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Who is doing Homegrown Preschooler?


Eagle
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Little Ds will be doing k4 this year and we will be doing many of the activities from the Homegrown Preschooler. I wanted to know who else is using this book or a Year of Playing Skillfully. Maybe we can use this thread for discussing how it is going, the prep work, highlights, etc.

 

I am trying to do a lot of prep this summer to make it more open and go during the year. Today I was at the lumber store buying the wood for the light and sensory table. I am looking forward to the light table the most. Has anyone else built the table yet? I have never built something like this, so for me it is really complicated. However, I am looking forward to the challenge.

 

I am still not sure if I need A Year of Playing Skillfully or if I can just piece together the activities in the HP book. If you decided to buy YPS, what attracted you to the curriculum rather than just using the book? To me the curriculum looks like the activities from the book (plus some new ones) grouped by theme with a few picture books added in. Maybe I am missing something?

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We start in September! The main reason I bought AYOPS is that I intend to re-use it year after year (since it's for ages 3-7), with siblings too, as our main curriculum until second grade. I knew I wanted as many ideas as possible to fill in those years.

 

I'll have to wait until tomorrow to pull out the book and give you a more detailed comparison between the two, but off hand, one of the advantages of AYOPS is that it is so clearly organized by month. Each month has its own supply list and list of activities divided by skill, and it's easy for me to cross out things we aren't doing with a vis a vis pen. It's easier to find things and tweak them with the pages in page protectors inside a binder than the book.

 

We haven't done the light and sensory table here either, though I hope to. I think there was a post about that on Farmhouse Schoolhouse? I'm on mobile or I'd try to find it. I'll try to post more tomorrow!

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When I was planning for the light table I did some searches online and found several preschool light table activities. Here are some of the things we plan to do:

 

Letter formation:

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Letter-Construction-Activity/dp/B00HT5H9SK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

Geometric shapes/pattern blocks:

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Translucent-Geometric-Shapes/dp/B00ISKWF6G/ref=pd_sim_229_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41R6FgKy1YL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=1DCZ51M2S8N6BGM2J9KZ

 

Cello sheets. I plan to laminate these to make them sturdier and Ds can use them for colour mixing:

https://www.amazon.com/Hygloss-Cello-Sheets-11-Inch-48-Pack/dp/B000K78HUI/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

We already own something similar to these magnetic transparent chips. I think we will use these for math:

https://www.amazon.com/Ajax-Scientific-Magnetic-Counting-Chip/dp/B00EPQLY1Y/ref=pd_sim_229_27?ie=UTF8&dpID=41Sv95VB7YL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=EKRSABHYNJEFY2V079ZA

 

Transparent cuisenaire rods!:

http://www.hand2mind.com/item/transparent-cuisenaire-rods-set-of-60/4524

 

There are many neat math manipulatives available for overhead projectors that would work well on a light table: transparent tangrams, geoboards, angle sets, geometric solids, etc.

 

And just for fun, ds's grandparents are planning to get him a transparent marble maze for Christmas:

https://www.amazon.com/Q-BA-MAZE-2-0-Spectrum-Color-Set/dp/B00OP9CGS6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

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I am planning on implementing a lot of the activities from Homegrown Preschooler this year for my 4 year old. I'm doing them along with Logic of English Foundations and Rightstart Math. I'll admit, my planning is a bit behind though! I've read through the book, and I love all the sensory activities (those are often easy to implement and so much fun for the kiddos). I'm looking forward to following this thread and seeing how others are implementing it in their homeschool!

Edited by happynurse
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I plan on starting in September with AYOPS with my 4 almost 5 year old daughter. I haven't read The Homegrown Preschooler but have decided to go with AYOPS because I am having a baby in August and I need something a little more laid out. I like the monthly themes, supplies lists, and one page activity checklist. I think if I had to pick and choose from THP I wouldn't do anything. This will be our first year and I plan to reuse this for the next few years as my toddler and baby get bigger. After this year I might get THP to add to the activities outlined in AYOPS.

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Building the sensory/light table has been a challenge, but a nice bonding experience with my Dad. We now have a few new tools we had never used before (the pocket jig is neat). The whole process really makes me appreciate how much effort it takes to properly build a piece of furniture. Also, I discovered Canadian lumber is slightly different than US lumber, for which we have needed to make a few adjustments.

 

We have all the wood cut and sanded, most of the holes drilled, and the stain selected (I colour matched it to our kitchen cupboards). Most importantly, we have the hole cut out for the bin, and the bin fits! My Dad took the top home and routered the edges so they are rounded. I spent quite a bit of time sanding the top so no one will get splinters.

 

I just hope that when we are done I am willing to let the kids make a mess of sensory things in the family room.

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What are the differences in the two books? Are there more activities in a year of playing skillfully? Or is it just more organized?

I only have the Homegrown Preschooler, but I understand that the plans for making the sensory/light table and outdoor easel are only in the Homegrown Preschooler, not in AYOPS.

 

I checked the projects for AYOPS in the sample month and they are different than the ones in HGP. Both are full of good ideas. I have decided to just stay with HGP for now as I have a ton of other resources I am using, so between HGP, things I've purchased, and Pinterest I can fill our day. :)

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  • 1 month later...

I finished the light/sensory table!! I am so proud of myself as I have never made anything like it before. It took 6 weeks and was WAY more work than I expected, probably due to my inexperience. Here it is:

 

image_zpsl9p1hbhd.jpeg

 

And here are the transparent c-rods. Ds was so excited!

 

image_zpsumztxkgb.jpeg

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That looks great! I haven't made mine yet.  :closedeyes: 

I discovered that there are virtually no toddler-friendly-sized transparent letters and numbers. I especially wanted lowercase letters. So I figured out how to make my own. I may end up making an etsy listing to see if anyone else is searching for them. It'd be nice if I could sell enough sets to pay for the materials I bought!

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That looks great! I haven't made mine yet. :closedeyes:

 

I discovered that there are virtually no toddler-friendly-sized transparent letters and numbers. I especially wanted lowercase letters. So I figured out how to make my own. I may end up making an etsy listing to see if anyone else is searching for them. It'd be nice if I could sell enough sets to pay for the materials I bought!

What did you make them out of? Pictures please! :)

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That looks Great! I knew my hubby wouldn't have time to build one with me so I took the lid off an old piano bench and put 2 plastic dish pans from Walmart inside it side by side. It gives my 2 children 2 different tubs to play in and the height is just right! They would be a bit nicer if they were recessed into a table but hay this works and took me only a few minutes with a screw driver and a few dollars for a tub. I had 1 extra already.

We are doing a lot of the activities from the homegrown preschooler as well as some from folk art and some orton gillingham/all about reading and rightstart math. Our also some Christian light K workbooks for my workbook loving preschooler...I figure a bit is OK as long as lots of other books and hands on learning is happening. I should mention that my older one using this book is actually in kindergarten answer is a beginning reader hence the RightStart and phonics instruction. I am planning to start in on teaching phonemes with my preschooler as well along with continued phonemic awareness. I am excited. We've done cloud dough already!

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