mhaddon Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I know I'm holding her back. I am not even getting everything done with my boys right now. I try to incorporate her, but they are beyond learning letters and sounds and she isn't. I let her play starfall, but I don't feel it is enough to help her. My husband is never home with his hours at work to help out so I'm on my own. Along with trying to work with my 2 year old on speech and keep up with everything :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 This is why I LOVE th Core Knowledge preK book and activity book. $40 altogether. The activity book is consumable and comes with stickers and cut outs so its really open-and-go. I LOVE it. If you wanna see some pictures, I believe I do have some on our school blog under the tag What Yout Preschooler Needs to Know. I'd suggest finding something open-and-go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9Mommy Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 What about setting up her own little workbox or shelf. I have a shelf area for my 3 year old. Right now he has a leaf rubbing activity, playdoh, fall books, and a counting game on it. I have a bin of small learning items, so I can rotate the shelf. The Leapfrog pen is great for self learning activities. We have animal cards and maps from them. They even have letter cards now, but I had trouble loading that file onto the pen :/ I just keep forgetting to call the company ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 This is why I LOVE th Core Knowledge preK book and activity book. $40 altogether. The activity book is consumable and comes with stickers and cut outs so its really open-and-go. I LOVE it. If you wanna see some pictures, I believe I do have some on our school blog under the tag What Yout Preschooler Needs to Know. I'd suggest finding something open-and-go. Can you link to the books? I thought the activity book was out of print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 We've used Carol's Affordable Curriculum. It is also open and go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferLynn Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 My 4YO DD loves the Leap Frog DVDs. All my kids also listened to SOTW, other Jim Weiss CD's with shorter stories that worked better at that age, and audio books of Charlotte's Web, etc. Tracing, cutting are good activities too. I often use shapes so she can practice those too. For writing, she loves writing on a small chalkboard. I think it may be because the character in Leap Frog does it too. Color by number pictures are good too. For my pre-readers, I would take a few minutes to color the key part (so I'd color the Brown = 4 line brown). She can spend quite a bit of independent time on connect the dots pictures with numbers and letters too. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 My 4yo would love to have preschool time, too, but I just can't fit it in right now. Instead of her own time, she sits by me a lot during the day, and I include her as much as possible. When I am working on handwriting with someone else, she writes the ABCs on a white board. When someone is reading out loud, she listens. When my olders are writing on the big board, she draws pictures for me. When we do math, I have her play with the manips. She seems to be happy being included this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 We've used Carol's Affordable Curriculum. It is also open and go. Where can I see this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 This is why I LOVE th Core Knowledge preK book and activity book. $40 altogether. The activity book is consumable and comes with stickers and cut outs so its really open-and-go. I LOVE it. If you wanna see some pictures, I believe I do have some on our school blog under the tag What Yout Preschooler Needs to Know. I'd suggest finding something open-and-go. Can you link to the books? I thought the activity book was out of print. I saw these on their website, but I thought there were two activity books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 The Leapfrog Talking Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory I & II DVDs are with their weight in gold. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Can you link to the books? I thought the activity book was out of print. I saw these on their website, but I thought there were two activity books? There are two activity books. Book 1 is for 3-4s, book 2 is for 4-5s. There are 25 weeks of lessons in each book, I believe. AWESOME books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 The Leapfrog Talking Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory I & II DVDs are with their weight in gold. Bill Seconded. Do you have an iPad? There are so many interesting educational apps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 The Leapfrog Talking Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory I & II DVDs are with their weight in gold. Bill :iagree: My son is advanced but my youngest is pretty much on-level so I'm not able to do much with them together. Because he still needs me to sit with him, I wanted mainly things she could do independently for her. I expect it to get much easier once she can read but for now - Leapfrog Videos - these are wonderful. Tag system (also Leapfrog) - lets her "read" books on her own, plus has other educational activities. Itouch or Ipad apps Play-doh scissors, paper and glue - I'd give her a letter print-out and some collage materials or stickers to add to it (cat stickers for c, noodles for n, etc.) a chalkboard or whiteboard to scribble on Mine dd hates colorings which makes it even harder. I can't just give her crayons and paper or a coloring book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I laminated one of the preschool/K books I found at Staples and out them in a binder. My little guy uses them for letter writing, mazes, whatever with dry erase markers. I think he may like erasing better than writing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Here's the link: http://www.carolscurriculum.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I always spend about 10 minutes with my 3.5 year old doing "school". I love, love, love the Rod & Staff ABC series books. I used them with my now-6 year old when he was about 3.5-4, and he learned colors, counting, and other such things from them. My 3.5 year old is doing the books now. My 3.5 year old is much more advanced than the now-6 year old was at that age, but the books have worked for both kids equally well. I absolutely love them! I also have some random PreK workbooks. My 8 year old sometimes works with him for school time. In fact, just yesterday, as we were working out logistics of using our new school room, we started our day with DS1 going over some workbooks with DS3 while I did a reading lesson with DS2. Worked great! :D So maybe you could do something like that sometimes? Have your 7 year old work with the 4 year old a couple times a week, and you do the other times? I'll also ditto using Starfall and Leapfrog Letter Factory and Word Factory. My oldest learned to read from Starfall. My middle learned his letter sounds from Letter Factory (took all of about 3 days, after I'd been painfully going through OPGTR lessons for 3 weeks :lol:). I don't spend more than 10 minutes on "school" with my 3.5 year old, and that typically is enough for him. So even if it's me teaching him, it's not taking a lot of time compared to the rest of the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaddon Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 I know I need to make some time a priority! I shouldn't say she is doing nothing, but not as much as I want ;) We have the rod and staff workbooks, but I need to sit with her and help her do them. I set up painting, cutting, coloring, play dough, tanagram sheets (she does a few and then plays), I have color bears for sorting and pattern cards I pull down, lacing things, the peg stackers, and a few other things I am forgetting. So I guess nothing would be inaccurate. We have Netflix so I do the leap frog videos, she plays a few preschool apps on my iphone, and I do let her do starfall each evening. She also is always included in read alouds if she listens and she will answer questions I ask. But, she hasn't started writing her name very well or any letters! She also doesn't know any names and sounds yet. I guess I need to make those a priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaddon Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 I just ordered one month of Jumping Kangaroo for my 3 year old and 2 year old to see how it goes :) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaHappy Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Another vote for Carol's Affordable Curriculum. I used this when my older ds was 4 and we both LOVED it! I would seriously have another child just to use this curriculum again, lol. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 Really really really easy to implement.... My older kids who are 10yrs old picks an activity to do with my son when they are farmed out with him. Super super easy! Every month they have a list of ideas...to work on or teach or present. A book to read, a letters or numbers to focus on, a concept, a science concept, a history concept, basic social skills and a really simple activity that teaches it that my 10 yrs old can follow. Nothing to print out or buy ---use what you have at home already. Can use scratch paper, pencils, white board, pens, chalk whatever. That is his curriculum---so we may do two or three activities a day and then rest of the time he is just free playing with a child who is farmed out to him. He can write his name already, recognizes letters and numbers, knows colors, talks about body parts and shadows etc And we just started this curriculum. He turned 3yrs old in July. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I have found that my kids just like being told that they are having their own special school time, even if it’s not really a curriculum. Being a younger sibling it’s nice just to have my focused attention. We do Z. school every day which is really just read-aloud time with picture books. I follow a letter of the week sequence and get books out of the library based on the letter of the week (but it could just be random books). We read for 15-30 minutes early in the school day and make clear that it is Z School and she is in charge. Meaning, she gets to sit closest to me, the boys have to be quiet and respectful if they are in the room, etc. We also have a lot of the arts and crafts stuff and other things you mentioned but what seems to fill her little tank the most is to have her own special time, even if it’s relatively short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TX Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 My 4yog loves ABCmouse.com She also does "school" on the ipad. There are lots of great aps for pre-schoolers. I have also made up school boxes for her. One for each school day M-F. I just took all of our various educational toys: puzzles, stamps, stickers, wipe-off books, flash cards etc. and divided them between the boxes. All of this she can do independently while her older sisters are doing school. I also purchased All About Reading Level pre-1. This is a very easy to use open and go curriculum which takes very little time. We do about 2 lessons a week. It is a very gentle introduction to the alphabet and focuses on phonemic awareness. Susan in TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 The Leapfrog Talking Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory I & II DVDs are with their weight in gold. Bill :iagree: I also purchased All About Reading Level pre-1. This is a very easy to use open and go curriculum which takes very little time. We do about 2 lessons a week. It is a very gentle introduction to the alphabet and focuses on phonemic awareness. Susan in TX We're starting this next week and I'm so excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaddon Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 I've thought about AAR Pre, but it isn't in the budget right now. Maybe this spring :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EppieJ Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 File Folder games, sensory tubs, pattern blocks, unifix cubes, tangrams and anything that can be counted, sorted and patterned (linking cubes, tiles, keys, colored paperclips, pop beads, buttons....), playdough with alphabet cutters, magnet sets, puzzles, lacing cards.... Kumon wkbks, Funtastic Frogs and the like are also great items. These are all great items for preschoolers (provided they are beyond the putting things in mouth stage) to use in developing pre-reading & pre-math skills - especially patterning. She'll learn tons just by playing around with these things...and it's fun! You could also give her "assignments" to cut certain types of pictures out of magazines (find all the pictures of animals with 4 legs, etc) and make a collage. This will allow her to practice cutting skills as well as counting, recognition, etc. Or maybe have her make collages of items beginning with a certain letter/sound. If you want computer games, I recommend Reader Rabbit and JumpStart. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 We use and LOVE Zoodles.com here. Its online and free, plus educational and you can pick the content. It is online but they cant just click around on things they shouldnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I have a 3.5 and just turned 5 y/o girls here during my ds's school time. I just pull them up to the table with us. They have a basket of activities (whiteboard and markers, sorting bears, Play-doh and a few cutters, stickers, etc). As they work I point out letters, shapes, have them count, etc. It's all very informal, but they're learning a lot. During times where I need quiet (reading and spelling) they watch Leap Frog or look at books. They love to listen in on storytime, then I read them a couple picture books (they each choose one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Frankly when I had one in preschool, I just put her in preschool. I enjoyed having her out of my hair for a few hours a day so I could focus on my older one (and I can only imagine if I had *three* older ones - but my older one at the time needed a lot of intensive instruction learning to read as a dyslexic child, etc.) I am glad and have no regrets. I started homeschooling that preschooler in K, and I'm kind of glad she had the preschool "class" experience as a frame of reference for what it's like to have a teacher, classmates, etc, every day. She enjoyed it, too, but she saw that it wasn't amazing or anything and I think because of the experience there she has no desire to see what school is like. That said, it is not my teaching style to have a lot of patience for early childhood. I found K-1 the most demanding and I enjoy homeschooling more with kids that are literate and independent and can engage in interesting discussions. I can see where if you really enjoyed the early childhood stage, working in some time homeschooling preschool would be doable and worth it. Just throwing it out there that preschool is an option for homeschoolers. It doesn't make you tainted and the homeschool police won't come get you. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in MN Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Dot to Dot books are good for learning pencil grip and how to trace. This leads to greater ease with writing later on. A shallow tray with flour for "writing" letters with her finger in is good too. You can have a special box of toys that only come out during school time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PameliaSue Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 We use ABCMouse.com and LOVE it!! It is cheap, and my 5yo is using it for preschool/kindergarten. He can navigate it all by himself which is the MOST important thing when you are thinking about curriculum on the computer with young ones!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I know this sounds so horrible. I was so able to homeschool the older kids when my now 4yrs old had ABA therapists coming to the house about 25 hours a day. That was actually wonderful. Since that has ended, I too find myself struggling with what I am going to do with him. For a long time, I farmed one child out to hang out with him and that has worked for the most part. It is hard when I am blending all three of the older kids in history and science and he finds himself going nuts and tearing up the house. I had another one to kind of keep him company but that is not working out just yet. The baby is too young and now that he is a toddler---I am "hoping" he qualifies for ABA as well as he is also terrorizing the house like playing in the toilets or tipping the garbage cans or breaking into the refrigerator and letting all the water out of the Brita filter-sigh. That is so horrible but honestly he is a bit delayed with speech as well just like his brother was. So maybe he will qualify as well. ABA parent component was a pain but having the therapists come over and essentially play and entertain your toddler/2-3yrs old was awesome. Well it was great until my almost three years old had enough of the therapist's high pitched voice and decided to throw things at her. my four years old is doing All about reading prek and Ladybird Singapore Math 2b He is also doing ABC Mouse. We have tons of activities around for him to play with but if he had his choice he would be staring at videos of spiderman and memorizing the lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readwithem Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 VERY OLD THREAD THAT GOT BUMPED Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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