So this year we decided to do our little mommy preschool again. The kids really loved it last year so we were really excited to do it again a little more in depth this time. To be honest, last year was a little more like a themed playgroup. Yes, we talked about letters and had a theme, but the kids were 2 years old. I do still think they learned, but they also had fun a played lots. It went a lot differently then I was planning. But this year we are all another year older and another year wiser and it seems like the kids really are excited about school and learning. This year we are a little more structured, it last a little longer (2 hrs twice a week), and we are also working on more fine motor skills and not just letters and numbers.
This week was their third week and my turn to host. I was assigned letter T and number 5. Just thought I'd jot down some of the things we did just in case you were looking for some ideas and for my reference too.
Binders - 9:45-10:00
We made binders for the kids that have all of the letters and numbers 0-20 so they could get some practice in writing. Sometimes we use sheet protectors and dry-erase markers and some times we pull out the sheets and use pencils. The kids love tracing the letters and numbers. Here we also talk about that number & letter for the day and come up with some things that start with that letter. The second day we also did some paper cutting during this time too. I never realized how cutting really is a skill that needs to be learned, but the kids are getting better each time. So fun to watch them learn and succeed!
Calender - 10:00-10:10
We are teaching them the days of the week. When they are at my place I have a special calender just for the kids that I pull out. I have them all say: "Today is Thursday, September 27" and after they say it they get to put a sticker on the page. I also have them count to how ever high the days date is. For example, today was the 27th so we all counted aloud to 27. I have been doing this with my kids everyday for a few weeks now and they love it and the other kids did too. We also sing the days of the week song to the tune of The Adams Family, and another day song. They really are starting to grasp the sense of days and times which is fun to see.
ABCs - 10:10-10:30
We of course sing the ABCs and then had a discussion about the letter T. I have a cool pelican and I put objects in him mouth that start with T and let the kids each pull one out. This was something I did last year and they loved it so much I decided to do it again. They were all very glad I did. Here we also reviewed the other letters they learned the past few weeks and the sounds that they made. And a few letter T poems like the little turtle named Tiny Tim (I must have done this at least 10 times over the 2 days they love that one so much!) And I think I squeezed in a couple of books here too. We also used the chalkboard to each take turns writing the letter T. And then a white board to find and circle letter Ts in a sentence Then we put together a massive ABC Train. The kids really liked this and did pretty well at taking turns.
During the second day instead of the train we sat around the chalkboard and practiced a few things. I found an awesome preschool pack on tools here. I printed off a few pages: Finish the pattern and also Counting objects & matching the number. Then from another preschool pack here and printed off the last page where they had to figure out which picture did not start with a T. The kids did really well sitting, listening and taking turns. They really liked the patterns, so I will do this again too.
Playtime & Snack Prep 10:30-10:45
I let the kids play inside and outside while I prepared our little snack
Snacktime 10:45-11:05
While the kids ate we continued to talk about the letter and then I read some books. During snacks the kids love books, today I think I read about 6. Since all the kids know their ABCs and 123s pretty well I also wanted to try and incorporate other life skill type lessons that they need to learn. So this week I decided to do feelings. Age three is hard and they have so many emotions going on inside them so I thought talking about them might help. I randomly pulled a great book on feelings from the library and then pulled a few more from our books too. The kids had a ton of fun listening and acting out the feelings with me. I was really pleased at how well this part went this week.
Learning Activity 11:05-11:15
I have this cool learning game with letters and numbers and you slide them ... OK, kind of hard to explain. Click here to see a picture of it. Some of the kids were more interested in this than others but I'll still probably try and use it again next time.
On the second day we played with pattern blocks during this time. The kids really loved doing this! I need to laminate my sheets to make them a little more sturdy but we will most definitely play with those again! The kids were so proud when they were done. Today I went online to find some more print outs for these. I also found some that made patterns which my kids really love solving so I will probably incorporate those next time.
Craft 11:15-11:45
The first week for craft time we decided to make a fall tree by cork painting. It was fun and not as messy as I was expecting. I kind of wish I would have given the kids their own plate just because sharing was hard despite having lots of corks available. But once they got the hang of things they all did really well. Some were more interested in painting then others, but they all did it and all had fun.
The second day was a little more low key, I just did playdough. We started out by all making letter Ts with our playdough which the kids thought was pretty cool but then they just played, rolled, cut, and molded until their parents got there.
Overall, I would say it was a success! It is crazy to see how big of a difference just one year makes. The kids attention span is so much greater and they just really are so eager to learn. And they are so smart! They all have such great memories. I am so happy we are doing this again this year. It is actually making me debate whether or not to send P to actually preschool next year. It is just so stinking expensive and we are a little tight on funds. He already is super smart and has good social skills. And I really like being a part of the learning. We'll see, nothing is set in stone. However, both the kids will be attending the Clayton Valley Preschool come winter which I think will be awesome! Em will probably the most excited of them all. She literally gets depressed when I drop P off at school and begs to go pick him up for the entire 2 hours. She LOVED hosting though and participated in everything. P was actually more of a problem then she was. But it will be so weird to have both the kids gone come winter.
Anyway, not quite as fancy as you will find on a lot of those blogs out there, but I'm really happy with how things are going and I think the kids are too. So until I host next time, that is it for preschool talk. :)
And here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.
This week was their third week and my turn to host. I was assigned letter T and number 5. Just thought I'd jot down some of the things we did just in case you were looking for some ideas and for my reference too.
Binders - 9:45-10:00
We made binders for the kids that have all of the letters and numbers 0-20 so they could get some practice in writing. Sometimes we use sheet protectors and dry-erase markers and some times we pull out the sheets and use pencils. The kids love tracing the letters and numbers. Here we also talk about that number & letter for the day and come up with some things that start with that letter. The second day we also did some paper cutting during this time too. I never realized how cutting really is a skill that needs to be learned, but the kids are getting better each time. So fun to watch them learn and succeed!
Calender - 10:00-10:10
We are teaching them the days of the week. When they are at my place I have a special calender just for the kids that I pull out. I have them all say: "Today is Thursday, September 27" and after they say it they get to put a sticker on the page. I also have them count to how ever high the days date is. For example, today was the 27th so we all counted aloud to 27. I have been doing this with my kids everyday for a few weeks now and they love it and the other kids did too. We also sing the days of the week song to the tune of The Adams Family, and another day song. They really are starting to grasp the sense of days and times which is fun to see.
ABCs - 10:10-10:30
We of course sing the ABCs and then had a discussion about the letter T. I have a cool pelican and I put objects in him mouth that start with T and let the kids each pull one out. This was something I did last year and they loved it so much I decided to do it again. They were all very glad I did. Here we also reviewed the other letters they learned the past few weeks and the sounds that they made. And a few letter T poems like the little turtle named Tiny Tim (I must have done this at least 10 times over the 2 days they love that one so much!) And I think I squeezed in a couple of books here too. We also used the chalkboard to each take turns writing the letter T. And then a white board to find and circle letter Ts in a sentence Then we put together a massive ABC Train. The kids really liked this and did pretty well at taking turns.
During the second day instead of the train we sat around the chalkboard and practiced a few things. I found an awesome preschool pack on tools here. I printed off a few pages: Finish the pattern and also Counting objects & matching the number. Then from another preschool pack here and printed off the last page where they had to figure out which picture did not start with a T. The kids did really well sitting, listening and taking turns. They really liked the patterns, so I will do this again too.
Playtime & Snack Prep 10:30-10:45
I let the kids play inside and outside while I prepared our little snack
Snacktime 10:45-11:05
While the kids ate we continued to talk about the letter and then I read some books. During snacks the kids love books, today I think I read about 6. Since all the kids know their ABCs and 123s pretty well I also wanted to try and incorporate other life skill type lessons that they need to learn. So this week I decided to do feelings. Age three is hard and they have so many emotions going on inside them so I thought talking about them might help. I randomly pulled a great book on feelings from the library and then pulled a few more from our books too. The kids had a ton of fun listening and acting out the feelings with me. I was really pleased at how well this part went this week.
Learning Activity 11:05-11:15
I have this cool learning game with letters and numbers and you slide them ... OK, kind of hard to explain. Click here to see a picture of it. Some of the kids were more interested in this than others but I'll still probably try and use it again next time.
On the second day we played with pattern blocks during this time. The kids really loved doing this! I need to laminate my sheets to make them a little more sturdy but we will most definitely play with those again! The kids were so proud when they were done. Today I went online to find some more print outs for these. I also found some that made patterns which my kids really love solving so I will probably incorporate those next time.
Craft 11:15-11:45
The first week for craft time we decided to make a fall tree by cork painting. It was fun and not as messy as I was expecting. I kind of wish I would have given the kids their own plate just because sharing was hard despite having lots of corks available. But once they got the hang of things they all did really well. Some were more interested in painting then others, but they all did it and all had fun.
The second day was a little more low key, I just did playdough. We started out by all making letter Ts with our playdough which the kids thought was pretty cool but then they just played, rolled, cut, and molded until their parents got there.
Overall, I would say it was a success! It is crazy to see how big of a difference just one year makes. The kids attention span is so much greater and they just really are so eager to learn. And they are so smart! They all have such great memories. I am so happy we are doing this again this year. It is actually making me debate whether or not to send P to actually preschool next year. It is just so stinking expensive and we are a little tight on funds. He already is super smart and has good social skills. And I really like being a part of the learning. We'll see, nothing is set in stone. However, both the kids will be attending the Clayton Valley Preschool come winter which I think will be awesome! Em will probably the most excited of them all. She literally gets depressed when I drop P off at school and begs to go pick him up for the entire 2 hours. She LOVED hosting though and participated in everything. P was actually more of a problem then she was. But it will be so weird to have both the kids gone come winter.
Anyway, not quite as fancy as you will find on a lot of those blogs out there, but I'm really happy with how things are going and I think the kids are too. So until I host next time, that is it for preschool talk. :)
And here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.
 |
| Cork Painting |
 |
| Pattern Blocks |
 |
| So excited about their finished product |
 |
| Playdough Letter Ts |
Comments