Is there such a thing: open and go preK?

[Um_2_4]

I am discovering I do best with open and go curriculum. I have TONS of resource books from my days as a K teacher, but I do NOT have tons of time to go through and pull and assemble a notebook/curriculum for my 2 youngest who are ready to start some work.

Right now they do tot boxes (like tot trays but in workboxes), but DD3 is begging for MORE.

Is there a open and go secular preK curriculum?

We read and have a large home library, so I don't need read aloud ideas, that is easily covered.

I am looking more for math/letters (they know most letters, shapes and colors).

So far I have looked at:

singapore math essential (kg A)

mep math (reception)

critical thinking company prek books (I am really tempted towards these, but kinda pricey)

AAR pre level 1 (but then I think I probably have more in resource books laying around if I could just spend a weekend going through and pulling/copying them all, maybe that is what I should do?)

Cofessions of a homeschoolers K4 download (but it is not secualr, but I have used some of the printables from her sight, so maybe it could be used secularly? But for $15, if everything is in one folder and I can print quickly instead of searching through pages....hmmm)

 

Any thoughts? Have you done this? Gone to tons of sights print everything you want and then assemble your own open and go plan?

I don't mind about the printing and I can spiral bind at a nearby office store.

[MrsH]

Does it have to be in a logical order? I ask because what's worked for us is to have two magazine boxes that are filled w/ a variety of workbooks and coloring for my almost-4-year-old. There's a dot to dot book for the alphabet, and one from 1-25 (having recently finished the 1-20). We have a kumon folding book and a cheap cutting book that I found somewhere. A couple of coloring pages of stuff I'm talking about w/ the older kid, a book of mazes, a book of letter practice... and a general "pre-k" workbook full of lots of different letter/number activities. I think those are the main ones she's been using lately. Whenever she wants to "do school," she just picks something out of the box.

 

We make time to read (sounds like not a problem for you) and do lots of activities (also doesn't sound like a problem).

 

The only other thing I do with her is to practice letter sounds the way our public school does, with a picture alphabet chart and we just go through saying each letter name, word, and most common letter sound (/a/ apple "ah", b bat "b"), and we have a few learning songs. So far we've done days of the week, her address, phone number, and now we're doing months of the year. She's pretty much got those down and I was thinking of doing some nursery rhymes again. Just little ditties to sing/say.

 

We don't do all of this every day, just when the mood strikes to do school...

[Um_2_4]

I have the same magazine boxes right now filled with printouts, worksheets, dry erase workbooks, etc. I guess I am looking for a more "organized" way to do it.

 

I am seriously thinking about pulling out all my resource books and tearing out all the pages and printing everything I like and hole punching it all and making a big "reading" binder and "math" binder for pre-k. I just was so trained, you don't tear up books LOL, it is almost painful to do !

 

Like:

week 1:

letter a, with all the a related worksheets, manipulatives

etc......

[Nart]

I really like the Core Knowledge "What Your preschooler Needs to Know" Activity Books (one is for ages 3-4 and one or 4-5) because they are open and go. They go along with the Core preschool book so you read a poem or story or science pages then in the activity book there are colored cut outs and stickers for the pages. So for example you read the poem about the old lady who swallowed a fly then there are cut outs of the animals and a picture of the woman.

 

http://books.coreknowledge.org/home.php?cat=364

[IceFairy]

My DD is loving Memoria Press Jr K. It is fairly open and go. We just add light science.

[throughpagesandfields]

For a while I was looking for the exact same thing. The closest I could find was Flowering Baby for what I was looking for. I never tried it... I think it's all organized - but would need lots of prep work still. I've since given up and once we're up and running and just going to organize in binders for myself ahead of time...

[delaney]

I really like the Core Knowledge "What Your preschooler Needs to Know" Activity Books (one is for ages 3-4 and one or 4-5) because they are open and go. They go along with the Core preschool book so you read a poem or story or science pages then in the activity book there are colored cut outs and stickers for the pages. So for example you read the poem about the old lady who swallowed a fly then there are cut outs of the animals and a picture of the woman.

 

http://books.corekno...ome.php?cat=364

Yes it is easy and if you want to do more just add extra books or workbook pages like I do. Simple and complete. I am doing 2 weeks at a time because we are behind since he is already 4.

[MASHomeschooler]

So do the CK activity books each cover half the material in the parent book, or do they both cover all, but at different levels?

[Lily_Grace]

Brilliant Minds has math and letters kits that I've contemplated getting. All manipulatives included with a cd of printables. it's tempting.

 

http://www.brilliantmindsmontessoristore.com/pages/Reading

http://www.brilliantmindsmontessoristore.com/pages/Math

[chepyl]

Abused Brightly Beaming Letter of the Week. If you air and print it all in a day, it becomes open and go. It was free, just had to print.

 

It gives you a theme, letter, number, color or shape of the week. And an animal, I think. She had links to coloring pages for them all. There are letter recognition exercises to print as well.

 

It gives you activities and lit lists. Poetry is printed with the curriculum. It has no math beyond number recognition, so you will need another math book.

 

That was 3 year old prek. For 4 year old prek we are using R&S ABC series. If you skip book B (Bible) I think it is pretty secular. There are some verses in the front matter, but the pages are just good letter, number, matching skill practice.

[Um_2_4]

Thanks guys for all the info.

I looked at the core knowledge and it seems that they split the read alouds into 2.

I am going to look through some more and probably doing a combo of several.

I am drawn to singapore essentials so we will probably do that for math.

I looked at brightly beaming briefly, will have to check it out more.

If any one has aar pre1, I am curious if it has enough review?

My twins are on 2 different levels and that is complicating making a choice.

[Um_2_4]

Brilliant Minds has math and letters kits that I've contemplated getting. All manipulatives included with a cd of printables. it's tempting.

 

http://www.brilliantmindsmontessoristore.com/pages/Reading

http://www.brilliantmindsmontessoristore.com/pages/Math

Those are tempting, thinking about just getting the cds and the manipulatives I don't already have!

[Crimson Wife]

I used the CK What Your Preschooler Needs to Know with my DS and I am adapting it for use with my special needs preschooler.

[newbieoftwo]

Thanks guys for all the info.

I looked at the core knowledge and it seems that they split the read alouds into 2.

I am going to look through some more and probably doing a combo of several.

I am drawn to singapore essentials so we will probably do that for math.

I looked at brightly beaming briefly, will have to check it out more.

If any one has aar pre1, I am curious if it has enough review?

My twins are on 2 different levels and that is complicating making a choice.

 

There is an enormous amount of review of AAR Pre-1, IMO. We did a couple of lessons at a time with my DD, but she caught on really fast to the pattern of the questions.

[blondeviolin]

I'll also recommend Core Knowledge's activity books. Nice and simple, open-and-go.

[serendipitous journey]

I've been looking at

 

Sonlight's 3/4 curriculum -- largely reading, but structured for me; and/or

 

Timberdoodle's Preschool Core (with customization --ie removal of some stuff) -- I posted about this a while back, and one response suggested just going for Magnatiles; but I actually think the various bits of this would be welcome to my little one. This isn't really scheduled; you can download the guide that goes with it. It does give you a nice idea of what you "should" be doing each week, which suits me fine.

 

MEP Reception/MUS Primer (which I own from #1)

 

Sandbox Scientist (big hit with #1);

 

Kumon's Easy Mazes/letter/number books;

 

and Montessori RD's geography (which I have). If this goes over well I might add their early years biology/botany. I can't recommend every manual from here as useful, but the geography one was very nice to have.

 

I'm hoping the grandparents will provide "scholarship funds" :) for Sonlight and/or Timberdoodle ...

My younger child clearly wants more strucutre & input, and the older is pretty intense & demanding too, so I'm trying to outsource a bit.

 

-- I will look at the CK Preschool first, though -- I didn't see the activity books at the bookstore, and thought the book with readings & c. was the whole shebang.

[Um_2_4]

Ana, question:

Sandbox Scientist (big hit with #1);

Looks like fun, but 1 of the reviews says it needs obscure hard to find stuff, like copper pipes, taken apart VCR and a turntable??? Is that true?? If so, won't work for us... I am of the motto, throw it out if in doubt, so I have basic stuff (cornstarch, b.soda, paper towel tubes) and am willing to go buy basic things (dowel rods, pulleys, borax, etc).. but I don't want to scrounge a junk yard LOL.

[serendipitous journey]

Ana, question:

Sandbox Scientist (big hit with #1);

Looks like fun, but 1 of the reviews says it needs obscure hard to find stuff, like copper pipes, taken apart VCR and a turntable??? Is that true?? If so, won't work for us... I am of the motto, throw it out if in doubt, so I have basic stuff (cornstarch, b.soda, paper towel tubes) and am willing to go buy basic things (dowel rods, pulleys, borax, etc).. but I don't want to scrounge a junk yard LOL.

 

 

Absolutely not. There are _some_ kits that call for a spare VCR, a turntable, &c; but many others that don't. Unfortunately there's no index, and the table of contents isn't very helpful either, so sometimes it can be hard to find a simple kit -- even one you know is in there. You have to flip through.

 

Practically speaking, I find it works best if I have some spot or box to collect things, and gather materials over a week or so. Most kits will require at least one purchase, in my house at least, but usually things you can find at the drugstore (sometimes Home Depot).

 

quickly, here are a few examples

 

from p 21 -- requires

plastic water droppers (these from Amazon, best bet, if not at your drugstore)

large paper clips with one end straightened

pebbles, erasers, and other objects such as sticks or leaves

small plastic containers

 

p 23 -- assortment of these for water tub play; you don't need everything! this is the most complicated one I have done. But it was good for days of fun -- when interest waned, I set it aside for a month or two then pulled it back out.

turkey basters -- (says more than one, for a homeschool 1 is plenty!)

sponges and corks

plastic pitchers and cups

aluminum pots

acrylic tubing (Home Depot for this one, or any good hardware store)

rainmakers (plastic containers with holes in the bottoms)

plastic bottles, jars, and funnels of different sizes

dish-washing tubs or water table, or a pasta pot or something for the water

water pumps (I NEVER have acquired these)

paintbrushes

plastic animals, cars, and other small toys

rubber balls

pebbles and paper clips

 

p 31 - "Boats"

tinfoil

paper plates

cups, styrofoam, and other discarded packing materials

straws and clay

pieces of foam

pieces of sponge

corks

 

p 67 -- Windy Day Party

pinwheels

wind wands

flags

kites

toy sailboats

 

p 69 -- balloons

punchball balloons (Amazon)

party balloons

yarn or string

 

p 87 color lab

paints or food coloring in primary colors

styrofoam egg cartons or muffin tins

mixing spons

droppers

3 bottle caps or small jar kids per kid

 

p 130 -- worms -- this from the living things section, which starts with how to teach children to be gentle with their creatures

worms -- the more the better (a garden store or nursery)

one or more plastic tubs containing an inch of water

watercolor brushes

moist washcloths or paper towels

magnifying lenses

large leaves

 

HTH!

[serendipitous journey]

adding a proper open and go preK:

Carol's Affordable Curriculum. Loved by many here. Does have some Christian content, though.

[Um_2_4]

Thanks Ana for the info.

I went ahead and ordered some books from the critical thinking company. So far I am just using what I have and will go from there. I may add in the CK books as extra.