Tag Archives: preschool

Creating Your Own Preschool Homeschool Curriculum

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This year I decided I was tired of using the same old boxed curriculum. I know it works, but I had grown up with it, and I had taught it for 17 years. I needed a break. So, as my youngest became ready to start kindergarten I wanted to find something that was challenging yet different. Yet, I wasn’t able to find ONE curriculum that met my standards. So, I put together a collection of my own.

Here are a few of my ideas… some of them are a work in progress!

Math – I used a text I found on Complete Curriculum. I purchased this membership when it first went viral for $4.95! I believe it is $20 now, but you get 10 text downloads for that price. She also does a few days of Time4Learning.

Language Arts – I found two HUGE workbooks from Brain Quest. I also used several smaller workbooks( I found those for $1 each) that simply have work pages on each letter of the alphabet. We review and do pages on the same letter of the alphabet for several days to make sure that she completely understands each letter and its sound. She does several lessons each week in Time4Learning as well.

Science – She is with the other children (ages 8,11, and 11). We use Apologia and are studying Botany this year. We use the notebooking technique, and she is LOVING making a collection of what we study!

History – She also is with my older children, and we are using the Time Travelers History series. We have lots of projects, which she enjoys doing with us.

Handwriting – I am using some great handwriting worksheets from Spelling City.

We also bought several new puzzles and educational games (she had done ours till she had them memorized). With all of these options- each day can be different and exciting. I also try to break up the various study times with activities or outdoor field trips for science. Keeping her moving helps keep her excited and ready to learn!

 

Keeping Your Little Ones Engaged

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I must admit… my children are not calm. It is just a fact. From the time they are born they are ready to move, curious, inquisitive, and play rough. My girls enjoy playing baseball with their brother, and all six love to wrestle with daddy. What can I say? They have mountains of energy, and just sitting still for hours on end just doesn’t suit them. So, it truly has been a challenge over the years to keep the little ones busy while the older children study. I typically use a few simple resources/tools to help me accomplish this. Though my youngest will be going into kindergarten this year… I will still have a lot of time left over to keep her engaged with something other than getting the older children distracted! Here’s a few of my basic resources…

1) Have a stack of really interesting (their favorite things) worksheets and color sheets. At the preschool age my little guys loved dot-to-dot. They were just learning how to count and this made them feel so big!

2) Have puzzles and other cool quiet games on hand that are ONLY allowed to be used during this time. (Limiting their use keeps the interest level high!) Tangrams are great for this as well!

3) Have a high interest preschool program available for them. We use Time4Learning and Spelling City to help us with this.

4)I have loads of folder games left from when I taught first grade at school. We use these educational games in the early years to help fill in the gaps while momma is helping brother or sister with school work.

5) Pull the puzzle portion out of the Sunday paper and laminate it (if it’s a good one). They can reuse the puzzle over and over. I did this while the paper was printing those really neat depth perception pictures, and where’s waldo… I have them laminated, and my kids love to play with these. If all else fails, the backside has basic comics on it… that’s always fun!

Bubble Science for Preschoolers

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Making bubbles uses a scientific process, and can be a simple way to introduce preschool children to scientific investigation and exploration. I love preschool science!

1)     Begin by making a bubble solution.

  1.  ¼ c liquid dish soap
  2. ½ c water
  3. 1 tsp sugar
  • Ask the children questions about how the solution feels and how it looks.
  • Have objects available to make bubbles with (chenille stems, six pack holders, funnels, open ended tin cans, plastic straws)
  • Ask preschoolers questions about which tools made the best bubbles
  • Touch a bubble with a wet finger and then touch one with a dry finger… what happens?
  • Write down your preschooler’s discoveries and talk about them later

2)     Sing Pop! Goes the Bubble ( to the tune of Pop! Goes the Weasel)

Soap and water can be mixed.

To make a bubble solution

Carefully blow,

Now, watch it go!

Pop! Goes the bubble!

3)     Make a favorite bubble gum chart. Use empty wrappers on the left side to represent the types and then draw bars for each vote from your preschool children.

4)     Make a bubbly beverage-

6 oz frozen OJ

6 oz frozen limeade

6 oz frozen lemonade

6 oz frozen pineapple

1L lemon-lime soda

1L club soda

5)     Take a bubble bath – don’t you love homeschooling?! :0)

Teaching Your Child How to Read – Part 3

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Baby Step 3 – Special Sounds, One Vowel and Two vowel rules, and 3 letter words

By now your early learner is well on his or her way to reading. In fact, if they are anything like mine, they are already trying to jump ahead and read some. There may be some small words that they can go ahead and pick out. That’s great! At this point, I would suggest getting them some type of reading books that are on their level. The local library has plenty of these, and you can also invest in a set of Bob Books. There are several levels to these sets, but they are paperback and rather inexpensive. However, they are awesome for your beginner reader to gain confidence in their reading skills.

Your early learner is ready now for the one vowel and two vowel word rules. Once your child is at this point, you begin teaching them these rules. “If there is one vowel in a word it usually says it short sound.” and “If there are two vowels in a word the first one says its long sound and the second one is silent.” I usually have my daughter go through story print outs and mark her vowels. We then try to read the easy 3 letter words.

Special sounds are those consonant combinations that defy all English grammar rules. These are also called digraphs.  Combinations such as “sh”, “thr”, and “th”. I suggest printing out flash cards that help you explain these sounds and then review them regularly with your child.

As your child begins to comprehend the special sounds or digraphs, understands the one vowel and two vowel rules, he or she should be taking reading by leaps and bounds. Your worries are almost over! From here, the things to watch for are speed, flow, and comprehension. You will want to begin incorporating comprehension exercises into your daily reading. Warm up by asking a few questions about the subject they will be reading then ask the questions after they have finished reading.

What an awesome gift you  have given to a child. The key to wisdom and understanding lies in the ability to read!

Teaching Primary Language Arts

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Those beginning years as your child is developing his/her language and using it to create imaginative stories and interesting drawings are amazing. Those are the teachable moments to use as a springboard for the future. If you can get your very young child to create literary works and present them to an audience at a young age, then speaking to an audience as they get older won’t be such a big deal.

Research has also shown that children who read and write creatively as well as learn grammar and syntax are more competent in grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. However, children who learn grammar, vocab, and spelling separately without reading and writing don’t show the same levels of competency.

The goal is to encourage a well rounded experience within the language arts. Encourage reading and then express the “inflow” by creatively expressing themselves with writing. Here are a few tips to help you effectively encourage your primary learner in language arts.

  • Use English precisely, don’t talk baby talk or talk down to early learners.
  • Early learners are ready to compose stories way before they are capable  to write them down on their own. You can use this as a fun way to give them experience. Let them dictate a story to you as you write it down.
  • Don’t require extensive amounts of written work from your early learner. Do some of the work orally, or help them with their writing.
  • Help your children create their own books. Some of the most amazing books are ones that have been created from scratch. Hand sew several card stock pages together, and use cardboard to make a cover. You can even cover this with really interesting scrapbooking paper for an awesome little book.
  • Provide and audience for you children’s play. I can remember as a young child getting my sisters and dog together to put on a circus for my parents to come and visit… complete with tickets and “wild beasts.”
  • Allow children plenty of time for inventive play. Imagination is so important. In our modern technological age, children are daily being robbed of their imagination by television, video games, and computer. Shut off the electronics and go play!
  • Don’t purchase elaborate resources for your early learner. Simple handmade workpages that present single letters of the alphabet or ones that you and your child draw picture representations of are highly effective. Allow play even while learning. Keep your child interested and motivated, seatwork and intensive books and writing requirements will give them a tedious view of school. Keeping homeschooling interesting is a vital part of teaching the early learner.

Check out the book – The Power of Play by David Elkind