One of the many things on my mind this summer has been gathering resources for setting up a basic preschool structure for my two-year old this fall. A part of this planning has included brainstorming my goals for the endeavor.
What I hope to achieve:
- A basic structure for our days to follow
- Planned activities that engage my daughter and introduce her to new concepts
- Time spent together
What this isn't:
- An attempt to turn my two-year old into a genius
- Preparation for Kindergarten
- Something I want to bring added stress into my life!
I hope to keep our days simple and balanced. I have decided to follow the weekly and monthly themes from a preschool curriculum book found at a used bookstore and add in or subtract themes as I see fit.
I want to incorporate the following activities with each theme:
I want to incorporate the following activities with each theme:
- Reading
- Music and Poetry
- Play
- Crafts
- Activity
For example one of my first themes is Color Days... on Blue Day we will:
- Read - Blueberries for Sal
- Sing - Little Boy Blue
- Play - Have a Scavenger Hunt for blue toys
- Craft - Color a picture of things that are blue, play with blue play-dough, make a collage of different shades of blue paper.
- Activity - Take a walk, talk about the blue sky and anything else we see in the neighborhood that is blue.
Each activity requires minimal time and resources. They can be done in any order and are flexible to be fit in throughout the day or left out all together. I hope that with a little planning and realistic thinking, Helen and I will find a good balance of learning, play, and time together - even with a new baby sister thrown into the mix!
I hope to share the following with you over the next few weeks:
- Internet resources for home preschools
- Books and Music I recommend
- Our daily schedule and the implementation of that schedule
- More activities, experiences, and concepts to share with your toddler
Please share with me any ideas and resources you may know of!
I love that dimple perfect smile!
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful! I've been thinking of doing and have started doing the same, kind of working our way toward our eventual homeschooling.
ReplyDeleteOur days our pretty rhythmic and I've incorporarted learning opportunities into our play and art/craft projects. There are many inspiring blogs out there (The Artful Parent, SouleMama, Sew Liberated are some of my favorites). Lately I've been getting some good ideas from First Art (book). I've also read You Are Your Child's First Teacher, which is great!
Can't wait to see what resources you have found!
~Carrie
Stephanie - you are amazing and your daughter is so beautiful. I am totally jealous that you are organized and can think straight enough to come up with these activities! Can't wait to read more about how it's going!
ReplyDeleteYou plan like a seasoned homeschooler! Your plans are simple and lovely Stephanie. I can't wait to unpack our boxes and dive into my own planning for the school year. I'll probably just make it easy for myself and copy/paste your plans for Helen into Fulton's days. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, I also wanted to say that I love those 2 pictures. Your blog is really transforming into something lovely.
ReplyDelete