How I May Have Failed Teaching Preschool

I look about and see some serious lesson plans for preschool aged children. They are amazing! But, I wonder, are they necessary?

When I was a little one, I went to a preschool. My only memory is having my blankie taken from me, as it was decidedly not allowed in the classroom. I am sure I learned a great deal of foundational information in my preschool years. By the time I started Kindergarten, I could count to 100, read, and name all the colors. Someone taught me those things, but whether I learned them at home or in a classroom I don't remember. However, preschool was different then. It has changed dramatically over the years.

Now, my nephew, who has yet to hit the preschool years, has learned colors and is counting. The trend to teach them young is wide spread. Day cares, preschools, and homeschoolers alike are teaching their children with set curricula as early as one year, perhaps even before.

Still, I wonder, is it necessary?

When I consider what I observe through personal experience, societal trends, scopes & sequences, and the online community, I think perhaps I may not have taught preschool in the most popular way.
In fact, on a side by side comparison, our children's preschool experiences possibly look less than.

What our preschool did not include:

• a set classroom with everything geared toward a three or four year old
• sensory bins
• kids' music {for example, I did not sing Wheels on the Bus}
• library story time
• art projects worthy or an art museum display
• classes {out of the house}
• Please Touch Museums or any place specific to preschoolers
• following a specific all encompassing, packaged preschool curriculum
• adherence to a strict schedule

What our preschool did include:

• a home environment with a small table and chair for our preschooler
• nature walks, including encouragement to explore and observe the outdoors
• Christian praise music and classical music
• books of all kinds read aloud
• basic ABCs and 123s {sounds and counting included}
• fun, sometimes messy, art projects
• play groups with children of all ages
• unit studies I devised 
• encouragement for the preschooler to join the older children whenever he/she wanted 
• times of learning experiences incorporated into our days 

Looking over the lists and adding the pictures has got me thinking that perhaps, just maybe, our children's preschool years were not less than, but rather they were truly more than.





Wondering what curriculum we did use during preschool? Find it here.
Want to see some an example of our preschool unit studies? Click here or here.