The first thing everyone asks when meeting Miss H for the first time is, “Are you in preschool?” I know it’s a common question for people trying to connect with someone that they have very little to relate to. That question doesn’t bother me. When H responds that we do preschool at home, sometimes the reactions get to me. One man said rudely, “Sucks to be you!” One thousand moms have asked, “Aren’t you worried that she’ll be behind socially?” No. Not at all.

Now, as we’ve fully embarked on our preschool at home journey, I’m getting more confident. I can give a brief answer, with my head held high, that won’t leave me second-guessing my choice. And while I don’t need to defend the choices that my husband and I have made for our children’s education, I feel proud of the good work we’re doing at home. These are the reasons why we chose to have preschool at home- and love it!

Related: The Complete Charlotte Mason Preschool Guide

Updated July 2019. 

I Can Witness Learning

When Miss H was about 19 months old, my mom got her a beautiful wooden cradle for her dolls for Christmas. We hadn’t played too much baby doll make-believe yet, but she loved holding them and took her little LaLa with her everywhere. On Christmas morning, when we pulled back the blanket that covered the cradle, she started rocking it and singing, “Baby ni-night!” She ran to grab her dolly and a blanket. We were shocked that she knew just what to do with her gift. How did she know to sing her baby to sleep before tucking her gently into bed?

When my mom asked me where she had learned this, I smiled, kind of sadly, because I knew. She had learned these things at daycare. I worked full-time until Miss H was over two years old. Even though I knew I missed some special moments when she wasn’t with me, missing out on learning made me the saddest.

I wanted to be there the moment something clicked. Getting to watch her construct learning on her own, or see her eyes light up when she successfully completed a task.

When I finally got to stay home with her, these moments that I had previously missed were made even more precious. The thought of sending her away to let someone else facilitate her learning depressed me. Now, I love seeing her face light up when she hears a word that she just learned, or watch the concentration on her face as she tries to figure out if a number is more or less. Witnessing her learning is one of my favorite things about preschool at home.

We Save Money

As much as I don’t want this to be an important factor, it is. In our area, preschool is about $300 a month. Peanuts for some. For us? That made the difference in whether or not I could stay home with my children. I also like to think that the money we’re saving on preschool somehow counts as compensation for my Master’s degree. That one is a biiiiig stretch 🙂

I Can Use the Philosophy I Want To

This one was also one of the biggest motivating factors for me. There are no Charlotte Mason preschools near us (probably because her ideal was very hands-off for little ones!) Even though preschool is seen as fun and social, I was afraid that sending her to a program would introduce ideas of competition and shame. Those are so hard to erase. Giving her inspirational ideas to ponder is more important to me than introducing her to alphabet flashcards. I didn’t want her to be bombarded with worksheets and pressure to perform. Children should enjoy these young, carefree days!

Related: Why Your Child Won’t Be Behind if You Delay Academics

Working on Habits

According to Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, habit development is one of the most important things to work on in the early years. Being with my children all day gives me plenty of time to work on habits. And a solemn thought: when they develop a bad habit, I know that it’s MY fault. I have somehow slipped and let something go. This means that I have the responsibility and ability to help them replace it with a better one. If they had gone to preschool, trying to replace a bad habit that wasn’t addressed at school would be counterproductive.

We Get to Set Our Own Schedule

Our schedule these days mostly revolve around little ones’ sleep needs. One of my children enjoys sleeping in, sometimes until 9:00! Not having to worry about preschool pick up and drop up is a huge blessing. I don’t have to wake up children to get them in the car. We started out the year getting dressed every morning, but now that it’s getting chillier, we stay cozied up in pajamas. Snuggling up next to those sweet little ones in the morning, wearing pajamas and reading a book is the best start to any day!

What I love most, though, is how much my kids love it. And, a love for learning is one of the most precious gifts I can give to my children.

We’ve been doing our play-based preschool for about 4 months now, and I am amazed by all the learning going on at our house! I think a part of me was skeptical that Miss H would learn so much through reading living books and playing, but she really has. Learning the alphabet through play has really worked for her, but now it’s time to mix it up a little. Even though Charlotte Mason said that young children learn through simply being outside, I wanted to find ways to learn the alphabet in the great outdoors.  These ideas integrate nature study and learning the alphabet. 

Learn and Practice the Alphabet Outside

Cold Weather

Snow Writing

If  you have snow sometime this winter, make snow paint and have your child write a few letters of the alphabet.  You can also buy a Sno-Art Kit if you don’t want to mess with making your own paints!

Frosty Window Writing

Write letters on a frosted or steamy window. Then you can teach your child responsibility by having them clean off their fingerprints 🙂 

Warm Weather

Sand Table Letters

If you have a sand table, sandbox, or access to some good ole’ dirt, put a small amount on a flat surface, and have your child write letters in the sand.  This is actually one of Charlotte Mason’s suggestions for having children learn the alphabet through play!

You could also make your own Kinetic sand, and stamp letters into it.

Painting with Water

Miss H loves doing this in the summer! Get a tub of water and a paint brush, and have your child paint some letters. Of course, they’ll have fun painting other things, too. This also allows children to explore evaporation because it will disappear quickly (at least in our dry climate!) 

Body Shapes

On a warm day, have your child lie on grass and try to make letters with his or her body. Some shapes will be nearly impossible, but some will work! If you have two or more children, making letters together is a great way to have them practice teamwork!

Tactile Nature Letters from Living Montessori 

This site has printable letters that your child can cover with small things that start with that letter. For example, for the letter ‘P’, your child could cover the letter with small pebbles. To be honest, we don’t do much that involves having to print resources, so I’ll have Miss H make the letters without the template underneath. Maybe I’ll draw them on the ground with sidewalk chalk, “paint” the letter with water, etc.

Any Weather

Stick Alphabet

1. Miss H and I gathered sticks outside, and then soaked them in the sink for a bit
2. We used twine to tie the sticks together. Cut about 8 inches of twine, and start wrapping around the sticks, leaving about an inch and a half at the back of the stick.
3. When you’ve wrapped up the sticks and have about an inch of twine left, tie the pieces together in the back.

This isn’t a super quick process, but making a letter or two at a time is really fun!

Nature Letters

Look for the shapes of letters in nature. We often notice the ‘V’ shape that geese make as they fly south for the winter, or the ‘T’ that crossed branches make. You can look for letters on man-made objects as well, like the peaks of a fence making the letter ‘M’. We found a stick that made a perfect ‘Y’ on our last nature walk. For an extension, have your child take photos of the shape.

This activity is similar to Charlotte Mason’s suggestion that children should search for shapes in nature to learn geometry.

Scavenger Hunt

Take a nature walk, and search for things that begin with a certain letter of the alphabet. One day, take an ‘A’ walk, and look for apples, ants, etc. On another day, search for things that start with ‘B.” Note: While it’s tempting to look for the whole alphabet in one walk, it will be more beneficial for a young child to do one letter at a time.

You can read more about nature walks here. 

Sky Writing

Have your child write the alphabet in the air with their finger. At night, try to connect the stars into letters. You could also do this during the day with clouds. 

Letter Search Pile

Put together a pile of leaves, grass blades, sticks, etc. Just throw it all together! Search for letters in the pile with your child. If you can’t find any, just toss the pile around a little! Some letters will be easier to find than others, like C, L, V, A, H, and X.

Make sure to follow me on Pinterest for more Charlotte Mason inspired learning ideas!