Our relaxed Preschool: The beginnings of our relaxed homeschooling journey.

Sharing is caring!

When people find out that we homeschool their first question, after grilling me on the perils of lack of socialisation and the danger of being ‘left behind’, is what curriculum do I use?  The shock, dismay and judgmental expressions that I’m met with when they find out I use no curriculum, are most often worthy of an Oscar! LOL. As we continue our discussion, without fail, the question ‘So what do you do all day?’ always arises!  So just exactly what does a relaxed homeschooled preschooler do? How does a real-life day actually look?!  

Well……in reality, every day is different and we bend and sway with the emotions, energy and concentration we have that day!  That being said, I do try and instill some routine and consistency to our days, so that everyone has some idea of expectations and what comes next, even if not of specific activities.

3.30am – Wake up and VIPKID

In our house we are early risers!  I am up around 3.30am, Puchin around 5.45am and Happy Chappy by 7am.  Now by choice I wouldn’t be quite THAT an early riser, but needs must.  By waking up this early, I am able to teach for VIPKID (a Chinese company that teaches English to children in China) and earn the money we need for me to be able to stay home with the children rather than go out to work.  I teach from 4am-7am and then am done with work for the day!  

Since Puchin wakes so early she has to semi self-entertain until I’m done.  I find this the perfect time to get some independent literacy learning done and out the way, so that the rest of the day can be left for fun and being 4!  Her ‘school’ table is in my teaching office and she will sit and journal (draw a picture and write nonsense letters), complete dry erase letter/number books, complete various ABC puzzles, ‘read’ to herself or watch me teach (a learning experience in itself!).  Every 25mins I get a 5min break between my classes and we will briefly talk about what she is doing and any questions she has.  

Want to learn more about teaching for one of the TOP remote companies in the world? Send me an email hollie@homewithhollie.com or click the link for more details. https://t.vipkid.com.cn/mkt/landing/personal?referralToken=6e5e63179c7fb862048e7f592bd34f11&refereeId=18170799

7.00am – Workout and technology time

I like to work out before we get any further into our day.  If it doesn’t happen now, it just doesn’t happen! While I work out the kiddos get to watch 2 shows of their choice (Wild Kratz, Sid the Science Kid, The Magic School Bus and Story Bots are all firm favorites) and to play as they please.

8.00am – Breakfast, dress, songs and calendar

While I make breakfast for us all, we sing our Days of the Week and Months of the Year songs and talk about what day and month it is today and our plans.  The children pick their own outfits (with a little weather appropriate guidance) and we practice getting dressed.  As crazy as that sounds you wouldn’t believe the number of kindergarten children that would come through my class each year with the inability to dress themselves!  

9.00am – Morning activity

Every morning we head out to some form of child-based activity.  Both children are very social and just love being around and among other kids.  Activities range from swim, dance or soccer class to playing at the local library.  We focus on social skills, communication, sharing, listening and following instructions from a non-family member.  We follow class up with an hour or more of outside play at a nearby park. (In the winter months when playing outside is sometimes completely out of the question, I try and arrange some form of playdate with friends).

For me this part of our day is an absolute non-negotiable.  Even if the rest of our morning hasn’t gone to plan, we ALWAYS go to our morning activity and play outside.  The change of scenery, the interaction with others and being outside is our biggest chance at turning our day around.  It is also the most important learning experiences that the children receive daily. We believe that social skills, navigating other people’s desires and negotiating how to find solutions to keep everyone happy are much more valuable to learn at the preschool/kindergarten age than letters, numbers and reading.  

12.00pm – Lunch

By 12.00pm we return home for lunch.  We are creatures of habit and pretty much eat the same few meals for lunch every day.  I find keeping it simple at lunch time is the key to getting everyone fed before the hanger sets in!  The kiddos are free to help make lunch or play alone.

12.45pm – Nap and Quiet time

I’m very lucky with the fact that Happy Chappy will still take a nap!  Now……how much longer will this luck last?! I’m not quite sure! But for now, I enjoy every one of those 120minutes!  Before we send Happy Chappy off to the land of nod we sit and read 3 or 4 books together. Reading to young children is wonderful for so many things!  From development of speech and knowledge of vocabulary, to the expansion of imagination and creativity!  

As Dr Seuss would say “The more that you read, the more you will know, the more that you know, the more places you will go”.

Couple that with the bond that is developed by snuggling up and sharing a book’s journey together.  We make sure to read together as a group multiple times a day.

Once Happy Chappy is asleep Puchin and I will take an hour to rest and recoup.  I will either use my 60 minutes to relax and catch up on social media/a tv show, or will try and get a little blog work done, while Kiki is free to entertain as she pleases in her room.  Most often she plays imaginative play with her dolls, blocks or Lego, but she is also free to play learning games on a tablet. The choice how she spends her down time is completely up to her. 

2.00pm – ‘School’ time

For the 2nd half of Happy Chappy’s nap, Puchin and I hang out together.  I use this time to carry out the rest of our ‘formal’ educational time. Since she is currently adamantly against writing and learning to read, we stay away from these more formal activities and carryout our education through hands on activities.  She is only 4 and will read and write when she is ready! That is one of the biggest beauties of relaxed homeschooling! She can learn at her own pace, in her own way and not be pressured by society norms/beliefs and what the government or a curriculum believes she needs to be able to master at her age!  As I see her friends around her, who are all in ‘regular’ kindergarten/1st grade school stress over and fight their parents about having to learn their 10 sight words of the week and complete their written homework, this freedom brings me much joy. Even though we don’t undertake traditional learning in this time, I do like to have some order to our learning so we work around themes.  Sometimes I decide our theme, sometimes Puchin, but most often we will decide together. We spend 2-3 weeks studying our theme before moving onto something new. We read books, create crafts, draw/paint pictures, complete puzzles, undertake science experiments, bake food (pretty much anything and everything except set work and worksheets/books) and within it all infiltrate letter/word recognition, math skills/problems, verbal discussion and problem solving.

3.00pm – Snack time and afternoon activity

Once Happy Chappy is up we have a little snack, it’s amazing the amount of food these 2 kiddos can consume, and carry out our last activity of the day.  When I say activity…..I really mean structured free play. Some days we play in the yard or the local park, others we go to the local swimming pool or meet up with friends.  Nothing fancy as we begin to wind down our day.

5.00pm – Dinner time

I like for us all to sit and eat dinner together, even if we are not eating the same things, (due to allergies not being picky).  As I prepare dinner Puchin and Happy Chappy play together or sit and color or play with playdough.  

6.00pm – Technology time

We end our day pretty much how we begin!  The kiddos get to watch tv or play video games (Puchin’s latest craze!), while I get ready for tomorrow morning’s work and tidy up the house.  I always feel so much better going to bed knowing that the dishes have been done and general clutter sorted.  

6.45pm – Bedtime

Bedtime routine starts at 6.45pm.  Both kids are bathed, teeth brushed and PJ’s on by 7.20pmish.  We read our final round of books and the kiddos get to choose a song each to listen to before lights out at 8.00pm.

8.00pm – Blog and me time

Once the kiddos are finally out for the night (usually doesn’t take long since they are up so early!), I do a little blog work, watch some tv and binge on social media.  I also head to bed early since I get up so early!

And that is what a day generally looks like here Mon-Thurs!  As you can see the majority of our learning is done by unconventional means and Friday’s we always leave open for a field trip.  Now some days go exactly to plan…….and others…….well yes, others do not! LOL. Sometimes Happy Chappy wakes while I’m still working and I have to let the kiddos watch tv while I work, other days one or both kiddos are kinda grumpy and we need a more relaxed at home kind of a day!  So, while this is our ideal day and about 90% of the time it is what we do, the only thing that happens 100% of the time without fail is Bedtime!  

What does your relaxed homeschool schedule of a preschooler look like?