Pre-School At Home - You Can Do It!

Want to homeschool your child, but don’t know where to start? We did all the homework for you.

- Camilla Rankin

You made the decision to homeschool your pre-schooler, and then googled(of course you did!) “homeschool” and “pre-school”, and were met with a flood of websites, images and ideas.

It can feel completely daunting and scary. Maybe you will be struck by three things (like I was…).

First, that there is an overwhelming number of websites with ideas and advice on how to do this. Second, not very many of them actually give a formal curriculum or programme for homeschooling a preschooler, especially if you don’t want your toddler glued to a device all day (but there are lots for Grades R and up). Last, there are even fewer that are South African focused... but there are some. We gathered a list of those that we hope will get you started and inspired.

OFF TO A GOOD START

There are a couple of South African-based websites that bring together ideas and resources and will link you to a community of homeschooling parents. Starting Homeschooling (startinghomeschooling.co.za) even offers a six-week “starting homeschooling’” webinar course aimed at parents, presented by Shirley Erwee, who educated all six of her children at home, and is now a homeschooling activist and materials developer.

Another is: Tuisskolers: Association for Homeschooling (tuisskolers.org or sahomeschoolers.org) – while mainly focused on Grade R and older, there are some good articles on getting started, the legal requirements, and links to articles, resources, blogs and forums.