.
This has been a great way to work on counting (taking orders and selling things), language development, and really just having a lot of fun.
18. Read a kid’s bible.
Find a kid’s bible you love (I love the Hands-On bible for my 2 and 4 year old right now) or The Beginner’s Bible. Read stories from the bible and ask questions, do a craft or coloring page, or an activity that relates to what you read.
Kids can really learn the bible early on and I have learned so much from teaching them the stories, too.
19. Work on bible verses.
You might think your child is too young to learn bible verses, but they might surprise you.
I have made a list of bible verses to learn together and we work on one at a time, until we learn it. I don’t make it just for a week or a certain amount of time.
You could write these on flash cards and read it together each morning when you have bible time. I have heard some parents like to sing it as a song or make motions to go along with the verse if that is helpful for your child.
You can even make a little book (cheap photo album or binder) to store all the bible verses you know to go back through to reiterate.
20. Sing songs.
Songs can be such a fun way to learn and work on repetition and memorizing things.
You can sing songs at certain times of the day, or work on a song each week – or just sing whenever you feel like. We love to sing songs when I push the kids on the swings.
21. Teach the days of the week.
Keep a calendar in sight, and talk about what month it is, what season it is, and what day of the week it is.
You can teach the days of the week with a song or just by pointing at the different days on the calendar.
22. Talk about the weather and seasons.
You can make your own weather chart with pictures printed from the internet, or just talk about the weather each morning.
Ask your child what the weather is (sunny, cloudy, raining, snowing) and if it is warm, hot, or cold.
You can teach the seasons and what order they come in.
Teaching Preschool at Home Should Be Simple and Fun!
You really don’t need to overcomplicate or get overwhelmed about teaching preschool at home. There are so many things you can do with your kids that feel like play, when they are really learning.
Reading books, being together, and just talking about things you see as you go about your day will set you up for great success.
I can’t emphasize enough how much reading books and making a regular trip to the library has helped us keep reading and learning a priority in our home.
We learn everyday together, even if we don’t do a “real lesson”.
Make a list of ideas you want to try with your preschooler, and make a simple schedule. Start with short, simple things and slowly add more as you see your child is ready for more.
The best way to get burnt out and stressed is by trying to do everything all at once.
Keep it simple for you and keep it fun for your kid.
You’ve got this, mama!
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