Homeschool Curriculum for 3-year-olds
Choosing a homeschool curriculum for your 3-year-old
The latest research has shown repeatedly that the gold standard for educating pre-school age children is an approach that:
combines deeply engaging, imaginative PLAY with the latest understanding of developmental psychology
is DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE for the child
is focused on developing a child’s overall THINKING AND LEARNING ABILITIES (instead of just giving them knowledge and skills)
Play is the work of the preschool years – children develop and reach the best versions of themselves in play. Luckily, this is now widely-accepted (but not always practiced, unfortunately).
Pushing or instructing children to learn something before they are developmentally ready for it and have the mental abilities to do so causes damage to the child’s self-esteem, motivation and ability to learn.
Multiple research projects over the last 50 years into children’s development have demonstrated that a person’s ‘learning abilities’ or ‘learning skills’ are approximately 90% determined during the early years – up to about age 5/6. And genetics only play a role of about 50% – the rest depends on the learning experiences and life opportunities a child is given.
So what are ‘learning abilities’ or ‘learning skills’?
Learning abilities/skills are what determine the speed and flexibility with which we acquire, and are able to apply, new knowledge and skills.
They are the qualities that provide the foundation for successful learning.
And those general learning abilities encompass three types of skills: cognitive abilities, communicative abilities and self-regulation.
In other words, if your child develops outstanding cognitive abilities, communication skills and the ability to self-regulate before the age of 5/6, they will experience the highest levels of academic, creative and intellectual success later on in life.
So how do you teach ‘learning abilities’?
The best way to do this is by providing an invitation for your child to join in a specific but playful activity with you, one that fully engages them and is designed to secretly develop their cognitive abilities, their communication skills and their self-regulation. And where you as the adult facilitate the shared learning process. After this your child can continue acting out the game or story as they wish, giving them further opportunities to internalise the learning.
Our unique homeschool curriculum for 3-year-olds (or parents wanting to supplement at home) is a brilliantly curated program of activities that do exactly that.
It is based on 46+ years of research and trials, and longer-term tracking of results, by a team of educational and developmental psychologists. It was further developed later on by like-minded teachers and parents.
Participating in the activities in our curriculum will ensure that your preschool-aged child develops their ‘learning abilities’ to the highest level through developmentally-appropriate, shared play, stories and games.
The experiences capture the hearts and minds of children, and it is common for them to beg for more!
Age 3 is the ideal age to start with Key to Learning @Home, to ensure that whilst the brain is in its most extensive growth phase, your child can develop these skills and create these successful learning habits for life.
What kinds of skills/abilities form part of ‘learning abilities’?
Critical thinking
Communication skills
Self-regulation
Deliberate memory
Symbolic thought
Imagination
Creativity
Perception
Processing
Reasoning
Logic
Problem-solving
Communication
Language
Confidence
Win-win mindset
Collaboration
Focused attention
Resilience
Perseverance
Resourcefulness
Self-awareness
Empathy
Self-discipline
Concentration
Planning
Actively developing the full list of the above ensures that your 3-year-old will develop the abilities to:
– build mental models of how the world works (in order to give context and relevance for all future learning) i.e. cognitive abilities
– understand others and make themselves understood, i.e. communicative abilities
– plan and manage their own attention and behavior, i.e. self-regulation
What exactly is covered for 3-year-olds in Key to Learning @Home?
3-year-olds start with the Caterpillars level of Key to Learning at Home.
The Caterpillars level includes the following modules/subject areas – click on any of the icons below to read more about that module and how each specifically contributes to the enhanced development of your child’s learning abilities:
SENSORY MATHEMATICS
Develops the ability to analyse the external, visual qualities of objects using sensory standards such as colour, shape and size. It also builds the foundation for the development of mental abilities.
ARTOGRAPHICS
Cultivates the essential skills required both for writing and creative artistic expression. Develops 'art vision' and introduces different symbolic tools, composition, rhythm and colour.
DEVELOPMENTAL GAMES
Develops productive imagination, symbolic literacy, language and communication skills, flexible thinking, creative problem solving, self-regulation and self-esteem.
STORY GRAMMAR
Develops a love of story, ownership of story language and a profound understanding of story structure by following a specific set of procedures known as 'visual modelling'.
CREATIVE MODELLING
Through shared activity, children discover symmetry and pattern by manipulating geometric shapes to create artistic compositions of the world around them. Develops co-operative and social skills.
CONSTRUCTION
Develops mathematical and goal-directed behaviour. Children analyse the structure of objects, plan, explain their plans and execute them using wooden modular building blocks.
EXPRESSIVE MOVEMENT
Develops emotional intelligence, non-verbal communication skills, creativity and productive imagination through body movement, gestures, facial expressions and music.
YOU – ME – WORLD
Using symbols and visual models, children learn about themselves as physical, emotional and social beings, and about the natural and material world – about living things and inanimate objects.
Our other modules come into the later stage of the program – the Butterflies level.
LEARN MORE: To read more about why this curriculum and its content works so well for homeschooling preschoolers, please click here.
To start to see the benefits for yourself and your child for yourself, we invite you to take a free trial of the activities with your 3-year-old.
Starting now will ensure that they have the maximum opportunity to develop these tools of the mind for life.
A summary of our preschool curriculum for 3-year-olds, in your homeschool or at home:
♥ Imaginative play and developmental psychology combined
♥ Created by 12 leading developmental psychologists and educationalists
♥ Research-based and proven (over more than 50 years!)
♥ Short and focused 20-minute activities (see examples from all levels of our curriculum here)
♥ Online for parents, hands-on for children
♥ Can be customised to each family’s needs – just send us an email with a description of your situation
♥ Get started for free
♥ Flexible and affordable – pay as you go, and stop and resume whenever you need to
Our curriculum is ideal for homeschooling preschool, but all of our activities can also be used to supplement your child’s education at home, starting at age 3 and going up to about age 5/6.
It also covers typical, more traditional learning topics for 3-year-olds. For example, the activities are full of stories and games involving animals, professions, the seasons, art, movement, drama, colors, shapes, role-play, sorting, sequencing and pre-reading, pre-writing and pre-math skills.
There’s something for every type of learner.
If you prefer, you can build yourself a ‘kit’ with the specific modules from our curriculum that you want or your child needs the most. We offer a personalised service to do this (for free), to help you make the right choices for your family. You can email us about this here.
And the rest of what you should do with your 3-year-old preschooler depends on you and your chosen style of parenting/teaching, what is right for your unique child, and what their interests are.
To give you some ideas, check out our TOP TIPS for preschool age at home!