Preschool - Bloomfield,IN

It is a myth that preschool is important academically. It is not. A good preschool is not an academic one. A good preschool will emphasize play as the most important thing that a child can do at that age. Through play they learn about their world and about everything else(abc's, numbers, etc.) They will also teach the child classroom "routine" that is invaluable when they do start school. Such as when the teacher talks the students are quiet, take turns, etc.
If you do not plan to send your child to preschool my advice would be to make sure to organize opportunities to play with other children. As far as "teaching" her anything I would do it all in the name of fun. Don't make it a chore to have to learn ABC's, numbers, etc.

The main point of preschool is social, not academic. Sure, most 3 year old programs have goals like learn to write first name and recognize each letter by the end of the year, but it's mostly social. The main goals are things like easily separate from parent for a few hours a day, sit quietly for 10 minutes at table, raise hand to talk, participate in circle time conversation (without blurting out answers), walk in a line, play/share toys nicely, be empathatic with friend gets hurt, help others (clean up mess they didn't make, push in chairs, etc).

Playgroups and library story times are good ways to help your child socially (and are free!).

As for academics. You want your child to learn how to learn. That is much more important than memorizing facts or letters or words. This is done best through play. Important pre-reading and pre-math skills are recognizing patterns and details. Playing I Spy type games and using blocks or other toys to experiment with patterns is great for this.

Please read "Einstein Never Used Flashcards" and you'll get tons of ideas for preparing your young child for success.

The purpose, largely, of preschool is to learn social skills! I would get him involved in as many social activities as possible (playgroups, storytimes) so he can learn to share, wait his turn, self regulation skills, be independent of you, etc. Read, read, read and play, play, play. Preschoolers learn in the context of play and relationships so foster those two things and he will be good to go. I, ironically, teach Preschool teachers and am not putting my 3 1/2-year-old in one (totally play-based) until next year. We have such a short amount of time with them, I want to enjoy it. Have fun and remember to PLAY!

PLEASE do not try to "teach" your preschooler. What I mean is, don't make him sit and do flash cards, workbooks, etc. These are not age appropriate and are really not all that good at teaching. The best thing you can do is read books of all kinds and talk to them about words...words that rhyme, words that start with the same sound, etc. Teach colors with play-doh and markers and paints. Teach math by counting pennies, making patterns with M&Ms or playing board games. Teach science by making cookies together. Computer games can be fun and educational as well, and I recommend www.starfall.com and the Fisher Price and Nick Jr websites.

I do preschool myself for my 2 year old and almost 3 year old. I use www.myhomepreschool.net. All of the lesson are created for me. We learn while we play. My kids love it!

I used letteroftheweek.com for my kids for preschool. It has basic lesson plans for a whole years worth of learning at different levels. I used the preparatory curriculum when my daughter was 3 and now am using it for my son who is almost 3. It is great stuff you can use it all or pick and choose what you like best from it. Good luck.

How about Montessori. Right now it would be mostly practical life stuff. But also stuff like sand paper letters and numbers etc. Materials can be expensive but you can also make alot of it yourself. One of my favorite sites is Kid Advance. Check it out!

Work on recognizing the alphabet (upper and lower case), recognizing numbers 0-9, make sure he knows his basic shapes, colors, and start working on him writing his first name throughout the year. That's the basics of what they learn in preschool. Oh and like someone said, make learning it fun.
Outside of that my daughter was very shy, and socially she grew a lot over her first year in preschool.

All this being said my daughter didn't start preschool until she was 4 and it was then that she learned all that.

A lot of preschools and home schoolers use Discovery Toys to help teach their kids. The toys are fun and educational, so your kids actually enjoy learning! You can view all of the toys on my site at http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao Below are a few suggestions that can really help teach pre-math and pre-reading skills, along with writing their letters, and improving fine motor skills:

Busy Bugs: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Busy Farm: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Playful Letters: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

It's a Match: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Playful Patterns: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

ABC & 123 Workbooks: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Read & Write Workbook: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Shapes & Colors Workbook: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Think it Through: http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/esuite/control/product?P...

Please let me know if you have any questions about these or any other products. They have helped my son learn a lot and he really enjoys playing with them (he turned 3 in May, so just a bit younger than your son). Many of the toys I listed are on sale through Sunday, August 15, so it's a great time to get some really wonderful games and educational supplies.

Thanks!
K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

We had this conversation with a neighbor the other day. Both of our kids will go into Kindergarten together next year and have been in day care since infancy.

You'll find our opinions split between black (no preschool) and white (preschool). I randomly chose the colors, so please don't read into it, anyone.

I have a different opinion based upon seeing how well both of my kids are doing having been in day care which has a structured curriculum. BUT, more importantly, it's the interactions with the teachers and other students that is most critical for me. Our neighbor's son just went to Kindergarten for the first time yesterday. He's never been in preschool or anywhere other than the care of a retired Grandmother. He really struggled both academically and socially according to the mom.

So, I'm in favor of doing it earlier, but since you've made your mind up, I'd recommend finding a teaching supply store nearby. In Greenwood (which I know isn't really that close to you), there is a United Arts and Education which has great posters with colors, letters, numbers, etc.

I'd recommend getting him involved in some kind of organized activity as well without you present. Gymnastics lessons, soccer, Sunday school etc. so he starts to recognize other adults as authority figures outside of the family and learns social structures with other kids.

In all honesty, I think most of it is very common sensical. Walmart and Target have great flash cards as well as early books to introduce words, letters, etc.

I think that the most important opportunity of preschool is the routine, the socialization, the new experience. Academic opportunities at home can be simple...read to them as much as possible, watch the educational videos with them and comment or act out, do learning field trips to zoo, grocery, post office, go to library story times, do puzzles.. Have play dates and learn to share, take turns, etc.

The one thing that you cannot teach is the socialization the social problem solving that kids get from going to a preschool. The kids in my son's school that waited had problem's adjusting to a group situation as well as problems interacting with other kids. I do hope you consider it for next year. My son has loved the preschool edition of Hooked on phonics. Also my son loves pbs kid island, I like it because it allows you to track your child's progress.

I won't be sending my daughter to preschool until she is 4 1/2 as well (she is 2 1/2 now). I know by us books stores (barnes & Noble & Borders) have really great pre-school workbooks. Also I am not sure how advanced your son is, bu Little Einsteins makes a box of Alphabet books which show both the Capital and Lowercase letters (a lot things only have Caps and now I am teaching my daughter the alphabet a 2nd time!)

Not sure how you feel about TV bu selective DVD watching may help too. Sesame Street has a lot of DVD's on many differnt topics.

Another thing I do with my daughter is link things together - meaning we may watch a DVD show with farm animals, read a book with farm animals, do an art project with a farm theme and then vist it a farm. This would strech over 2 days or so, interspersed with playing with her blocks (buildin a farm for her animals etc.). Other themes have sports, cooking, gardens etc.

Hope this helps!

Hi, I have an in-home daycare and have done a structured preschool time for many years. I have used many programs and have even created my own. This September, though, will be my 3rd year using KidCrafters. Here is their website: http://www.kidcrafters.com/ - the site itself is not impressive, IMO, however their curriculum is the best I've encountered. It's a series of monthly planning books each with it's on CD. It enables you to pick and choose which activities you'd like to do and there are a lot to choose from! It covers all - arts and crafts, literature, science, games, etc etc. That all being said I believe PLAY is the best learning experience and we learn so much through that. I like to the curriculum to compliment that. HTH

When I had my child care center I used "Mailbox" curriculum and I bought a monthly idea book from a local office supply. I planned my curriculum a year in advance and it was very easy with the books.

For example: February
Colors red, white, and pink
Week 1
Numbers, 5, 6, 7, 8
The human heart, book has booklet that can be colored, cut out, and bound
Listening to their own heart and family members hearts with a stethoscope
There were activities for every day and all tied together very well
Send out notes to parents to have family members mail valentine cards to the kids here at the center

Week 2 Valentines Day
make valentine mailboxes out of book
Kids should start receiving mail at the center, put in their own mailbox
eat red and or pink foods at snack time, have them pick the right colors out of a selection of different things
Use the recipe ideas in the book
Have Valentines Party

Week 3
U S Postal service
Go to post office and tour as much as possible, or UPS or mailboxes etc... somewhere the process mail to some extent.
play the games in the book, sing songs about the pony express,play ponies on stick horses, etc...watch video from library with Aurthur and the Pony Express.

Week 4
February is National Dental Month
Dentist week. Maybe have dental cleaning this week on Friday
Use patternout of book and make giant toothbrush and mouth out of box. Use yarn to floss the "Teeth"
Give the kids new toothbrushes

There are tons of ideas in each and every book. Each month is different and offers many choices. Sometimes I would combine different themes in one week. For example Leprechauns and rainbows, easy fit together.It made the whole year fun and exciting because I knew exactly what I wanted to buy, what foods for snacks, and meals to try, new songs and activities, everything that I needed. They also offer online stuff to go along with the books but I really never had time to add of them.

I think the best way to teach them at this age is through play. Figure out what you would like him to learn and then let him learn it through some sort of game or activity.

One example...when teaching my daughter how to read we draw on the porch with sidewalk chalk. I will draw a cat and then write CAT underneath it and we work on the spelling.

Sometimes we play I spy.....I spy something green, bumpy and it starts with a F (frog)