melissad2 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Hi! My name is Melissa and I am a mom to 2 beautiful boys ages 18m and 4yo. I am going to be homeschooling starting with preschool starting in the fall. My head is spinning with information and I don't know how/where to start. How do I start making lesson plans and just putting it all together. What materials do I need to get started? :confused: Any info would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Right now, just have fun. Buy some fun games, cards, building blocks. They are at play/learn stage...play, talk with them, have fun, let them be right there with you when you do laundry and cook, etc. Colours, numbers, etc. Don't stress. Let this be your time to read about learning/teaching styles and curricula for later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I recommend getting "The Well-Trained Mind" and giving it a nice read right now :) At four, you don't really need to start school. Playing, reading, learning and singing nursery rhymes, coloring, those are all great starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hisglory Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 If you are wanting to start something I recommend Kumon books. They are very colorful and engaging for young ones. At this age they only need abou 30-45min a day(and I am only addressing the oldest concerning time.) I agree with the other mom. This is the time for them to learn to love learning and for all of you to have fun,so pick things that excite them. Make letters with cookie dough,playdough,or sequins or glitter on paper. Read short stories and have them follow your finger while you are reading. Check out My Father's World curriculum for younger ages. It is very gentle and fun. Enjoy this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 We also invested in the Horizons box deliveries for preschoolers. My kids enjoyed the workbooks, reading books, cassettes, games, and even sometimes an experiment that came in the box. Totally not necessary, but it was convenient for an at home mama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmama Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I was in your same situation last fall, trying to think of what to do with my four-year-old. A lot depends on you as well as your child -- do you want to do more "school" type things or just learn from the world, nature, etc.? Is your child a busy bee, never sitting still, or is he more willing to sit and focus on books, coloring, etc? The Well Trained Mind book has many ideas, too. I found that Rod and Staff has some simple, inexpensive workbooks that we have used for DD4, starting with book A. Colors, numbers, cut and paste, letters, etc. Some days we do a few pages, when she wants to do school with her big sister. Other days, she does none and plays with Barbies and her little brother. http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com We started OPGTR in December, when she asked to learn to read, and so far she is reading simple words like pat and cat with assistance. But my older daughter was reading much later, and so don't stress if your little guy wants to make more mudpies than do workbooks. Good luck and enjoy this special time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 We also did/are doing Horizons preschool. My daughter loves it. Next year we're doing Sonlight 4/5 for preschool since my daughter loves books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Right now, just have fun. Buy some fun games, cards, building blocks. They are at play/learn stage...play, talk with them, have fun, let them be right there with you when you do laundry and cook, etc. Colours, numbers, etc. Don't stress. Let this be your time to read about learning/teaching styles and curricula for later. Thanks! That's kind of the direction I was leaning and sort of doing a theme of the week type thing where we pick a theme like "zoo animals" and do things like go to the zoo, color zoo animals, watch a dvd about animals and that sort of thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Thanks! That's kind of the direction I was leaning and sort of doing a theme of the week type thing where we pick a theme like "zoo animals" and do things like go to the zoo, color zoo animals, watch a dvd about animals and that sort of thing! That works! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissad2 Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 I was in your same situation last fall, trying to think of what to do with my four-year-old. A lot depends on you as well as your child -- do you want to do more "school" type things or just learn from the world, nature, etc.? Is your child a busy bee, never sitting still, or is he more willing to sit and focus on books, coloring, etc? The Well Trained Mind book has many ideas, too. I found that Rod and Staff has some simple, inexpensive workbooks that we have used for DD4, starting with book A. Colors, numbers, cut and paste, letters, etc. Some days we do a few pages, when she wants to do school with her big sister. Other days, she does none and plays with Barbies and her little brother. www.rodandstaffbooks.com We started OPGTR in December, when she asked to learn to read, and so far she is reading simple words like pat and cat with assistance. But my older daughter was reading much later, and so don't stress if your little guy wants to make more mudpies than do workbooks. Good luck and enjoy this special time! I think I would like to incorporate both as my son can be a very busy bee! He will sit a color and I have been doing a little bit of "covert" phonics (that is...hiding it in something fun LOL). He currently attends a 3K program at a local church and is doing well, but I think he is a little bored. He already knows his ABC's and can recognize all of them and can count very well. I can see him being bored in Kindergarten and getting into trouble. I just can't stomach sending my little babies off to school to have some stranger teaching them for 7 hours a day. Our ps here starts at 7:30am and gets out at 2:30...that's an awful LONG day for a 5 year old! I'm going to get a copy of the Well Trained Mind and read it ASAP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohannaM Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 If you are looking for non-LA ideas, my kids (also 4 and 18m) and I have been enjoying the "Mudpies to Magnets" book we got for Christmas! These are pretty simple experiments, usually with things we can find around the house. Johanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Here are some free resources... Letter of the week is very popular ;) http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ http://oldfashionededucation.com/ http://www.homeschoolingadventures.com/preschool.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I agree with PP about www.letteroftheweek.com It basically does for your child what you mentioned wanting to do. It picks a theme for the week and then incorporates everything you learn into that theme. Plus, it's free! I'm using the Preparatory Curriculum with my 3 year old now. In the fall once my DD has turned 4, I will be using Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven. I used it with her big sister, and we had such a fun time doing school! It is all laid out for you so you don't have to do much prep work (just grab the stuff you need for the art activity) and by the end of the year, they will be ready to head into K knowing the basic phonics sounds. http://www.heartofdakota.com/little-hands.php Most of all just have fun so that you can begin teaching your child that learning is a joy, not drudgery!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susankenny Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) With a 4year old, I would recommend "Before Five in a Row" or "Five in a Row". It's the perfect curriculum for preschoolers & your toddler can follow along, plus it's fairly inexpensive (you can get the books form the library) and it's just so much fun! http://fiarhq.com/fiveinarow.info/index.html Susan Edited January 28, 2011 by susankenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeturn Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 I agree with the other posters. Here is my take on preschool http://everydaysnapshots.blogspot.com/2010/10/preschool-revisited.html That said, my almost 4yo tags along with my 5yo in doing Five in a Row and he loves it. You can also find similar-style units for free on http://www.homeschoolshare.com to see if that style works for you. FIAR is awesome, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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