Planning Homeschool Pre-K, Part 1: Goals & Learning Styles

For the past couple of years we’ve done child-led learning sprinkled with playful, hands-on learning activities. But as my son approaches five years old, I think it’s important to begin to lay the foundation for more structured learning. To do this I need to make sure we have some basics covered as well as a planned routine for learning times. 

Taking time to thoughtfully plan your child’s homeschool year is the most important part to success! There is so much to think about when planning including curriculum, extracurriculars and social activities. But first you have to figure out your learning goals for your child(ren) and how they learn best.

Pre-K Goals

I’m not an experienced homeschool mom or a trained teacher so when trying to figure out learning goals for my son I did my research and found many great resources which really helped! But keep in mind all kids learn at their own pace. I’m using these goals as a guide to make sure that my son continues to learn throughout the year.

Resources

• Preschool Curriculum Guidelines Ages 3-4 from Mud Hut Mama
• Pre-K Curriculum Guidelines from Mud Hut Mama
• Homeschool Goals for My New Preschooler from Creekside Learning
• Differentiating Home Preschool from Teaching Mama (Yearly learning goals for kids ages 2 to 5+)
• What Does My Preschooler Need to Know? Math, Art & Movement from Learning 2 Walk
• What Does My Preschooler Need to Know? Language, Reading & Writing from Learning 2 Walk
• Free Printable Preschool Assessment and Goals Workbook from One Beautiful Home

Our Pre-K Goals

• Literacy
  • Daily read aloud time
  • Recognizing Letters and Sounds
  • Practice Writing and Drawing
  • Traces Name
• Math
  • Identify Colors and Shapes
  • Count to 10
  • Practice Patterning
  • Compare by Size, More or Less
  • Puzzles
  • Calendar
  • Sorting and Grouping by Color, Shape and Size
• Science
  • Living vs. Nonliving
  • Healthy vs. Non Healthy Foods
• Fine Motor Skills
  • Cutting with Scissors and Knives
  • Writing, Drawing, Coloring
• Life Skills
  • Independent self-care
    • Getting dressed
    • Using Toilet
  • Recite full name, address and phone number
  • Recite parents names
  • Household Chores
  • Identifies birthdate
  • States age and gender
• Learning Skills
  • Grow Attention Span
  • Listening Skills
  • Dealing with Frustration
  • Determination
• Social Skills
  • Friendliness
  • Stranger Danger
  • What to do if Lost

What goals would you add? 

Learning Styles

Once you have your learning goals for your pre-k child figured out, you’ll want to find out the best way to teach them and how they learn best. You can do this by figuring out their learning style. I had a good idea what my son’s learning style was, but I wasn’t completely sure, until I took this online quiz from Scholastic! The Learning Personalities Quiz is amazing! I love it because it doesn’t use technical terms and is made for parents to determine their young child’s learning style. It also suggests great learning activities for each learning personality. What is your child’s learning profile?

Here are more resources to help you determine your child’s learning style:

• Boy’s Learning Styles from Brain Power Boy
• Identifying your Child’s Learning Style from Homeschool Creations 
• 6 Tools to Determine Your Kids’ Learning Style from Feels Like Home

According to the Scholastic quiz for 3 to 5 year olds Caden is a hands-on, active learner. I am going to use this information when planning our next school year. You can read all about it in Part 2: Curriculum, Materials & Resources to meet Goals which I hope to publish soon. 

What is your child’s learning style?

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