Anyone use Memoria Press Preschool for a 3 year old?

[3 ladybugs]

I am on a roll with my older child (finally!!) so I started to look at curriculum for my younger child. He is just over 2 now, but I like to know where I am headed. He seems to want to be like his big brother and "do school" so I was thinking maybe next year we should get him something.

 

This is advertised for 2-3 but I think it is a bit above him right now.

 

Did anyone use it before? How many weeks is it? It seems to have 4 days a week, which seems odd as Jr. K is only 2 days a week. What am I missing? What age do you think is ideal for it? How long did it take you to complete it everyday? Does a child have to have very strong language skills to "get" the program? My son talks in both English and a bit of German but he doesn't repeat back full sentences that he hasn't heard before yet.

[kalusignan]

I'm using it with my 3-year-old this year. Without getting it out right now, I believe we're on Week 9 out of 35 or 36 weeks.

Yes, it's 4 days a week. However, it's very gentle and really reminds me of Five in a Row because you read the same story every day. And, IMO, way better than FIAR because it tells you exactly what to do each day! I used to do FIAR with my older dd, but I just don't have time for all the planning and prep.

MP Preschool takes us about 30 minutes a day, but most of that is because I'm supplementing Math and Reading since my dd3 is beyond what is included for those sections. I think the recommendation for 2-3 years old is very appropriate. Math sections include things like counting to 10. It doesn't require strong language skills IMO. If anything, it would really help a child that needs work in that area because the TG prompts you to discuss the book and what you read and see on the page (point to the big horse, point to the little horse, is it night or day, etc.)

We don't stress about completing it every day. My dd tends to ask to 'do school', so I save it for those times when she is interested and I have a few spare minutes.

Also, I get most of the books from my library. I did purchase of few of the ones that were not available through my library, but overall I didn't spend much. So far we've liked all of the selections.

Hope that helps.

[Kristie in Florida]

I have it, but my toddler is way to young for it currently. The more I look at it each week though to gauge readiness, the more I realize that it doesn't fit my particular vision of what preschool is. I'd sell it but the books will come in handy someday and he already colored all over parts of the plans. It's a very expensive coloring book.

[tofindwisdom]

I am using Memoria Press Preschool for my 3.5 year old.  We gave it try last year when she was 2.5, and she was just more interested in playing than "doing school" and I was too busy with the older and younger siblings.  At 3.5 years old, she is asking to do school but still gets distracted by the desire to play or to be independent.  That said, she is enjoying it.  She knows her letter sounds and can count to ten so I am supplementing with PreK workbook sheets ("The Complete Book of Numbers and Counting" and "Everything for Early Learning").  I am also trying to go through the 100 Easy Lessons reading book, but both of us find it painful; still looking for a more suitable reading program for us at this stage.

 

To answer your specific questions:

 

Did anyone use it before?  2.5 years and stopped

How many weeks is it?  34 weeks

It seems to have 4 days a week, which seems odd as Jr. K is only 2 days a week. What am I missing?  I think Jr. K is only 2 days because it's more advanced, and the school's program is likely structured that way.  You could ask here to be sure: http://forum.memoriapress.com/forumdisplay.php?3-Classical-Curriculum

 

What age do you think is ideal for it? 3 year olds

 

How long did it take you to complete it everyday? We don't do it in one sitting so I'm not sure.  I fit it in here and there when it makes sense.  For example, she is more captivated during snack and lunchtime (no toy distractions).

 

Does a child have to have very strong language skills to "get" the program? I would say no.

 

To sum up, I don't think it's the program itself that was too advanced for her.  She just wasn't ready to have a structured time of learning.  As others have mentioned, the program is very gentle.  Highlights for her so far:

 

- Making fruit salad

- Counting raisins

- Saying the recitation verse

 

Hope this is helpful!

[tofindwisdom]

If other readers are interested in learning more, here is the MP PreK curriculum page with a sample lesson plan:

 

http://www.memoriapress.com/curriculum/preschool-curriculum

[Guest Colomama]

We use memoria press preschool with a 2 year old and it works just great. As others have said, it's very gentle.

 

I can't imagine splitting it up, it's so quick to start with. We usually do it as our wind down to nap time. It usually takes 20 minutes, tops. I love that it clearly guides me in reading and discussing a picture book. It has review weeks built in where you can choose any of the read alouds from the previous 4 weeks or so and re read them. My daughter has clear favorites that she loves to hear.

 

In the classical fashion, it does have recitation. Our recitation has been singing the alphabet and counting to five. My daughter can now nearly say the entire alphabet and can count to 5 and we're on week 8 or 9 I believe.

 

Comparing preschool at 4 days to jr. K at 2 days. This is simply how it's set up at their actual brick and mortar school. Their year before kindergarten (typically called preschool, but kind of confusing in this context) is just 2 days per week. No writing has been required yet, we're just focusing on increasing attention span to last through the read aloud (no problem for my kid, but could be an issue for others) and pointing with just a pointer finger at objects upon request (big horse, little horse as stated above).

 

Language skills. Complete sentences aren't required. You're just modeling proper sentence structure. Example, you- what is the mouse doing? Child- cooking. You- that's right. The mouse is cooking. The mouse is cooking cookies in the kitchen. Theres no expectation that your child parrots that back to you, they're simply absorbing it.

 

I think its great. We'll be moving on to Simply Classical B next year because I don't think my dd will be ready for the beginning writing required in jr. K.

 

BTW my dd turns 3 Dec 1, if that helps compare ages more specifically for you. We started at the beginning of the school year, but it doesn't get done every week. We try, but life can get crazy and doing school with the older kids takes precedence.

 

Would be happy to answer any other questions as it seems I'm the only one who's currently in the trenches with it.