My baby, y’all. She’s so big! I just don’t understand where the time went. I can’t believe she’s already in Pre-K (it’s actually a Mother’s Day Out program but they call it Pre-K). Before I know it, she’ll be graduating high school. Please excuse me while I hyperventilate.
All joking aside, my little girl is so ready for this. She is wicked smart and I know that there are things she will learn at Pre-K that I am not going to be able to teach her alone. However, that’s not to say I’m not going to be teaching her at the same time. I’ve decided to start a Pre-K homeschool program for her and Monday was our very first day! She loved it and did so well!
I did a lot of research into the programs available for homeschooling and, let me tell you, it was an overwhelming task. I looked into the programs and asked other moms about their experiences and did all kinds of digging and researching for WEEKS. At the end of the day, I knew only a few things for certain: (1) she’s not even three, for God’s sake, calm down SELF!, (2) most kids learn best through play, (3) I have limited time to devote to schooling, especially with an infant to also take care of, and (4) I need the program to be super cheap or, better yet, free. With all these things in mind, I took a fresh look at what was out there and I finally decided to use a program called “Letter of the Week.”
I chose Letter of the Week because it got a ton of great reviews by a bunch of moms I have talked to or read about in Facebook groups or forums. I also chose it because it limits the amount of time you’re doing “school” to no more than 2 hours a day. And, big bonus, it’s absolutely FREE!!!
The premise is quite simple and pretty self-explanatory: every week you focus on teaching your child one letter. You base all of your lessons, from language arts to math and science, around that letter. The creator of the program also offers suggestions for Bible lessons for those who choose to add that to their curriculum. It’s a great program. And I was very pleased to learn that Aislin’s MDO Pre-K class will also be learning a different letter each week, so I was able to adapt this curriculum to match her school’s letters each week!
I will say that the prep work, for me, was more than I had thought it would be. Granted, I’m not, nor have I ever been, a teacher so I had no clue what I was getting myself into. For you teachers out there, the prep work for this curriculum may be a breeze. Once I get the hang of it, it will probably get easier since it’s honestly not a lot of paperwork. I just like to have all my ducks in a row before I get started on an endeavor like this. Can I get an amen?
For those who are interested, here’s a rough breakdown of how our week looks:
Monday
8:30–10:30 Gym
11:30–12:30 Lunch
1:00 Nap
3:00 Language Arts (30 minutes)
3:30 Music (15 minutes)
3:45 Bible Story (15 minutes)
Tuesday
9:30–2:30 Mother’s Day Out (Pre-K) (Gym, Lunch and Errands for me)
3:00 Language Arts & Music (30 minutes)
3:30 Math (15 minutes)
3:45 Bible Story (15 minutes)
Wednesday
8:30–10:30 Gym
11:30–12:30 Lunch
1:00 Nap
3:00 Language Arts, Music & Math (30 minutes)
3:30 Science (20 minutes)
3:50 Bible Story (10 minutes)
Thursday
9:30–2:30 Mother’s Day Out (Gym, Lunch and Errands for me)
3:00 Language Arts, Music & Math (30 minutes)
3:30 Social Studies (15 minutes)
3:45 Art Project (15-30 minutes)
Friday
8:30–10:30 Gym
11:30–12:30 Lunch
1:00 Nap
3:00 Language Arts, Music & Math (30 minutes)
3:30 Sports, Games or Activities (20 minutes)
3:50 Review Lesson (10 minutes)
Again, since she’s not even three yet, all of this is really just a best case scenario week. If she’s not showing interest one day or if she’s had enough learning for the day after she gets home from school, I’m not going to push it. What I really want is for her to have fun, watch zero to little TV, and learn while she’s doing it. So far, she seems really engaged in our lessons and excited to tell Daddy all about what’s she’s learned every day when he gets home! Here’s hoping her love of learning (and my desire to teach her) continue for a long time!
Homeschooling Mamas (and Teachers): what other resources do you love and recommend for teaching kiddos through play? Blast me with them!
Sounds great! I think the key for me with ben at that age was to keep it fun. if they love learning, they will be more successful later in life than the kid that can memorize anything but has no desire to learn more! Ben loved fun flash cards for rhyming…I think I got them at Target?!?!?!?!? Anyway…made letters fun and helped with actually learning letter sounds. Good luck!