AngelBee Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Where do you find such coops? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I don't think you can beat The Learning Box. It is really well-balanced, and I felt covered everything a preschool curriculum should cover. Gross motor skills, beginning handwriting, etc. Every activity had modifications to make it appropriate for your child - I think you could do it with young 3s up to 5s. It was completely open & go. Open the month's teacher guide to day 4, find baggie number 4, and you are ready. Whether you needed a book, 2 inches of yellow yarn, or turkey counters, they were included in that day's baggie. SO EASY. The thing that in my opinion raised TLB above others was the quality of the crafts. Very cute, and the kids LOVED them. We colored, cut, & pasted almost every day. Such good fine motor strengthening, and something I think is truly essential to being prepped for school. And because of that experience, my kids can make ANYTHING out of paper scraps! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wehave8 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) I recently won this one at a facebook party - A to Z Toddler and Preschool Curriculum. It looks great; and it's cheap! You can get a sample for free for lessons A - D here. Thanks for sharing this. I really like it. My 4 yo ds was really wanting me to do school with him. I've tried other programs, but this is just the right amount of what I was looking for and at a great price! Edited January 9, 2012 by Mom357 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Little Hands to Heaven and Teach Me Joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) I recently posted about choosing a K-12 curriculum and am leaning towards MFW with that, but it just hit me that I don't like MFW preschool. I need to order a preschool curriculum sometime in the next few months once our homeschool room is finished. I know many people say that kids don't need anything formal at these ages, but for me personally I would really appreciate having a good guide to give ME some structure and appropriate activity ideas throughout the day. I have looked at HOD, SL, MFW, The Learning Box, ABC Jesus Loves Me, and Horizons. It is so hard to tell online exactly what you are getting with some of those! I'm kind of leaning towards HOD and then adding in The Learning Box for extra activites every now and then. HOD seems like a gentle and organized biblical approach, which I think would pair well with all the activities from The Learning Box. Basically I want something that will give structure and variety in a fun, gentle way. I also really want bible to be integrated. I want it to be more than just reading books, like I would want it to have fun and academic activities to help kids learn letters/numbers/colors/shapes/seasons/etc. Does that make sense? Does anyone have experience with these programs, or have any other suggestions? Here is what we used for the preschool years... Reading selections from "Honey for a Child's Heart" by Gladys Hunt Reading lists from "Five in a Row" Little Saints Preschool Program http://www.emmanuelbooks.com The Preschoolers Busy Book by Trish Kufner Picture Book Activities by Trish Kufner Everything for Early Learning by American Education Publishing Edited January 9, 2012 by kalphs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyagain Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I am planning on using Picture Book Activities by Trish Kuffner for my boys. It has activities for 50 picture books so I plan to use it for 2 yrs and just add phonics and math. I prefer the activities in this book over FIAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Where do you find such coops? I will PM you. :) I don't think you can beat The Learning Box. It is really well-balanced, and I felt covered everything a preschool curriculum should cover. Gross motor skills, beginning handwriting, etc. Every activity had modifications to make it appropriate for your child - I think you could do it with young 3s up to 5s. It was completely open & go. Open the month's teacher guide to day 4, find baggie number 4, and you are ready. Whether you needed a book, 2 inches of yellow yarn, or turkey counters, they were included in that day's baggie. SO EASY. The thing that in my opinion raised TLB above others was the quality of the crafts. Very cute, and the kids LOVED them. We colored, cut, & pasted almost every day. Such good fine motor strengthening, and something I think is truly essential to being prepped for school. And because of that experience, my kids can make ANYTHING out of paper scraps! :) I really need to consider this too. I love the crafts everyday. That's what hooked me to CAC. I want my preschooler to be engaged and have fun learning. I am not 100% into the books and workbooks and teaching him to write from a book as much as I want him to recognize his colors and his letters and write his letters in cornstarch on the table! I loved the look of several curriculums but they weren't as "craft" and "fun" geared which is what I'm looking for. The price of TLB is $340 vs. CAC's is $178. But if you compared the two which had more quality crafts, and additional materials such as handwriting and such things to complete the curriculum? I now have to hunt for someone who's viewed BOTH and see which is more worth the time, and money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wehave8 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I am planning on using Picture Book Activities by Trish Kuffner for my boys. It has activities for 50 picture books so I plan to use it for 2 yrs and just add phonics and math. I prefer the activities in this book over FIAR. Thank you so much for sharing this!!! I borrowed it from our library and her other book, Preschooler's Busy Book. I had to order them! I also like them better than FIAR. I'm so glad I looked at this thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I am planning on using Picture Book Activities by Trish Kuffner for my boys. It has activities for 50 picture books so I plan to use it for 2 yrs and just add phonics and math. I prefer the activities in this book over FIAR. This sounds cool. Can you tell me a little more about it? I like the book selections already, as we have many of them and I think the rest will be more likely to be found at our library than some of the BFIAR/FIAR books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I am planning on using Picture Book Activities by Trish Kuffner for my boys. It has activities for 50 picture books so I plan to use it for 2 yrs and just add phonics and math. I prefer the activities in this book over FIAR. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 This sounds cool. Can you tell me a little more about it? I like the book selections already, as we have many of them and I think the rest will be more likely to be found at our library than some of the BFIAR/FIAR books! I've written a review of this curriculum on www.amazon.com Look for the reviewer name K Alphs :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The price of TLB is $340 vs. CAC's is $178. But if you compared the two which had more quality crafts, and additional materials such as handwriting and such things to complete the curriculum? I now have to hunt for someone who's viewed BOTH and see which is more worth the time, and money. I haven't seen both, so can't compare. You can order a sample month from TLB for less than $20. It is an old box (prior year), so you may get Dec 2009, or whatever is available, but it would let you make an accurate judgement as to whether or not it was worth it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I haven't seen both, so can't compare. You can order a sample month from TLB for less than $20. It is an old box (prior year), so you may get Dec 2009, or whatever is available, but it would let you make an accurate judgement as to whether or not it was worth it to you. Great suggestion! Thanks!:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeniebeenie6 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Here is what we used for the preschool years...Reading selections from "Honey for a Child's Heart" by Gladys Hunt Reading lists from "Five in a Row" Little Saints Preschool Program http://www.emmanuelbooks.com The Preschoolers Busy Book by Trish Kufner Picture Book Activities by Trish Kufner Everything for Early Learning by American Education Publishing I've never heard of the Kuffner books before. What are they like? Are they religious? They look interesting, thanks for mentioning them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I've never heard of the Kuffner books before. What are they like? Are they religious? They look interesting, thanks for mentioning them! They're good, just very busy, which I suppose makes sense since they're busy books. Lots and lots of information, which is great, but you have to work to process it all. I wish there were a Gymboree Preschooler Play book, because I love their Toddler Play and Baby Play books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (first post here) We used Brightly Beaming LOTW with #1 and loved it. We have plans to do the same for my other two ... and they will also shadow #1 in his science work with my MIL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (first post here) We used Brightly Beaming LOTW with #1 and loved it. We have plans to do the same for my other two ... and they will also shadow #1 in his science work with my MIL. Did you print it out and sort it by week and keep it organized so you were able to stay motivated? Or how did it work? I'm still milling alot around in my head. I'm bouncing back and forth from a curriculum that's gonna cost me a good little bit of money so it's all prepared OR to printing out and PROPERLY planning everything and putting together all the materials myself but with a curriculum that has it all laid out for me and the cost is just in printing, and organizing it together to make sense. Plus the cost of materials. I want to prepare ANY crafts ahead of time...like over the summer when I plan my dd's school plans for the upcoming year. That way I just can open and go and not have to read a week before to get supplies. That method causes me to shelf things and become UN-motivated! I've never bounced around so much, but with my last homeschool child I really want to start off on a better foot than when I first started homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Did you print it out and sort it by week and keep it organized so you were able to stay motivated? Or how did it work? I'm still milling alot around in my head. I'm bouncing back and forth from a curriculum that's gonna cost me a good little bit of money so it's all prepared OR to printing out and PROPERLY planning everything and putting together all the materials myself but with a curriculum that has it all laid out for me and the cost is just in printing, and organizing it together to make sense. Plus the cost of materials. I want to prepare ANY crafts ahead of time...like over the summer when I plan my dd's school plans for the upcoming year. That way I just can open and go and not have to read a week before to get supplies. That method causes me to shelf things and become UN-motivated! I've never bounced around so much, but with my last homeschool child I really want to start off on a better foot than when I first started homeschooling. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner! I have it all printed out in a binder with letter tabs. (both the prepatory program and the LOTW since the prep program also uses a letter a week) I also have behind each letter tab the printables I used (sesame street letters, sign language coloring sheets featuring the letter, enchanted learning printouts, etc.) so that I could just photocopy the next time around. Having it all printed out in the binder makes it so handy! I prepare everything three weeks in advance (to give time for library books to come in) It was well worth the time and paper to do it this way since all three kids benefit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
podoba01 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 . . . I think the Lauri lacing toys from MFW are excellent for developing fine motor skills. Other ways to achieve the same goal would be a string with tape on the ends and life savers or cheerios. Another would be tweezers, a jar, and macaroni. Another would be beading. Anything that uses the small muscles for handwriting. One of my friends teaches pre-school and one of their goals is to develop small muscles for handwriting. It worked out with my oldest not having them developed, but it took time. It is easier to develop those muscles in a 4 year old. Thank you for the suggestions for developing fine motor skills. My DD4 could really use help in this area! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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