You might feel trapped if you’re the parent of mixed-aged children during this school shut-down period. You know your elementary to college-aged students should be learning about verbs, nouns, and reading the classics. But how do you occupy your preschooler? It’s not as difficult as you may think.

Three to four-year-olds are primed for schoolwork because they want to imitate their older siblings. Now’s a great time to provide them with a solid academic foundation. Does your youngster need support with handwriting, math, or reading? Do quick tests to assess their skills and start their homeschooling there.

When my girls were young, I made letter worksheets by writing the alphabet using connect-the-dot letters. You can use paper, a chalkboard or a whiteboard. Start with three letters at a time, or present the
whole alphabet, if you child is at that level.

During the coming weeks, begin with capital letters, then lower-case, combining writing with letter sounds. After this, your child might be ready to combine letters to sound out three-letter words. Congratulations! They are READING. Find books geared to their reading level or write a list of easy-to-read sentences. This is the skillset to aim for before they reach kindergarten. You can do similar lessons with math. Practice writing numbers from one to ten, include objects that represent the number, then move to adding. You get the picture.

Some youngsters may balk at doing these activities. Make it a fun time where your child feels supported and they’ll appreciate your attention. If “schoolwork” already has a negative connotation in your house, then position the lessons as fun activities. Your child will copy how others think about learning. You’ll be surprised at what a toddler can do. Have fun celebrating their successes! Feel free to leave questions or comments below.