A Home Preschool Schedule (Especially for Kids with SPD)

I may be a first born, but I am NOT a type “A” personality.

I value flexibility and tend to wing a lot of life.

Improvisation and spontaneity are common everyday occurrences.

But sometimes my WANTS have a head on collision with my family’s NEEDS.

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My son has Sensory Processing Disorder. And like most kids, he desperately needs a schedule to be able to make sense of his world.

Since he’s my oldest and only four, there aren’t too many outside activities filling up our day. Deciding how to structure such open ended time seemed difficult.

I hate being rushed for no reason, so I decided instead of having defined times for each activity, I just have an order to those activities with a few goals to shoot for each day.

Pick Your Priorities

I prioritized our objectives based on our family’s particular needs.

For us, the most important thing is spending time growing in the grace of God. And practically, that looks like reading a Bible story during breakfast, memorizing a verse while getting dressed, and singing/dancing to a few worship songs before launching into official “preschool time.”

The next essential thing that has to happen EVERYDAY is sensory input. I put this at the beginning of the day so that Loopy would be better prepared to handle sitting activities later on. For Loopy, his issues are in the proprioceptive and vestibular department, so we don’t really tackle tactile issues.

The most obvious way I see SPD effecting Loopy’s schoolwork, is in his handwriting. He lacks body awareness and really struggled to hold a crayon correctly or with the right amount of pressure. So after sensory input, we do some sort of handwriting exercise. We use the curriculum Handwriting Without Tears and LOVE it!

Be OK with Just “OK”

If that’s all we get done in a day (Bible, Sensory Input, and Handwriting) I’m a happy mama! Occasionally (once or twice a week) everything is clicking and we find ourselves able to delve into are particular monthly theme for preschool. We read read read, and sometimes sneak in a fun learning activity. (Those are the things that usually make it onto the blog cuz they’re more Pinterest worthy. 🙂 )

Here’s what I have printed in our preschool room. Notice there’s only one time frame I shoot for, starting the official preschool day with calendar time around 9 am. That’s about all this free spirited mom can handle at this point. This is definitely an area that I am working on!

 

Unfortunately, my son has decided to STOP napping, so blogging has gone by the wayside. (Sorry, I’m trying to keep this puppy full of great content for ya!)

Thankfully my youngest still naps, so during that time, if I’m ambitious, I do therapy with Loopy to strengthen his core and challenge him to cross midline. (Here’s a great post with ideas on how to fill that time.)

I highly doubt anyone will have the exact same home preschool schedule for another kid with SPD. But I do hope this helped get your juices flowing with ideas to help in your particular situation.

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Looking for a way to explain Sensory Processing Disorder to your Child’s Care Givers. Check out the details of this printable brochure!