I've mentioned this before, I bought a preschool curriculum when my second oldest child was in preschool. I have always loved the preschool age and I get a huge boost from teaching and doing hands on activities with my little ones (my mom has a degree in early childhood education, think that has something to do with it? she inspired me). Sometimes it's hard to think of ideas out of the blue, so I enjoyed that the curriculum came with a lesson manual and crafts ready-to-make. But, as you see below, there is nothing fancy or rocket-science-ish about what we learn! Now you get the picture, you can make up your own, right? And you can find free coloring pages online. I love the hands-on learning at this age and think it is just as important as learning numbers and letters and the other things we typically think of when we think of preschool. And I love that we can learn about random things because there is no pressure just yet to know it all and kids this age are such clean slates and eager (though short attention span) learners.
Since we had some pretty crappy weather from January to mid-April this year, we have used our preschool materials a lot! I have found that I have enjoyed using some various materials, including the Internet (this usually after a lesson is over), as tools. Nothing fancy, I'll just google whatever it is we learned about and voila! Someone, somewhere in the world has made a video or a song or a book about it.
We've found that we like to have a short lesson (5-10 mins?)(see below for some of the topics we've covered, most inspired by the preschool curriculum or time of year), we have a very short review of letters/colors, sing a song (or dance around, sometimes like a crazy person, they love that), play a game, go for a walk, or make a craft. My kids really enjoy it and I do too!
Here are a few topics/resources we have enjoyed together.
Eskimo Olympics. I had never even heard of this before we learned about it! But it was very interesting! We liked the four man carry, ear pull, toe kicks, and greased pole (link to videos on top of the website linked to).
Sheepdog trials and sheep shearing. We also learned Baa, Baa Black Sheep and version below, to the same tune (learned in England, I can hardly sing this one without a British accent, at least in my head, ha):
Baa, baa white sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
One to knit a jumper
And one to make a frock,
And one to mend a hole in the little boy's sock.
Baa, Baa white sheep
Look Over there
See all the nanny goats going to the fair
With white shoes and white socks and white curly hair
See all the nanny goats going to the fair.
Irish dancing. (if you don't want to watch the whole thing go to 4:44)
Polar Bears (photos).
Kids Around the World. Living in Europe for two years was such a rich cultural experience for me. I loved being exposed to such a variety of food, customs, architecture, and dress within a small geographic region. I want my kids to experience it, too, but we can't exactly run off to Europe! So sometimes we'll look at photos of other countries on the computer (including our own) or rarely we'll have a dinner from the region (Swiss Cheese Fondue a favorite). This blogger has done many "international nights" and it is fun to see her photos. I'm just not quite there yet. :)
(we did a Spain dinner with Iberico chorizo and Manchego cheese I found at the local grocery store)
Again, another favorite song by Raffi, on a favorite album here (the song is Like Me and You). I also love De Colores if you want to sing in Spanish (and it is all about the colors of the world in the spring!)! Or...learn The Itsy Bitsy Spider in Spanish (La Arana Penquenita here, at :43).
Martin Luther King Day - a great opportunity to talk about treating everyone the same regardless of how we look. And to talk about standing up for people who are bullied or otherwise mistreated.
I enjoy the book Henry's Freedom Box.
Things that Fly - This is a favorite Raffi song (Raffi is probably my favorite kids songster of all time), Flying in an Airplane. It was fun for my little one to try to figure out all of the things that fly and then she wanted to color/hang up a drawing of a hot air balloon.
Dr. Seuss (Feb) - Great excuse to read some fun Dr. Seuss or to watch Horton Hears a Who.
Healthy Eating/Kids in the Kitchen - this was a fun opportunity to enjoy some different snacks as we learn about how different foods help our body (carrots for eyes, for example, just to bring your mothers voice to mind), and later I involved the kids a little more heavily than normal with some baking tasks (messy but worth it, and it has helped me relax a little more).
Hibernation. This was one of our all time most successful "preschool" activities. We "hid" some nuts, then went to "sleep" in our "den" under a blanket. Then we'd wake up, unearth a nut (under a dish towel), eat it, and go back to sleep. Because I just happened to have an assorted pile of nuts (bought by my husband), we also got to try a whole bunch of different kinds of nuts. My kids liked most of the nuts we tried (and cracking some open), and they wanted to play this game over and over for about 30 minutes.
Spring - I love to go for walks in the spring and show them the new leaves and the buds on the trees and fresh flowers starting to push their way out of the soil. The nice thing about this one is that it can be a simple walk around the block! Or to go for a drive and try to spot any new baby animals.
Teeth - we set up a "dentist chair" -- with toothbrushes, floss, etc, and pretended to clean each other's teeth. Having an unpredictable four year-old energetically working on your teeth while semi-prone with mouth open has to be one of the more vulnerable but funny positions I've ever been in-- a lotta faith, I tell you, a lotta faith.
Oh yes, and when we dance for the fun of it, sometimes I find that is a good time to introduce them to different styles of music (hello, Pandora, I love you). I love this CD for introducing classical music to little kids, we have really enjoyed it, especially Catch a Saber Tooth Tiger. I have a few simple instruments like shakers, bells, sticks, a triangle, tambourine, and streamers that we will also use sometimes as we dance or sing.
These are just a few of the things we learned about this year, maybe I need to link to this next fall?
No comments:
Post a Comment