Seton Magazine Catholic Homeschool Articles, Advice & Resources
Editor’s note: This article is taken from the introduction to Ginny’s Gems: 10 Essentials for Teaching Your Preschooler at Home by Ginny Seuffert.
The last several decades have seen a major change in how Americans educate their youngest children, most notably an explosion of tiny tots attending formal preschool outside the home.
From all the major media outlets, parents hear, “Children must enter kindergarten ready to learn.”
“Lack of readiness” is routinely blamed for poor achievement in American schools. So-called experts preach the acceptable path to follow: preschool is essential to prepare young learners by teaching necessary academic skills. Early education will foster socialization among peers.
Children learn best in classes taught by teachers trained in early education, and toddlers are exposed to art, music, and physical education. They learn how to wait their turn and follow other simple rules of courtesy.
They experience the diversity of modern America at an early age.
What could be better?
This little book answers that question.
Home education is better!
There is something better: preschool right in your own home.
Study after study shows that homeschooled children receive an all-around better education. The one-on-one relationship between the starter student and the teaching parent leads to astonishing academic progress.
Some educators believe that home educated children do not do “as well” socially. In fact, some studies show they are better socialized than their peers who attend institutional schools. Looking ahead, in every grade including high school, homeschooled children are less likely to engage in anti-social behaviors or destructive habits.
Homeschooled children have teachers who love them more than anything in the world. Homeschooled children forge strong ties with parents, siblings, and other family members. They learn life skills at Mom’s knees.
Classroom kids are supposed to learn “diversity” sitting in a room with age-mates from their own neighborhoods. Home educated children interact with their parents, shopkeepers, the mail carrier, older and younger siblings, extended family, and other homeschooling families.
Don’t homeschooled preschoolers miss out?
Everything in life is a tradeoff, but there are elements of brick and mortar schools that your children will be better off without. They will not miss the teasing and bullying. They will be better off not worrying about whether their lunchboxes sport the current popular cartoon characters.
They will not have the same opportunity to feel blue because other children have nicer toys and gadgets. They are less likely to be exposed to a host of infectious diseases that spread through preschools like wildfire.
No more van rides to school when they are feeling out of sorts, and no more waiting to learn while the teacher tries to get an unruly class to come to attention. Their vocabularies will not be enriched and enlivened by words of the four-letter variety.
Your children will be better off missing some experiences at school.
Can I do Pre-K in the home?
Do you know your colors and shapes? Can you count to twenty? Recite the alphabet? Sing some fun songs? Can you teach your children some basic prayers like the Sign of the Cross and Grace before meals?
You qualify!
You will be shocked at how easy it is to provide your preschooler with a first-rate educational experience. Ginny’s Gems: 10 Essentials for Teaching Your Preschooler at Home is written with the intention of giving you a simple roadmap to follow as you embark on the first leg of your homeschool journey.
Parents of young children do not have hours to sit and read, so this book is intentionally short and written in plain language. It will help you overcome common objections to homeschooling, raise children who are a joy to teach, and give you some simple ideas to get you started. Ginny’s Gems: 10 Essentials for Teaching Your Preschooler at Home is based on my experience as a wife of over forty years, a mother of twelve children, and a grandmother of sixteen. Most of all, this book is based on my more than twenty years of experience as a Catholic homeschooling mother.
Header Image CC Christina Ann VanMeter (Hiatus)
