LM just started school and LL is still just a wee one and naps a lot.
So LB and I have some one-on-one time which we've never had before! :)
He will be 3 soon, and I wanted to come up with a simple plan for doing Preschool at Home with him this year. My plan includes planning and organizing preschool themes, preschool activities for learning, and crafts! Here's what I've come up with:
1. Weekly Preschool Theme - I decided to have a different theme each week as we do our activities and crafts. There are tons of fun themes (check out THIS huge list!) -- and here are the ones I'm planning to use over the course of the year (**subject to change, of course!**) Click on the Themes we've done so far to see what activities we did, and maybe even a few others we've done in the past with that theme!
(Oh, by the way, this Magnetic Calendar is AWESOME.
It's been perfect for our preschool at home. My kids have LOVED IT!)
September - Space, Bugs, Football, Trains
October - Fall, Pumpkins, Monsters,
November - Turkeys, Family Unity,
December - Presents, Candy Canes,
January (2013) - Penguins, Mittens , Alphabet, Winter
February - Valentine's Day,
March - Rainbows, St. Patrick's Day, Eggs, Bunnies, . Easter
April - Spring, Kites
May - Mother's Day
June - Father's Day, 4th of July
July - Faith, Miscellaneous....
August - School, Dinosaurs, Fruits & Vegetables, Planets
2. Appx. 3-5 Activities/Week - I'm realistically shooting for 3-5 activities/week to go along with the weekly theme. Some weeks I may have more time and energy and do more. And sometimes life gets busy and crazy and we might not get very many activities done.....but 3-5 is my realistic goal. Not too overwhelming, but enough to feel good about. :)
I love thinking up new and fun ideas, so I'll be brainstorming ideas for the upcoming themes throughout the week and write my ideas down in my Home Organization Binder, on a new sheet I made.
I'll plan a variety of activities each week that will be fun for LB. Among them will be crafts, games, fun foods, & learning activities focusing on colors, numbers, letters, shapes and other preschool concepts.
3. Preparation - After I brainstorm several ideas, I'll narrow it down to the top 3-5 ideas for that theme (focusing on which ones will be the easiest to do, and the most fun for LB!)
I'm much more likely to actually do these activities with LB if I get things ready before we sit down together. So, my plan is to spend a little time on Mondays getting everything ready. I'm going do all the prep-work, and get all the odds and ends together and put them in a gallon-size Ziploc bag so it's all ready to go! (the picture below shows all the activities I've prepared for our Space-Theme next week! Stay tuned........... !!)
Here are some other fun and useful tools to have for your Preschool at Home:
4. When? - 9:00am is a good Preschool time for us. LM is at school, LL is sweetly napping, and I am done reading my scriptures by then. As for what days---I guess it depends on the week. Some weeks LB and I might sit down and do an activity each day--and other weeks we might squeeze them all into 1 or 2 days--I'm not going to tie myself to a specific schedule since I know life can be unpredictable and I need to be flexible or I'll be stressed out. And a stressed out Mommy ain't no fun for nobody! :)
NEED CRAFT SUPPLIES? CHECK OUT THIS POST.
So that's the plan! If you think something like this would work for you too, then give it a try! If you want, you can even do the same themes and activities that I post about and save yourself oodles of time in planning it all out! You could see what I post about one week, then get everything ready and do that same theme the next week. And if you miss an activity or week here or there, no biggie. Just do what you can and enjoy having fun with your kids! :)
And bonus! You can have a great collection of craft ideas when you buy
**MY BOOK!**
Get your copy on Amazon (on sale!) for some super fun and easy to make craft projects for Holiday themes all year long!
And don't forget that more important than anything is READING to and with your children! Here are a few of our favorites:
(this post contains affiliate links)
13 comments:
Hi Linda -- I'm a fairly new follower of your blog and wanted to let you know that you have the most simple & realistic ideas that make more impact than some of the manufactured items found in stores. It's hard to put into words how I think your realistic and simple approach to crafting and teaching your children is so incredibly admirable. What a wonderful blog you have and you're a great person to share your ideas. Your children are beyond blessed to have you for a mom and thank you for sharing your wonderful talents with us.
xo,
Tracy
Oh I love this post! This is exactly what I've been looking for as a way to offer more structured activities for my 2 year old.
I get so much inspiration from your blog! I love your ideas because they are simple but VERY creative! I have been making my own planner for this year and I am working on fall. I like your planner very much and I think it will work great! Have a great start! I am looking forward to all your great activities!
I just love your blog! You give such wonderful ideas for our little ones!! I have been trying to plan preschool for my 2yo as well and will definitely be using some of your ideas! Thank you for sharing!!
yay! this is just what we need at our house! thank you!!
Those are some great themes! I'm a preschool teacher and might use a few of those for my class. :) What I'm wondering though...are you going to incorporate colors, shapes, the alphabet, tracing, and other concepts in your lessons? Just an idea to get him/her completely ready for his school preschool and/or pre-K classes.
Thanks for listing out your themes. My little guy just turned 3 and I've been wanting to do some more organized learning for him but didn't know how to begin. I've started doing "Calendar" time every morning and discussing the weather. I've also got a 9 month old, so things have been a lot busier than I thought I could manage. I'm totally using your schedule as a jumping off point. Thanks.
Good morning!!
What an awesome blog! The only problem is that I can only access the first week of September... Is my computer acting up or is there a secret step I'm missing?
TIA
Linda thank you for sharing all of this with the world. It's a wonderful resource for parents and educators be them professionals or aunts and uncles.
Your blog is an answer to prayer
Thanks for sharing
Slowly getting ready to set up my daughter's preK year and came across this post... so glad I did!! Love your themes and your "schedule." I love that you shared that you may do all the activities one day and/ or over the course of a week. It helps me breathe a sigh of relief because we often do that sort of thing for Tot School but for some reason I feel pressured (by myself) that we.must.do something every day.
Now I am off to explore more of your blog! New FB follower and I think I'm going to have to look you up on BlogLovin' too!
Kristina @ School Time Snippets
This is by far the most practical planning Ive seen. You and I think alike! I am so blessed by all of your ideas, thank you.
So I am just starting preschool for my little guy and some other little boys in town. I think I will use your ideas, because they seem PERFECT for attention spans, and for prep work for me! Thanks, Linda! You are the best!
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