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Preschool At Our House

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My three and four year-olds peeked their little heads out from around the corner. They loved their play time, but couldn’t help but want to see all of the fun that their big sisters were having in the other room. “Mom, Can we do school too?” came their tiny voices. Although I’d been wanting to have a little preschool time with them since last August, I had yet to do a single thing.

Preschool at Our House

So I got our Little Hands to Heaven curriculum by Heart of Dakota back from my sister-in-law at Christmas-time, and now I am loving, loving, loving this special time with these two little ones. It brings back so many precious memories of when we started our homeschooling journey with their big sisters. And it honestly only takes us about twenty minutes each morning… while the “big girls” work on their chores and the “little one” toddles around joining us or attempting to help her big sisters.

Oh, how I wish I could capture the heart-learning that is going on in these two little people. For pouring God’s Word and His ways into their little hearts and minds is what is most important to me in schooling our kids at home.

Yes, I do want them to learn coloring and cutting and counting and letter recognition and how to draw shapes and write their names and countless other skills. But, above anything else, I desire for them to know God and to walk in His ways. They could be the brightest, smartest, richest people in the world (I do hope God will use them in mighty ways as they grow), but without God, they’d be LOST.

{{And, I’ll let you in a little secret {Shhhh!}- a lot of those skills that we moms fret about… come naturally at this age as they’re playing and creating and crafting and exploring.}}

B Blocks

So we pull out The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes and we read the true, inspiring stories that stretch from so many years ago, straight to our hearts today.

New Bible In Pictures for Little Eyes

And we read of the creation, man’s sin, and God’s promise to Abraham. And we ask questions about how we can obey like Noah and whether we should tell lies like Jacob. We dance to the stories being told through music. We {dramatically} act out the fingerplays that go along with the stories. And we take time to explore the world around us- What sinks? What floats?…

Sink or Float

We learn that Adam starts with “A” and we count by twos as animals enter the ark. We write our letters… with ice cubes, paint, and yummy chocolate sauce… as we talk about the sweet rhymes in this devotional book.

preschool A-B-C

We make rainbow pictures to remind us of God’s promise, and we ride our d-d-d-dusty camels like true Bible characters. And we excitedly share with Daddy all about it when he gets home.

Making Rainbows

Rainbow

And the rest of the day? We continue to play and create and to craft and explore! :)

{{Just in case you thought from the pictures above that Preschool at our house is a “quiet” affair, here is a glimpse of what seventy percent of our time looks like. :) And, yes, my children do have all of their appendages.}}

A-A-A

I’ve been asked by many moms if I think “Little Hands to Heaven” would be good for their little preschoolers.  I wish I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with each one of you, or have you come sip coffee as you watch the day unfold from the security of our soft couches (well, you might get jumped on! –wink!). But, since I cannot do that (and realizing I won’t be able to keep up with taking as many pictures as I’d like- I really need my hands free to keep the twenty month old from eating the paint, and I really want to be engaged with my little ones), I will say a few things…

You don’t have to have a curriculum to teach preschool. And another secret {fellow preschool teachers, you might want to cover your eyes} you don’t have to teach preschool at all! As I shared in my “secret” above- just by living and playing, our children pick up so very much. We’re already teaching them in so many ways. Yes, there are many benefits of preschool (some which I’ve outlined below), but more than academics, our children need our love and our faithfulness. So, NO guilt! There are seasons in our lives when preschool will not be the best choice for our families- even if we do have a precious three or four year-old living under our roof.

But, here are some reasons why “Little Hands to Heaven” is working for our family {now} and just might work for yours as well…
-Your little ones have begged to do “school” like their big siblings.
-You want to prepare your children for their Kindergarten year where there will be more expectations.
-You hope to focus on God and His Word.
-You want something age-appropriate.
-You’re looking for a little structure to guide you.
-You need something that takes little to no time to prepare or plan.
-You don’t have money to spend on ink to print off lots of worksheets (Although some worksheets are included in “Little Hands”- you can go here to find out how we do without worksheets.)
-You enjoy hands-on activities, and don’t mind a little mess.
-Your preschoolers are busy, and love to learn through action.
-You want something you can reuse with other little ones.
-You need something short and impactful.
-You would like to spend some special time with your little ones.
-Your family values the heart just as much as the mind.

Just like when making other difficult schooling decisions, we need to seek God for what is best for our own families!

No two kids, two moms, or two families are exactly alike! If you don’t like hands-on activities and art projects and the idea of acting things out makes you sweat- you might want to look into a different program. If you love textbooks and workbooks, then “Little Hands to Heaven” may not be for you either. Although our decisions should not be based on fear (of the glue on the table, or whether we can find enough courage to lead our children in a finger-play, or because we heard our cousin’s neighbor’s three year-old daughter is already reading), if we’re seeking God, He will put His desires in our hearts, He will work on renewing our minds, and He will guide us toward what is best for our families.

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Do you do/have you done preschool at your house? What does/did it look like?
What questions do you have for me?

Have more questions about “Little Hands to Heaven”… I’ve answered many here! :)

Linked to The Better Mom, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Titus 2sdays


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