As children grow, their daily patterns naturally change: their sleep needs shift, their interests expand, and they become more independent. At the same time, parents manage many responsibilities like home, work, and caring for children of different ages.
If you’re a parent of a preschooler wanting a sense of calm and structure within the busy days, these daily schedule ideas can help you create a predictable daily rhythm that supports your child’s development and your own peace of mind.
In this blog post:
- Building a daily homeschool preschool schedule
- Your daily homeschool preschool schedule: Morning learning ideas
- Find your daily homeschool preschool schedule: Take our quiz!
- Enhance your homeschool preschool with resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse
Building a daily homeschool preschool schedule
As you think about creating your ideal daily homeschool preschool schedule, the idea is not to create a rigid, structured day to accomplish all of your tasks and priorities. Instead, these schedules are designed to instill a predictable routine that helps your days flow smoothly while meeting your personal family goals and responsibilities.
Here are some ideas to consider when putting your day together.
Personal responsibilities
Consider what you need to get done in the day. What are your home responsibilities? Do you have other kids you spend time homeschooling or need to get out the door? Do you set aside time to prepare meals and clean your home? Do you need to do errands or spend time exercising? Are you a working parent? Set up your schedule around your non-negotiable responsibilities to support your life and feel accomplished each day.
Related: My Homeschool Mom Morning Routine
Goals for your child
What is important to you during the preschool years, for children ages 3-5? Do you prioritize free play and exploration? Do you want to spend time reading books and creating a love for literature? Do you want to gently invite your child to learn the alphabet or practice counting? Do you want your child to learn simple life skills and teach them how to have responsibilities at home? Do you want siblings to learn and share in time together? What does your 3-year-old or 4-year-old naturally love to do, and how do you hope to see your child grow?
Related: Homeschool Preschool: Five Intentions for the Early Years
What time of day does your preschool child have the best temperament?
Some children wake up happy while others are quieter when they wake up. Some children are active and busy and require a lot of stimulation throughout the day. Children may perk up during lunch time and be happy and refreshed around mealtimes. Consider what times of the day go smoothly with your children and which present more challenges, and schedule your learning and intentional time when they are more open to learning new things.
Related: Chore Lists for Children and Kids by Age [Free Printable Checklist]
Consider your entire week
While you are setting up your daily schedule, think about your week as a whole. Does it work well to have a schedule you can implement Monday-Friday, or do you want to reserve a day to get out of the house for a fun outing or errands for your home? Do you work some days of the week but have a couple of days at home with your child where you can implement a schedule? Don’t feel pressured into doing everything the same, each day. Create a schedule that meets all of your responsibilities and works best for you and your family.
Related: How We Use Treehouse Nature Study for Preschool
Your daily homeschool preschool schedule: Morning learning ideas
Many parents find morning time is the easiest and most predictable time to connect with small children. If the mornings tend to run smoothly for your family – with easier temperaments, more focus and attention, you may consider setting aside time each morning to introduce learning and exploration with your child while connecting and bonding together. This may be a time when older children are in school or when homeschooled children and focusing on independent learning projects.
This schedule template is designed for parents seeking to set aside intentional time learning with their 3-year-old or 4-year-old child and instilling daily rhythms. This may be through reading books together, practicing educational concepts like letter recognition, or showing your child a variety of subjects to make their world big and diverse. This schedule sets aside intentional blocks of learning time while also making time to learn through life’s rhythms and responsibilities. You may be homeschooling older children or are considering homeschooling in the future, and want to learn together with your child in the early years.
Here is a sample schedule for parents who want to spend intentional time with their children each morning:
- Wake and Breakfast
- Morning responsibilities – This may include time for personal care, home responsibilities, exercise and more.
- 1-2 Hour Learning Block – Take an hour or two to read books together, talk about stories, play, do puzzles, and whatever else sparks the interest of your child. Gently invite your children to learn or expose them to new learning concepts, if they seem receptive and engaged.
- Lunch
- Nap or Rest Time
- 1-2 Hour Afternoon Activity, Outdoor, or Free play – Afternoons are a great time for hands-on activities, art projects, time outside, or free play with their favorite toys.
- Dinner
- Bedtime Routine
Related: Our Homeschool Preschool Daily Rhythm
Find your daily homeschool preschool schedule: Take our quiz!
Every family is unique, and if mornings are not ideal for your family, there are still many ways to set up your days with the intention to meet the needs of your family and the individual personalities of your children.
These schedules are designed for families of multiple children, parents of active children, working parents, and more.
Enhance your homeschool preschool with resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse
Are you looking for more learning resources or learning material for toddlers or preschoolers in your home? Consider these best-selling products from Treehouse Schoolhouse that offer a gentle invitation to learning for small children.
Treehouse Story School, Preschool
Treehouse Story School, Preschool is 32-weeks of gentle, literature-based curriculum designed for ages 2.5-5 years. This preschool curriculum that invites children to learn through the themes in stories they love. Each week will focus on a picture book, inviting children into connection and learning through music and movement, play-based narration, alphabet and number play, motor skills, practical life development, crafts, and baking together.
It would be a great fit for your toddler or preschooler if you are looking to incorporate multi-sensory, play-based learning while introducing them to timeless stories.
From toddler through upper preschool, this curriculum can be used year after year as you dive deeper into beloved, classic stories your family will cherish.
Stay tuned for more details – coming this summer! Preview a free week here.
Daily Rhythm Bundle
Children are highly visual–they can feel particularly out of control when they don’t know what to expect of their day. That’s why we recommend using a visual schedule to support your children from the time they are very young.
Rather than trying to stick to a rigid schedule, this set helps you create a general rhythm for your days. The daily rhythm worksheet is laminated and dry erase and the cards can be moved around offering you flexibility and adaptability.
Related: Overview: Daily Rhythm Bundle
Wonder of Nature Alphabet Print Cards
The Wonder of Nature Alphabet Print Cards are designed to offer young children a multi-sensory invitation to recognizing letters. The watercolor illustrations that coordinate with each letter of the alphabet teach early phonetic awareness by introducing them to beginning letter sounds. These beautiful cards can be displayed in your school room or used for hands-on learning activities like matching, sorting, and reading.
Related: Hands-on Alphabet Recognition and Formation Activities
Wonder of Nature Alphabet Sheets
These interactive, reusable sheets are designed to offer young children a multi-sensory invitation to recognizing, forming, and writing letters. The watercolor illustrations that coordinate with each letter of the alphabet teach early phonetic awareness by introducing them to beginning letter sounds. Slide these sheets into a restaurant menu cover or into dry-erase pouches so that your child can practice them again and again. Use dry-erase markers and wipe clean after each use.
Related: How to Teach a Child to Read
Morning Time Bundle
This interactive, reusable set focuses on weather, seasons, moon phase, temperature, weather-appropriate clothing, date and time, and reading a calendar. With this daily bundle, your child will practice the skills of handwriting, tracing, copywork, and telling time. I recommend you print these materials and place them inside of a Morning Time Menu or dry-erase sleeve. Using dry-erase markers, your child can fill this bundle out over and over again.
We also offer a version of the Morning Time Bundle for those in our community who live in the Southern Hemisphere.
