Ideas for preschool

[A home for their hearts]

I tend to be very laid back in the early years. I haven't done anything formally with any of my dc when they were preschool age. I tend to follow the school of thought better late than early. Well, my dd3 is really showing an interest in learning. What are some things that you have done with your littles ones who show an interest in learning? This is new territory for me!

[hmschooling]

 

Heart of Dakota and Teach Me Joy :)

[Irishmommy]

All about reading pre-level1, my 3yo is loving it!

[Alphabetika]

My middle dd loved the Rod and Staff preschool workbook set:

 

http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-10020-GHI/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Preschool

 

I see they've added some new products, so I guess I need to check these out again for #3!

 

I also used this funny little math activity book that involved little plastic frogs as manipulatives, which she loved because she loved frogs.

 

ETA: I used these with her when she wanted to "do school" like her big sis. But she also loved pattern blocks and the animal book that goes with them (where you arrange the blocks in different ways to cover the animal shapes), lacing shapes and beads, and modeling clay.

Edited June 5, 2011 by Alphabetika

[A.Balaban]

My DS is only 2 1/2 and I am starting to work with him on basics since he is considered delayed (about 4-6 months behind). He just barely did not qualify for therapy, so we are doing a lot of reading with him and working on his fine and gross motor skills with crafts and puzzles and such...

 

We did purchase a formal preschool program (Horizon's Pre-K) since it is an all-in-one package and since we are just starting off homeschooling we wanted something to hold our hands a bit more. We are not intending on starting the preschool program until he is about 36 months adjusted (so, probably closer to 3 1/2)... but we will keep working with him and hopefully he will start to pick things up.

 

Good luck! :)

[DawnL]

I really like everything Erica has done on Confessions of a Homeschooler.

http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/search/label/Alphabet

 

She has many preschool learning activities. I have used many of her things sporadically as I've been working with my 4 year old. He loves to "do school" and so does my 3 year old nephew.

 

I know in the fall my youngest turns 5 in September and we will be starting him as a young kindergartener. We will be doing Five In A Row

http://www.fiarhq.com/

 

This is a way of learning through books. I hesitate to say "program" simply because I detest "programs", but I suppose it could be called that. I feel it's kinda laid-back, though, which I feel my young kindergartener needs.

 

I also have a little plastic jar that is filled with little erasers of every sort. Everything from little pink flowers to black cats and vampire heads. I got them at Target, over time, in the Dollar Spot, and holiday clearance. What good are they? They make wonderful math counters, bingo markers, game pieces, pattern makers, shape discovery manipulatives, or even just some good old-fashioned tower building. You could hide some of them and have a scavenger hunt. Or, if you're feeling really spunky, you could....erase something with one of them. LOL

 

You can make anything school at that age. I really like Erica's Do a Dot pages, for letters. I bought the Dot Markers at Michael's and my youngest son and nephew absolutely love them.

[LittleIzumi]

Letter of the Week and Happy Phonics! Also starfall.com.

[Love_to_Read]

Handwriting Without Tears....some of their stuff is for more of a group setting, but they have a whole bunch of activities in their preschool manual to choose from, and a schedule in the back if you need. I know with my boys, they've all of a sudden taken an interest in learning...little boys who barely ever sit still to hear a whole book..so they are wanting to write and learn the letter sounds, and I want to catch them before they develop bad habits of drawing letters every which way. So, HWT's preschool materials seem like a good way to start teaching them that will lead to writing skills, particularly since there's an emphasis on readiness, on not pushing them, but letting them work on all kinds of activities that are good for their development.

[Giraffe]

My DD has loved the MFW pre-K set. I just added the activity cards this year and plan to get another year's use out of it. She's learning her letters and numbers without even realizing it, and has her colors down and can do patterns and groupings.

 

That and books, books, and more books have been a great preschool curriculum for us.

[Mommy to monkeys]

For a 3 year old, Before Five in a Row (the precursor to Five in a Row) might work:001_smile:

[SnMomof7]

Well, if it is an EAGER 3-yo you might be good with AAR Pre-1. My almost 3-year-old is sitting in on this one with her five-year-old sister.

 

I am pretty relaxed in the younger years though. Coloring pages are a good thing that can make children feel like they are 'doing something'. :) Other than that I might do some educational DVDs just for fun, but there is LOTS of time at this age. Focus on reading aloud together - you can do no better thing at this age to build vocabulary and English skills. That is the BEST investment of time, ever!

[NicAnn]

We did our own homemade version of HWT. Starfall.com is a hit, along with Signing Time videos and music, some preschool packs from Homeschool Creations, and a few Montessori style lessons.

Dd loves workbooks, so we've gone through about a million of the $1 ones form Target.

[Tracy]

 

• B4FIAR
  
• Memorization - nursery rhymes, songs, simple poetry and/or scriptures (just say it with him 1-2 times per day, and he'll learn it in a week or two)
  
• Phonics games/activities
  
  • Find the object: Get a basket of objects and ask your child for them by saying each sound separately. (Ex., get the /k/ - /a/ - /t/)
    
  • Relay: Put letters on cards and set them across the room. Tell the child to get the card using the sound. (Ex., get the one that sounds like /m/)
    
  • Bathtub letters
    
  • Word Whammer
    
  • Starfall.com
    
  • SuperWhy
    

   

  [*]Signing Time

  [*]Dramatization (Pretend you are characters in story)

  [*]Storytelling - I just started with with my 3yo. I make up a story, and I get him to help. At first, I just made up the whole story and then he would retell it with his own embellishments. Now he is starting to actually contribute to the stories. But they are very, very simple stories, and they all feature ds3. This would never had worked with my older child, but it is great for ds3.

  [*]Poisson Rouge

  [*]Games for Math by Peggy Kaye

  [*]Family Math

  [*]Pre-writing activities (Sidewalk chalk, Dry erase, Salt box, Shaving cream, Painting, Play-dough, etc.)

  [*]Fine Motor activities (Coloring, Scissors-paper and yarn, Lacing cards, Lacing Beads, etc.)

   

 

[Mert]

Reiterating what others have suggested: B/FIAR, HWT & Family Math for Young Children. I also like hands on activities on this blog, http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotTrays.html and http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/PreschoolPacks.html.

[huntchaos]

Reiterating what others have suggested: B/FIAR, HWT & Family Math for Young Children. I also like hands on activities on this blog, http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotTrays.html and http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/PreschoolPacks.html.

 

I have never seen these resources - they look great!