Prepping for Preschool!

I can't help myself. Preschool activities call to me and even though I'm 31 weeks pregnant, I thought I could still manage to squeeze in a few small group preschool classes before the baby arrives. Two of my best friends in Oregon sent their darling girls to join me and my two boys (ages 4 & 3). We have a sun room on our main floor that I added a few things to make it feel a little more "preschool-y". Here's a list of where I printed/bought them and a few pictures:


  • Printable Letter Train (Kid Sparkz) - I printed and laminated these cards and they just happened to fit perfectly below our shelves.
  • Colored Circles - We use these every day for circle time. Each student has their own color. I love the idea of writing their names on tape and putting the tape on the circle. A great name recognition activity every day that doesn't take up any extra time. 

  • Weather Board (Classroom Freebies) and Daily Schedule (Lovely Commotion) - I thought this was so darling. We haven't used it as much as I thought we would, but it still looks cute on the wall. Next time, I want to buy a calendar that has dates. We will count the numbers in order until we get to the date of the actual day. This would be a great number recognition and counting activity that really doesn't take much extra time in the day. 

  • Ikea Bookshelf - I love this for toy organization. I switch out the toys depending on the theme we're learning about.
  • Play Kitchen Set - We love our play kitchen. I switch out the kitchen items every so often randomly or if the kitchen item goes along with a theme. 

  • Train Table - This has been so wonderful. We use it and change it up for every theme. You can see a few of the ideas below. We've done trains and animals, building blocks and people, magnates and farm tractors/people and so many other things. My boys love being in the pictures.




Once I got the sun room mostly ready (there are endless options of things to do!), I thought about the best schedule for our small preschool class. I knew we had two hours (9:30 AM - 11:30 AM) and I knew I wanted to have teacher directed time as well as free play time for the kids to explore as they pleased. I came up with this schedule and it with a few tweaks, it has gone really well so far:
  • Arrival Activity - 10 minutes. These ten minutes give students enough time to arrive if they're running late before officially starting our day. We do simple activities like coloring, puzzles, file folders, play dough, etc. The last minute or two, I have the students help me clean up. We do this at my kitchen table. 
  • Circle Time - 20 minutes. During circle time we sing a short good morning song and go over our Letter Friends. Every once in a while we go over our Shape Friends and sing a short song as well. We read a book that relates to our theme and we do a short group activity that also goes along with our theme. We do this in my sun room.
  • Art - 20 minutes. Our art projects are also based on our theme and teach important skills, like learning how to use glue and scissors. Some are focused on shapes. Some are teacher led (the students do REALLY well with these) and others are student led. Art is always a really fun part of the day. As soon as the student is finished, they are invited to do free play. Some students sit at the art table a long time and others finish quickly and move on to toys. I like the flexibility this brings. We do this at my kitchen table.
  • Free Play - 45 minutes. During free play, students are able to play outside or in the sun room with all sorts of different toys. I also set up a sensory table the students can play with during this time. I switch it up every class depending on the theme, but you could also keep it the same for the entire week. While students do free play, I pull one aside at a time and we work on math and a short letter activity. One of my friends always stays and watches the other students. 
  • Clean Up - 10 minutes. I think teaching students to clean up is such an important part of play.
  • Whole Group - 15 minutes. This time is VERY flexible. We will either sing songs or do some sort of movement activity and if there's time we will read book(s) until the parents arrive. 

I love this schedule and after a couple of classes the kids understand what's coming next and do really well with transitioning. Stay tuned for detailed lesson plans and how I teach letters, shapes and numbers!

Popular posts from this blog

Ocean Foil Painting

Image
We love foil painting. Last year, my three used monster trucks to paint on foil and this year, my three and 21 month old used q-tips to paint an ocean scene. They both really enjoyed painting and using ocean stickers to complete their ocean. You can view our other Letter O Activities  by clicking the link. Here's what you need: Cardboard Poster Board (I bought mine from The Dollar Tree and cut it into fourths) Tinfoil Tape (I used packing tape, but I'm sure any kind would work) Paint (we used dark blue, light blue and white tempera paint) Q-tips Glitter (optional) Ocean Stickers  (or print ocean clipart to glue on) 1) Wrap a piece of tinfoil around your piece of cardboard. Tape the tinfoil (on the back side of the cardboard) into place. 2) Squeeze paint onto the foil and have your child(ren) swirl the paint around with a q-tip. My 21-month old decided to use his hands to paint (top left), which made the paint lift and chip off a bit when the paint dried....
Read more

Family Home Evening Index

Image
Update: Did you know I'm posting weekly COME FOLLOW ME ideas and lessons for young children (ages 3-12)? The lessons are short, interactive and lots of fun. Click the link for more details.  I started doing a weekly Family Home Evening lesson when my oldest child turned 18 months old. These lessons teach our family about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Restored Gospel - we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The lessons in BLUE are based on principles from the nursery manual, "Behold Your Little Ones" along with supplementary ideas to teach the same principle. The lessons in PINK are from the Sunbeams Manual - which we used at group family home evening lessons at our home. These lessons are meant for toddlers and young children - they're short, interactive and sweet. Baptism Book of Mormon (1) : "The Book of Mormon Teaches me about Jesus" Book of Mormon (2) : The Story of The Book of Mormon Book of Mormon Her...
Read more

Family Home Evening: Baptism

Image
**Other Baptismal Lessons:  Kit Kat Baptismal Covenants ,  here (includes covenants with pictures) and here (includes baptism jeopardy).  Prayer: Scripture - John 3:5. Explain that Jesus is speaking in this verse and teaching us something we need to do in order to live in heaven again with Heavenly Father and Jesus. Read the verse and explain that "born of water" is referring to baptism. Song: " When Jesus Christ was Baptized " from the Children's Songbook page 102. When Jesus Was Baptized: Use these visuals (shown below) to teach your children about when Jesus was baptized. Each visual has a summary included. I printed the summaries and glued them onto the back of the pictures, so I could show my children the pictures while reading the summary on the back. Point out any additional details you'd like in the pictures. When I Am Baptized: Teach your children that they can be baptized just as Jesus was baptized. Use these visuals (s...
Read more

Obedience (1): The Chocolate Chip Ghost Story

Image
This lesson contains ideas from the current nursery manual, Behold Your Little Ones. Click the link to view the original lesson, " I Will Obey " from LDS.org. Prayer : Scripture : Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." I explained what 'obey' means and told Easton how happy it makes Heavenly Father when he listens to mom and dad. Song : " Quickly I'll Obey ." (Primary Children's Songbook P. 197) We did the actions from the manual as we sang the song: When my mother calls me (cup hands around mouth) Quickly I'll obey (run quietly in place) I want to do just what is best (nod head up and down) Each and every day. When my father calls me (cup hands around mouth) Quickly I'll obey (run quietly in place) I want to do just what is best (nod head up and down) Each and every day. Heavenly Father loves me (hug self) Blesses me each day (continue hugging self as you tur...
Read more