Preschool Curriculum....Mother Goose Time, Learning Box, Horizons, Letter of the Day, etc....

[Guest]

I am considering ordering either Mother Goose Time or The learning box for my 2.5 and 4 year old.  I love that everything is planned out for me, and crafts are included.  I am horrible at planning crafts, and my children love them.  I would love to hear any reviews of these preschool programs.

 

I was also considering HOD's preschool program, but I am just not sure it is my style of teaching.  I also looked at Horizons preschool package, and saw that it got good reviews.  Another one that I had looked at was Letter of the Day by Confessions of a Homeschooler.  My ds(4) was a late talker, but is all caught up now.  He only knows how to count to 7, but does not know any of his ABC's, numbers, or colors.  I would love any advice on curriculum that is good for this age to teach the things he needs to know before Kindergarten.  I feel like I need something planned out for me just so that I cover all the bases.  I know that even with having something planned out we will have to take it easy and go at our own pace at this age.

[cjgrubbs]

I keep looking at Letter of the Day, too.  I'm just concerned that its going to be lots of printing/prepping and I don't think my girl is ready for it yet.

[Susan in TX]

I really like Mother Goose Time. It is a little pricey and designed more for a classroom/daycare situation, but it is all planned out and very easy to use. We just skip the activities that are designed for a group or I will adapt them. For me it gets to be too much to do it every day so we have managed to stretch out a month's box to two months, but that makes it more affordable. The crafts are very simple, and one might think that it is overpriced for what you are getting, but it is worth it for me because I am not creative and even though I can find cool things to do on Pinterest, I am just not organised enough to put it all together. Mother Goose Time has a monthly theme and all the crafts and activities, even the music (it comes with a CD of songs) revolve around that theme. I really like that. It is also play based rather than academic, so many of the activities and crafts encourage children to use their imaginations and the crafts are often props that can be used in pretend play. If your goal is to gently teach pre-school skills and also have fun, Mother Goose Time is a great choice.

 

Susan in TX

[MeganW]

We LOVED The Learning Box.  It's a comprehensive preschool program in a box. 

What makes it stand out from others is the crafts.  They are very well-done, and everything is included!  If on Day 4 you need 2 Qtips and teaspoon of gold glitter, it's in the box, in a baggie labeled "Day 4".  Everything is in there - you just open and go!  There is lots of focus on fine motor skills, but it is easily adaptable for many ages.  My kids can create anything out of paper thanks to that program!!

I loved the idea of Letter of the Week, but just couldn't manage to get everything gathered and printed and done.  The Learning Box got done. 

 

ETA - we added Before Five in a Row, which is the complete opposite end of the spectrum.  I found that to be a wonderful complement to the normal preschool stuff. 
 

[HeartatHome]

I've tried Horizons and personally would not recommend it. I think it's way to rigorous for a preschool program and many of the crafts needed special items that I did not have in the house. It's definitely a full program and a good curriculum overall but I feel it's better suited for a classroom setting. I ended up dropping most of it just because I could not keep up with it and I guess I'm not willing to spend that much time and money(hunting for craft items) on preschool. I also felt like their letters/phonics moved too fast.

 

I did try HOD little hands for a few months but I tried it when my dd was 5 so she grew out of it quickly but wish I would have used that instead of Horizons when she was 4. Sweet and simple program and much easier on time and money for mom but its not for everyone I'm sure.

Hth