Inside: If you’re looking to homeschool your 4 year old this year, you’re in the right place! Today we’re going to walk step-by-step through a simple, doable 4 year old homeschool schedule and routine.
I feel like I say this about every age, but 4 years old really is a magical age.
4 year olds are able to do more than they could at 3. They’ve likely dropped their nap, opening up the day more.
And on top of that, they are able to listen and understand more, which makes doing preschool at home a really rewarding experience.
But first – if you want to homeschool your 4 year old (or really any age), it’s absolutely necessary to be organized.
Waking up and “winging it” every day is a recipe for disaster.
You can’t scroll Pinterest late at night looking for ideas for the next day and expect to have a successful homeschool experience.
It’s absolutely necessary to have a routine and a plan prepared in advance.
Preschoolers (and stay at home moms) thrive on routine.
This doesn’t mean you spend all day watching the clock, and at 11:52 AM you switch from sensory play to quiet reading time.
Having a routine means that you have a road map for the day.
It means you have decided when you will:
- Watch TV
- Play outside
- Do messy/sensory play
- Have quiet time
- Eat meals
- Have an outing
These are all essential components for a daily routine with little ones (well, they would argue TV is essential!).
While not every component will happen every day, such as messy play or having an outing, in general, your daily routine should be predictable.
What is a typical homeschool schedule?
While your routine is like your roadmap for the day, your homeschool schedule will most likely be more concrete.
Whether you have your curriculum planned out for the entire school year or you’re taking it week-by-week:
- I encourage you to sit down on Sunday and plan out your homeschool schedule for the week (learn how I use my planner to stay organized).
- Start by picking what theme you will be working with (such as: weather, all about me, construction, etc.). I use and love The Preschool Playbook as the plans are done for you!
- You simply pick which theme you want to work with that week. There are activities and lessons for each day that are adaptable and flexible with your schedule and your child’s skill level.
When scheduling my homeschool day, I like to do the learning activities in the morning, and the crafts or sensory play in the afternoon, after quiet time.
I’ve found that the morning is when we are all the most focused. By the afternoon, we’re ready to just play! I also don’t have the mental capacity for messy play first thing 🙂
Later on we’ll take a look at a sample 4 year old homeschool routine template, and how you can structure your day using The Preschool Playbook, or whichever curriculum you choose.
How many hours a day do preschoolers homeschool?
For me, the actual schooling portion is pretty short, maybe around ½ hour.
However, all things considered, most of what you do throughout your day really counts as a learning experience for your 4 year old.
Whether they’re busy playing with magnet tiles or practicing tracing with a highlighter, you’ll find that they are often engaged in some form of learning.
At this age, it’s important to keep the “sit down” portion of homeschooling short.
The rest of the day, which may include an outing to the library, zoo, or children’s museum, counts as part of their overall homeschool experience.
Of course, before you can get your 4 year old’s day in order, it’s important to be organized as a mom! If you’ve struggled with creating or maintaining a daily routine for yourself, here are 3 helpful resources that can get things on track:
Read: 3 Year Old Preschool Activities at Home
To recap:
- Get yourself organized *first*
- Create a daily routine AKA roadmap
- Decide on a weekly homeschool theme (more below)
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4 Year Old Homeschool Schedule & Routine
Here we’re going to chat about how to structure homeschool preschool for your 4 year old.
In the U.S., 4 year olds are typically enrolled in VPK, Pre-K4, or TK (each state has its own version). Even if you are outside of the US, all 4 year old preschool skills are universal.
All 4 year old’s benefit from:
- Scissor practice
- Tracing practice
- Fine motor activities
- Messy / sensory play
- Number and letter work
These are all skills that we can incorporate into your 4 year old’s homeschool day.
First, we’ll start with your daily routine and work backwards to fill in the blanks.
If you’re looking for some ideas on how to create a routine or need some new ideas, these posts will help:
Here’s what I mean by start with your basic routine and then fill in the blanks:
7:00 – Wake up, breakfast, and play
8:00 – Get dressed
12:00 – Lunch
1:00 – Quiet time
5:30 – Dinner
6:30 – Bath, PJs, brush teeth
7:00 – Bedtime stories & goodnight
- The routine template above shares the “non-negotiable” aspects of your 4 year old’s day
- Please adjust times to fit with your schedule
- Certain things like mealtimes and sleep are given things that happen every day
- The rest of the day is ready to be filled in with your homeschool preschool plan
- Of course you’ll need to factor in things like siblings & their schedules (if applicable), appointments, events, etc.
Sample 4 Year Old Homeschool Preschool Schedule (How do you structure a homeschool day?)
Following the outline above, let’s fill in the blanks with our homeschool plan. The times are approximate and just to give you an idea of what a sample day can look like.
7:00 – Wake up, breakfast, and free play
8:00 – Get dressed
8:15-9 – Learning Activities: Here is where the Preschool Playbook weekly themes come into play. Let’s say this week I want to do the dinosaur theme. The weekly plan tells me exactly what we can do Monday-Friday, with lessons for each day.
10-12 – Daily Outing (can be related to your weekly theme, or just errands, playground, whatever works!)
12:00 – Lunch
1:00 – Quiet time
3:00 – Play Outside (ride bike, scooter, play ball, playground, water play, sensory activity, or craft time)
4:30 – Downtime (TV, audio book, Tonies box, tablet time – or do this during quiet time)
5:30 – Dinner
6:30 – Bath, PJs, brush teeth
7:00 – Bedtime stories & goodnight
Read: How to Make a Quiet Time Bin
If you prefer to do all of your preschool activities in one block, you can easily include learning & sensory play or crafts in your morning block, and keep the afternoon just for play.
Now let’s take a look at what a learning activity for a 4 year old can look like.
All of the above activities are planned out for you as part of the weekly themes in the Preschool Playbook.
The weekly lesson plans also include fun, food-based activities, play dough activities, and simple crafts. Best of all most of the supplies can be found around the house or at Dollar Tree.
To Recap:
- Map out your daily routine
- Add in Homeschool blocks (ex: 8:30-9 AM learning activities)
- Utilize a curriculum with weekly themes
- Include a daily outing (related to homeschool theme or just whatever you need to get done)
What to Read Next:
- Hands-On Activities for 4 Year Olds
- Genius Back-to-School Organization Tips
- Morning Baskets for 4 Year Olds
- How to Organize & Store Preschool Activity Supplies
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