I use the term "curriculum" loosely. We won't be purchasing any curriculum for the upcoming year, but I will be following a plan that I'm formulating based on Littlemiss's interests and abilities. It's based around play. I'm using Homeschool Creations "Weekly Homeschool Planner" to plan out our days, weeks, and months. We will have daily activities mapped out for four days a week, which may turn into three days if I've been overzealous in my expectations. During those days we will spend 45 minutes to an hour (or longer if she's interested) doing learning activities together. The plan is mostly for me, so that I am purposeful in my time with her and have something to refer to daily. I will be using various resources we have around our house, online, and hands-on learning I think she will thoroughly enjoy, paired with literature. This will be our pre-homeschooling year. This year gives me time to explore homeschool curriculums to consider for the next year.
With a plan in place, my desire is to meet Littlemiss where she is at. I could write a post on following the lead of the child, but I feel Carissa at 1+1+1=1 has done a great job writing a post on following the lead of your preschooler. And maybe I will write one in a month when Littlemiss has decided she doesn't like the plans I've set up for this year. And that will be ok too. Well, I've got the monthly themes outlined, but I've only planned out the first month. So I've dodged that bullet! I've also built the plans based on knowing what she enjoys doing and how she likes to learn best. She is truly excited about reading and math. She likes to sit with me and learn. I have to tell her, "Right now is not a good time to do Mommy school. Would you like to help me make dinner (or whatever else I'm doing)?" I may write more on this later.
BooBoo is 22 months old, and although I don't have his learning mapped out for the year, I will have a Learning Center set up with different toys each week. We will be focusing on colors, shapes, letters, fine motor skills, imaginative play, and sensory play. I really love 1+1+1=1's Animal ABC's, so we will likely be including some of the print outs during one-on-one learning time with him. He will be included in most of the learning I will be doing with Littlemiss as well, so he will be learning right beside her :) One of the many things I love about homeschooling.
Littlemiss will be 4 at the end of September. The areas we will be focusing on and resources we will be using:
Bible:
-The Jesus Storybook Bible: I am in love with this Bible. Every story points to Jesus Christ. It is full of elaborate pictures and is beautifully written. We will read a story each day during breakfast. I find that breakfast is a great time to read the Bible, because they are seated and still (for the most part).
-Child Training Bible: This is basically a reference Bible that has scriptures to refer to for teaching godly behavior for specific ungodly behaviors (unforgiveness, wrong friendships, tattling, quarreling, pride, etc.). Definitely a Bible I will have on hand all the time!
-Fruits of the Spirit: We will have a fruit of the spirit/character trait for each month that I will encourage and foster. A resource I will be using for this are Bible lessons on the fruits of the spirit from Raising Arrows.
-Scripture memorization: We will memorize a new verse each week that correlates with our fruit of the spirit. Ann Voskamp, writer of "A Thousand Gifts" and blogger at A Holy Experience, emphasizes scripture memory as a family throughout their day. Oh, I'd love to adopt some of these habits of endlessly muttering, repeating, and chewing on scripture throughout each day! That's a goal for me. "Without the lens of his word, the world warps."-Ann Voskamp I could quote her all day :)
{Another resource I just caught wind of recently and am interested in are Christian catechisms. Specifically a book called, "Small Talks on Big Wisdom," that teaches Christian doctrine. We may be adding to our Bible time or changing it up a bit as the year goes on, especially since we will likely read through the Jesus Storybook Bible.}
Reading: This summer I reevaluated Littlemiss's reading readiness skills and started teaching her reading of two and three letter words through the Montessori method. I wrote a blog about her reading readiness signs and her specific interests in reading, Preschool Plans 2013-2014: Beginner Reader. I have her reading plans mapped out for every day for the first month. Full of hands on methods for learning to read. Pinterest has a TON of ideas! Throughout the year I will progress through the Montessori reading method at the pace she dictates.
-Montessori Pink Series: This basically teaches all the two and three letter words. Connecting words to objects using phonics to sound out and then spell the words. There are many resources online to teach reading this way, and it seems to be favorable for the young reader. Montessori for Everyone has simple instructions on how to set up Pink Series work. Teachers pay Teachers has free Pink Series printables as well. Check out my blog post, Preschool Plans 2013-2014: Beginner Reader, to see how I am going to introduce letters.
-Bob Books: These are fabulous books that seem to align well with Montessori method of teaching reading.
-Read Alouds: Each day I will read aloud chapter books to the kids for 20-45 minutes. Really as long as their wriggly bodies will listen. This will likely be before nap when they are ready to relax. We will be reading Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter, Charlotte's Web, etc.
{I was just given access to the curriculum "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and we may be incorporating this later on in the year as well if it fits.}
Science: I personally love science and I find it the easiest subject to "teach" given the young child's curiosity. So to feed Littlemiss and BooBoo's curiosities we will be exploring and learning around a theme each month:
-Insects
-Weather
-Human Body
-Astronomy
-Music
-Zoology
-Pond Life
-Botany
-Ocean Life
{Pinterest has become a HUGE resource for planning fun, hands-on learning based on these themes.}
Math: I have really been drawn to Montessori style of teaching math in a very hands-on way. We are not by any means a Montessori home, although I love their methods. Like reading, this is a subject area I will be reevaluating throughout the year and adding goals as we go along. So far my goals are:
-Counting to 100: Using the Montessori 100 board to reinforce letter recognition and counting, counting objects to 100, and counting the days we are in school.
-Place Value: During our calendar time we will be counting the days in school with popsicle sticks and grouping them by tens and then tens by 100. Montessori has some great resources for teaching this as well. I will have to wait to get my hands on some of these materials since they are a tad pricey.
-Simple Addition and Subtraction: Adding and subtracting with objects, toys, whatever we have lying around. Then introducing mathematical symbols and building from there.
-Money: Identifying coins and teaching her how to purchase items with her saved up money.
We have a lot of other math games that teach spatial awareness and various abstract thinking skills. Such as blocks for building, Tangram puzzles, etc.
Whatever activities we do with math this year, it will be very hands-on with lots of manipulatives. I have happened upon a method of teaching math called "living math." It seems very hands on, and I'd like to learn more about it, so I will be reading Loving Living Math. Also, the blog The Adventures of Bear has been a great encouragement to me pursuing Montessori math. She has some great ideas and the Montessori materials in action.
Fine Motor: This is an area Littlemiss needs some extra work. Not that she has to be writing at her age, she doesn't really care to color at all. She never really has been the kid who sits and colors. She really isn't interested in it. Thanks again to Pinterest, I have looked up different fine motor work to do each day that will help strengthen this skill.
Each day of the week has a fine motor skill we will work on:
-playdough
-weaving/lacing/tying with fabric/strings/ribbons
-cutting with scissors
-drawing on paper or drawing in sand/salt (or any other sensory material)
The daily activities will sometimes work its way naturally into our plan that day. For example the cutting work on the first week is cutting out shapes that correspond with the insect art activity for that week.
I also purchased a work book that focuses on building writing skills. I'm not pro workbooks for her age, but I think she will enjoy it as some independent work time, and it will be a fun way to engage her fine motor skills.
Art:
There is an artist I will expose them to each month. On Tuesdays we will read books about the artist and look at the methods he/she used. During the month we will use those methods (or something similar) to create an art piece based on the artist. I may even brave the art museum with the kids. No worries, if it doesn't work out, The Children's Museum is close by :)
These are the artist we will study:
-Claude Monet
-Henri Mattise
-Frida Kahlo
-Vincent Van Gogh
-Pablo Picasso
-Henri Rousseau
-Andy Goldsworthy
-Georgia O'Keefe
-Michaelangelo
Anholt's Artist series is a great book series that teach about artists and their lives. I've been fortunate enough to find them at our local library.
We will also be doing fun, open-ended art projects. Some based on our monthly theme, and others just for fun.
Sensory Play:
I will have sensory play built into our monthly themes. The plan is to have a sensory bin for each months theme that the kids can access. Check out this article on the importance of sensory play by Twodaloo. Littlemiss really enjoys messy sensory play. Like when we play with shaving cream she wants to cover her whole body in it! The Learn Play Imagine blog has great messy play ideas I will look to.
Outdoor Play:
I've built this into our schedule to make me more purposeful about going outside with the kids. I know it is SO good for them, but I have a hard time making myself drop the laundry and cleaning to go outside with them. Not just for their vitamin D intake for the day, but for them to get some gross motor actions going and to enjoy open-ended and often messy play.
To change it up a bit, the outdoor time is a bit different each day:
-Bikes (cul de sac)
-Yardwork (they will "help" me or play)
-Backyard
-Park
Real Life:
A chore chart is in the works. Littlemiss has started helping a lot with chores and cooking, but I thought it might help keep her on track if she had a visual. She often goes upstairs to get dressed and I end up finding her 5 minutes later playing with her dolls in her pajamas. Not atypical for a preschooler, so a chore chart will be a good visual motivator. I've been purposefully asking her if she wants to help me with everything I do around the house. This has been a huge change and often challenge for me. It is MUCH easier to do it all myself, but the rewards of her learning to clean, cook, and be a contributor around our house is much more important. I've loved spending the time with her too.
Family Service Projects:
This is something I am especially excited about. I want Littlemiss to have a heart that desires to put others first. I want her to empathize with others. I want her to see that there are people in need all around us, and then equip her to find ways to help them and love them where they are. I think one of the best things we can do as a family is to give from the bounty God has provided us. There is no joy is storing up our treasures for our own gain, but there is much joy in giving to others. I am no good at this most of the time, but I can feel God stirring this within me. I am prayerfully approaching this as I search for ideas to include Littlemiss and BooBoo in serving others. If you have any ideas or have done service projects as a family, please leave me a comment about it!
I know this seems like a lot to plan out for a preschooler, but I know I am more purposeful in my time with her when I formulate a plan. I am drawn to Charlotte Mason's holistic approach to teaching as well. I wrote a short post about my inspiration here. It's not the sitting down and teaching her time that is the most important, it's the way I set up our home and the way we live together and in daily communion with God.
I am linking up with the ginormous homeschool blog hop hosted by the iHomeschool Network. Check all the other fabulous curriculum ideas here.
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