A home for their hearts Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I'm researching using this for my dd3(almost 4) this fall. I've never used in any of the Core Knowledge books. If you have used the preschool one,what did you think of it and how did you incorporate it? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We used it as read-aloud material for my oldest. For my son, I bought the activity book that goes with it and we'll see how that goes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Eh. I have it and it's just little read aloud stories. Nothing you can't get elsewhere, frankly. The other books in the series (K and up) are fabulous, but I wouldn't worry about it for preschool. I found this book much more useful: http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Me-Myself-Montessori-Activities/dp/0764127896/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311305537&sr=8-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We love the Core Knowledge Books here. I have one for each grade level. It's also a read-aloud for us. My 4th grader, especially, loved the "Headless Horseman" story..."Rip Van Winkle", etc. They're really good books. I go thru the math section with my 6 yro and we play games based on the math topics. I highly recommend those books. Great supplement! :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momma H Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 We like them. They are great fill in stuff. We read the stories and songs etc. and I like the geography stuff and history stuff. It is a great informal add in like someone else said. When I am not sure what to do I look through there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I used the Kindergarten book as our spine for school last year. For each topic we got a couple books from the library on that topic and sometimes on a related topic. For example, I felt like we should cover Jefferson in the presidents section, Qi we added books on him and John Adams to the presidents already in the book. We added a lot to the geography and loved it. I the.k the lit selections are amazing! This year we are using the first grade book as a supplement for most things, but we will read all .of the literature alound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Thanks for all the responses. I'm really interested in hearing how people liked the Preschool book in particular. I may use on of the other books for my older dc but I was just curious about the Preschool book since I've only been able to see the pages that are on amazon. I do not have the book. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyagain Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Can you check it out of your library? That's what I did to see if I liked them, but I haven't seen the preschool one yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yucabird Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Thanks for all the responses. I'm really interested in hearing how people liked the Preschool book in particular. I may use on of the other books for my older dc but I was just curious about the Preschool book since I've only been able to see the pages that are on amazon. I do not have the book. Thanks! Most of the poems, stories and songs in the book are traditional…if you read a lot to your child, you may already have them in you book collection. However, it is nice to have them to-hand. As an American expat, I appreciated the history section. It is probably a book easily found second-hand for little money. I couldn’t tell if you want feedback on the preschool activity books or not (for feel free to disregard!). My older daughter LOVED them…though (and probably because) it was easy for her (it is designed that way, I think). My second, well, she marches to her own drum! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nart Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I recently bought the book and the two activity guides that go along with them (one for ages 3-4, the second for ages 4-5) for my 2 and 4 year olds. I think they are great. I like that the activity books already have stickers or cardstock cut-outs available so you don't have to search for anything else when you read a story. I ordered BFIAR but I didn't want to have to search around for the materials to go with it, so we read the books but it is a pain to have to go to other websites to find and print out materials. So in the activity book for example, there is an activity page that has an outline of teapot and you read and act out in the core book "I'm a Little Teapot" then look at the art section and find a painting by Matisse to observe. Then you tear pieces of paper and glue little pieces of paper on the teapot outline similar in style to the artwork you saw. Another lesson is reading the Three Little Bears, then you can find cardboard cutouts in the back of the activity book to act out the story, and three sequencing cards so your child can practice telling the story. It is by far the best preschool activity book I have found. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 It is by far the best preschool activity book I have found. :iagree:We really enjoyed them and they were a perfect gentle intro for preschool. They also did not push skills that preschoolers may not be ready for, but instead focused on age-appropriate content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 It sounds like having the activity book is key! We didn't have that (didn't know there was one) so it is probably better than what I said above, with that considered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I have the preschool book out from the library right now. It's okay, but I'm a little dissatisfied with the history sections. I think that in the effort to cover tough subjects like slavery and civil rights for children, very complex situations were reduced too simply. My own elementary education focused heavily on how "bad" everyone in the South was, and how the people in the North were heroes, and I want to avoid that perception for my own children. They are also fairly heavy topics for the 3 to 5 set. As was noted, most of the poems and stories are very common, which I would assume is the reason they are included. I wouldn't spend the money to buy it unless I found it used for a couple dollars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) Can you check it out of your library? That's what I did to see if I liked them, but I haven't seen the preschool one yet. No, my library doesn't have it but I can see if I can get it through loan. Most of the poems, stories and songs in the book are traditional…if you read a lot to your child, you may already have them in you book collection. However, it is nice to have them to-hand. As an American expat, I appreciated the history section. It is probably a book easily found second-hand for little money. I couldn’t tell if you want feedback on the preschool activity books or not (for feel free to disregard!). My older daughter LOVED them…though (and probably because) it was easy for her (it is designed that way, I think). My second, well, she marches to her own drum! ;) I was wanting feedback on the book (I didn't realize there was an activity book!) But now that I know I would love feedback on both! I recently bought the book and the two activity guides that go along with them (one for ages 3-4, the second for ages 4-5) for my 2 and 4 year olds. I think they are great. I like that the activity books already have stickers or cardstock cut-outs available so you don't have to search for anything else when you read a story. I ordered BFIAR but I didn't want to have to search around for the materials to go with it, so we read the books but it is a pain to have to go to other websites to find and print out materials. So in the activity book for example, there is an activity page that has an outline of teapot and you read and act out in the core book "I'm a Little Teapot" then look at the art section and find a painting by Matisse to observe. Then you tear pieces of paper and glue little pieces of paper on the teapot outline similar in style to the artwork you saw. Another lesson is reading the Three Little Bears, then you can find cardboard cutouts in the back of the activity book to act out the story, and three sequencing cards so your child can practice telling the story. It is by far the best preschool activity book I have found. Thanks for the review! I'll have to look into finding the activity books! I have the preschool book out from the library right now. It's okay, but I'm a little dissatisfied with the history sections. I think that in the effort to cover tough subjects like slavery and civil rights for children, very complex situations were reduced too simply. My own elementary education focused heavily on how "bad" everyone in the South was, and how the people in the North were heroes, and I want to avoid that perception for my own children. They are also fairly heavy topics for the 3 to 5 set. I'm interested to see the history section! I'm a little surprised they would introduce slavery and the civil rights to such young children. I think those topics would not be something a preschooler could understand. What else is covered in the history section? Thanks! Edited July 22, 2011 by A home for their hearts typos and spelling errors *geesh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfishes Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I have just found this book second hand.It has a collection of stories -the three little pigs,Goldilocks,etc and some nursery Rhymes and songs.It has some artwork to look at and some science pages to read aloud .I plan on using those .I will not be reading the history section-because we are not american.It has book recommendations at the back and I plan on checking the library for those . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yucabird Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I think those topics would be something for a preschooler to understand. What else is covered in the history section? I pulled the book from the shelf; this is what the history section covers. The First Americans: Sailing to America, New American Friends, An American Holiday GW and the Cherry Tree (Yes, it is said to be a story.): The First Pres. Betsy Ross and the American Flag: BR's Shop, Our Flag Today Abraham Lincoln, Log Cabin President: Rewards of Hard Work, Pres. L and Slavery Martin Luther King, Jr., a Man of Peace: Separate Ways in Days Gone By, MLK's Dream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Eh. I have it and it's just little read aloud stories. Nothing you can't get elsewhere, frankly. The other books in the series (K and up) are fabulous, but I wouldn't worry about it for preschool. I found this book much more useful: http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Me-Myself-Montessori-Activities/dp/0764127896/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311305537&sr=8-1 This looks good. Could you give me some examples of the of the activities? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Eh. I have it and it's just little read aloud stories. Nothing you can't get elsewhere, frankly. The other books in the series (K and up) are fabulous, but I wouldn't worry about it for preschool. :iagree: It is actually subtitled Read-Alouds to Get Ready for Kindergarten. Neither of my kids wanted to read from the same book for a year. They wanted picture books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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