Dear Mom, Let Them Be Little

There is a common theme that I see creeping up, especially this time of year. Mixed in with all of the back-to-school photos and planning, the moms of littles are wondering if their kids are missing out. Wondering if they should make a different choice, choose a different path.

And I get it.

I get the concern of starting a new school year. The worry that you need to do more. The fear that they will miss out on a “normal” childhood if they don’t hop on that yellow bus with their brand-new lunch box and backpack nearly as large as they are. Questioning if you have what you need to teach the foundations of schooling. Unsure of why you made the decision to try homeschooling in the first place?

But I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this way.

Learning Is More Than Workbooks

I see you, mom of littles, feeling the pressure to keep up. Feeling the draw of shiny curriculum options and the desire to justify your early homeschool years. Wondering if you should be doing more.

Comparing your little homeschool to the public school. Comparing your child to their cousins or friends.

Questioning if you can teach your little ones their ABCs and 123s. Questioning if you bit off more than you can chew. ⁣
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I see you, mom of littles, wondering if your six-year-old should be reading yet.

If your five-year-old should be sitting through a story without wiggling.

If your four-year-old should be coloring inside the lines more. ⁣

I see you, mom of littles. I see you and I’m here to tell you that play is more important right now. That running wild and free, using their imaginations, wiggling during storytime, and coloring purple frogs is so much more than you think it is. ⁣
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It’s learning. Pure and simple. Unstructured and natural. ⁣
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It’s fine motor skills. Critical thinking. Exercise.

It’s thinking outside of the box.

It’s childhood the way it was designed before textbooks came into the picture. Before pressure to succeed at four became a thing.

It’s giving your child who is not ready for preschool time to stay home and enjoy childhood. Time to start learning when they are ready.

Socialization Is Not What You Think

I see you, mom of littles, wondering about playdates and friends. Unsure if your kids can play sports. Wondering how they will learn to be on a team and take turns. ⁣

Concerned that your child will not learn to interact with other kids. That they won’t know how to make friends.

I see you, mom of littles, thinking about their future and about them looking back on their childhood. Watching them watch the school bus go by and asking to be like other kids. Letting insecurities creep up.

Yet home is where they can grow best, dear mom of littles. Home is where they can be themselves without fear of being picked on. Home is where they can wiggle in their seats, learn with a stuffed animal, and play with their imagination for hours on end.

By being home, your child is free to follow their passions rather than their peers. Explore the nooks and crannies of the world even if they are the only ones interested.

Where they can take their time in reading if they need to and jump ahead in math if they can. A place where they can be unashamedly themselves with no worry of bullies, cliques, and fitting in. It’s where they build confidence in themselves, explore their passions, and struggle without fear of being picked on.

Home is their haven – their safe place. Friends will come, whether it’s through church, groups, or simply making a new one at the playground. Learning to be part of a team will come whether they are on a team or helping with a large project at home.

You Can Do This

I see you, Mom of littles, unsure of yourself. Wondering how you will ever teach them to read. Concerned about teaching multiplication. And confused by science yourself.

I see you, mom of littles, questioning teaching methods and becoming overwhelmed by options. Every answer leads only to another question. Every question leads to only doubt.

I see you, mom of littles, purchasing books and pencils, crayons, and writing pads convinced that homeschooling must look like real school. Convinced that if they can sit for hours at school, they should be able to at home. Buying into the lie that school can only happen with a book and test.

Convinced that you are failing. Certain you aren’t doing enough.

But I’m here to remind you that just like you taught them to use a spoon, you can teach them how to count.

That just like you taught them to walk and talk, you can teach them about life around us.

And just like you taught them every day since they were born, you can continue to teach them, because, mom of littles, you’ve been a teacher since the day they were born. You simply called yourself Mama.

Let Them Be Little, Mom of Littles, While They Still Can

So let them be little, mom of littles. Let them be little, for just another day. For just another year. Play with them. Color with them. Wiggle with them.

Color orange lily pads to go with their purple frogs before you read a book about a pond. Hang that picture proudly on your fridge or frame it for the wall.

Read a book back to front simply because you can. Or reread their favorite, just one more time because soon enough that favorite will be replaced and you will miss those pages.

Enjoy the rhythm of these classic rhyming books or sit down with your child’s favorite Dr. Seuss Board Books.

Be silly together with color by number printables or sit down together to work on some watercolor painting just for fun. Fill out all about me preschool worksheets together and proudly hang them on the fridge.

Go for a walk and explore outside. Listen to nature and explore a new path.

Take a trip to the playground and swing alongside.

Show them it’s OK to be silly. OK to follow your dreams. OK to think outside of that box. ⁣

And see just how wonderful & freeing it can be to homeschool preschool.

Let them be little, mom of littles, because before you know it, they won’t need you to read to them. One day, it will click and they will be reading all by themselves.

Before you know it, they won’t wiggle anymore. That wiggle will run out.

Before you know it, coloring pictures will be replaced with downloading apps. Crayons will be a thing of the past.
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Your little one is growing each and every day and before you know it, dear Mom of littles, they won’t be little anymore.

Are you struggling with homeschooling your little? Leave a comment or shoot me an email at kelly@hopeinthechaos.com!