A common problem for parents of preschool aged children is finding a good school that won’t break the bank, or even has openings. If you find yourself in this situation, you don’t have to postpone your child’s early education; you can get involved and teach preschool lessons from your own home.

The prospect of being your child’s own personal preschool teacher may seem daunting, but there is plenty of literature and online resource sites to get you started and support you while you support your child’s early academic needs. You may have never considered yourself the teaching type, but isn’t that one of the main responsibilities of parenthood already? You’re teaching your child every day, whether you call it that or not.

Teaching your child a basic preschool education from home isn’t as hard as it may sound, especially if you have a good book with a full curriculum already drawn up. A book that my wife, who is a stay at home mom, loves is Patty Claycomb’s The Busy Classroom: A Preschool Teacher’s Monthly Book of Creative Activities. It’s actually a 12-month curriculum written for preschool teachers, but can the activities and lessons in its pages are easily translated to a home-schooling environment.

The activities are educational, fun and easy to teach and perform. My wife doesn’t go through each activity every day, but picks and chooses what educational activity she wants to do with the kids when she they’re playing. She loves how clearly each day’s activity is written and that there is always a list of materials and what preparations she needs to complete ahead of time included.

If you want to give your child a head-start on his or her education, but a preschool program isn’t available, there are ways that you can provide that boost from home. It’s a worthwhile endeavor, because it lays the foundation for a strong academic career while giving you time to play and learn together.