First and foremost I must say on this topic “Show your child various formats to learn from.” By this I mean not every child is going to learn great by using workbooks or textbooks. Some kids are more auditory learners meaning they learn eaiser and faster by hearing. For this type of learner I recommend using educational music, books on tape, and just leaving the tv on a good educational program during play time. I have first hand experience with this one. My cousin has a son that is only 2 weeks older than Autumn and while I was living with my mother I would teach both of them. At first I found it hard and down right frustrating trying to find ways to get him to focus for at least 5 minutes. Autumn on the other hand had no problem sitting down at the easel will Mommy played teacher or while we counted crayons and named the shapes in the room. Then one day there he his my cute little cousin telling Auntie that her shirt is red and so is his truck. It was then that I realized that even though he wasn’t physically participating in the activity and he was off doing his own thing he was still “hearing” everything going on and those 5 minute sessions was all he wanted/needed.
Then again there are kids that are more hands on. These little learners love to learn by physical activity. Count the cars 60 different times and they still love it. If your child fits in this category try setting up learning centers around the house. Here’s an example of something I did for Autumn: She has one station that has nothing but musical instruments and things that make different noises. This is great for music ed and sensory teaching (primarly differences between loud and soft noises). Another station has her blocks, some stuffed animals, and a few other multiple objects. Great for math (counting, patterns, sorting). Oh yeah, can’t forget about the writing station. Her table has three different diaper wipe tubs (crayons, markers, colored pencils). She gets paper from mommy and has a blast. One day I gave her a pen and she drew an elephant (no kidding it really looked like an elephant!).
If all else fails try a workbook. Retailers like Target, Walmart and Kmart have these in their books section. I loved them when I was little. It was way for me and my mom to sit down be comfy and have a nice relaxed learning session. Autumn loves them too and I use them reinforce what has been covered for the week. Flashcards are also a great resource. Best thing is you can make them just using some blank index cards. Autumn and I love to keep some flashcards of our new stuff in her “mermaid bag” so when we’re out and about somewhere with a little down time we can review.
Of course not everyone fits into a specific category. If you’re child is like mine you have to mix it up and keep it fresh. Not only is that good for them but it gives us parent teachers something new so we don’t get bored with the same old thing too. I’ve found that for Autumn a good combination of educational tv, computer software, workbooks, and just creative educational playtime makes a happy child that loves to learn no matter what time of day it is or the location.
Remember these key rules and designing your preschool curriculum will fall into place.
1. DETERMINE LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In order to outline a program that will include fun for your child and make sense for his or her developmental stage, consult a few skills lists for your child’s age. SmarterKids.com provides a developmental checklist you can go through to evaluate your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
2. CHOOSE MONTHLY THEMES
After you have established learning goals for your child, you can browse through some preschool websites to search for themes. Ideas for themes can be seasonal (fall, winter, spring, holidays) or they can introduce subjects, such as art, music, the alphabet or numbers. For example, bears can be a wonderful theme for toddlers.
3. ORGANIZE YOUR RESOURCES
Now for the fun part. Cruise the preschool websites at this topic to choose fun activities, songs, coloring pages, poems, games, crafts to go with your theme.
As you gather your activities, book titles, craft projects, booklists, and other resources set up favorites folders and physical file folders as you go, labeling them according to the themes.
4. PLAN YOUR MONTHS
It will help you to stay focused if you lay out a plan on paper, writing out the activities to use each week or month and where to find them. To save time use one of the charts at Worksheets Unlimited .
5. ADD A FEW FUN FIELD TRIPS
Find a few local points of interest to visit with your preschooler related to the theme, if possible. But if not, just get out once a week or so and take time exploring your community.
6. MAKE LISTS
The final step to step, if you choose to do this, is to create “To Do” lists and “Materials Needed” and booklists to ensure that the supplies to do the crafts and activities are available when you need them. Don’t do this until a few weeks before you will need them since your plans will probably change.
7. STOCKPILE BASIC SUPPLIES
We have a small stash of various craft supplies in our garage stored in clear plastic shoe boxes and stacked in a large bookcase. Basic art supplies such as glue, scissors, stickers, colored pencils, markers are stored on a low shelf of a linen closet for easy access.
Start saving and gathering supplies such as:
Cereal boxes (flattened for easy storage)
Small magnets
Oatmeal boxes
Plastic baskets from strawberries or tomatoes
Styrofoam trays from produce
Used white paper (for using back-sides)
Shoelaces
Plastic peanut butter jars
Colorful junk mail and catalogs
Frozen juice lids
Wallpaper scraps
Fabric scraps
Ribbon, yarn, string
Cotton balls
Clear contact paper
Old shirts for paint smocks
Old plastic tablecloth
Fly swatters (to use with bubble liquid outside)
Wire coat hangers
Freezer paper
Brown paper bags, large and small
Craft sticks
Plastic baby wipe boxes
Pipe cleaners or chenille stems
Used file folders
Used greeting cards
Cookie cutters
Metal brad fasteners
Various tape and glue
Boxes of various sizes
Coloring books
Rubber bands
Discarded socks
8. KEEP PERSPECTIVE AND ENJOY YOUR CHILD
