At-Home Preschool
stasya
preschool program. While it's still summer and I get my kids to play
outside as much as possible, and go for walks, to the playground and
lake, winter IS coming. And we're going to be stuck inside a good
portion of the time. So I figured it would be good to get my almost 4
year old into some sort of structured day beginning in September.
There's no good preschool in our tiny town, there's just basically a 4
hour a week program that I don't consider to be much beyond a playgroup
that the parents don't attend. It'd probably be good for my dd to get
out to socialize, but for the other 3 days of the week when she's not,
I'd like to give her something to think about at least. If I don't find
something I like, I may design my own, in which case, any suggestions
would be welcome as for resources.
Thanks,
Stasya
Jeanne
I didn't homeschool my daughter, but I read and used "Teaching
Montessori in the Home: The Preschool Years" to get ideas of some
activities and set-ups to do in the home.
Jeanne
Donna
"stasya" <mat...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:1122840681....@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Hi Stasya!
I have a preschool curriculum that I downloaded, that is actually fairly
decent. I'm happy to send it to you, if you'd like me to.
Donna
stasya
Stasya
Donna
> That would be cool, thanks. :)
>
> Stasya
Sent. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it, if you care to share.
:)
Donna
Jeff
some books with curricula. It is probably worth getting one or two. In
addition, you can download or look at other preschool curricula by searching
for preschool + curriculum or similar search terms. If there are other
moms/dads who care for their kids during the day, maybe 3 of your can work
together so each one of you does a morning (which gives you 2 additional
mornings to do other things (I was going to say mornings off, but I know
better) and work together to come up with activities.
Jeff
stasya
thoughts on anything they or someone they know have used. Donna has
sent me some paper resources that will come in very handy as far as
teaching writing and reading skills which of course is the cornerstone.
Some of the other resources, such as color identification and some
other bits are already familiar, I believe one page notes that this is
intended for a two year old. I would like to teach a bit of geography,
(our town, nearby towns, landmarks, etc etc), some simple science
(which I will be actively looking for....to strike a nice balance
between every day stuff, not too complicated), music appreciation,
different art forms, simple math (which she comprehends and can do
verbal addition and subtraction, so take-offs on those), and natural
life. (Animals, plants, landforms, etc). Jeff's idea of getting
together with other moms is a good idea, I will look at that as well.
Stasya
toto
Note that I bet the preschool actually teaches a great deal
through play besides social and emotional things. Just
so you know, kids learn through their play much more than
through adults *teaching* them anything especially at this
age. One thing that has been noted in research is that when
a child is too programmed by the adult and does not have
time to explore on his or her own, s/he loses a lot of creativity.
So, do try to allow your child to play alone with lots of materials
and to make her own creations. Children learn a lot through
playing with blocks and puppets and doing their own writing
and art, etc. That said, see below for some ideas.
> I would like to teach a bit of geography, (our town, nearby towns,
>landmarks, etc etc),
This one is easy if you can get out and walk around town.
Start with your neighborhood. You might even draw your
own map that includes your house as a starting point and
put things you see on your walk on it.
>some simple science (which I will be actively looking for....
Mudpies to Magnets has a lovely set of experiments you
can do with children of various ages. There are 2 books
in the series, I believe and often they are available at the
library - so you could take one out, find some activities
you want to try and make copies of the specific pages.
If your library doesn't have the books, they are available
to buy and worth it, imo.
Amazon.com has them
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0876591500/102-5507303-0953731?v=glance
or
http://snipurl.com/gn5a
>to strike a nice balance between every day stuff, not too complicated),
>music appreciation,
Also easy, listen to music with your child and do a lot of clapping
to the beat and dancing.
Most kids love that. You can use children's songs too, but it's
fun to just use classical, jazz and other forms on different days
and see if she can spot differences and similarities between
pieces.
You might also use some of the classical pieces that are familiar
from various popular adaptations and see if she spots the fact
that (old since I can't think of current ones) the Lone Ranger
Theme was actually the William Tell Overture. I used to love
Mighty Mouse cartoons because they had those wonderful
operatic voices in the mix.
I don't know if there are any comparable ones today that you
can use though. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have been
released on dvd or videotape except for one with pretty poor
customer reviews on Amazon.
>different art forms,
Get books with pictures of various forms or go the the art
museum. Take one artist at a time. See if she can create
her own paintings in the *style* of the artist you are looking
at. Our kids liked Picasso and Van Gogh. They especially
liked Starry, Starry Night.
>simple math (which she comprehends and can do
>verbal addition and subtraction, so take-offs on those),
Add measuring to this (you can use various books and go
around measuring your table or measuring the rooms, etc.)
I suggest reading How Big is a Foot? and talking about
why the measurements are different when using her foot
and your foot or her hand and your hand. This leads into
the conclusion that we need a standard measurement, not
simply body parts. I also like Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
and also the song, Inchworm
Here's some websites that give you ideas to use:
http://www.mathcats.com/grownupcats/mathcatsnewsissue5.html
http://www.cheney268.com/K/InchWorm/InchWorm.htm
http://www.ilovethatteachingidea.com/ideas/010317_inch_by_inch.htm
>and natural life. (Animals, plants, landforms, etc)
Read books, go to the zoo and aquarium and talk about the animals.
Plant seeds. Watch them grow. Try experiments like putting white
flowers in colored water and watching how the blossoms change color
because the capillaries pick up the color through the stem and carry
it to the blossoms.
--
Dorothy
There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..
The Outer Limits
stasya
It's not that she doesn't get lots of playtime alone, but simply she's
a social butterfly. If she's not talking and interacting with me or
someone else, she's not happy. (I'm a little afraid she's going to have
a lively social life at school and not as much learning....not that I
should borrow trouble!) And I'm a structure girl, I'm much happier if I
know in advance what I'm going to do, and with what, and for how long.
This way I can introduce my dd to lots of different concepts to perhaps
amuse her and give her fodder to play with on her own, or if nothing
else, something to talk about with me or the dozens of people she talks
to every day.
Stasya
P. Tierney
"Jeanne" <bridge...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:ocOdnRpQVIK...@comcast.com...
Is this text of use to one who has no intention of heading
to a Montessori school in the future? Many reviews on Amazon
seemed to be from such parents.
I would also be interested in any links and materials that
people have related to the OP's inquiry. Thanks.
P. Tierney
Jeanne
I think this book would be very useful to a child who isn't going to
Montessori - probably more useful than a child who is (that is kind of
my experience). It's pretty straightforward and the materials needed
are more than likely found around the house.
The main difference is that most people don't set up their houses like a
Montessori school. So, you may find things in the book in
non-Montessori resources as well.
Jeanne