That was fast!
Once we decided that we were going to homeschool Preschool/PreK I dove into the fun world of curriculum. Let me explain a bit of what I feel a Preschool should look like. First off...preschoolers should not be doing worksheets other than coloring...for fun. Skills such as holding a crayon "properly" and staying in the lines are schooling enough in that respect. Math...count things aloud...for example while you're on a walk, "Hey...lets count how many fire hydrants we see!, work on color recognition, and maybe noticing patterns (clapping/patting/stomping patterns, color patterns, shape patterns)...lots of fun games. And of course...LOTS and LOTS of FANTASTIC literature. Reading opens so many doors...story comprehension, books contain letters/words/sentences, read from left to right, story comprehension, understanding how a character thinks and feels, increasing attention span.... Explore the world around you. I also want God to be a part of what we learn. Oh, I could go on and on.
I kept all of this in mind while researching how and what I wanted to "teach" my kiddos. I also kept in mind that I don't want a ton of prep work on my end. I want to spend time with my kids, not time preparing for my kids. I considered the learning styles of each of my kids at this age. I thought about what is happening developmentally with a preschoolers mind and body. I also thought about what I don't care for my kids to know yet unless they begin asking. I subscribe to the philosophy that there is NO reason to push a preschooler into reading and writing.
After gathering all of that I researched programs, considered writing my own curriculum (too heavy on the prep), looked at freebie stuff (too heavy on the worksheets) and we ended up choosing the Sonlight Preschool Curriculum. It's full of great "living" books, fun activities, and doesn't involve a single worksheet. It's also a great curriculum that BOTH of the kids can participate fully in. (That's a really nice thing about having kids close in age.) There was another close contender, but I don't think it offered as much as Sonlight does. Brian and I both liked that Sonlight could potentially work for us through high school if we wanted it to.
So, on Saturday we ordered our curriculum box and it arrived today. The kids were pumped! I took some pictures and thought you'd enjoy seeing what we have ahead of us.
I kept all of this in mind while researching how and what I wanted to "teach" my kiddos. I also kept in mind that I don't want a ton of prep work on my end. I want to spend time with my kids, not time preparing for my kids. I considered the learning styles of each of my kids at this age. I thought about what is happening developmentally with a preschoolers mind and body. I also thought about what I don't care for my kids to know yet unless they begin asking. I subscribe to the philosophy that there is NO reason to push a preschooler into reading and writing.
After gathering all of that I researched programs, considered writing my own curriculum (too heavy on the prep), looked at freebie stuff (too heavy on the worksheets) and we ended up choosing the Sonlight Preschool Curriculum. It's full of great "living" books, fun activities, and doesn't involve a single worksheet. It's also a great curriculum that BOTH of the kids can participate fully in. (That's a really nice thing about having kids close in age.) There was another close contender, but I don't think it offered as much as Sonlight does. Brian and I both liked that Sonlight could potentially work for us through high school if we wanted it to.
So, on Saturday we ordered our curriculum box and it arrived today. The kids were pumped! I took some pictures and thought you'd enjoy seeing what we have ahead of us.