For the cause of pandemic, many parents around the world have either decided to do homeschooling until the world is safe again or it’s a necessity where they live. We started planning the homeschooling routine when our son was a newborn baby.

To small children, learning comes naturally. It’s an instinct we never wanted to suppress, so we started reading to a baby, teaching art, shapes, letters and music to a 1-year-old, general knowledge, yoga and science to a 2-year-old.

When friends and family members saw him recognize all the letters and even write some at the age of 1, they all wanted to know our secret. And the secret is there is no big secret: you just have to start them young, I told them.

However, does that mean you cannot homeschool a 4-year-old because you never taught him anything in past? Absolutely not. Your 4-year-old has already followed a natural instinct and learned to walk, talk, eat alone, put on his favourite show by himself, guided by you.

When nothing goes as you planned…

Although it may seem impossible at first, you just have to be consistent and make learning a routine plus make it fun. Some of you may know that our plan was to start the Montessori kindergarten in March 2020, yoga classes in June and singing in September. And then the pandemic happened.

We did send him to a playroom for 3 hours per day between June and December. It helped him socialize and he made friends there. But now, just when we’ve reached the stage “I can’t wait to build a solar system with my best friend tomorrow”, we’re stuck at home again.

Since I was homeschooling him no matter the playroom (he goes there to socialize and play – no learning activities) from the day he was born, I thought it won’t be a problem because the first hours of the mornings won’t change.

But I was wrong. He wasn’t that ready to work on anything except play first thing in the morning because he knew there’s not “eat breakfast, get ready, learn and then go to the playroom” schedule anymore. He didn’t have a fun time with friends after learning to expect.

However, with being consistent, it slowly became a routine in a week again. I realized I should replace the playroom hours with new fun time after learning hours. I made fun learning games and came up with a game we play with his car toys after the learning time and now he’s always looking forward to that!

8 AM – toilet usage, breakfast, quiet time

This is when he usually wakes up and is instantly ready to eat breakfast. We quietly sit on the couch and either read (he usually comes to our living room with a book of his choice) or share thoughts on some topic.

For breakfast, he’s usually having scrambled or boiled eggs with yoghurt and fruit, fruit oatmeal, avocado toast with chicken or banana muffins. You know – the brain food, hugs and reading. Perfect!

8.30 AM – calendar, get ready, clean up

After he finishes his breakfast, I remind him to set date, time and weather on his calendar, put on his clothes and brush his teeth. I do help with teeth brushing and some clothing item, but I always try to encourage independence. After we’re ready for the day, we clean after breakfast together.

9 AM – learning time

Around 9 AM, I call him to cozy up with me for our first learning time of the day. This usually lasts for 15-30 minutes and he happily finishes it because after that we play together. After we finish the learning hour, I also bring our puppy inside to nap.

9.30 AM – play together

If daddy’s home (he doesn’t go to work every day now), we either play together or he chooses to play with one of us so the other one can catch up on whatever needed. Anyways, this is usually “mommy and me” playtime. I always spend quality time with him and it’s so much fun for both of us! This is also my first cup of coffee time.

10.30 AM – snack time

It’s above cuteness when he suddenly stops playing and runs straight to the fridge or a fruit bowl to grab us a snack. We also read or do some unit studies while enjoying a snack. Sometimes, he’ll ask for oatmeal or muffins and we prepare that together. He likes spending time in the kitchen with me!

11 AM – physical activity inside/outing

Did you know that physical activity makes kids smarter? Oh, I’m sure you do. But did you know that the synapses growth slows down after the age of 6? And that kids grow synapses the best way by moving their hands, feet and eyes?

We usually go outside to walk with our puppy or play inside with her/train her, dance or do some yoga. On days we choose to move our bodies without the puppy, we let her play in the yard after her nap (she gets up early so she naps at 9.30 AM) so we can finish our exercise.

After that, we either train her together or the kid plays independently while I’m getting into a dog mom role. Anyway, it’s good for him to be present and have a responsibility to take care of his pet and it also teaches him that animals are important.

12 PM – independent play continues or we prepare lunch

If we’re still outside or playing together, then that means the lunch is pre-made. If not, he’s eager to help me in the kitchen or play alone with his toys while I’m working on it.

1 PM – learning time

This is another 15-30 minutes of learning we’ve planned. Be aware though, 4-year-olds can’t keep their attention for longer than 30 minutes, but they do learn throughout the day, whatever you’re doing. So, always try to make it fun instead of simply forcing the learning process.

Teach them how to talk to people politely through play, talk to them about nature and science during the walk, write letters on a floured surface. Whatever comes to your mind.

1.30 PM – screen time

We usually watch cartoons or educational shows on telly/computer together or he plays piano, record videos or whatever he wants on his phone for 30 minutes maximum. On sunny days we’ll go outside, but on dark days, we just enjoy to snuggle together.

2 PM – feed the dog, dad comes home, lunchtime

I always ask him to either feed our puppy or come with me. But if he chooses not to participate, that’s ok because she’s a Jack Russell terrier, so very energetic and fast. I just want to avoid any unnecessary meltdowns. We always tell her to sit and wait while we sip her food. Then, around 2 PM, dad comes home from work and we eat lunch.

2.30 PM – independent play/outing

So, we do the learning only for an hour a day because kids at the age of 4 learn through everything. The rest of the routine on days we do homeschooling we reserve for fun, but learning is fun for kids once it becomes a routine too – don’t forget that!

3.30 PM – daddy and me time/family time

If I don’t have anything on my to-do list, we spend this time together playing fun family games. But if I need to work or do some house chores, the two of them will play, read, do art or spend time in daddy’s music room. Our son plays professional drums and we’ve been teaching him piano and guitar lately too.

4.30 PM – snack

5 PM – family time

It’s not always possible to spend time together as a family at 5 PM, but we try to make it happen most days because quality family time is important to us. We play instruments, do art or board games, exercise, train the puppy, play hide and seek – whatever the little one wants to do.

7 PM – dinner time

7.20 PM – bath time, brush teeth

We don’t do bath time every day because it’s not necessary, but we always have a terror coming at us when we mention “time to go brush your teeth”. We always had problems with nap time and sleep time – ever since he was a baby! But hey, it’s a work in progress, what are 4 years, right?!

Anyways, there’s a great book I’d like to recommend that has helped us stay consistent about the routine, no matter the cute “want to play a bit more” looks. And the little one has been doing better each day too!

8.30 – 8 PM – bedtime and reading

Oh boy, after that tantrum, you’d think “oh finally, sleep time”. But no. This kid wants to read 20 books and hear 20 stories. However, we’ve agreed to be brave and offer 2 books and 2 stories and stay consistent. With each day, it’s getting better.

We separate subjects and only do 1 to 2 per day. And we also focus on what’s going on in the world currently. For instance, we’re doing a lot of Christmas and New Year’s activities through our learning these days. Here’s our weekly plan.

Monday – reading/letters, English language (we speak Serbian but I teach him English too)

Tuesday – arts, crafts and music

Wednesday – science

Thursday – math

Friday – geography

We always end up doing some worksheets, memory games, puzzles, making music and all the “learning things” because we’re surrounded by materials! The funniest thing is him giving us the chores such as “write numbers from 1-5 and get a sticker”, “play this chord” and “can you do the tree pose daddy”.

Learning is fun for my kid and it is just a matter of time it becomes fun to your kid as well! And of course, it prepares them for the big, scary world. Start creating your homeschooling plan today because you can do it!