soonermomma Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Our twins turned four in December and are interested in learning, so I would like to start an actual preschool curriculum. I do not want it to be a lot of work to put together. I want a lot of reading, introducing letters, numbers, writing, etc. What was your favorite preschool curriculum? Do you have an opinion about Before Five in a Row or My Fathers World? I'm open to any of them, these are just some I know of, but don't know a lot about. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 MFW K5 has been the sleeper for me. I had looked at MFW stuff for years and always thought it would be too this, too that. I got it this year for ds4, and it's delightful! He's not ready to do all the blending and stuff, but it's still adorable. Their preschool cards and activities are super good too. BFIAR I have, and it's good too. You never get it all done. You could probably do both, depending on how much time you have available in your day. The books in MFW K5 are more read alouds to go with the theme of the week. They're cute, but it would be fine to do both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 We've loved the simple Rod and Staff workbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I went crazy trying to figure out what's best, I ended up following TWTM pretty closely. I've hodged podged ds's curriculum. It was helpful that I've hs'ed 2 kids before him & had an idea of what is best for me teaching & more kid friendly/engaging. What I use is in my signature. We're doing LIGHT school with him this year, but next year he'll go right into full preschool schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 We enjoyed Rod and Staff and Before Five in a Row. Rod and Staff is open-and-go and more workbooky, and BFIAR is more teacher intensive if you plan to do a lot of activities. My friend really likes MFW. I think all of these are good, and that you would do fine choosing the one you would most enjoy teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbpaulie Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 We used the big books that you can buy at Sams or Wal-Mart - you know where they have letter, numbers, colors, and more to learn. Simple worksheets that aren't that hard, but get them used to some seated work. Then Books, Books and Books!!! 5 in a Row, Sonlight are great for ideas. No need for a curriculum. And field trips - zoo, fire dept, police station, bakery, garden ceneter, dentist, doctor, you name it! And if you feel like you need more there is SO much online that you can get for free if you just start looking. Worksheets, audio stories http://storynory.com/ , games and more. (sorry, not sure ages of your other kiddos if they are older or younger) This has worked well for my now 7 & 10ds who are doing well w/ homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Rod and Staff workbooks and using Sonlight's pre-school cores as a reading list has been a lot of fun. I don't purchase the core IG from SL, I just look at the lists (which have a nice mixture of history, science, cultures, fairy tales, etc.), and see what I can easily find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 These are great books - combined with a lot of good reading, it will be a complete, developmentally appropriate preschool curriculum: Activities for Fine Motor Skills Development Activities for Gross Motor Skills Development I'm not a fan of workbooks for preschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hands-on-mama Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I have used MFW K as a preschool curriculum for my almost 5 year old. She was 4 1/2 when we started though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I used preschool as a training time for me - could I actually follow something and "do school". I used the free letter of the week: http://www.letteroftheweek.com/index.html Like I said it was free and it was great. I could do it. We both enjoyed it. My girls were in a brick and mortar school so I only homeschooled ds from the beginning. I followed with My Father's World K and first grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I like the "Big book of everything" for preschoolers, K and pre-k.http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Early-Learning-Grade-K/dp/0769633625/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357576739&sr=1-9&keywords=big+book+of+everything+preschool It has everything you mentioned. Also, lots of books, adventures and hands on. Anything and everything they want to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamperMom Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Book: Teaching Montessori in the Home - The Pre-School Years by Elizabeth Hainstock Website: www.michaelolaf.net Ambleside Online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeritasMama Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 www.hubardscupboard.org Mater Amabilis and Ambleside Online have some great booklists for this age, and they are free. These are Charlotte Mason, but they have some great tips on early childhood education that work for any style homeschool. The preschool I taught in was very "CM" without me realizing it, as I hadn't heard of her before I started homeschooling a few years later. We used Starfall in our preschool classroom to reinforce our letter of the week activities, and most of the site is free. There is an actual curriculum you can purchase, but we would just use the free resources. www.preschooleducation.com has fun activities and ideas for different subjects and topics. Again all free. First School is a site with a ton of free printables for preschool and kindergarten. The site is a bit clumsy and hard to navigate, but it has great handwriting worksheets for each letter, in either block print or D'nelian, which is similiar to italics. We used these for our letter of the week activities as well. If you have some money to spend and want something that is planned out for you, Memoria Press's Junior Kindergarten looks like a great program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Well, just 'cause I know the author ;) I'll throw in Bright Beginnings. It is a full year of lessons (4 days a week), which include the usual learning of letters, numbers and shapes, but also less usual -- traditional kid songs, health/safety/manners, science, art, physical motor skills, Bible memory verse, and snack recipes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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