1.
What is your
philosophy?
·
Do
you believe that education is one of the most important aspects for your child?
Do you want your child to be “advanced” or move ahead of the “norm”?
·
Do
you believe that education in today’s society is highly overrated and view
learning as experiencing life?
·
Do
you find you are somewhere in the middle or along the spectrum between the two
ideals?
-I, personally, find myself somewhere
in the middle. I think education is very important but I believe it is
over-rated in our society today and stealing our kids’ childhood from them.
Thus, I take the laid back teaching/learning style in educating my kiddos. At this
age I view experiencing life just as important as actually sitting down and
learning their colors, numbers, letters…etc. However, I do structure activities that will help them experience life, have fun and learn at the same time.
2. What do you
teach?
·
I
started with the basics: Colors Recognition, Shape Recognition, Letter
Recognition, Letter Sounds, and Counting 1-10 or 1-20.
·
I
found a wonderful preschool blog that had an actual sheet you could keep track
of things they need to know: http://www.lovelycommotion.com/preschool-assessments/
·
Here
is the Idaho Common Core Standards website which will list standards for each
grade and content area: https://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/common/
3.
Where do you
start?
· The
first thing I do is to pre-test a certain unit (letter recognition, shapes….).
It’s hard to know where you want your child to be if you don’t know where they
are. Plus, why spend time on information they already know?
·
It
doesn’t have to be a boring: you point, and they tell you what the letter is.
Make it fun, create a game. Anything to show you what they have learned.
·
KEEP
TRACK! And check back 1-3 a year.
4.
Decide HOW you
want to teach.
·Do
you want to teach one content area at a time? Or include multiple ones each
week/day?---For instance, last year if I created a week unit on the letter “T”, I didn't include numbers or shapes or colors in the week. This year, I have decided to have a main purpose (for instance the letter G) but still have some surrounding activities that might include other concepts. This way they are still getting the main point but I am not neglecting the others.
·
What
kinds of activities/learning centers do you want for your children?
·Here
is a list of what I include when planning my curriculum:
o
Morning Activities-quick, independent activities
regarding the content area
o
Bible- For instance: The story of creation for the
letter “C”
o
Circle Time- It includes a prayer, the pledge, a song, and then a reading of a book that discusses the main theme for that week.
o
Worksheets-
o
Outside Activities-
o
Games or a Project-
o
Artwork-
o
Computer/IPad-
o
Reading- I use the books I already have plus get ones
from the library. I use Pinterest and google to search for relevant books that
are age appropriate and FUN!
o
Toys-I give them a playtime with some of his toys that
have to do with that content area.
o
Movies-I find movies, use Netflix and google
relevant, EDUCATIONAL kids shows or movies for that content area.
*I don’t do EVERY activity, EVERY
day. I will either rotate or pick and choose based on the day.
o
Take
into consideration your child’s learning style: Are they a wiggly Willy and
need to move A LOT. Are they social and need to have lots of interactions? Do
they thrive on sitting still and doing worksheets? Are they an audio, visual,
kinesthetic learner, or a combination of all of them?
o
Take
into consideration YOUR teaching style? Do you prefer them to be sitting
quietly why you do housework, do you like to do hands on projects? Or are you
somewhere in between?
5.
Make a plan
·
AFTER
you know what you want to teach and how you can start researching online, in
workbooks, and Pinterest for specific activities to include. Don’t just pick
something because it looked cool on Pinterest….actually know that the activity
you are planning for your child is what they need and will benefit from. Why
waste your and their time? There are also LOTS of blogs with full preschool
curriculums available for free. I don’t use them cause I like my tailored
version and most of it is worksheets, but if that’s you, USE THEM!
·
I
then keep all my resources I found in a divided binder so when I am planning
again for the next go around I have to do less work.
3.
Have Fun!
·
Every
once in awhile I create a “fun” unit that encompass many different content
area. Some examples of ones I have done are: Thanksgiving/Fall Day, Candy,
Christmas Month, Forest Animals, Easter/Spring Day, and If You Give A… literacy
unit.
Feel Free to Ask Any Questions You Have! I love
questions!
