How We Homeschool: 3 Years Old (Pre-K)

Luke is currently 3.8 years old and homeschooled ever since. I share a lot about our homeschool journey on my Instagram and have recently been getting questions about how we go about it.

So I’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions and attempted to answer them!

Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert homeschooler (I’m just starting too, as you can see!) but I hope this helps other new moms considering homeschooling because when I was starting, I had no idea how to begin as well!

“When did you start homeschooling?”

I officially started with a curriculum (more on that below) when Luke turned 3.5.

Before that however, he has been learning mostly through books, play, informal studies and just overall experience. No pressure whatsoever. We read about things that he’s interested about and I expose him to a wide variety of experiences.

“Who is your homeschool provider?”

We are not yet enrolled in any provider simply because there is no need to do so yet. In the Philippines, you will need to be accredited only once your child is 5 years old. As Luke is only 3, we don’t need an official provider to help with our accreditation yet.

“Do you follow a particular approach or style?”

I am drawn to the principles of Classical Education and the Charlotte Mason approach so I am using both in our homeschool preschool.

There is so much to be said about Classical Education and the Charlotte Mason style but I believe there are others who will be able to better explain it than I could (links are shared throughout this post.) But here is a brief overview of how it looks like in our home:

Charlotte Mason

• Learning from Living Books: Charlotte Mason believed in using “living books” instead of dry textbooks to learn. I have been acquiring a ton of beautiful books for our personal library, covering a variety of topics and use them to make topics come alive as we learn. (I regularly share book lists and will be sharing more in the future. Check out this page as reference.)
• Narration: We practice narration where the child is asked to narrate a story back in their own words after hearing it, to secure it in their minds. We do this each time we read a Bible story or a book.
• Nature study & Outdoor Time: Charlotte Mason placed great emphasis on the importance of exposing the kids outdoors. Admittedly, this is very hard to incorporate daily in our lives as we live in a busy city. But we try to be intentional by scheduling outdoor play daily and nature walks regularly. We also create nature journals and learn about the many aspects of nature together.

*Note: Charlotte Mason advocates no formal studies before the age of 6. I understand the principle behind this and really believe that children learn a lot through play and experience. At the same time though, I also see the value in doing short, formal studies, which is why we follow a set curriculum. But this is just a personal preference!

Classical Education

“Classical education depends on a three-part process of training the mind. The early years of school are spent in absorbing facts, systematically laying the foundations for advanced study (grammar stage). In the middle grades, students learn to think through arguments (logic stage). In the high school years, they learn to express themselves (rhetoric stage). This classical pattern is called the trivium.” (Reference: The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer)

• Storing of knowledge: The grammar stage is where kids learn facts and details like sponges, so we try to get as much information in as possible. We read a lot about a variety of topics (from art, science, history and more) and practice memorization (Bible verses, poems, songs, terminologies plus historical and scientific facts) The goal is not to store up knowledge for knowledge’s sake but for the child to be able to draw from that knowledge as he grows.
• Studying the classics: I believe that the study of great literature, poetry, drama, philosophy, history, art, and languages are important and not just secondary to other subjects. So we include these in our study. Nothing heavy at this stage but more on basic introductions through beautiful literature and hands-on activities.
• Focus on language rather than pictures/videos: Classical Education is language focused rather than picture-based. It is believed that learning is accomplished more through written and spoken words rather than through images. I incorporate this by teaching through read-aloud books that have been carefully selected and curated based on their literary value and not just based on how they appeal visually (although as a visual artist myself, this is not so easily implemented haha! But I try!)

Needless to say, these styles are used in our home coupled with a firm foundation on the Christian faith. Everything always points back to the Bible and all attempts of learning are done to give the child a better picture of God. To quote what my friend and classical homeschooling mom Keren said: “The goal is for children to recognize and treasure truth, goodness, and beauty, to the glory of God.”

“Do you use a curriculum?”

Yes. I started with The Good and The Beautiful’s Pre-K Curriculum for Language Arts when Luke was 3.5 years old. We loved it. It’s very gentle for the child. We were able to finish it in 2 months because sometimes Luke would ask for more worksheets. (Related post: Alphabet Time with My 3 Year Old)

Recently, we moved on to the next level, which is The Good and The Beautiful’s Level K Primer. We work on one lesson per day. So far, we are loving it as much as we loved the Pre-K one. You honestly don’t really need a curriculum at this age but seeing that Luke has been enjoying these, I decided to continue with the workbooks.

I’ve also purchased The Good and The Beautiful’s Math K Curriculum. This is above the grade level recommended for Luke’s age so I am NOT strict with this at all. In fact, I plan on taking Luke through the lessons very slowly. So far though, Luke has tried some and has been enjoying it.

I also want to try out Singapore Math but I haven’t had the chance yet. (I’ll make a separate post next time where I will be reviewing the curriculums and workbooks we’ve tried and whether it works or doesn’t for us. Will keep you updated!)

ON PRINTING:

If you live in the Philippines, you might be wondering how I got my hands on these materials.

I purchased them all as digital downloads on The Good and The Beautiful website. Then I had them printed and bound at a local printshop called 3L Digital Printing Services. They did such a beautiful job and even accommodated my request to use a white binder (purely for aesthetics’ sake hehe!) The books were then shipped to my address.

To give you an idea of the cost, 3L Digital Printing Services charges P4 per colored page, P150 for the binding per book and P150 for shipping within Metro Manila. It’s very affordable and definitely saved me a lot of time and effort rather than having to print everything on my own!

“What is your everyday schedule like?”

“How many hours do you spend studying?” I think to answer that better, I need to show you what a typical day looks like for us at home.

NOTE: This is just a sample schedule of a typical day and of course, NOT all days look like this. Sometimes we do more of a certain activity, sometimes we go out or have playdates.

• 9:00am – Breakfast Time: Bible reading, devotional and poetry
• 10:00am – Relaxed Outdoor Time (walk around, water plants, pick leaves for nature study, etc.)
• 10:30am – Work on the lesson for the day (from the curriculum)
• 11:00am to 12:00pm – Read-aloud time, snack and poetry, arts & crafts, play OR other activities
• 12:00pm – Lunch

And that’s it! It’s honestly very simple. In the afternoon, we do a lot of unstructured play and learning. Sometimes, he helps me with errands, goes out with me or works with me chores like organizing our closets or fixing the rooms. Twice a week, he has Mandarin classes at home. It really depends, but there is no pressure.

(Related Link: Articles on some of our homeschool lessons)

“What about socialization?”

People often ask this question to homeschooling parents. And though it can be exasperating at times (hehe), I totally understand the concern.

In all honesty, we personally struggle with this. As I write this article, Luke is currently an only child (his little brother is still inside my tummy!) He also has no cousins or close neighbors his age whom he can play with on a daily basis.

However, what we do is intentionally schedule regular playdates and field trips with other homeschooling kids. It’s nice to have a steady group of other homeschoolers who you can regularly meet up with (still looking to add more members to this group though!) Also, we’ve enrolled Luke in some extra-curricular activities such as Mandarin classes where he currently has other classmates and sports class.

One of the things I love about homeschooling Luke though is that I get to bring him with me to different places and events. Because of this exposure, he is used to relating and conversing well with others. This includes adults and older kids too!

“Why homeschool in the first place?”

As with everything, there are a lot of pros and cons with regards to homeschooling. But at this stage in our lives, I have chosen to homeschool for a number of reasons. My top 3 are to:

• Have the opportunity to be intentional in helping my child have a relationship with Jesus
• Be able to instil in him the values that we believe are crucial
• Be able to constantly check his character and work on what needs improvement

Academics are important and it is my goal to teach my children to the best of my abilities. But at the end of the day, what matters most is how they are growing as human beings. Are they learning to be respectful, kind, loving and generous? Do they understand and value hard work and discipline? Most of all, are they learning to love God more each day?

Ultimately, these are the things that matter and things I want to be intentional about as I spend day after day with my kids. It is true that you can achieve all these even if you are not homeschooling. But I believe that for our family, I am able to be more intentional with them as I homeschool. 

Secondary reasons:

• Gives us the opportunity to expose Luke to other extra-curricular activities without the pressure of fitting them into a school schedule
• Allows us to dictate our daily pacing: we can go faster or slower depending on his needs
• We are able to bring him anytime with us when we travel, which provides him with a huge opportunity to learn from new experiences

Additional perk: We get to avail of weekday discounts and benefits (less crowds!) whenever we visit museums and go on field trips. Hehe!

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RELATED POSTS:

• How We Homeschool: 4 Years Old
• How We Homeschool: 5 Years Old
• Homeschool Room: 2020

For more homeschooling articles, check this out!

If you have other questions related to how we homeschool, please leave them at the comments below and I’ll try my best to answer them! For more articles about homeschooling, check out this link:

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