Preschool - Homeschool

[mommyofcb]

My daughter is 3 1/2.

 

I am looking for ideas to start homeschooling at the pre-school level, but I don't know what to do for her age.

[Mosaicmind]

What about these that I found at Rainbow Resource:

 

http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1219229908-836764&subject=3&category=539

 

http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1219229908-836764&subject=3&category=537

 

http://rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1219229908-836764&subject=3&category=540

 

http://rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1219229908-836764

[Mrs Mungo]

Start here:

 

Montessori Play and Learn

 

Teaching Montessori at Home: The Preschool Years (I prefer the book Montessori at Home by Heidi Anne Spietz but I guess it's out of print since it's selling for $28 used)

 

WeeSing Fingerplays

 

Play dress up, do crafts, make cookies, make playdough, paint, make messes, run and play, do collages.

 

Read lots of great books like:

 

Good Night Gorilla

 

Good Night Moon

 

The Big Red Barn

 

Frederick and all the Leo Lionni books you can get your hands on

 

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? and all the other Eric Carle books you can get your hands on

 

The Nutshell Library and all the Maurice Sendak books you can get your hands on

 

That should give you a start. :)

[Closeacademy]

For that age there are some fun resources to start working with her in a fun way.

 

DVDs:

 

Leap Pad Letter Factory

Sesame Street ABCs

Sesame Street Numbers

 

Curriculum:

 

Before Five in a Row

Letter of the Week

 

 

Workbooks:

 

Kumon has some great workbooks for cutting, pasting or tracing skills that you can pick up at Target.

Everything for Early Learning Preschool

Rod and Staff set of 4 preschool books the ones that come before the ABC series.

 

Books:

 

Alan Baker Rabbit Concept books

Mercer Mayer Little Critter books

Goodnight Moon

 

Activities:

 

Water play--a tub of water and various containers of various sizes.

Sand play

clay or playdough

crayons and paper

watercolors

fingerpaints

collect leaves or seed pods and sort them

plant a seed

take care of a pet

collect rocks, seashells, marbles, buttons, money, post cards, etc.

sort buttons

tanagrams

pattern blocks

counting animals

cook--cupcakes, cookies, bread, pudding, anything where she can help pour something in or help mix or frost.

put a little dish soap in a tub of water and give her an egg beater to make bubbles.

 

 

But most of all have fun and enjoy yourself and your little one. They grow up so fast and this time passes so quickly. Take a lot of time to cuddle.

 

Good luck.:001_smile:

[jennyt]

I have found the "first schools" website great for learning letters, phonics and numbers. They have great "cut and paste" crafts which all my preschoolers have loved and my ds4 now has great word recognition and beautiful writing, just from using print-outs from that site. I think you need to be a member to access all the worksheets but membership is free.

 

Jenny

[melissel]

Some more links for you:

 

http://besthomeschooling.org/articles/lillian_jones_ps_kdgtn.html

http://besthomeschooling.org/articles/bev_krueger.html

http://letteroftheweek.com/alphabet_intro_week.html

 

We like the Toddler's and Preschooler's Busy Books, and we buy the Brighter Vision sets and sticker books on eBay (each kit is around $20 if you join the club)--they've been hugely popular with both my girls.

 

It looks like the site is down or something, but here are some links I managed to find while Googling:

 

http://www.brightervision.com/9818_html/A2_04.html (ages 2-3)

http://www.brightervision.com/9818_html/A2_02.html (ages 3-4)

 

For us, the activity/sticker books are the key. Each has a different theme, and has songs, activities, fingerplays, sticker activities and more. You can buy whole sets on eBay, or just the activity books. We like the older books (staple-bound, rather than shiny spiral-bound) better; they have more hands-on stuff in them--sticker activities, booklets to cut out and compile, games to cut out and play, etc. The newer books are sturdier, but don't have the cut-outs and have fewer sticker things, which my kids think are the most fun. DD2 calls them her schoolbooks :D

 

This is the older, better kind. If you keep watching eBay, you can usually buy a lot of them from one person for a good price. I recently bought from someone who had a whole bunch of the full sets--activities, extra books and all--so we're set for the fall :lol:

 

HTH!

 

ETA: I just realized we're using the ones geared toward 2-3 year olds, so they might be too young for your little one. The ones for 3-4 year olds are also available on eBay, but I have no experience with them. We love the ones we do have though!

[sjp]

For my 3yo we do OPGTTR, HWOT, Building Thinking Skills, Mighty Minds and puzzles. She also hangs out with us during science labs, spelling tests etc for my 6yo. (It is interesting to see how she phonetically spells the words as best she can) We will add a math program once we get through Building Thinking Skills, either a workbook from Critical Thinking Press, Right Start A or else the Singapore preschool program.

[Heather in Neverland]

At that age we watched LeapFrog Letter Factory dvds and Kumon workbooks and just played a lot.

[LadyAberlin]

We do Kumon work books, In the Hands of a Child Preschool concept packs, Picturebook Pre k, Bright beginnings, Little Hands to Heaven, Math Activities A to Z, Evan-moor Jumbo fun with the alphabet, Funtastic frog Activity cards, My father's world pre k packs. Most of those can be found at Rainbow Resource Center. The others you can google them and it will pull them up.

 

I forgot we also like the leap frog videos.

[fshinkevich]

I think everyone already mentioned what I am using, but I thought I'd add this just in case :)

 

I'm starting my 3yo on Monday because she really wants to do school with her brother. I got her some child size cleaning tools (broom, dustpan, mop, etc.), a sand/water table, and an easel, clay, blocks, wooden puzzles, magnet letters & numbers, etc. I got the Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD mentioned above, Angel Bear Yoga DVD, some great music CD's and some cartoons in Spanish.

 

She is eager to do workbooks since she see's older brother writing I got the following Kumon workbook titles: "Let's Sticker & Paste", "Let's Fold", "Let's Cut Paper", "Let's Color". I also got her Get Ready for the Code book A - I don't mind if she just scribbles in it, it's some exposure to the letter's :)

 

I got the following book titles for myself on either how to teach or great ideas on how to read books, etc: "Alphabet Art" by Judy Press, "Math Play!" by Diane McGowan and Mark Schrooten, "A Home Start in Reading" by Ruth Beechick, "A Strong Start in Language" by Ruth Beechick, "An Easy Start in Arithmetic" by Ruth Beechick, "Peak With Books" by Marjorie R. Nelson, "Ready for Reading" by Ashley Bishop and Ruth Helen Yopp and Hallie Yopp-Slowik, "First Art" by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Renee F. Ramsey and Dana Bowman, and "Mudpies to Magnets" by Robert A. Williams and Robert E. Rockwell and Elizabeth A. Sherwood :)

 

Obviously she doesn't have to do all those things everyday, or any of them if she doesn't want to. I just wanted a wide variety so I can figure out what she enjoys and what works best for her plus I have not "taught" this age before so I wanted to be well prepared - her older brother went to preschool before I decided to HS. I'm sure I went a bit overbored :D but I really enjoy all the books I got :)

 

Have fun! I can't wait!

[Aloha2U]

My one and only ds is 4. Here is our blog with links to all the things that we are going to be using for K4 starting September 1. I hope it will help you.

 

Melissa

[gardening momma]

I got the following Kumon workbook titles: "Let's Sticker & Paste", "Let's Fold", "Let's Cut Paper", "Let's Color".

I really like these Kumon books too. We have "Let's Fold", "Let's Cut Paper" and "More Let's Cut Paper". These are in the "First Steps Workbooks" Series, designed for ages 2 and up. My dd4 (almost 5) is using these. They are really good for progressively teaching folding and cutting skills. She has finished the first cut paper book and is working on the second. When she finishes that one, I'll get her "My First Book of Cutting" for ages 3-5. I had to get the Kumon books online (Amazon), since the teacher store I go to doesn't carry it. I've seen them once at a store in Chicago, but didn't get any at that time (now I would jump at the chance if I encounter them in a store again).

 

We have lots (tons) of workbooks, from various publishers, such as Carson-Dellosa Publishing, Frank Schaffer Publications, Learn On The Go Workbooks, and miscellaneous workbooks found at stores like Walmart. (the first 3 publishers I find at a teacher store in my area)

 

We have lots of lacing activities (found some at yard sales, some at Walmart), Duplo Lego blocks, Counting Bears (on clearance at Walmart), letter flashcards, wooden puzzles, construction paper, crayons, chalk & chalkboard (small, 4"x6"?), playdough, etc...

[SamuelsMommy]

My son is 3 1/2 and we are using Heart of Dakota's Little Hands towards Heaven. It is very gentle and he loves it!

[tullyfamily]

Books A-C are GREAT!

[Sara in WA]

My 3rd and 4th children are around preschool age (2.5 and 4.5 yo) and I have found that intentional living (as I like to call it) can be so much more educational and fun than canned curriculum or workbooks. In my own opinion, I think a lot of homeschool preschool is unnecessary. Reading lots and lots of books together and playing games can take the place of just about any and all preschool curriculum.

 

Read, go to library story time, cook together, visit the park, sing together. Just have fun together!

 

One new things I'll do this year for my 4yo dd is to make her own books. We'll do a color book and she can cut out magazine pictures for the red page, blue page, etc.

 

If you feel you really need a plan, find the book called "Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready." It has weekly activities for birth to age 5.

 

There are as many opinions as parents. Enjoy these sweet preschool years!

 

- Sara

homeschooling mom to 4 (ages 2, 4, 6, 8)

[StacyinKS]

I highly Recommend the Leap Frog DVDs-Letter Factory. Both of my boys picked up the letters in NO Time.

[myfatherslily]

I like Kumon too:) And, even better, my kids like Kumon!! My 2 1/2 year old is always happy when I take out his "Let's Color" book:) And my 4 1/2 year old has enjoyed her Kumon books for almost a year now. We've also used Developing the Early Learner, which is nice, but kinda pricey. I haven't decided yet if I'll buy it for my DS or not.

 

Agree about the Letter Factory DVD too. DD knew some of the letter sounds, then we borrowed that from that library and within a week, she knew them all!

[bethben]

We are also using "little hands to heaven". DS loves it! It's very simple to implement each day and takes 20-30 minutes. He learns a letter and a number almost every week now. There are simple crafts and it has ideas to play act the Bible story. I don't know if I would have sought out something that suggested I play out the Bible stories we learn about, but it really helps me to have some good Mommy time with my almost 4 year old. He BEGS to do school each day probably because it means playing with Mommy.

 

Today for instance, he was Joseph and I was one of his "mean" brothers. But thankfully Joseph (aka ds) was gracious and gave me food to eat. He kept begging for more, but unfortunately his older brother needed a spelling test. This currciulum will not burn out your preschooler on school and teach him a few things too!

Beth

[brasilmom]

After much postings and reading about the pre-school, I arrived at the conclusion that my dd is better off if I just listen to her needs. So, I enrolled her at a dance (movement) class and at a music play group, in addition to park day and other play dates. She just turned 3 last month and she is an observer. I figured that being in a "class" of some sort will help her. The first dance class, she purely observed. She stands there and watches. Then, we go home and she says: we did this (and demonstrates) today. I liked it. So, after few classes, she will join in. She also goes to a reading time at the library by herself. I just gather books while she is there. She already knows the lady so it is easier for her to participate more.

 

Other than that, she will ask me to do some cutting. I jsut give her pages of old catalogs for her to practice her skills. Yesterday she could not cut enough. She is now able to make long cuts. She get frustraded if she does not do it right, so rather than giving her kumon books I use the catalogs. Soon, however, I will give her the kumon books.

 

I was rather stressed out about starting a plan. Then I decided to just take one day at a time and follow my guts and allow her to decide what she would like to work on.

 

She speaks two languages fluently, knows all the letters, and needs work with numbers. She is kind of compassionate and these, for me, are the best skill she could have learned.

 

Be well

 

Miriam

[Jumping In Puddles]

For that age there are some fun resources to start working with her in a fun way.

 

DVDs:

 

Leap Pad Letter Factory

Sesame Street ABCs

Sesame Street Numbers

 

 

Kumon has some great workbooks for cutting, pasting or tracing skills that you can pick up at Target.

 

 

\

 

Totally agree here!

 

Leap Frog Letter Factory is a GREAT dvd!

The Kumon cutting/pasting workbooks are just right.

 

Handwriting Without Tears preschool book has been good for my daughter and she loves it.

[St. Theophan Academy]

This is the sort of thing we will be doing with my 4 year old this year.

 

http://sttheophanacademy.blogspot.com/2008/09/preschool-ideas.html

[dcjlkplus3]

For my dd we did not realy do preschool, just lots of reading and coloring, puzzles and stickers.

My ds3.5 sees his big sisters doing school, so he wants to too. He does Mighty Minds, puzzles, Comprehensive Curriculum Preschool (Costco $11) as well as reading, coloring and puzzles (he loves puzzles)

[melissel]

After much postings and reading about the pre-school, I arrived at the conclusion that my dd is better off if I just listen to her needs. So, I enrolled her at a dance (movement) class and at a music play group, in addition to park day and other play dates. She just turned 3 last month and she is an observer. I figured that being in a "class" of some sort will help her. The first dance class, she purely observed. She stands there and watches. Then, we go home and she says: we did this (and demonstrates) today. I liked it. So, after few classes, she will join in. She also goes to a reading time at the library by herself. I just gather books while she is there. She already knows the lady so it is easier for her to participate more.

 

Other than that, she will ask me to do some cutting. I jsut give her pages of old catalogs for her to practice her skills. Yesterday she could not cut enough. She is now able to make long cuts. She get frustraded if she does not do it right, so rather than giving her kumon books I use the catalogs. Soon, however, I will give her the kumon books.

 

I was rather stressed out about starting a plan. Then I decided to just take one day at a time and follow my guts and allow her to decide what she would like to work on.

 

She speaks two languages fluently, knows all the letters, and needs work with numbers. She is kind of compassionate and these, for me, are the best skill she could have learned.

 

Be well

 

Miriam

 

Good for you. Follow her lead and you really can't go wrong at this point.

[Year Round Mom]

I just wrote this in another post, but I'm taking this pre-school year to develop my philosophy of education. I have read or am reading The Latin-Centered Curriculum by Andrew Campbell and How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler. I've also researched Charlotte Mason a bit. I'm considering what books/curriculum I'm going to use next year in kindergarten and beyond!

 

But practically speaking, we're working through a good books list I found at Christine Miller's Classical Christian education website. My son learned all his letters and sounds with LeapFrog videos. So, I bought Phonics Pathways to keep going on the reading (which I'm not really pushing yet).

 

We also are having him memorize verses (i.e. the Lord's Prayer), songs (Jesus Loves Me, Doxology) and some lists, like the days of Creation and the 10 commandments. DS actually gets a kick out of reciting all this stuff!

 

DS is obsessed with sea creatures so we read, read, read books, books, books! He knows so much about sharks already!

 

In short, we don't do anything formally yet. I'm still forming my philosophy!

[brasilmom]

This is the sort of thing we will be doing with my 4 year old this year.

 

http://sttheophanacademy.blogspot.com/2008/09/preschool-ideas.html

 

I looked up your blog and liked your idea a lot. It seems like a very good work you are doing. My dd is really into spelling now and everyone we go she spells the words. I am not sure how read she is to read, so I just feed the spellings. Writing she does as she pleases and I keep tracing letters available at her table so she can do it whenever. I may adopt a version of your planning and see how it goes.

 

Thanks for sharing. Be well

 

Miriam

[SmallChanges]

A good resource that I am currently using is homeschoolshare.com. They have lapbooks, minibooks, etc. You can choose a story to read for the week, and add in a letter or a number for the week, nursery rhymes, songs... I have a couple of posts available on my blog with some of the things that my pre-schooler has done. This is a great stage! HTH:001_smile:

[Titus.Two.Five]

For a 3.5 year old, I would just:

 

read to him alot

spend plenty of time outdoors exploring

give him plenty of time, space, and materials to be creative (arts/crafts)

 

About a year from now, I would keep doing the above and add in a good phonics program.

[~Sunny~]

I did just diff weorkbooks I found at the store that were her level and then got Hooked on Phonics getting ready to read or one of those (the whole kit) and used that.

[alansrock]

BFIAR is what we did in part and then ABC Fun & 123

[Guest HSNonTheFarm]

Angel Bear Yoga was mentioned in this thread, I'm considering this for my dd4 and I have another daughter on the way. How do your preschoolers like this program? Is it worth the asking price/shipping? dd loves to dance and stretch, I'm thinking she would enjoy beginning yoga.

 

THANKS,

 

TONI

[angela in ohio]

Mine are 12, 10, and 6. Here is my advice:

 

Read to her constantly. Learn nursery rhymes and memorize poems. Count things everywhere you go.

 

And when you're not reading, go on "field trips." Her later educational success will hinge on the "real world" experience she has, and now is an easy time to get it all in before academics takes up a lot of time (which is where we are at now, and am I glad we went everywhere when they were younger.)

 

Educate yourself. Learn Latin, read up on different homeschool styles, study world and American history...

 

Start to form the habit of sitting and writing quietly for five minutes at a time and build up from there. A child who can sit at the table for an hour to an hour and half at the start of kindergarten is a great child to homeschool! :)

 

Work hard on her character and discipline. Examine any areas you/she struggle with (she will model after you,) and deal with them now. This will set the stage for a successful homeschool experience.

[TracyR]

For 3 1/2 I used Leap Frog DVD's and if you don't have TV they have a board game that follows the concepts of the videos.

The Kumon workbooks are great if she likes workbooky stuff.

Tot School

This is a great blog to help give you more ideas on what to do with a toddler. She has a list of other blogs too that follow Tot School and I've gained many wonderful ideas from these families :>)

[Guest sarathan]

Check out Carol's Affordable Curriculum http://www.carolscurriculum.com/. I used it for two years and we loved it! :)

[gracesteacher]

The PE we do at our house is Move n Groove. There are three different DVDs out and my dd gets her dancing stretching and movement and now so does mommy!

We do the leap frog videos SigningTime CDs now that we know the signs to the songs, Kinderbach video to see the concepts, books about what ever she is interested in. We have talked so much about space she was the only two year old that I knew that could not only tell you the order of the planets but facts about them. She has a microscope that we use to look at things as well as a telescope. She loves her globes. We talk about different countries and play map tangle and Hop Off. We do calendar time and that helped her with her numbers. She helps with making her playdough and we talk about the measurements of the ingredients and how fun it is to mix it! She has playtime and mommy has time for herself. We do lots of songs and change the words and see how silliy we can make the songs to get her vocab and creativity up. We try to make workbooks available to her when she wants to do lots of crafts materials. We take nature walks in the front yard. I ask her lots of questions and she does the same. I am not ready to commit to sit down school and try to make learning her type of fun.

[jewel7123]

I am also doing Little Hands to Heaven with my 3 1/2 year old dd and my almost 2 dd. They are loving it so far!

 

http://www.heartofdakota.com/little-hands.php

[runningirl71]

Angel Bear Yoga was mentioned in this thread, I'm considering this for my dd4 and I have another daughter on the way. How do your preschoolers like this program? Is it worth the asking price/shipping? dd loves to dance and stretch, I'm thinking she would enjoy beginning yoga.

 

THANKS,

 

TONI

 

I haven't used it yet, but it is on my wishlist at Amazon. I hope someone who has used it will give us a review. I'm excited about it and would love to hear what others thought!:)