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What does/did your Pre-K look like in reality?


happynurse
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I have a 4 1/2 year old that I am doing pre-k with this year. I also have an almost-2-year-old and a baby due in October. We are using Rightstart A and Logic of English Foundations A (we're loving both!)! We also have BSGFAA and Evan Moore Beginning Geography and The Homegrown Preschooler.

 

That being said, I had visions of setting up some sort of lovely school-like environment that saw us doing 'fun' schoolish stuff in a nice, fluid, organized manner throughout our day. My reality? We bust out LoE and RS A as soon as the toddler goes down for his nap, and after that my 4 year old is spent. 

 

There is no way we can pull out all those moving parts with the little one awake. And as far as the activities from THGP? Yeah, being 7 months pregnant means I have NO energy for whipping up sensory dough and building a light table. Sigh. That said, in the mornings we read books, do play-dough, we have some various toys that I pull out, etc. We also play outside when this preggo girl can handle the 100+ degree heat. So I feel like I'm being so lazy, but I'm just. so. tired. :nopity:

 

I'm just curious what pre-k looks like in most homes. In mine, it certainly doesn't look like the fun, bright, entertaining environment of a traditional preschool, that's for sure. I worry that he's missing out on more fun things that they'd do in a regular pre-k classroom. Is what I'm doing 'enough'? 

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I take more of a backseat approach in the before school years.  I give playdoh, make sure there are child sized tools around, and plan 1-2 small activities each day.  Writing is done very minimally (very), but I kept a list of skills to work on each month as we went around a central theme (ours was countries, after spending a month on learning one's own place in the world).  It was things like hand strength, shoulder strength, exploring textures, learning about balance, core strength, two step directions, sequencing, retelling...and I would make sure we hit all those during the month in some way or another.  Balance could be playing with the blocks.  Sequencing would be putting things in order (like the foam countries we have learned already on the map) or remembering how to build something.  Shoulder strength I taught with a jump rope and chalk and the playground.

 

We read, we introduced written letters, and then "played intentionally".  That was the day.  I don't like preschool set-ups as they are currently, I think they steal childhood.  I think most 4yos should be playing all day and have an environment rich to explore and learn from.  That does not mean that a parent/teacher has to direct play for most of the day.  It means they have to give the kid the opportunity to play and explore different things.

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((hide)) Mine more or less looks like a traditional preschool. However I am paying for that so that is what I expect. Yes we don't have stations like a normal preschool (I could do it, but we live here too!) but we do circle time where we talk about the weather, day of the week, and what topic we will be doing that day. Some days I double up on topics so then we do that too. 

 

I don't have a younger child yet (my youngest just turned 3, oldest is almost 8). So I am not sure how much things would change if I had youngers. I use Mother Goose Time so everything is done for me and it is easy for me to use once a day. Our "circle time" as my youngest son calls it, lasts about 1 hour or so if we are doing just one day at a time. 

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I was about where you are when my oldest was pre-k age. I think reading/discussion of books is great for "all the rest" when phonics and math are over. If you have simple art martial available where the littles can't get it, that would be nice. I don't think you should push yourself to do the music/art/sensory stuff. We also live where "just have them go play outside for 2hrs" would be child abuse for 3-4 of the school-year months, and there's no chance in hell I was going to drag my toddler and preemie baby around town for daily outings and field trips.

 

Working on reading for frequent, short sessions turned out to be the very best thing I did those days. It was quiet and could be done indoors while I nursed a baby and the toddler slept. He became an advanced, prolific reader. Fast forward to typical school age and he is able to get in all sorts of fun extras because I don't have to be at his side reading things. He could also help read to the younger kids when I knew they really needed it, but I just needed to prepare lunch atm. Remember that the baby years are just a small portion of the total school time your oldest will get. You can shift some more schooly subjects into your days now while you are tied down, and move the art, music, and nature exploration to a later date when your kids can all wipe their own butts, walk to the car and buckle themselves in, and nobody tries to eat their mittens. It will really be okay. Just be flexible. If your oldest can go to some sort of weekly activity it would probably be great as a social outlet. Also, seriously consider switching to something more streamlined after you're done with right start a.

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In pre-K we did phonics and math every day and that was it. She asked me to read to her a lot and we were always on the go. Museums, field trips, camping etc. Oh, we were in a preschool co op, 2 hours one day a week, that I helped run and that was a super cool thing. 

She loved everything and the idea of everything and was always asking me to add things to our schooling. But the truth was that after phonics and math, her "school brain" was spent. She couldn't handle any more, so we didn't do any more.

 

Her brother had just been born and my husband had just been diagnosed with a serious illness, so very often her schoolwork was done sprawled out on waiting room floors or in her carseat.

 

She is still your stereotypical, hothoused first child, running a full grade ahead, even though she spent her days playing. DS is coming up behind her and I am trying to give him some of the same experiences she had - mainly exposure through going so many cool places, and some one on one time doing numbers and colors, etc. I'm actually looking into Homegrown Preschooler to give him some of the experiences she got other places (I didn't have to provide them - she got them at the children's museum, etc.)

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Let her play:). Do the messy with lots of parts fun activities (painting, lego, puzzles, playdo) during baby & toddler nap time, not the school work.

Read aloud.

 

Have your husband build the light table, lol. Then let her play with it while you're nursing the baby or wrangling the toddler in the other room.

 

If the littles are in bed before her at night, try doing more read alouds/ schooly reading then.

 

Yes, it's much easier to "do preschool" without a baby & toddler getting into things. Those with only one child can do the whole " full day of preschool at home" type thing. Those of us with littles... Not so much. Depends on the temperaments of your littles. Mine is climbing onto everything at all times.

 

Good luck!

Remember, just like homeschooling elementary grades doesn't have to look like public school, homeschooling prek doesn't have to either:)

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When I just had little ones, we had a nice "schedule" to our day.  We were pretty laid back about it, but I liked to have at least one book read aloud (some days we read quite a few more), a fine motor skill (playdough, puzzle, coloring, educational toys, etc. nothing too fancy or involved), and some sort of activity for the afternoon.  Our afternoon activities included walks around the block, trips to the park, splashing in those little backyard pools, cooking together, or visiting the library or grocery store.  In the summers, we often switched our mornings and afternoons, so we could get outside before it got too hot!  

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When my oldest was that age and I had a toddler and a baby we didn't do anything school related.  Educational, sure, but no official lessons.  We just went to the library and checked out a variety of books, played outside (whenever possible, which was not nearly as often as I would have liked, but it wasn't going to happen with the littler guys).  I read aloud to him for at least 20 minutes every day.  We listened to and sang the kid They Might Be Giants and other educational songs.  He helped me cook.  Ummmm... I'm probably forgetting a lot, but you get the gist.  It was just life and play with a purpose.

 

With my current 4.5yo, it's a lot easier to do school-like things.  He's my second youngest and I don't have a baby or pregnancy to wear me out. He's got two older brothers doing lessons, so he wants to do "school" too.  He spends 5-15 min per day doing math (a mix of RightStart, MEP, and Singapore), 10ish min reading to me, and 5-10 minutes doing geography/mazes/handwriting/other educational worksheets.  So altogether his school day is 20 to 35 minutes long.  Last year he tagged along in what the older boys did for history, science, and grammar for fun; but I would certainly not have taught him those subjects on his own -- they were intended for the older kids.

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I only have 1 almost 3 year old, but what is working for us (she is quite visual) is educational tv (leap frog dvds in particular) for when I'm working (with non educational ones sprinkled in), a tablet which she usually uses as a magazine when pooping (sorry if tmi) and more books and educational games than anyone should have done on demand. We play hi ho cherry o and she does her own counting and waits her turn, candy land also. I got her more for her bday. Puzzles-several way easy, some on track, some to do with mommy. We have thinking games like castle logix and the little piggies smart game. I have timberdoodle thinkplay blocks, lego duplo (free play and sets), play dough, skwooshi, etc. I got a game with play dough on clearance where they give the board and she makes the pieces using molds. Kid k'nex. Letter factory flashcards that she pulls out on her own. Mickey mouse memory match. Science kits. Alphabet puzzles. Basically 2 full shelves and then some of hands on type stuff like that.

 

Books I have fiction, non fiction, fairy tales, disney books, picture books, chapter books, look and find books, work books that we don't write in-she just points, easy readers, stories with plus I enjoy too. Over a full shelf.

 

Oh and all the at supply I could think of-paints, ceramics, creations, colored pencils, finger paint, water color, coloring books, construction paper, glue sticks, safety scissors.

 

Oh amd a swing set, balls, magnifying glass for toddlers, bubbles, etc.

 

And then I let her lose making sure she picks up one thing before starting another. She cycles through most everything going in stages. Sometimes she loves being read to, sometimes she likes readers because she can memorize them and read to me. Sometimes we do nothing but swim, sometimes I drag her away from the school shelves crying cuz she wants more and we have to go.

 

She is almost always down for play dough or skwooshi though. I kinda took the: put everything I can think of amd afford in front of her amd follow her lead. She loves school at least ;) (and I think she learns quite a bit too)

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Erm..my kids play outside, with Lego, in the sink...they get stories read to them....they watch/bother older siblings...chase younger siblings around...climb all over stuff...colouring/scribbling...iPad time...food...

 

We do 4 little PreK fine motor skill workbooks that cost $8 from CLE/RS (both places sell them) after they turn 4 sometime. This has been the last three kids now...and I thought I was being superformal!! We did nothing formal for the first two.

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We had a lot more formal PreK than most people. We have a small sunroom that we turned into a school room. It has tiny toddler sized table and chairs that a family member gave to us, bookshelves specifically for school books (Bob Books mostly at this point), and a cabinet with all of our curriculum/manipulatives/binder only used for school time. We started with just 100EL doing a lesson per day which would be 10-30 minutes depending on distractions. We added in RightStart A somewhere along the way and do a lesson most days unless DD says she doesn't want to (most of the time she wants to do everything). A few months ago, we picked up HWT and she would do 2-4 pages per day (however much she wanted - 1 day she did the last 20 pages when she was off on her own). After 100EL was finished, we would just make sure to read at least one Bob Book - more if she wanted. We also would go over some light US history/science from What your Kindergartner should know one or two days per week. 

 

Typing it all out it sounds like a lot, but it ends up being about 1 - 1.5 hours most days of formal class time with the rest of the day spent helping cooking or baking, playing with her little brother, swimming, playing outside, playing on her tablet, helping cleaning, or otherwise being a toddler. Sometimes we take school out of the school room and into the kitchen while we eat lunch. Teaching is split between me and my wife (probably 3:1 in her favor) depending on our schedules. Lesson times are a lot less stressful when we do them while DS1 is napping, so school usually doesn't take place until just after lunch. 

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We did Saxon Math K and Phonics every day.  DS was very energetic at that age, so we did about 10 minutes of Phonics, during which he was allowed to fidget, wiggle, stand on his head, jump on the bed, and literally climb the walls as long as he could read while he was doing it.  Saxon math he loved, but it couldn't be done while his toddler brother was about because toddlers + manipulatives = explosions.  Other than that, we read aloud (I found Five in a Row helpful for figuring out what we could discuss as well as their book lists and sometimes activities, but we didn't do it religiously).  We played.  Our total "school" time was about 30 minutes per day.

 

As far as whether he missed out, I feel like a lot of the stuff they do at preschool is a way to fill up time with academic-y things.  Your kid is just fine with playing freely, moving freely, etc.

 

Best,

LMC

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  • 2 weeks later...

Lots of playing and me reading to my kids. I made my oldest learn to write his name so he wouldn't "get behind".

 

My current 1st grader wanted her own real school work so I had a few random workbooks and the Rod & Staff preschool books. If she wanted to do something, she did them. I'd say after a week or two she mostly wanted to play.

 

My current 4 year old sits in on our morning time and gets read to a lot. He enjoys puzzles and play dough but not drawing or coloring. I won't do anything formal with him.

 

I do a relaxed kindergarten as well, mostly focused on learning to read and then we follow the WTM beginning in 1st grade.

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Uh well the first time, it looked like the fourth grade.

 

At least for about the first seven months. Then I remembered that kid was essentially a [my] baby.

 

So then for the rest of his time, and for all of his brother's time it was me reading for hours a day. It was going outside for hours a day. It was SLEEPING (them, not me lol)...it was learning how to fold wash clothes and flip eggs. Watching teevee together, and Monday dance parties. LOTS of time to play.

 

I wish I'd done more art.

 

With my second son I didn't teach him how to read, I didn't teach him handwriting. I didn't make sure he knew what the water cycle was or where Argentina is on a map. We just lived our lives like we had before. (my oldest benefited from all this tremendously, as well, btw)

 

I taught him how to read and basic math (R&S 1) in Kinder at six years old (turned 7 near the end of the year). Very very pleased with that progression, and will for sure do it the same for the baby when it's his time.

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As many picture books as I could carry home from the library, chosen by both of us, with favorites read about five times a day until they "had to" go back the next week.

 

Playing in the puddle at the end of the driveway after rain.

 

Thirty seconds a day of tracing letters.

 

Field trips to a farm, the farmers' market, science museum, ice-skating rink, swimming pool. Nature walks.

 

Singing and playing with kids' instruments (tambourine, maracas, etc.). Rhyming games.

 

Aesop's Fables.

 

In the second half of the year (once he was 5), some Singapore math, about five minutes a day.

 

Memorizing short sayings like "Many hands make light work."

 

Introduction to calendars.

 

Baking sweets.

Edited by whitehawk
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Mine looks like regular life, for the most part. I have art materials (mostly various papers, scissors, glue, crayons, and markers) available all the time and the kids have free reign on it. We do a 15 minute reading lesson on an almost daily basis and try to do math and handwriting a few times a week. We have lots of preschool apps on our iPad that she plays around with as well. Because my PreK-er is my 3rd daughter, she tags along on other educational activities with her sisters, like history and science. And we regularly go to the science museum, children's museum, hikes, camping, Jr. Ranger programs, etc. All my kids listen to audiobooks on a daily basis (I'm not as great about read alouds as most would say I should be) But yeah, my PreK isn't fancy at all. It is our normal homeschool life with a reading, handwriting, and math lesson thrown in sometimes.

 

And I consider myself a better early than late kind of homeschooler with an academic focus. It just doesn't take that much to get there. Doing this, my older two were fluent readers before 6 years old and above grade (even my daughter with some learning disabilities- although I am happy to slow down when needed).

 

I do rev up at 5yo and when the kids are reading words without having to sound everything out, but even now, my almost 6yo only spends maybe an hour and a half daily on school, and that's including silent reading time. 

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Above I said I wasn't doing anything formal with my 4 year old this year but I did add FIAR to our morning time. I don't do the super detailed projects though, we read the book and do the simple activities. The most complicated activity I have done is buy chopsticks so the kids could try eating lunch with them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It largely doesn't feel like preschool because you aren't using preschool level materials. RS A & LOE are usually begun in K & are rigorous curricula. How many lessons a week are you completing in each?

 

We are using the same curricula, but it is just now (3 months in) that we are able to start adding art & science. Our schedule is as follows:

 

7a: Wake up, free play

8a: Breakfast, LOE, 10min break

9a: RS, 10min break, Art / Science

10a: Screen time

11a: Quiet time

12p: Lunch

 

Sometimes I'll offer an activity in the late afternoon, but it is "take it or leave it". Usually we spend the afternoons out at the playground, library, museum, hiking trail, etc. He also has soccer & gymnastics 1x/wk each.

Edited by Expat_Mama_Shelli
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It largely doesn't feel like preschool because you aren't using preschool level materials. RS A & LOE are usually begun in K & are rigorous curricula. How many lessons a week are you completing in each?

 

We are using the same curricula, but it is just now (3 months in) that we are able to start adding art & science. Our schedule is as follows:

 

7a: Wake up, free play

8a: Breakfast, LOE, 10min break

9a: RS, 10min break, Art / Science

10a: Screen time

11a: Quiet time

12p: Lunch

 

Sometimes I'll offer an activity in the late afternoon, but it is "take it or leave it". Usually we spend the afternoons out at the playground, library, museum, hiking trail, etc. He also has soccer & gymnastics 1x/wk each.

FYI Right start recommends beginning level a at 5 yo or sooner; before the child starts to rely on counting. Loe recommends level a for pre-k or k. It is comparable to what most private preschools around here cover.

 

Those are both game based, multi sensory curricula that should be relatively fun. I am fairly certain that the reason op's home doesn't look like a traditional preschool is due to youngers throwing wrenches into the plans. It is not due to an inappropriate selection of materials.

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I never said they were inappropriate & I don't believe they are - as I said, we are using both programs ourselves.

 

We love them, but they don't feel "preschoolish" in the way that many other curricula do. There aren't coloring pages, stickers, or lots of silly songs. They both cover a LOT of information & lessons can get quite long as you move through the programs, which is why I was asking how many lessons they are doing in a week.

 

It sounds like both of them are exhausted by the time LOE & RS are done. I found the same was happening in our situation. The curricula are excellent, but dense.

 

I plan to break the curricula up, covering LOE & RS on alternating days instead of all together. We are hoping that adjusting our pacing will make time for more traditionally preschoolish, playful activities like what PP is seeking.

Edited by Expat_Mama_Shelli
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  • 1 month later...

For preschool, I make sure I have time available to do preschool math and phonics, if the kids want to. (Mathematical Reasoning Beginning 1&2 and OPG). I do preschool on demand--but in practice, they generally want to do everything every time. We have hands-on activities, but not the complicated-prep ones that require my full supervision. I have activities ready that I can pull out for them, and they can do while I help an older kid with math or something. Pattern blocks, tanagrams, play dough, letter stamps, very tiny stickers to place on the letters of their names, salt tray for letter tracing, water colors, etc. Activities that both develop their motor skills and concentration and also give me some time to work with sisters.

 

They also usually choose to participate in history, science, art, read-alouds, memory work, etc. My four-year-old has his own binder of history narrations. The ones from when he first demanded to participate are hilarious--"Athens boys had to do school. Sparta boys got to wrestle and fight and use swords and run around outside and play lions!" They also do violin lessons on demand with Mom from the time their arms are long enough for the 1/10th violin until they are at least playing Twinkle and want to start lessons. They only get to start lessons with the teacher if they are willing to practice every school day.

 

And we do once-a-week long term unit studies on a topic that interests them. Last year, it was whales for my ds1. I would trace out scale drawings of the whales, and they would color the whale while I read books about that kind. Then we would cut it out and put it on the wall, and sing a song or watch a David Attenborough nature film if I could find one including that whale. Pretty simple.

 

So really, all three littles are doing a lot of things that could be called preschool, but I only spend about 30-45 minutes per day of my time on dedicated preschool activities.

Edited by La Condessa
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  • 4 weeks later...

My oldest is 4.5 and then I have almost 3 year old and 6 month old. We probably end up schooling 3 days a week. I gather books from the library off of the "give your child the world" book lists and we do one continent a month. I use 5 in a row in the morning during the baby's nap and when both the littles nap I do phonics and math. I try to set a rule of never interrupting good play time... if the kids are really involved in building or imaginative play, we just push school back or don't do it that day!

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I didn't do anything with my kids until they were almost 6, so K age. I just don't feel it's worth it before then. You have all these big plans and then they don't care about them lol. Or they don't retain anything. Better to just let them tag along with you through out your day, read a lot, go outside a lot. That's about it. Both of mine were fine.

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We started when ds was 4 and dd was 2.  We did some "formal" stuff, mostly math and reading, but mostly crafts, games, walks.

 

I just took a brief look at the oldest posts on my blogs and got a reminder about how fun it was with a 2 year old.   :laugh:   I actually passed up RS because all the pieces seemed like a nightmare, although I do have the abacus and tried some of the games at one point.

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I didn't do anything with my kids until they were almost 6, so K age. I just don't feel it's worth it before then. You have all these big plans and then they don't care about them lol. Or they don't retain anything. Better to just let them tag along with you through out your day, read a lot, go outside a lot. That's about it. Both of mine were fine.

 

This is a lesson my second child taught me as a 3 year old. I would plan out a read-aloud and craft, gather materials, gather kids, present my plan, and she would look at me calmly and announce, "I'm not going to follow the instructions."

 

Maybe I'm just ornery (or lazy), but a lot of early childhood curricula gives me the impression of "Wait a minute, why are the teachers doing all the work here?" The work of thinking, planning, imagining, gathering... (This is after I get that pang of, "This is so beautiful! I wish I could afford this/I wish I had the time for this.")

 

And we are having a household moment where I'm thinking you don't want to know what my pre-K SOUNDS like in reality, so I better go make sure no walls are being destroyed...

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