PreK weekly lesson schedule

[Aloha2U]

Well, I think I'm close to fine tuning our PreK weekly schedule. I know it's only PreK... but I'm a planner and if I don't have a basic plan then I fear that I may do too much or not enough. I could surely use some feedback to let me know if I'm on the right track or not. It may look like a lot when typed out, but it doesn't seem like it. In fact, I wonder if I need to do more. Although, please keep in mind that the schedule is in addition to normal daily activities such as chores, cooking together, magnetic letters on the fridge, singing, dancing, playing outside (park, bikes, yard play, w/dog), legos, etc... oh, and our nightly bedtime stories and bible study. So without further delay, here it is...

 

 

Monday 09/01/08 - Thursday 09/04/08

 

8:00-8:30 Devotion - Leading Little Ones to God (also, Big Truths for Little Kids, My ABC Bible Verses)

M: Our Hearts Ask for God

T: We Cannot See God

W: We See God's Works

Th: God Talked to People Long Ago

 

8:30-9:00 Math - Saxon Math K

M: Lesson 1

T: Lesson 2

W: Lesson 3

Th: Review

 

9:00-9:15 Phonics - Spell to Write and Read

M: Review 26 single letter phonograms, SWR game-How Sound are Made

T: Review 70 phonograms, SWR game-Guess the Word

W: Review 26 single letter phonograms, SWR game-Unglue the Word

Th: Review 70 phonograms, SWR game-Count the Syllables

(ds knows all 26 single letters and some multi-letter phonograms)

 

9:15-9:30 Handwriting - Cursive First

M-Th: Clock Letters - a,c,d,g,o,qu

M-Th: Game - clock letter relay

M-Th: Large Motor Skill- trace flash cards, sandpaper letters, salt box, white board

(ds already knows how to form some of the alphabet in cursive)

 

9:30-10:00 Science - Answers in Genesis (various materials) / Scienceworks: Learning About series by Evan-Moore

M: A is for Adam (DVD or book and color)

T: Life Before Birth

W: Learning About My Body

Th: Learning About My Body

 

10:00-10:15 Snack

10:15-10:30 Recess

 

10:30-10:45 CB/Manners/Health - Child's Book of Character Building (also, Big thoughts for Little People, God's Wisdom for Little Boys) / Prudence and the Millers (Miller Family series)

M: Attentive in the Bible / Attentive at Home

T: Prudence

W: Attentive at School / Attentive at Play

Th: Timmy and the Lion

 

10:45-11:30 Read Aloud - B4FIAR, FIAR, SL, BHI, and 1000 Good Books lists

 

11:30-12:00 Art (also, finger paints, water colors, play-doh, moon sand, etc.)

M: ABeka Readiness Skills / Art Projects K4 (Misc.)

T: Alphabet Art by Judy Press (Alphabet)

W: ABeka Bible Activity Book K4 (Bible)

Th: At the Zoo! by Judy Press (Animals)

 

Please let me know what you think.

 

Thank you,

 

Melissa

 

Just FYI... some other materials that I'll be using that I purchased from AiG for our Science time are:

 

Life Before Birth

Dinosaurs of Eden

Dinosaurs by Design

Dry Bones and Other Fossils

Skeletons in your Closet

Children's DVD pack (A is for Adam; D is for Dinosaur; Dinosaurs, Genesis & the Gospel; A Jurassic Ark Mystery; Six Short Days, One Big Adventure - my ds loves this one!)

Riddle of the Dinosaurs DVD

3-Guide Pack (Zoo, Museum, Aquarium)

Science & the Bible

Noah's Ark Series Set

God's Dinosaur Series

[KIN]

You *are* a planner. :) I think your schedule is a bit full. This is coming from someone who likes to start academics at age 4 too. I would try to keep the scheduled activities to a 2 hour maximum and many days with way less than 2 hours. You have many, many years to do hours of academics.

 

I would limit it by decreasing the frequency & time of the subjects. Make science only 2x a week, math 2-3x a week, alternate phonograms and writing every other day (you are reviewing phonogram sounds while writing), manners 1x week (it may stick more this way too!), combine art and the read aloud time (mine enjoy having something to do while listening to a book), review SWR phonograms only one time per lesson (trust me your child will begin to dread it repeated 3x in a day), limit math time to 15-20 minutes (there is no rush to finish K math in preschool), keep devotion time limited to 15-20 minutes as well.

 

I want to add: please do not feel like a failure if a day doesn't go as planned. If there is *any* resistance from your ds, stop, take a break from the schedule for a few days/week/weeks. This age should be mostly for playing, reading, etc. If the child is ready and you can get some teaching in, great, if they aren't ready or just are having a bad day - drop it.

 

Try to remember this is a marathon and not a race. You need to keep your pace steady, LOL! I'm sure you will be a wonderful teacher.

[Closeacademy]

8:00-8:30 Devotion -You may want to shorten this to 10 or 15 min unless you have a child who asks a lot of questions and wants to go deep.

 

8:30-9:00 Math -It will probably take this long to do math.

 

9:00-9:15 Phonics - Good timing for this.

 

9:15-9:30 Handwriting -15 min will probably be too long and you may want to shorten it to 5-10 min.

 

9:30-10:00 Art --30 to 60 min on art, sometimes they get involved in doing something and don't want to stop.

 

10:00-10:15 Snack

10:15-10:30 Recess

 

10:30-10:45 CB/Manners - Do you really need this on top of devotions?

 

10:45-11:30 Read Aloud - Good timing on this. I can only go for about 1/2 an hour and do the read alouds before bed.

 

11:30-12:00 Science - Good timing on this as well but expect that some days will only be 15 min and other will be longer if you get involved in a big project.

 

 

Looks good and hope you have a wonderful year. We really only spent about 30 min a day plus read alouds on preK. We generally spent some time on phonograms and math topics and left it at that.

 

Good luck.:001_smile:

[JudoMom]

Please let me know what you think.

 

Thank you,

 

Melissa

 

I think it looks like fun, but I think you could easily cut all of your times in half, and I would also alternate art and science. I would try to keep it to about 2 hours or so.

[Trivium Academy]

I think it's great! You have a plan and planning the work out is just a step towards getting it done. I agree with JudoMom but I'm sure you'll adjust where you need to for your child's needs. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with trying to work out a schedule for my 4yo while I have 3rd grader, I wish I could do preschool all day with him. I know it'll work out in some fashion though, it's just figuring out how to mesh it all together that's a bit tricky at first.

 

I love how you've alternated the activities, it looks like FUN!

[Chris in VA]

I think you've done a good job planning out your day. I would trim a few minutes here and there, but knowing where and how much to do that will become more clear as you actually implement your schedule and see how your dc responds.

 

I would do the manners thing only twice a week, and cut down the 45 minute session of reading aloud in favor of two or even 3 15 minute sessions--you can always extend it or pull back as needed. You will find other ways to tweak as you go along.

 

One thing that has really helped me is to just take my eye off the clock and put it on my daughter. If you keep the same (or similar) order to your day, you won't really have to worry about sticking to a time schedule. Look at what you want to accomplish (how many Pages, as it were) and match that expectation to how your dc responds--if you notice extreme inattention or lots of fidgeting, or frustration building, just cut back. Don't feel pressured to "finish" the lesson for the day. Little ones can reach the saturation point quickly--sometimes it's after an hour, sometimes it's after 5 minutes. I think it's ok to go with that, gently building the attention span over time. And that doesn't mean dc has to sit still or not ask questions during reading aloud time, for example.

 

You are obviously trying to give your dc the best--and that's wonderful!!:D

[Melissa B]

One note - Saxon K is designed to use three lessons a week and not four. They are sort of "blocked" in that fashion. The other day or two in the week are for review and manipulatives to reinforce the lessons. Doing four lessons per week will throw off the rhythm a bit.

[Aloha2U]

Thank you ladies for your feedback and comments. I want our days to be fun, enjoyable and something to look forward to. I hope most of all for my ds to continue to enjoy learning. As Trivium Academy, JudoMom, Closeacademy, and KIN stated, I'll adjust where I'll need to for my ds's needs and easily cut most of the times in half, but I wanted to have a starting point. Also, I agree with KIN about cutting back to 1x daily phonogram review instead of 2-3x... that IS too much, what was I thinking. I guess I'm just very excited and know his abilities, but I don't want to push it. I may very likely alternate Art and Science (that's a great idea), but I can't combine Art with RA because ds likes to snuggle while I'm reading and usually wants me to join in or help with the art projects (depending on what it is).

 

Thanks again... you have all been a great help!

 

Melissa

[KIN]

Melissa -

 

I think you are going to have a wonderful year. This stage of planning and dreaming are half the fun for me!! Have fun!

[Aloha2U]

One note - Saxon K is designed to use three lessons a week and not four. They are sort of "blocked" in that fashion. The other day or two in the week are for review and manipulatives to reinforce the lessons. Doing four lessons per week will throw off the rhythm a bit.

 

Wow, thank you and you're right... somehow I transposed that what one. I have only planned on 3 lessons and then the review - correction made.

 

I would do the manners thing only twice a week, and cut down the 45 minute session of reading aloud in favor of two or even 3 15 minute sessions--you can always extend it or pull back as needed. You will find other ways to tweak as you go along.

 

Definitely something to consider.

 

One thing that has really helped me is to just take my eye off the clock and put it on my daughter. If you keep the same (or similar) order to your day, you won't really have to worry about sticking to a time schedule. Look at what you want to accomplish (how many Pages, as it were) and match that expectation to how your dc responds--if you notice extreme inattention or lots of fidgeting, or frustration building, just cut back. Don't feel pressured to "finish" the lesson for the day. Little ones can reach the saturation point quickly--sometimes it's after an hour, sometimes it's after 5 minutes. I think it's ok to go with that, gently building the attention span over time. And that doesn't mean dc has to sit still or not ask questions during reading aloud time, for example.

 

Also great advice.

 

Thank you ladies!

 

Melissa

 

P.S. I made some changes to the initial post.

[Aloha2U]

I want to add Health into our schedule. I'm going to alternate Health with CB/Manners. I'm looking at Prudence and the Millers. Any other suggestions?

 

I know this may seem like alot for us, but it's really not. We love it!

 

 

Melissa

[FO4UR]

The only thing I can add to other posters is to leave room for reading books of ds's choice.

 

I have atleast 20-30 per day of kids' choice reading aloud, and that is their favorite time of day. Ds typically chooses a highly scientific (for a 5yo) book on an animal, and devours it. For my dd, planning the same book would be a bore, but she tolerates it b/c she gets to pick a book too..... Of course, that means I prune the *twaddle* from my shelves;)

[Terabith]

I have a four and a half year old with whom I want to start academics prek this year also. We'll have different schedules on different days, since I work three mornings a week, and she is involved in different activities during the week (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium, gymnastics, swim lessons, music class). When I'm at work they stay at home (we live with my inlaws) with Grandma and Grandpa. Those mornings are just play. So, long story short, I don't have a schedule written out.

 

But my goal is to read out loud to them (my three year old will sit in on some things as well) for about an hour a day, not counting bedtime reading. We've always read aloud a lot, so this is not really anything new. The only thing different will be I'll be more systematic about *what* we read. We're going to use Janet's Sonlight schedule, Five in a Row, Core Knowledge Preschool, and another assortment of books like folk tales, nursery rhymes/ poetry, nonfictional books based on different themes.

 

I figure we'll keep academics to around an hour a day. (Not gonna make three yr old in on academics. Tho she does enjoy watching Headsprout and might do some of the HWT stuff. If she wants.) She's finishing up with Headsprout. After that we'll do the ABeCeDarian blending/ segmenting supplement and reading from the I See Sam readers. We're doing the Handwriting Without Tears PreK, and Singapore EarlyBird math. I'm hoping we'll finish the earlybird math workbooks around Christmas, and then we'll start RightStart A. I'll use Building Thinking Skills Primary, Visual Perceptual Thinking Skills, and Developing the Early Learner for thinking skills.

 

I'm going to try to have a shortish Circle time as well as academics. Catherine will be in on the circle. We'll do the calendar and talk about days of week/ months of a year. We'll do some memory work. Gonna work on the General Confession and Apostle's Creed. One at a time. We'll talk about whatever the theme of our nonfiction books is, probably, maybe review some basic skills for my three year old. Shapes, body parts, that kind of stuff. Sing some songs and/ or practice motor skills. (Bowling, throw bean bags at targets, etc)

 

I have a few things in my not-school-but-will-still-try-to-be-more consistent about doing category. Gonna try to be better about art. (I am not good at getting out the art supplies and doing messy stuff). Have the Mary Ann Kohl preschool art book for ideas. Maybe crafts around the theme. Will try to be consistent about a regular baking project. They cook with me and Grandma, but I'd like to be conscientious about making something and including them once a week or so. I also want to try to be more aware about doing games and puzzles with them. I hate Candyland and Chutes and Ladders and such, but I know those types of games are good for them. We have a nice assortment of games, including some that are vaguely educational (Scrabble Jr, Great States, Jr, etc). So a few times a week I'd like to make sure I sit down and play a couple board games, help them do puzzles. I'd like to try and make the environment a little more varied by setting out both a Montessori practical life activity to give them practice in concentration and such as well as a learning center type activity (different sensory things, a fishing for commands game to read, that kind of thing). Not gonna require it, just think about different activites to offer. Some of these will be targeted to my four year old and some towards my three year old. I may write these out in the "lesson plans," but just to give myself some accountability.

 

So, that's my plan. I don't have a schedule, which kind of worries me, but I don't want to make myself crazy. Just going to aim for around an hour of academics and an hour of reading aloud daily, and a short circle a few times a week. And then be conscientious about getting out the art supplies and playing games, changing things around.

[The Governess]

We just started Singapore math - the workbooks came in the mail the other day and though I wasn't planning on starting until September, dd saw them and wanted to do some "school pages". Most of the early concepts she is already is pretty familiar with - sorting, matching, etc., and sometimes she wants to do more than one lesson. The other day we went through 10 lessons one morning because she didn't want to stop - that's 2 weeks worth! Anyway, it made me re-think how I'm going to approach the school year. Now I'm thinking I may just plan what I want to get done each week rather than each specific day. That way if she's really into math one day we can just do it all, etc. But certain things, like our FIAR reading, and other read-aloud and her reading practice we will do for sure every day.

 

I think every child is different though - my dd has always been pretty intense and focused so I can see how that could translate into her wanting to keep doing the same subject for a long time. It's hard to know how the schedule will work until you start. But it sounds like you have a great starting point! Your ds will let you know if it's working or not. Good luck, can't wait to find out how it worked for you. And to find out if mine will work too, ha ha. I have a feeling I'm going to be making a lot of changes as I go.

[8filltheheart]

Just for perspective, your schedule is 3x longer than my rising 1st grader's (she'll be 7 in Nov) Her daily subjects will be phonics, reading, math, and nature study.

 

If you find that it is too much or your child isn't as thrilled about it as you are, don't feel like doing all of that daily is a necessity.