After over 9 years of being a stay-at-home Mom, I’ve learned that a learning routine is much more helpful for us than a schedule. A routine gives us a guide without giving strict deadlines. This was a huge help when creating our homeschool Preschool routine!
We like to keep the order of our learning activities the same without having specific times for each individual item. That way, we’re never rushed or stressed if we miss something at a specific time! If we need to take a break between activities or run an errands, no biggie! And we can enjoy spending time together while learning – my absolute favorite part of homeschool Preschool!
Table of Contents
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What Subjects Do We Cover?
Each day, I have 6 categories for us to explore during our learning time. These categories are fine motor skills, Literacy, books, crafts, Math, and pretend play. We spend maybe 15 minutes or so on each academic category and as much time as desired on the others! Also, we spread our learning time out across our day if needed.
In this blog post, I’ll share a brief overview of each category. But I also put together a super handy FREE Preschool Curriculum Map that details all of the skills and themes we cover in every category each month of the year. Click the button below to download the file FOR FREE!
Fine Motor Skills
We almost always begin our homeschool Preschool routine with fine motor practice. This helps little hands warm up for the day and gets those brains ready to learn! Our favorite activities include things like using tweezers to transfer pom-poms, lacing beads, peeling stickers, and cutting along lines. Some days we’ll trace shapes or letters in a salt tray or practice pre-writing strokes with dry erase markers. These short, playful tasks are perfect for building hand strength and control, which is so important for writing later on.
I also know the value of including NO PREP resources in our homeschool Preschool routine. We are a homeschool family with multiple grade levels, so having a quick activity I can print off is SO helpful for me! That’s why I created an entire YEAR of NO PREP fine motor crafts and activities! Click the button below to learn more!
Literacy Activities
Once those little fingers are ready, we move into our literacy time of our homeschool Preschool routine. We focus on gentle, hands-on activities like identifying letters, learning their sounds, and exploring rhyming words. I love using letter puzzles, alphabet sensory bins, and simple matching games to make this time feel like play. We don’t push formal reading at this age, but we do spend time building the foundation with phonemic awareness and exposure to print in a fun, pressure-free way.
Another way I love to incorporate academic practice is through thematic units! If you downloaded our Preschool Curriculum Map above, you’ll see that I’ve included TONS of seasonal and “anytime” themes in our Preschool Curriculum! All of these themes include printables for practicing numbers, counting, colors, shapes, and more!
Picture Books
Reading aloud is truly the heartbeat of our homeschool Preschool routine. After literacy time, we snuggle up together for story time. Some days we read a few picture books that go along with our weekly theme, and other days we dive into seasonal favorites or classic stories. We keep it cozy and simple—blankets, snacks, and all. This is one of my favorite parts of the day, not just for the learning that happens, but for the connection it brings.
Craft Time
After our read-aloud, we transition into something creative—crafts! I’ve noticed that splitting up the academic categories of our homeschool Preschool routine and putting reading, crafts, etc between them helps gives us both a little brain break so that we’re ready to tackle them afterwards.
I like to keep our craft supplies in a little caddy so they’re always ready to go. We might do a process art activity, paint something that ties in with our book, or make a seasonal paper craft. Crafts help reinforce what we’re learning, but they also let my preschooler express herself and feel proud of her work. And yes, we keep a special spot on the fridge to display our creations!
Math Activities
Once we’ve had some fun creating, we pull out our math activities. At the preschool level, we focus on things like counting, sorting, shapes, patterns, and number recognition. I love using math manipulatives like counting manipulatives, links, snap cubes, and number mats. We’ll play games, build towers, or do a quick worksheet here and there. The goal is to keep it light and fun while building confidence with numbers.
Pretend Play
We usually wrap up our structured activities by lunchtime, and the rest of the afternoon is reserved for open-ended play—especially pretend play. Whether she’s running a pretend grocery store, dressing up as a doctor, or hosting a tea party for her stuffed animals, this is where the magic happens. Pretend play builds social skills, language development, and creativity, and it’s honestly one of the most important parts of our day. Plus, it gives me a chance to sneak in a cup of coffee while she plays! This makes it a WONDERFUL category to include in your homeschool Preschool routine!
Homeschool Preschool Routine Chart
One of the best things we’ve added to our daily homeschool Preschool routine is our routine chart! Both of my girls love having a visual of their learning time, and let’s be real – who doesn’t love a little control or your own learning?
This homeschool Preschool routine chart helps littles track all 6 of their learning categories for the day! And the way we use it switches up depending on the day! Some days we complete tasks in the order of the chart. But other days, we pick and choose activities out of order to suit our mood for the day. Either way, this chart is a super helpful tool for your homeschool Preschool routine!
PS Once you download this file, you’ll have access to TONS of fun ideas for practicing each category AND a nifty little planning page to help you prep your week!
I hope this post gives you some ideas for your homeschool preschool routine with your little ones! While I plan school activities for 5 days each week, there are absolutely plenty of weeks when we just hit 2-3 days of school. Some days we even throw the plans out the window and just dig through our school bins to see what we’re in the mood for! Ha! But no matter what, sitting down with your preschooler is a great way to spend time together and introduce them to homeschool!
Let’s Hang Out!
I’d love to chat more about your homeschool Preschool routine and get to know you better! Come hang out with us in some of our favorite places!
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