Easy to implement Preschool ideas?

[fourcatmom]

I won't go into all the details but my 23 yo S-DD and her almost 4 yo son are going to be moving in with us on Saturday. Today I have to clean out my 11 yo's room and try and make space for them.

 

I am hoping that by August if they are still here that he can be in some kind of PT preschool program but I would also like some simple and easy to put together ideas of things to have on hand. He is really smart and loves to work at the table but is also highly impulsive. I am hoping to start school late July with my kids and so it would nice to have some things on hand for him as well. I can't spend a lot of money but I do have a printer and laminator.

 

Any ideas that have worked well for very active boys?

 

ETA: I know there are tons of ps ideas out there but I just haven't had a chance to do a lot of research or searching. I am really just looking for quick suggestions or ideas so that I have some quick go to items when I need them. The only thing I can really think of is playdough.

[soufflegirl]

I'd check Pinterest. I've seen posts on how to make your own play-doh, and crafts/projects/games people have put together with stuff from the dollar store. If he's very active but would be willing to sit at the table with the rest of you, something like clay or play-doh might keep his attention better than coloring pages?

[fourcatmom]

Yes, coloring doesn't really hold his interest very long. He loves books but needs to be working and he does like being with the girls. I also would love to do paint and things but I also need things where he can stay in control and I can be close but not have to be on top of him, kwim?

 

Pinterest is a great idea, I think I am just so into transitioning that my brain can't think about all the details right now but I am happy that they are coming.

 

Does anyone have any great Preschool Pinterest boards I could follow? Not looking for elaborate academics by any means. Just fun, keep him busy, keep in engaged and keep him on a structured routine without TV or ipad all day. I am not against academics, this will be his Pre-K year but I don't want to push them either. He will go to public school next year.

[soufflegirl]

I don't know if giving him glue would be more trouble than it's worth, but maybe gluing tissue paper/pasta/pompoms to jars or paper plates or something? Or sorting little things by color into ice cube trays using tongs or chopsticks?

[Alice]

-Cutting/gluing. Doesn’t really matter what, that’s always been a favorite of mine.

-Stickers/sticker books.

-Dot painting (like with a sponge bottle). It contains the mess. I like having the kids do regular painting also but my 3 year old could use the dot painters on her own very successfully.

-Coloring with markers..for some reason mine always find that more exotic than crayons and think of it as more special.

-Coloring on the windows with window markers.

-Painting of any kind if you are looking for supervised activities. My kids especially liked marble painting and painting with matchbox cars (using the wheels dipped in paint).

-Puzzles

-Kumon type of books usually held interest for a little while.

-Math manipulatives if you still have any...my 3 year old will play for a long time with the Cuiseinaire rods, unifix cubes and geometric shape blocks.

-We do “Z mathâ€. I write 1-10 on flashcards and then she puts them in order, or matches the right number to piles of items. For a treat I’ll use jellybeans or M&Ms.

-Stringing beads on a string.

-Lacing cards

-Magnetic stuff. My boys especially find them fascinating and would enjoy sorting items into things that were “sticky†and “not stickyâ€.

[plath]

Busy bag type activities are great fun for preschool ages.

http://pinterest.com/plath/busy-bags/

My dd also loved making the letters on playdough mats with the playdough. http://www.homeschoolcreations.net/2010/03/preschool-corner-playdough-mats/

We do "themed" playdough, too by making our own and adding glitter, different colors or scents (from spices or essential oils) for seasons or holidays.

 

Maybe alphabet ideas? http://pinterest.com/plath/alphabet

 

"general" crafts and art projects http://pinterest.com/plath/kid-crafts-and-art/

[Suzanne115]

This website (http://www.preschoolexpress.com) has a lot of fun ideas that are free. Right now, I am using the alphabet letters with my three year old. She paints them and then we decorate them. We just finished letter U. She painted it and them put stickers of umbrellas on them. I have also printed out pictures for her to glue on them.

 

 

Suzanne

[melbotoast]

Have you heard of tot trays? In a nutshell, head to the dollar store and pick up a variety of manipulatives, then use them for sorting, counting, transferring, etc. http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotTrays.html Keep scrolling all the way down to see all the basic types of activities.

[AdventureMoms]

Painting with water is HUGE here and minimizes the mess. Hand them a cup of plain water and a clean brush and they paint on my walls or whatever. If you have a chalkboard, let him color on it with chalk, then paint on it with water. It's like he's cleaning his own mess! Also I let them color on paper towels with washable markers, then paint over it with water. The colors all blur and the kids love it. My DD would do that for an hour at a time...

[fourcatmom]

Those are all great ideas, thank you so much! I did give him the C-Rods this weekend and he played for a LONG time. He made an airplane! It was great. I don't have much for that age range but some animals and things from the girls but I really just want to set up some choices for him that are more like "school" for when the girls are working or just to give him more choices. I think the alaphabet would be a good thing to introduce to. This weekend I was working on getting him drinking out of a cup, not a sippy cup and using the toilet. He did great with both! He loves Reading Rainbow.

 

I also let him have a car wash this weekend on the patio where he got to wash his coupe car with soap and a sponge and help water the plants. He had such a great time. The problem is we live (four of us already) in a 3 bedroom apartment with a patio off the Master bedroom but a DH that works nights and sleeps days. So, keeping him busy and letting him expel his energy in a positive way is key for me.

[fourcatmom]

I think I am going to place an order with Oriental Trading Co. Any not to miss items from there that would help. So far, I have the trays that 1+1+1 recommends.

[soufflegirl]

Pipe cleaners and beads are a big hit at my house. Not sure how they're priced on Oriental Trading vs. a craft store/dollar store, but might be worth checking out.

[Coco_Clark]

Big beads and yarn with a dull large needle, or just tape the end of the yarn

Pipe cleaners and a colander

Buttons or anything else small and sortable and a muffin tin

Lacing boards

Building materials (Legos, cuisinare rods, Lincoln logs, blocks, ect)

Mazes (laminated with dry erase markers)

Puzzles

Laundry pin matching games (letters on the pins and laminated strips with pictures to clip them to)

A sink full of water or ice or snow and some "tools"

A box of sand or beans or rice and some cars to drive in it

Shaving cream

Scissors and scrap paper or a phone book

Contact paper and all those scraps he just cut up (less messy than glue)

Stickers and some paper (sometimes I draw a road for the car stickers ect)

Bubbles

Paint with water

Magnets and a cookie tray

I know you said play dough but you can look up other homemade doughs too. We love mixing cornstarch and water.

 

That's everything I can think of off the top of my head. I like simple, cheap, and not too messy. I try to put out 4-6 activities at the beginning of the week and switch them out. That way they are always "new". My boys have never been interested in coloring :/, but when they do color its when it's BIG. Butcher paper taped to a wall for that whole arm movement, or coloring an old box (which can then be climbed in, thru, on top of, ect)

 

When desperate, build a blanket fort. Good luck! Little boys that age are so much fun!

 

 

[PeterPan]

That impulsivity can be an indication of adhd, which I assume you already know. Adhd is characterized by EF (executive function) deficits and low processing speed (ability to respond and think through after he's already in motion or has an idea to do something). He may be a kinesthetic learner. My ds is in this boat and 4. Things he does?

 

-mini indoor rebounder/trampoline

-indoor single line swing

-things he can crash into or jump onto for sensory

-duplos, lots of duplos!

-FIAR--He LOVES FIAR. Pick the boy friendly books. Read the books 5 days, do a couple activities. Google it online or find videos from the library to go with the topic.

-basic math that is hands-on--We're using Saxon K5, which is super gentle, super cute, and totally hands-on with super short lessons. Big hit here. Not planning on continuing on. I got the tm on amazon used really cheap and already had manipulatives lying around to make it work. Can't beat that for price.

-puzzles, especially ones that are boyish. Right now he's really into the Djeco knight puzzles Timberdoodle had. He also likes floor puzzles.

-metronome work--Put a free metronome app on your ipod-device thing and clap to it. I think you may find he can't even clap to a beat. Put your hands over his and do it for 1 one minute, just one minute. Set it at 54 bpm. When he can clap with the metronome, then up to 2 minutes. Your goal is to get to 20 minutes with 5 minutes each at 4 different activities involving crossing the midline. For now just being able to clap with the metronome is a start, lol. Works on EF, impulsivity, etc.

-Earobics--Can he rhyme? Does he have basic phonemic awareness? If he can't rhyme or has basic phonemic awareness problems, get Earobics and have work with him. Takes about 20 minutes a day.

-letter of the week study (if you have time and energy!)

-audiobooks while he plays, to keep getting that language in

-Djeco art kits--Timberdoodle sells some. I thought they were pricey, but my ds REALLY enjoys them. The one we're doing has a tiger on the front of the box. It has a lot of steps, so we just do a couple steps each time. It's all set up, easy to go, not messy. It works on self-control, gives them some sensory and art, and you don't have to plan anything. The box comes with all the supplies and actually has *2* of each picture. Better value than I thought was I was choking over the price.

-games, games, games! Break the Ice, Pjaggle, anything memory, Red Rover, the Richard Scarry games, Curious George Discovery Beach, Operation, Uno

-Hexbugs--I know they're stupid expensive, but they're crazy fun. I've collected them on clearance here and there, and our set can keep him busy (if you sit with him) for quite a while, well over an hour.

-toy bow and arrow, toy shotgun, cowboy boots, cowboy hat

 

Btw, he also likes to help do things. So if you're doing laundry or loading the dishwasher, teach him how. He'll shove the clothes in the washer, load silverware, collect trash cans, that sort of thing.

 

Look for things that are big and physical, because he may very well spend a lot of time doing that. My boy spends a LOT of his day with his play shotgun, walking around hunting, playing spy, etc. He has a trike that sometimes we keep indoors, sometimes out. He has a plasma car. Anything he can climb, jump on, jump off... And how special for your kids to get to be with their cousin/nephew (?). My girl is 14 and my ds is 4. They don't always play the best, because of course she gets touchy and teen-y. But in general they LOVE each other and are so good together. If you nurture it, this can be a really special time for them. You'll probably have to teach some boundaries and teach about touching, hitting, that sort of thing. But when they calm down and have sweet time together, it will be very sweet. My boy goes super hard all morning long, and then he crashes after lunch. He doesn't nap. Maybe your boy will? My boy hasn't napped for years, sigh. We put him down for quiet time with videos or cartoons, then he plays. During quiet time, sometimes they (dd and ds) will have sweet time together. So just nurture and enjoy it. It's a very sweet age, even in a really active boy.

 

Btw, my boy rises fully there, ready to go, like I do. My dd rises very, very slowly. We have to recognize this tempo difference and keep them apart. If you and he have those differences, that could rub you the wrong way. You just have to create some boundaries and structure to make it work. I've THOUGHT about creating an actual plan for him with more serious structure, but I must be missing the gump or something. It would be good, sigh. You'll work it out. Short sessions of sitting work interspersed with lots of physical. I'm doing our Betty Lukens flannelgraph right now with ds, and he LOVES it. Thing is, he doesn't remember the stories day to day. So we do the story 3-4 days in a row. I read the story from a Kenneth Taylor bible story book I had lying around. After he does one of those stories with me (usually takes about 40 minutes), he PEELS out of there to go blow off steam! So we just have a lot of that give and take, watching when he can be still and when he needs to move. He can hold it in a while, but not forever, lol.

 

Enjoy your new experience! :)

[PeterPan]

Oh mercy, I just saw your note about your dh working nights, etc.. You're going to want to take him to the park or on a long walk EVERY DAY. Just plan on it. Get a routine going where you eat breakfast, do together things (alternating still and active or use a sequence of trays/drawers), eat a snack to recharge, then have a set time each morning where you go to the park. At that point he'll be worn out, so you feed him lunch and go down for quiet time. During quiet time he can watch Signing Time or whatever you like.

 

Teach him to read the hour on the stove clock and how to know the plan: at 8 we eat breakfast, at 9 and 10 we play quietly with our bins, at 11 we go to the park, at 12 we eat lunch then have quiet time till 2 (or 1:30). My boy usually has quiet time for about 1 hour. He definitely understands digital time, even if it's corny. Like he'll say 4 dot dot 23. :) So use that to your advantage and create a routine.

 

You'll figure it out. Maybe during park time your kids do their math. You can work it out. :)