The decision of whether to homeschool your preschooler or to send your kid to the local public school system is an obstacle all parents face. Most mothers would prefer to stay home with their children while they are young. However, once the child reaches school age, the discussion usually begins regarding whether to homeschool or not.
Homeschooling certainly has its benefits. For starters, you know firsthand the quality of care and education your child is receiving as they are under your watchful eye. You typically ensure that the child is served a nutritious diet to support their overall health. The routine schedule can easily be customized to fit your family's needs such as nap times and meal times. It is a great opportunity to select individualized learning opportunities and activities based on individual preference. If your child likes clay better than coloring with crayons, you may choose to incorporate play dough time each day as it will further their fine motor skills and attention span. The education gained in preschool is fairly basic meaning a person does not need to be a certified teacher to provide a well-rounded education at this level. When a child is homeschooled there is additional opportunities to have more flexibility in adjusting the routine based on daily occurrences. For example, your family was out late last night and up early the next morning so your child did not get the same amount of sleep as they usually do. So you might start your school lessons an hour later than normal and allow brief breaks to go outside and play. This aids in clearing the mind and the child will be more focused when they return. Making minor adjustments for your family's needs to only an option for homeschoolers.
Those attending public schools are required to follow the school schedule, which is applied across the board for all students. Homeschooling can occur virtually anywhere. If your family tends to travel often or split your time between more than one location; homeschooling could easily be accomplished. This opportunity would even create further opportunities to engage in different local cultures which is an important component in supporting a well-rounded education.
There are also considerable benefits to enrolling your child in the local public school system for preschool. First and foremost, it will likely be the child's first experience outside of the home in an educational setting. Just a few of the things the child will learn are social skills and social norms. Up until this point they have only developed these areas based on interactions at home and with immediate family and friends. The child will now learn how to interact with other children while being observed by a trained professional. Having solid social skills are just as important as the education. They will also learn and practice following growingly complex directions and assignments. They will begin making friends and moving on from other friends and begin learning who they are as a young person. A part of this learning process is feedback. The feedback the child receives both positive and negative will shape their behaviors in positive ways. The educational component is pretty standard, and most public schools do not require a certified teacher, but instead seek employees with some experience and then train them on CPR and basic teaching methods. These are usually not full time positions and part timers are used to fill in the gap between school time and day care time. During preschool the diet offered is generally nutritionally based and is signed off by a dietician or licensed nutritionist. Most schools will allow an option of purchasing the meal onsite or bringing a lunch from home. It is a good idea to pack the lunch for the first few years as you will ensure a healthy food choices.