ArwenA Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 DH has been hinting at the fact that he thinks dd3 should have a preschool curriculum. I'm not changing anything this year and I don't really want to do anything different next year, but I'm looking around. She might like Sonlight Core A or B, probably B. I like the literature approach but am wondering if cores A and B are just books, something I could put together myself? Also, what other preschool curricula have you liked and used? I don't know about too many so any ideas would be appreciated.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 There are a few workbooks, but if you wanted to just use books and the library you could easily do that yourself. I love Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook. The year before we did SL Pre-K, I checked out many of the recommendations he made and really enjoyed that year with the kids. If you do have a good library, and you want to do SL, there is a yahoo group called "SL Preschool" and they have a couple of schedules just like SL's that you can print from their files for free. This is actually what I did rather than buying the SL schedule. One of them orders the books like SL, but adds additional books to the schedule. The other organizes the books by theme. I also really like the Kumon workbooks, which you can get at Barnes and Noble for pre-k. HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I have Sonlight core A and it is basically just a bunch of books and the "IG" is really just a checklist of what to read. They list the books by trimester from easiest to hardest. They do offer some very simple activities like for the book "if you give a mouse a cookie" they tell you "have cookies and milk" as your activity. The superminds and teddy bear match things are not scheduled at all. I have to say the books are pretty good my 2.5 year old loves them but the parent guide I could have done without. We really aren't using it. I just read a story out of which ever book he pulls out. Hope this helps some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debra in CO Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I love both Core A and Core B - but I wouldn't necessarily purchase them from SL. I owned a huge chunk of the resources they put together in Core A, and a lot of them are at my library. I've picked up a couple things here and there, and opted to put together my own schedule. My two little ones LOVE this, btw. I didn't necessarily think I wanted to do a "preschool program" with them, but I'm glad I am. My littles are 23 months, and her big brother will be 4 in March. Unless you are planning to purchase the whole package, I wouldn't bother with the parent guide. I think it might be nice for a first-time mom, but I'd think most people who have any experience with preschoolers in the past (at least if they were home with them) wouldn't get much value from it. Core B - it's changed a lot since I used it, and I've never really looked at the current versions of the instructor guide. I think, based on how much my kids are loving having their own school books, that we are going to actually 'do' Core B starting next January, probably. I may even purchase the IG. Don't know yet. What I like about having the whole package is that it lets me do things with my preschoolers without having to really think about it. I like the overall mix of fairy tales and classic children's stories and all - so I can take 15 minutes a day and just read and interact with my preschoolers. I don't have to spend time deciding what to do... I've got too much going on with their school-age brothers to have the mental energy left over to plan for them. That doesn't sound quite right... before we started Core A, I was reading to them, but I was worried about whether or not I was shortchanging them by not doing whatever. Now, I have a plan, and I can just do it. I don't have to decide what to check out from the library, I don't have to comb our shelves for something we haven't done in awhile... I shouldn't even post this, I don't think I'm making sense... Debra Mom of five, ages 1-10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I'd start with Core A and get as many books as possible from the library. If you do want to buy some stuff, the 20th Century Treasury is VERY useful. You've got a whole library of read-alouds to take on trips, to the doctor, etc. The IG is not necessary, just make your own list of titles if you want to be sure to hit them all. Once you've gone through Core A you can do the same thing with Core B. If you want to add in some seatwork, Kumon workbooks are a great hit with my kids. Another option is R&S's Around 3 workbooks and then move on to the ABC series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwenA Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Thanks everyone! We have both a good public library and good home library so I think I should look for something else. We are all ready reading lots and DD3 is doing ETC B. Hopefully I can convince DH that we don't need another curriculum in the house.:) Thanks again ladies! P.S. Debra in CO, no worries, you made perfect sense.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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