I couldn’t decide what words to use for this title. I wanted to say “Lazy Mom Preschool” or “Preschool for Dummies”… but I don’t want to call Moms lazy or dummies! I just mean this is an easy way to do preschool with very little cost and prep work. Easy and simple is my way of doing things now-a-days. With cleaning the home, teaching the kids, making dinner, church responsibilities and my hobbies… I need to maximize my time by doing things very simple and efficient.

Here are the general learning principles I follow:

• Do every subject everyday
• Be consistent & efficient
• Get rid of distractions
• Use a paper and pencil
• Test knowledge

These are the subjects I try to do everyday:

• Gospel Study
• Handwriting
• Scissors
• Reading
• Math

The only exception is that my husband is in charge of a science lesson once a week during family night. I try to add music or piano to the daily list… but I seem to never be able to get to that everyday… yet! My kids also to do crafts and art on their own so I don’t mandate that either.

I’ve seen people make weekly calendars… Monday is Math. Tuesday is Reading. Wednesday is Science… ect. The reason why I think this isn’t the most efficient way to do preschool is because preschool aged kids learn by repetition.

God tells us to read our scriptures and pray everyday. Why? It’s so we can learn his words, remember them and master them! Doing something everyday will help anyone master any skills they want to learn! I know from experience that reading my scriptures everyday has made me a better reader as well as a better person. Doing photography everyday has helped me get better at photography. So if I want my kids to get good at something… I’m going to have to help them practice it everyday.

So doing every subject everyday has helped my kids learn these various subjects really well. The repetition really works and they are mastering skills like using scissors and handwriting. We do however take a break on Sunday to go to church and do Sunday activities.

Now… you may think… “Well you must spend an awful amount of time doing this everyday!” My oldest child is 5 years old. We spend 30-45 minutes max on all the subjects. My second child is 3 years old and we spend 15 to 25 minutes. My youngest is 1 years old and we spend about 5 to 10 minutes on it! So for me I spend about 1 to 1.5 hours total in focused learning sessions with my kids.

The key is to be consistent and making the time worth it! I try to get rid of distractions and put my phone away and turn off the computer. These precious minutes are spent in one-on-one focused learning sessions. I make the time efficient by gauging their interest on the subjects. If they are bored then I changed it up. If they are wanting more I usually give them more but I eventually make them stop and say… “Sorry you have to wait to have more fun tomorrow!” “But mom! I LOVE Math… please let me do more math!” In order to be consistent, I have to make teaching a priority in my life. I try to teach even if the house is messy or my projects are not done.

Lastly, I test their knowledge. I am always asking them questions to make sure they have master the concepts I’m teaching them. I test them in all the subjects including gospel learning, reading comprehension and math.

So here is an example of what I do every time. I try to consistently do the same routine every time. I also teach every subject every time. I make things simple by just using a notebook and pencil. Everyday I just make a new page or two in the notebook. It’s really nice to use one notebook so I can see how they progress over days, weeks and months.

A preschool daily learning routine:

• Pray
• Book of Mormon Study
• Writing (or tracing) their name
• Tracing lines and shapes
• Cutting out a shape
• Counting & Recognizing Numbers
• Letter & Letter Sounds

Once my child is ready to write on their own then I add these into the curriculum.

• Math – Kindergarten Singapore Math
• Reading – Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
• Reading – Simple Phonic Kit (There’s a lot out there… I use The Learning Crew one but any simple phonics kit will do… you can even make your own!)

Adjusting the way I teach for each child has been a fun challenge. My first son likes to do book work while my second son likes to play games especially computer games. No matter what the content is… the principles I follow are the same:

• Do every subject everyday
• Be consistent & efficient
• Get rid of distractions
• Use a paper and pencil
• Test their knowledge

This all didn’t come naturally. I had to learn from my other mom friends! I also had to learn from trial and error. I get criticism sometimes… “Your kids are young… they should just play!” Yes it’s true… there’s lots of learning when they are playing. After I do the focused learning session with my kids… they get so sick of me sometimes that they run away and play the rest of the day. All I have to do after is referee and resolve conflicts with sharing toys… lol! Oh… and I guess I feed them too! So my kids do play hard and work hard.

Of course… I’m not perfect at this routine… we have good days and bad days! But I try really hard to be consistent. Over time I see that the routine is working. The repetition has really given my kids a foundation of skills and knowledge they need for future learning.

I have found great joy in teaching my children the basics and while I understand that this method may not work for all moms/kids. I would love to hear what works for you!