Co-Op Ideas

[UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama]

Good morning! I am the lead teacher for a co-op class of 4 year olds (maybe some 5 year olds by second semester) who are not in kinder, but are too old/advanced for our 3 year old class.  Anybody have some fun ideas for things to cover?  Art projects to incorporate?  I am in the brainstorming stage and would love to hear from people more creative and experienced than I am.  Right now I would like to do a community helpers unit, "Math" (addition concepts, patterns, etc.), art and some language unit.  I have 8 weeks to work with and have the kids 3.5 hours.  We do PE for 45 minutes and I love free play, but I need to fill about an hour to an hour and a half of "instruction time" each morning.  

 

Thanks!!

[desertflower]

I don't know if this will work for a co-op, but my almost 4 yo loves song school spanish and latin.  If you get the spanish one, I would buy a turtle and rabbit puppet to go along with the songs.  I'm only up to song #14(?). 

 

I hope you find something. 

[ElizabethB]

My black and white charts and cards. Color them in, then make a few simle words with the cards. Probably will work better if you cut out cards yourself unless you have a lot of helpers. You can keep each child's cut out cards in a zip lock baggie with their name to keep them straight.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/Resources/40LChartsCombined.pdf

Edited September 9, 2016 by ElizabethB

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

Nature Exploration, Composer Study, Poetry, Artist Study... Each of these could take 15-30min & have engaging hands-on elements.

[vonfirmath]

I would put in a read aloud EVERY week. Choose a picture book or two to read. Maybe a finger play to go with it. You could put it in a theme. "Nursery Rhymes" "Fairy Tales" etc. Then do activities to correlate.

 

My daughter LOVES playdough. or playing with funnels and beans. And painting with glue. Pretty much anything even slightly messy.

 

Oh and watch when you do PE. Some kids have a hard time settling down at this age after coming back in.  Will there be a bathroom break? That's a long time to have kids without one.

 

Another time -- could you take chalk outside and let them draw on the sidewalks?

 

Craft projects that involve cutting on lines but are very forgiving of mistakes. The kids at that age usually love to cut. Maybe cutting paper into little pieces, then attaching that with glue to another picture? Brads to make crafts that actually move goes over well, as does making masks and head-pieces.

 

I've taught songs with sign language words (So sing and do the sign language with their hands.) and gotten kids interested in learning and repeating.

 

 

[UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama]

Great ideas!!  The PE schedule is already set, because we are a large co-op and the gym is used each block.  We have Welcome and free play, some instruction (circle time with music, read aloud and craft is my plan now), PE, snack, and MAYBE another activity (like a nature walk or "stations").  I love your ideas and will try to incorporate them.  I think I'll have each child rotate bringing a favorite book from home, which they will love!!  

 

Oh...and we have a bathroom in our room, so yes...there are plenty of potty breaks.  :) 

 

Thanks so much everybody!!

[AimeeM]

I would grab the curriculum manual for Memoria Press Junior K and pull the read alouds' enrichment portion, alongside their Junior K Craft Book (which coordinates with the read alouds). The enrichment would be (if it's like the higher levels of enrichment) inclusive of some language skills' teaching.

[CelticHaiku]

Science with baking soda. Just search online and you will find lots of simple but engaging activities.

[Hilltopmom]

Read alouds with go along activities- FIAR would be too high level, but Before FIAR titles would be good.

 

Or just pick your own books/ themes: any of the Eric Carle books, Rainbow Fish, Chicka Chicka, etc.

then Google for go along activities:)

 

Themes- bugs, dinosaurs, birds, Pirates, trucks, castle times, princesses, shapes, colors, circus, ocean, forests, deserts, holidays.... Find a book or two & some fun activities to go with ( try to vary go along activities between art projects, gross motor, music, sensory, etc.. Not just a craft project)

 

I'd also set up centers for the kids to rotate through- table top activities ( beading, lacing, matching games, etc), art, playdo, sensory bin, Lego, blocks, kitchen, gross motor, dress up.... ( do you have a storage area? Big bins you can stack work out ok if you don't have a permanent space but do have a closet or part of a storage room)

 

Add music & seasonal finger-plays too

 

Have fun, that's my fav age group to teach!

Edited October 6, 2016 by Hilltopmom

[happycc]

We have a preschool coop right now and it is a science based coop. But a lot of skills are covered in that two hour period. 

The kids are using Bugs to Bunnies. 

 

I should mention that it is a co-op from preschool through high school.

The prek has a parent teaching them using Bugs to Bunnies 

 

The older kids (Elementary to Middle School) do BFSU.

The high schoolers are assistants/aides. Help if someone needs to go to the bathroom, help with spelling/writing, help with discussions, help lead a discussion, read a book, find materials, draw pictures etc

 

At the beginning and end of group everyone is included. We use the time to review or talk about what they learned or share their journals. We play a group game etc. 

Edited October 31, 2016 by happycc

[school17777]

Imagination Tree on facebook has lots of ideas for that age.

 

Some skills that the K-1 teachers like the preschool teachers to tackle are cutting and gluing with glue sticks because it seems like some kids in that age group have not used scissors or glue sticks prior to their class. I think Imagination Tree recently had a post about a cutting station on facebook within the last week.