Hello ladies,
I was wondering if you could give me some ideas for things I could be doing during the day with our preschooler...although she is definitely ready for kindergarten type 'material'.
Do you do a lot of printable worksheets?
How do you plan out your 'school time'?
Any fun ideas for valentines day?
Thanks
K.
Play outside. Finger paint. Read to her. A lot. Let her help measure when you cook. Let her sweep the floor. Count socks. A lot of worksheets are not necessary. My 3-yr-old asks for one every now and then because she sees that her older siblings have worksheets.
You can buy preschool activity books at Barns & Nobles but you will be surprised how fast your kids will zoom through it.
I print free coloring pages from the internet. I try to find pictures with letters &/or words for tracing.
You can also find color by number, connect the dots, mazes, seek & find, & other puzzles online. I did a quick google search for 'maze preschool' and found http://www.ziggityzoom.com/activities.php?a=330
Painting & cooking are great hands on discovery play activities...discovery play is probably the best for preschoolers : ) go on a bug hunt, play in the sand w/ toys, build a fort out of blankets or towels, dress-up, play/make musical instruments, use coins for sorting & making patterns...have fun.
Phonics CDs & Preschool reading CDs work great for learning reading skills.
I left some ideas on a topic on Workboxes I believe was also started by you. There are some amazing things online once you start looking around. Montessori at home ideas are some of my favorites. So much more fun than workbooks & worksheets for Pre-K & Kindergarten, there is plenty of time for that later!!!!
Hi Kelly,
I don't homeschool, but I wanted to pass this along. They are work centers that you put together, and put in a bag. Each "Take it to your seat" comes with about 14 activities depending on which type you buy. They have phonics, math, science etc. My kids really like these. They seem like they would be great for homeschooling :)
Here's the link on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Take-Your-Phonics-Centers-Grades/dp...
I'm getting ready to start schooling with my 3 year old daughter and 2 year old niece and someone gave me this great website lettersoftheweek.com or there are a lot of preschool websites where you can print off worksheets. Have Fun!
I'm involved in a pre-school co-op with my 3 year old, and I also did one previously for my oldest son. I try to stay away from too many worksheets. A few worksheets here and there can be helpful, but children learn so much better with hands-on learning. I really like two websites that have wonderful, free ideas: www.first-school.wm and www.perpetualpreschool.com.
Our current group has 4 kids and meets for 3 hours, 3 days a week. They start off with calendar and circle time (pledge of allegiance, update calendar, weather chart, and introduce topic and concepts for the day), about 30 minutes. Then we have about 15 minutes to work on writing (practice name and letter and number for the day) and other skills (cutting, gluing, coloring, etc). The next 45 minutes they do projects and activities (science, arts and crafts, music, physical activity, etc) based on the weekly theme (this is where the websites come in handy!). The kids then have 30-45 minutes for snack and playtime. They need the break! For the last 45 minutes-1hour we look at books about our topic to learn more, sing songs, and read some fun books based on our theme. Sometimes the kids need some direction during their free play time, so we have games on-hand, like color/shape bingo, chutes and ladders, sorry!, etc.
If you're working with just 1 child, you won't need as much time.
Lots of fun valentine's day ideas on the websites =)
Hi Kelly,
I am not a home schooling mom, but I was a teacher before staying home and try to do "school time" with my kids. I started selling Usborne books and through them have found these wonderful sets called, "Ten Terrific Weeks." There are 5 sets (themes) for preschool/early elementary. The sets include 10 weeks worth of activites and skills. The sets are around $6.95 each, but the books are sold seperately. If you visit the website you can see exactly what is included: which themes are offered, what skills are covered, etc.
If you take a look at the website...on the left hand near the bottom choose "Ten Terrific Weeks." I'd suggest 1st looking at Adventures on Apple Tree Farm. Once you look at it it will tell you what it includes, but if you click on "Ten Terrific Weeks for more information" it will then give you the 5 themes for preschool/early elementary. Click on one of those and it will show you the skills, the books, etc. These are good sets and really help the kids learn while having fun. The books are great quality and come so with so many things to make learning a special time with you.
I highly suggest these b/c you can do as much or as little as you'd like with them. If you decide to get these and you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Tracy
