This year marked my first time homeschooling our three-year-old, and I wanted to share a wrap-up of how it went—what worked well, what we’re still working on, and how we’re spending these last few weeks before summer break.
If you’re currently homeschooling a little one (or thinking about it), I hope this brings a sense of comfort and encouragement. It really doesn’t have to go perfectly—or even according to plan.
What we learned 📚
Over the course of the year, my son learned:
- The alphabet song
- Months of the year
- Days of the week
- The four seasons
- Counting from 1 to 12
We also made our way through letters A to L in the alphabet. He can now:
- Recognize both uppercase and lowercase letters
- Identify the sounds each letter makes
We’ll continue with letters M to Z next year. Around March, I realized that we likely wouldn’t finish the entire alphabet this year. I gave myself permission to stretch it over two years instead. While “M” is technically the halfway point, our curriculum grouped I–L together, so that’s where I chose to wrap up for now.
Learning to Write His Name ✍️
For the last month and a half of school, we’re turning our attention to learning to write his name. It has five letters, so we’ll spend one week on each letter:
- Practice the letter in flour (for a tactile start)
- Transition to writing it on paper
- In the final week, we’ll put the letters together and write his full name
Note: If your preschooler is finding lined handwriting sheets or full sheets of paper tricky, try using index cards instead! It can help them focus more on forming the letter without getting distracted by the space or lines.
Crafts + Letter of the Day 🎨
Each day, we do a simple craft related to the current letter. During our “J” week (the first letter of his name), for example:
- We made jellyfish out of cupcake liners, pipe cleaners, and beads
- Created a jet plane craft with popsicle sticks and cotton ball clouds
- Followed a step-by-step painting tutorial of a jumping frog
- Made another jellyfish—this time a handprint jellyfish with fingerpaint bubbles
Next week, we’ll move on to the second letter in his name, along with a letter craft each day. It’s been such a fun way to wind down the school year, especially as the weather warms and we’re spending more time outside.
What Didn’t Go as Planned 🛑
Numbers
At the beginning of the year, I had planned to teach him to recognize numbers 1–10. But after our “letter of the day” activities, he was usually tired and would start mixing up his letters and numbers. I thought about working on numbers at a different time to help distinguish the two, but I never found another opportunity—and that’s okay. He’s only three! Since our curriculum didn’t include numbers, I’ll be sure to add a dedicated numbers book next year.
Gym Time
I had hoped to include a simple gym class in the evenings. I was really excited about this! I wanted to teach him how to throw a ball, hop on one leg, and all the adorable things kids learn during gym class. That didn’t happen this year, but I’m definitely going to prioritize it next school year—especially since I’ll have a 4-year-old and a very busy 1-year-old next winter!
I had big plans to hold a gym class in the evenings. I was really excited about it—teaching him to throw a ball, hop on one leg, and all those fun, uncoordinated toddler things. But, it just didn’t happen this year. I’m going to make it a priority next school year, especially since I’ll have a 4-year-old and a busy 1-year-old next winter!
Final Thoughts 🌼
Overall, I’m really proud of how much we accomplished. Homeschooling a preschooler isn’t about checking every box—it’s about creating joyful, meaningful learning experiences. And that’s exactly what we did.
We didn’t do everything I planned—and that’s okay. He learned, grew, and most importantly, had fun. That’s the heart of homeschooling at this age.
If you’re homeschooling too (or thinking about it), I’d love to hear how your year went! What worked for you? What surprised you? Drop a comment below or share your own homeschool story!
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