Stay at Home Moms

"homeschooling" for preschool?

I'm taking DD out of daycare. I'm going to be looking for MDO or something part time, but if that doesn't pan out, does anyone have ideas for teaching things? She has some workbooks that she loves (like tracing letters, picking out the item that's different, etc), but I want to do something more and I don't know what.

The worst part of this is she really loves her friends and I hate that she won't have the people interaction, but anyway... Website or activity recs for preschool skills?

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Re: "homeschooling" for preschool?

  • Are you wanting to pay for curriculum or are you wanting a web site that offers free printouts?

    I was also looking for curriculum for 3-4 year olds so if I find any good sites, I will let you know. 

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  • Pre school is more about socialization and learning how to follow directions in a group than anything else. I would probably continue to do lots of reading/counting/exploring her interests and then see about finding a couple of play groups for the socialization aspect.

     

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  • I'm just going to vomit some ideas - certainly not a complete list.  

    I think one way to do this is to run themes off of literature and/or seasons/holidays/events.  Libraries usually have nice lists for parents for age-appropriate reading.  You can even google "preschool themes" for lists/ideas.  A quick list: places (grocery store, circus/carnival, zoo, park, etc), simple science/math topics (freezing/melting, mixing colors, weather, measuring, etc), community/social stuff (people who work in your town, how to be a friend, concept (simplified) of buying/selling.  By doing this, you cover a lot of vocabulary, multi-sensory learning opportunities, concepts, how things are related/go together.

    Here are some random skills that would be appropriate to address:

    comparing/contrasting things (i.e how a football and baseball are alike/different), simple concepts - how/why things work, predicting what could happen next (in books, shows, real like), finding solutions to problems that occur during play

    pouring, stirring, cutting straight lines, drawing circles, connecting 2 dots by drawing a line, finger plays to songs/riddles, dressing/undressing

    simple jigsaw puzzles, simple games with large balls, galloping, balancing, imitating movement and combinations of movements

    I think of kids in terms of [cognitive, social-emotional, speech, language, fine motor, gross motor, sensory development] in addition to [diet, sleep/rest] and [social, alone time]  Um, I think that sounds crazy.  Oh well, doing so helps me stimulate/provide for all of her needs.  I make sure that each of those areas was adequately addressed most days.  

     

  • We still do preschool because I need a break :).  I do have some cute books by MaryAnn Kohl with a bunch of activity ideas.
  • www.preschoolexpress.com

    is a good website that offers lots of fun activities for preschool age children.

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  • Parker got the "Primary Science Set" (Learning Resources makes it) for her birthday and she LOVES it.  We have done two "experiments" so far and after we did those experiments (took about 45 minutes of leisurely play) she sat for an additional 30 minutes doing her own "experiments".  It really got her thinking and some good pretend play.  It's for ages 4+ but the pretend play was fantastic and she might be able to grasp some of the concepts.  

    It was $30...hence why I didn't buy it myself :D but there are a lot of links that have great science stuff-

    https://eighteen25.blogspot.com/2010/05/summer-craft-ideas-part-one.html
    https://www.educationaltoyfactory.com/colorscience.htm
    https://science.preschoolrock.com/index.php/preschool_physics_activities/preschool-physics-experiment--fun-with-static-electricity
    https://science.preschoolrock.com/index.php/Preschool_Biology/preschool-biology-chart-your-preschooler-s-growth
    https://science.preschoolrock.com/index.php/Preschool_Biology/preschoolers_and_the_five_senses_teaching_the_five_senses_to_your_preschooler
    https://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/smelltaste.html
    https://science.preschoolrock.com/index.php/Preschool_Biology/preschool_germ_activity_teaching_your_preschooler_about_germs
    https://www.kidzone.ws/science/cornstarch.htm
    https://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-do-the-diet-coke-and-mentos-for-preschoolers-78812/ 

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  • I taught pre-k for 3 years (with no worksheets allowed) and some of the things we are already doing include:  making a calendar for every month to put on the fridge and writing our upcoming activities on it (numbers, counting, recognition, etc.), puzzles, letter/sound toys and games, painting (mixing colors), we just started a journal (young for it, but he saw it on Sesame Street and so we tried it)- he makes a picture and I write his words, practicing his name in shaving cream, markers, chalk, magnadoodle, labeling things in my house for toys and shoes with words he can start to recognize.  Oh, and self help skills.  Drinking from a cup, putting shoes on, etc.  Just a few things!  BUT, I also totally agree about the socializing.  Sharing, taking turns, following directions- all huge parts of preschool and beyond. 
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  • I homeschool my older child and will do it for my younger three as well.  This may be more than you want to spend for preschool, but we use Calvert.  It is a complete curriculum.  They are offering 10% off now I believe (I know because I am bummed I ordered earlier). 

     

    https://homeschool.calvertschool.org/why-calvert/homeschool-curriculum

  • At the preschool level, I would expose her to a lot of different things and follow her interests. Keep it fun. Strining beads, playing with playdough, and climbing a rope at the park all help her build hand strength so she can write letters later. You can cut out letters in sandpaper and let her trace them. Let her paint and color a lot. Do lots of reading. I gave DS a blank book, and I let him fill it up with anything that he wanted. He had leaves in there, flowers, writing, and colored pages. It was his book. I did not tell him what to do with it. I wanted him to find things that inspire him. When we planted our garden, he counted the seeds and put them in the hole (eye hand coordination). You can do small science experiments like a baking soda and vinegar volcano to get her excited about the world. Let her help you make a loaf of bread (again hand stength and measuring). Here is my preschool tag in my blog. 
  • Thanks so much! I agree the socialization part is huge. Like I said, I'm still looking into other options as she really loved the daycare. It just became too much financially.

    We do a lot of these things already. We do playdoh and coloring and painting almost every day. She makes necklaces with pony beads and alphabet beads - she can recognize all her letters and spell her name and she likes to put them on necklaces. I just worry that I'm not enough for her, if that makes sense. This is totally not a stab at sahms, just lack of confidence in myself. We definitely need to get out of the house more but it's in the 100s out and I have all day m/s. Hopefully it starts cooling down soon!

    I don't want to pay for any preschool curriculum, but I'm open to buying supplies, books, activities for her to do.

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  • I am doing the Letter of the Week curriculum found here. You can pay $10 for the whole deal or nearly all of it is available also for free on her site if you want to go through it all and pick and choose what you want. I think the only advantage to paying the $10 is that it's all together organized for you.

    So basically at the beginning of the week, I click on the letter ABCs/123s tab (brown) and scroll down to the letter I want. Then she has pictures of all the activities they do with each letter and you can pick and choose what you want. We are LOVING it. There are tracing pages, simple math/counting, shapes and colors and of course all kinds of activities that go along with whatever letter you're doing. Also, friw, we have the Do-A-Dot markers and DD absolutely loves them. You can buy workbooks that go along with them, but there are also printables on that blog you can use for free.

     I am also homeschooling my 2nd grader (this is our first year and we just started) and these have all been great activities to use with my 3 yo (esp. since I had to drop a chunk on curricullum for DS). Fwiw, we will be doing MDO for DD (starts in about a month), but she's been there the last 2 years, my DS went there 3 years and it's through our church. She'll need that time and it'll be crucial for me to have the extra time one-on-one with DS.

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  • I've done some research into homeschooling at the preschool age, and most websites I've found suggest not trying to do anything curriculum-based or overly structured that early.  I found a lot of articles on the importance of free, imaginative play at ages 3-4 and some great printables.  As long as your daughter has access to craft supplies, roleplaying toys, etc., you probably won't need to think things out too much.  I would definitely recommend reading aloud to her regularly and taking her on lots of field trips!

    Having said this, DH and I were both homeschooled pre-K through high school, and I'm pretty sure that our families had a fairly structured preschool program.  Both of us were reading by age 3, so I assume that a fair amount of work went into that.  We also did a lot of hands-on field trips and socialized with other kids our age through church, sports, and group field trips.

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