5 Worthwhile Purchases for a Homeschool Preschool

I’ve had a lot on my mind recently…Small scale, I’ve been scrutinizing our household finances and savings and budgets and, whew, there’s a lot to think about there. And then of course our election, and wondering what things will be like in this America for my boys when they’re older.

These things just make me more focused on my job to raise up my boys, because it’s my job, and because it matters!

A month ago I published some simple tips for beginning an at-home preschool. Listen to how lucky I am. My wonderful mother-in-law decided this year to retire from twenty-some years of teaching kindergarten. I am blessed to have this shelf of hand-me-downs:

Take a good look at that organization. Remember that if you come to visit.

{ps, if you live near me, please come visit and go shopping in my library! I love to share.}

If you don’t have the luxury of having a retired kindergarten teacher for a mother-in-law who brings backs and buckets of trinkets and toys every time she comes, well, what is worth the money? Here’s the things I would definitely recommend:

1. “counters” and containers – I have about 100 little plastic bears of varying colors and sizes. It is this exact set, I think! You can use these for so many purposes in the preschool years. Even my youngest, who is 19 months, enjoys picking up and dumping them. Later of course, you can count, sort, order in sizes, add, subtract, place them in individual cups, line them up in a row, etc. etc. Here is a great resource for other ideas with counters.

 

2. plastic numbers and letters. I have a full set of numbers and letters uppercase and lower. Right now, for our 3-year-old preschool, we are just using uppercase. This is an invaluable tool. You could use magnets, even blocks with letters on them instead. I introduce a letter a week or so and then review the old.

3. The basics: easy-to-use scissors, glue stick and liquid, markers, a thick beginner pencil, crayons, and a pencil box. Especially if you have a younger child, keeping a few like-new items in a pencil box and away from little hands is a good idea. Finally, an absolute “must” is a reliable printer with lots of ink and paper on hand. There are so many worksheets available. I link to some good ones here, and I just saw a great resource for many others.

4. A book on science experiments. The Everything Kids’ Science Experiment Book looks like a great one, although it’s not the one I own. My mother-in-law also shared how much her kids loved their “experiments,” even if they were very simple. The little ones in my preschool just LOVE it! We do one once a week. I’m amazed how much I learn doing a simple little thing and trying to explain it. But then again, I’m completely inept at science.

5. exercise cards! Motor development is important too! My kids love cards like this – they see the picture and must do the action. And it’s a great activity when they’re just fried!

Moms of little ones (past or current!) – any other ideas of toys or tools kids love?

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