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What we’re doing for preschool this year — Curriculum Fair 2012
In June, Jonathan will be 3.5 and Vivienne will be 1.5.
I thought I’d share some of the resources we’re using for Johnny’s pre-preschool as a part of Simple Homeschool’s Curriculum Fair 2012. He’ll have another year of preschool in 2013, and will start kindergarten in the fall of 2014 when he’s 5.
[This blog isn't turning into a homeschool blog. I'm just going to have a post or two on the topic, and maybe branch out on homeschool stuff elsewhere.]
I looked at a variety of resources and curricula for this age group — Timberdoodle, Sonlight, Before Five in a Row, Heart of Dakota, My Father’s World, ABC Jesus Loves Me…and plenty of blogs.
I don’t want this year to be academic. At all. I want it to be fun, no pressure, and just introducing some prek skills. I want to read great books with my kids, do simple (keyword SIMPLE!!) crafts with them, and explore the wonderful world around us.
I greatly appreciate The Wonderment Curriculum and How to Homeschool the Early Years for how I’m trying to model what I’m doing.
Children’s literature
I’m using book recommendations from Honey For a Child’s Heart*, and book lists from Ambleside Online, Before Five in a Row and Sonlight to get ideas of what we might enjoy reading together. Not all titles on the reading lists appeal to us, but it’s nice to have a starting point.
I created a Shelfari account for the kids so I could keep track of titles I want to find, titles we own, and which books we’ve already read.
I like owning children’s books. I’m working on acquiring books affordable (that’s a post for another day) and of course using the library for all we can.
My Father’s World
Preschool toddler package for 2-3 yo (I bought the first two of these items around the time my daughter was born for my son)
- Number Express — it’s a puzzle, train, and stacking counting tool. He likes it!
- Wee Sing Bible Songs — I’ve loaded these tracks ontoour toddler mp3 player* and it gets daily use, with a few favorites played over and over. Both kids like it.
- Shape and Color Sorter — I skipped this last year, though I can’t remember why. I included it with my order for other MFW things just this week. Vivienne will be able to use it later, but Johnny too.
Preschool package for 3-5 year olds
I bought the whole pack, and added an extra 8″ pegboard so each kid can have one.
When I first looked at these items, I was like, “meh.” They just didn’t look that exciting at first. And then I thought I’d buy just a few of those items.
But the pack made an impression on me. I read reviews of the package and ultimately, I decided that these activities will help my kids learn a few preschool lessons without it being over-the-top academic. I like that I’ll be able to use it with both kids.
Timberdoodle
I love Timberdoodle for their fun, educational toy ideas. I’ve browsed their site for gift ideas for other kids, and my own. I didn’t go with a prepackaged core from them, but chose a few things.
From their preschool core (not to be confused with their prek core):
- Colorblock Sea Turtle Maze (I bought this last year because I thought it would be a fun toy for in the car. It was too hard to use there — too much rattling. Johnny understood the concept and seemed to like it but it didn’t hold the staying power that I thought it would. Better luck with Vivie?)
- Big O-Ball. Easy to catch and fun!
- Big Book of Things to Spot (waiting for this to arrive, and the rest of the items below from Timberdoodle)
- Hape Zoo Animal Blocks puzzle — Johnny likes puzzles, and I like that this is a 3-d different sort of puzzle than what he already has.
- Day and Night logic puzzle
- Kumon My Book of Easy Mazes — I guess this is considered a workbook of sorts. There were a few mazes in a recent coloring book he used and he seemed to like those activities, so I went with a maze book. If he isn’t into it, I’ll put it away for when he’s a little older.
From their prek core
- My First Scissors kit — we own some scissors made by Melissa & Doug, but they are still hard for him to work. Maybe this set will be easier and more fun at this stage.
- Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects
Other from Timberdoodle:
- Hugg-a-Planet’s world globe
- Magnetibook Crazy Face and vehicles (I might hold onto these and use as a gift. Maybe for their half-birthdays! heh)
Bible
I do want to map out some sort of Bible curriculum for the kids — probably tying songs with stories we’re reading. I have several Bible resources and I’m also browsing the free ABC Jesus Loves Me curriculum for ideas. I am still working on how I’m going to approach it.
*affiliate link
Gratituesday: Grateful for new opportunities
When I first started my blog in 2007, I was able to draw on some skills I learned in college. My degree is a BA majoring in communications & culture, and I have a certificate in journalism.
But blogging also taught me quite a bit about websites and social media — things I really needed to learn on the job here.
I’m grateful that I’m now able to use my skills to do some work with my church’s website. My husband (the techie) and I are doing little improvements to the site’s appearance and function. We now have a social media presence and an e-newsletter for church members. Hopefully this will help our members stay informed of church activities, but also provide helpful information to visitors.
Recently, I interviewed a new church elder for the site. I did a phone interview and it was my first one in probably 4 years. Then, I wrote up a little profile story about him.
I was really rusty and it took me forever. It was fun, though!
I’m looking forward to doing more newsletters and web stuff for our church.
I’m grateful that the Lord has given me this background, and that He has found a place to put me to work.
I guess this project is one of the things that is keeping me a bit busy from this blog, hence me wanting to take a slower blogging pace.
(The other reason? My kids! Such a busy, fun age. They really need a lot of my attention and that’ll continue as we start preschool stuff at home.)
Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers, one of my favorite blogs!
Slower posting schedule for awhile
I’ve been busy lately and rather than let this blog stress me out, or scramble to post *something*, anything, I’ve decided it would be better for you and me if I just posted as I was inspired and had the time, rather than trying to follow some specific, self-imposed schedule.
You’re busy, too. Why should you have clutter-y posts from me if I’m not really into posting?
Your time is valuable.
So, I’m adopting a slower, easier view of this blog. I don’t need to take myself so seriously with blogging. It’s just not where I’m at right now.
I thought about reposting some things from the archives, but I figure if you wanted to read those posts, you could navigate to them on your own via my toolbar at the top.
[See series, archives, babies & your budget, and retirement guide.]
Lastly, if you’d still like to keep up with my posts whenever they do happen, please consider subscribing so you won’t have to click over to the site all the time. Along those lines, if you’d like blogs that post more often, feel free to unsubscribe. I’ll understand!
