Educating my 3 year old

Deblondie1

Hey y'all! It's been a while since I contributed but I've been lurking for a while. I need a little help. 

Emily has been at the child development center since I was put on bed rest with my youngest. She is used to the schedule there but we need to scale back and can't afford it anymore since I took a cut going back to online school. She will start staying home again in two weeks. I am putting together a schedule for us to make sure she maintains socialization with her peers, something I failed miserably at when she was younger. We will do things like story time at the library, music and movement class, gymnastics, soccer, etc. 

Where I need help with is the "educational time" on the schedule. How can I do that with her? I have some time blocked out in the mornings but am at a loss on where to even start looking. I don't really want to sit down with a work book and have her learn by rote, ya know? Any suggestions are appreciated. 

Deblondie1

@LalaMama81 I have thought about looking into one. We just decided this last night so I need to research it a little bit more. Where does one start, besides Google? 

Andrewsgal

If I were you I would really be looking for some type of part time preschool. It is almost impossible to replicate the social aspect of a preschool with you there.

Deblondie1

dandelionhater said:

If I were you I would really be looking for some type of part time preschool. It is almost impossible to replicate the social aspect of a preschool with you there.

I'm in Google hell trying to find a part time preschool right now. Suuper fun... @NandaB the only things we would be paying for are gymnastics and soccer because she already does them and likes doing it. The other stuff is through the library and base for free already.

We don't really belong to a church so that makes it a little bit more difficult to find a preschool it seems. 

JENandJEH

Deblondie1 said:

dandelionhater said:

If I were you I would really be looking for some type of part time preschool. It is almost impossible to replicate the social aspect of a preschool with you there.

I'm in Google hell trying to find a part time preschool right now. Suuper fun... @NandaB the only things we would be paying for are gymnastics and soccer because she already does them and likes doing it. The other stuff is through the library and base for free already.

We don't really belong to a church so that makes it a little bit more difficult to find a preschool it seems. 

If by base you are talking a military base or post, they typically have CDCs or preschool programs.  Sometimes they fill up quickly but it may be worth looking in to.  Also, I know that many Army bases have a program called SKIES Unlimited and they have dance, gymnastics and other programs that are usually cheaper than gymnastics programs in the local communities.  

If Google is overwhelming, start with the local churches and look at their website to see if they have a preschool or mother's day out program.  Even the YMCA has a preschool program in our town so that may be a place to start, too.

dizzycooks

I second pinterest for activities or find a homeschooling curriculum you like.  At that age you might also consider doing something like a letter a week and finding activities around that.  It gives you some focus and allows you to be as creative as you want around that theme.  For example, we did the letter Bb, read books about bears and butterflies, made butterflies by putting tissue paper on contact paper, baked buns, and sorted beads.  We've done similar things with Nn, made an N out of tissue and hung it up, looked at our ABC books and paid attention to the letter Nn page practicing saying N words, and painted papers that I'd drawn the letter N on with white crayon.  I don't do a letter every week, but when I do, she has a lot of fun with it.  Another way we've done a theme is with our books.  I'll take out all the transportation books and we talk about trains/buses/cars, play with tractors and trains, make race tracks out of playdough for our cars, and draw roads on the driveway with chalk.  Mostly, we just try to have fun and learn that way.

Deblondie1

Gastro said:

I think it would be tough for a kid who has been in school to be taken out for being at home full time. I know this isn't always the case but the coop preschools in my area are significantly less pricey...you do have to participate occasionally though.

That's what I'm worried about, her transition. I found one co-op preschool in my area but it actually pricier than the others. Which is sort of weird, right? 

@JenandJeh We are actually taking her out of the CDC on base. The cost is just too much and ours doesn't offer part time. There are a few programs on base but not many.

JENandJEH

Deblondie1 said:

Gastro said:

I think it would be tough for a kid who has been in school to be taken out for being at home full time. I know this isn't always the case but the coop preschools in my area are significantly less pricey...you do have to participate occasionally though.

That's what I'm worried about, her transition. I found one co-op preschool in my area but it actually pricier than the others. Which is sort of weird, right? 

@JenandJeh We are actually taking her out of the CDC on base. The cost is just too much and ours doesn't offer part time. There are a few programs on base but not many.

Well that stinks.  We've always found MDO programs off base so I wasn't sure how the pricing compared.  Good luck in your search, I hope you find something!

Deblondie1

LalaMama81 said:

Oh, yea you totally don't have to belong to the church. At our nursery school of almost 200 kids, I'd say less than 20% are members. 

If you are on a base, surely you have people you can ask for direction in this. Even if their kids don't go, they may know their church has one, etc. Lots of towns have lists online, too. Our library did a preschool fair in the spring. 

I'm asking a few of the moms groups that are associated with the base for their thoughts/ suggestions/ experiences also. I just wanted to cover all the bases I had available. 

lexusolsen

Dd's school does a letter and a number every week. Then they have a theme for the month and focus on a subset for each week. One month's theme was people who help. One week they learned about firefighters and police officers, the next was mail carriers, another was doctors, and I can't remember the last one.