Preschool | Heart of the Matter

August 9, 2010 By HeatherL 2 Comments

When my daughter “graduated” from our state’s early childhood therapy program it was assumed she would go straight to the local special education pre-K. She has autism but I thought that should be no reason not to homeschool her. I also didn’t understand why she had to go to the local pre-K when clearly in many ways she was not ready for school. I chose to homeschool her and I have never looked back!

When we were left on our own I knew I had to take charge of all the aspects of her learning.

I thought about each part of her learning separately.

-Therapy
-Social
-Academic

First I tackled the therapy she needed. My daughter needed Occupational Therapy for her sensory need problems. I found out that my local school system did not want to deal with homeschoolers in any way. So I started that therapy privately.

Then I looked at the social aspect of homeschooling. The question I had to answer was just how much outside socialization did a 3 year old need? I found that I could easily provide fun outings that would help my daughter learn to work and play with others. We went to MOPS, our church’s Co-op fun days, Sunday school and of course anywhere I went she came along. This gave her many different set of people (her age, older children, adults) to deal with.

Academic was the most intimidating for me to take care of. I was afraid that I would be late in starting book work. Or worse I would pick the wrong material and ruin her growing phonics skills. The doubts were only magnified by the doubts of the therapy team and local school system. Funny enough I had already been homeschooling for 3 years and yet I questioned my every step.

Finally I realized I needed to slow down and only give her what she was ready for. At 3 years old that wasn’t much. We read together. We sang songs. She hung out when she wanted to with the older kids while they homeschooled. I looked for signs of readiness to go to the next step.

-singing the full alphabet

-pointing to letters and naming them correctly

-counting to twenty

-able to attend for a five minute lesson

Homeschooling can be the most stressful when starting. You are new and unsure. That is okay! Remember back to your kindergarden class it was full of fun hands on activities. Preschool is just a formalized version of what parents naturally do with their children at home. Singing, introducing books, letters, numbers, animals etc to a young eager mind. Some of our children are specially blessed and may need more time and understanding to succeed.

You are the most loving teacher your child could possibly have! You can homeschool your child. You can also have fun and develop a wonderful relationship with your child that will last a lifetime!

Heather Laurie and her husband, Christopher, have been married for 13 wonderful years, and have been blessed with 7 children, two of whom are awaiting them in Heaven. They began their homeschooling journey eight years ago, amidst trials and unexpected journeys, including a genetic disorder, autism, sensory disorders, and lupus. Heather and her husband created the ministry Laurie Family Ministries which includes Special Needs Homeschooling as a way to use their trials for the Lord’s glory and to encourage special needs parents and homeschoolers.

January 12, 2010 By Christin 6 Comments

Something I am learning about having preschoolers in the house is this: I am laying the foundation for them now.

This is a season of habit training, not just academics and fun creativity {although that is important as well}.

Laying the foundations of habit training now will save much time and energy later. One of my favorite quotes from Charlotte Mason:

“The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children. All day she is crying out, ‘Do this!’ and they do it not; ‘Do that!’ and they do the other. ‘But,’ you say, ‘if habit is so powerful, whether to hinder or to help the child, it is fatiguing to think of all the habits the poor mother must attend to. Is she never to be at ease with her children?”

There are several key elements to laying a foundation for preschoolers.

Habit Training

There are many excellent habits to learn, but a few really important habits for very young children include:

responsibilities (or chores), such as making their bed and cleaning up their toys/books, daily
keeping a regular schedule, in which events happen in the same order most days of the week. I understand for some of us it doesn’t seem necessary because we thrive on flying-by-the-seat-of-our-pants. However, our young children may not adapt well to this type of unpredictability. Having meals and bed times set and predictable helps children know what is going to happen next and makes them secure in their environment which can result in a more confident, happy child.
complete obedience, such an important habit to learn early in a child’s life. This will establish who is in authority, thus making homeschooling run that much smoother later on. It is no easy task to get into a power struggle every time lessons are given. Our children must learn early on to obey quickly and happily. They need to know who is in charge and that disobedience will not be allowed. I cannot stress enough how important this is for a smooth-running home school.

Time

Often, in the midst of giving attention to our school age children in their lessons, we forget our young children need our time as well. They may have days when they can keep themselves occupied, but they still need some undivided attention from us on a daily basis. What we do with them during this time isn’t as important as the time itself, but here are a few suggestions:

puzzles, games, blocks, instruments
reading aloud, drawing, coloring, painting
take a walk (alone with your child), or bike ride
child directed play–allow the child to choose an activity

Planned Academics

I find it beneficial and foundational to have 1 to 3 structured academic activities each school day. It goes along with habit training and laying some of the groundwork for more formal lessons later. Once preschoolers reach school age, it may not be easy to expect them to sit down for a length of time without having this prior training. Some ideas for planned academics include:

simple counting games
alphabet book
file folder games
arts & crafts
reading stories
practicing letter formation

Preschoolers are bright and lively children. This is a tender age for forming and shaping good habits, spending quality time, and laying a good foundation for their home school future. Not only will this create “smooth and easy days” for the preschooler, but also for the mother.

Christin is the wife to Jonathan and mother of 4 children. She is an avid list planner, organizer, reader, writer, and dedicated to the journey of becoming a gracious woman. She delights in the small things in life and uses her camera to capture them and make them distinguished. It takes daily recognition and connection with Jesus to remind her that she can do nothing without Him and that it is He who directs her each and every step. Visit Christin at her blog, Journey to a Gracious Woman.

November 17, 2009 By Shannon 4 Comments

“Mommy, can I help?”, pleads my three year-old daughter as I stand at the stove cooking dinner.

“Not right now, sweetie. The stove is hot and you could get burned.”

I see the disappointment in her eyes, so I pull out a can of frozen lemonade and ask her to help me mix it up. Her eyes light up with enthusiasm as I fill the pitcher and hand her the mixing spoon. She pulls a chair up to the counter and stirs like a pro. Some of the sticky sweetness finds it way onto the countertop. We wipe it up and she finishes her job. I praise her for being such a big helper, and at mealtime we all enjoy the fruits of her labor . She’s pleased that she got to help Mommy with dinner after all.

It’s not always this easy to accommodate the culinary curiosity of a little one. It takes time and patience to deal with the process – and the mess – that are a natural part of helping children in the kitchen. The good news is that with some planning and preparation it can be a fun and memorable experience for everyone involved.

1. Schedule your time in the kitchen.
It’s best to allow a large chunk of time for your cooking so that you are not rushed. Personally, I only venture into the kitchen with my children on days when we have nothing else going on. Cooking together is much more fun when Mom is relaxed and not thinking about the next thing that has to be done on her schedule. Working within a large block of time also helps me to be patient and not rush my fellow chefs.

2. Lay down some ground rules.
Make sure that your child understands the rules of your kitchen. For example, in our home our littlest ones are not allowed near the stove, oven, or any other hot surface. Also, I make sure to keep any sharp kitchen tools out of the reach of my preschooler. Finally, we always wash hands before we begin.

3. Dress for success.
Wearing old play clothes or one of Mom’s old t-shirts insures that you don’t have to worry about good clothes getting stained. This might not be a bad idea for Mom too! Many children enjoy wearing an apron of their own as well.

4. Choose the right equipment.
Try to use kitchen tools that will be easy for small hands to hold and work with. Instead of a large, heavy glass measuring cup, try individual, plastic measuring scoops that your child can use for easy pouring. My dream is to one day have an electric stand mixer because my hand-held version is very awkward (and messy) for a child to use. If you have any soft foods, such as bananas, that need to be chopped, let your child use a plastic, serrated knife to practice cutting skills.

5. Gather your supplies ahead of time.
Get all of the ingredients, cooking utensils, and any other supplies that you will need out onto your work surface before you begin cooking. Include your children in this part of the process if possible. Certain things like plastic mixing bowls, wooden spoons, and even some ingredients could be kept in lower cabinets so that your little ones can help to gather these items. There are certain things you might find necessary to keep out of reach even after you’ve started to work on a recipe. For example, if the bag of chocolate chip morsels is too distracting for your cooking buddy, give her a couple of them to munch on, and then put the bag out of sight until it’s needed.

6. Expect some mess.
Let’s face it. Cooking creates messes even when there is just one grownup in the kitchen. So there’s going to be some cleanup involved when cooking with your children. Using a disposable plastic tablecloth over your work surface can be helpful if you’re using dry ingredients such as flour and sugar. Keeping a trash as well as a couple of wet dish towels near your work area can also come in handy. Even though it might be easier to just do it yourself, try to teach your budding chefs how to clean up as you go along, and include them in the final cleanup when you’re finished cooking. If the idea of a mess really stresses you out, then try preparing something simple like fruit salad or peanut butter on celery sticks. You don’t have to bake cookies from scratch to have fun cooking with your child.

7. Don’t forget the learning.
There are countless opportunities for learning new concepts and skills in the kitchen. Counting, measuring, following directions, observing chemical reactions and changes (especially in baking), and learning new vocabulary words are just a few examples of concepts your child will pick up on naturally if you gently point out what’s being done while you’re having fun together.

8. Enjoy the moment.
If you happen to have control issues like me, then you might have to remind yourself to let the child do as much as possible in the cooking process. The recipe does not have to turn out perfectly in order for your little chef to have a sense of accomplishment. The most important thing is for everyone to have fun and make some great memories in the process.

9. Sharing the fruits of their labor.
Nothing pleases my children more than presenting their Daddy with whatever yummy treat they have worked so hard to prepare and then hearing his praise and encouragement. If possible, let your child share their culinary masterpiece with friends or family. Children like to know that their work is important.

Finally, there are many wonderful children’s cookbooks on the market, but you can also find terrific recipes to use with children by doing an internet search.

I hope that these ideas have inspired you to head into the kitchen with your little one to make some culinary memories.

Bon Appetit!

Shannon is wife to her handsome hubby of 11 years and Mom to three awesome children, ages 4, 6, and 8. She is thankful for the privilege of being a wife and mother and is continually amazed at how God uses those roles to teach her and grow her up in Him. She is in her fourth year of homeschooling her children and writes about those adventures, and whatever else comes to mind, at http://shannon-songofmyheart.blogspot.com/

October 10, 2009 By Lynn 4 Comments

I am very excited to bring you a specific unit extender here at Heart of the Matter– the crafts, projects, recipes, and experiments that we’ve used in our schooling to help add to your existing unit on the topics I post each month.

At our home, we tend to lean towards a hands on approach to help enhance our children’s learning. I love to see them understanding what they are learning when making these projects, as well as the excitement after working on an experiment or putting together a craft. I pray that each month, these projects will bless you and your family.

I can’t believe it’s already Autumn, which gets me thinking about leaves changing colors, cooler temperatures, and getting cozy indoors. With the new season also brings thoughts to falling leaves and apple picking. For this month’s topic, I would like to share some crafts and projects that would complement your existing study on these subjects for this month’s unit study helper, which is geared mainly towards elementary aged children.

Crafts:

Awesome Apple Paper Craft
Resource: DLTK’s Educational Crafts
(http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/mawesomeapple.html)

Supplies Needed:
Paper Plate
Printer
Glue
Scissors

Directions:

Use link above to find the templates you will need for the apple man.

My kids had fun making this apple paper craft. It was easy to make and needed little supplies. This was designed with a preschooler in mind, but my elementary aged children had fun making it.

Fingerprint Apple or Cherry Tree
Resource: DLTK’s Educational Crafts
(http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/miscellaneous/fingerprint_appletree.htm)

Supplies Needed:
White Paper
Finger Paints

Directions:

Have child draw tree trunk with leaves and apples on it.

Terra Cotta Apple
Resource: DLTK’s Educational Crafts
(http://www.dltk-kids.com/)

Supplies Needed:
Terra Cotta Pot
Terra Cotta Base
Green or Red Craft Paint
Black Craft Paint
White Craft Paint
Raffia
Fall Craft Leaves
Paint sponge brush

This was so fun to make. You will need to give it a couple coats of paint and allow drying time between coats before painting on the black chalkboard and white lettering. You can put whatever you’d like your saying to be. My children decided to give these as gifts to friends and put Hershey’s kisses inside.

Directions:

Paint pot green red to represent apple color. Two coats are necessary
After paint is dry, paint chalkboard section with black craft paint.
Let dry
Write your saying with white paint to resemble chalk.
Let dry
After lid is completely dry, hot glue raffia bow on top
Hot glue craft leaves on top under or next to bow raffia
Fill with candy, toys etc…

Autumn Leaf Wall Hanging

Supplies Needed:
Contact Paper
Craft Leaves
Yarn
Sheet of Construction Paper-Fall color
Sheet of Fall Colored Felt- Non Sticky Back

Directions:

Cut out inner felt sheet to give about 1-1 ½ inch border on outside to resemble a frame.
Glue craft leaves in any design you’d like onto the fall colored construction paper.
Cover work with contact paper, both front and back
Glue string to make handle to hang up to the back of the project.

Hand Print Autumn Tree

Supplies Needed:
Medium Sized poster board or construction paper
Fall colored tissue paper
Brown construction or copy paper
Crayons or markers (Optional)

Directions:

Have your child trace his hand print and part of his/her arm onto the brown paper.
Glue onto construction or poster board
Have them tear small pieces of tissue paper
Crinkle them and place on your hand tree and around the tree like the ‘leaves’ are falling.
Color or draw a scene around it if so desire.

Leaf Wreath

Supplies Needed:
Fall Craft Leaves
Paper Plate
Glue
Yarn or string

Directions:

Cut out the center of the paper plate
Glue leaves around the plate to cover it completely
Let dry
Place string or yarn around top and hang

Apple Magnets

Supplies Needed:
Red or green craft paint
Lid of a can
Sponge paint brush
Brown Felt
Green Felt
Black Felt Tip Marker
Two wiggly eyes
Magnet
Glue

Directions:

Paint lid green or red
Let dry (You may need to paint two coats)
Glue on wiggly eyes
Make a smiley face
Cut brown felt to resemble stem
Cut green felt to resemble leaf
Glue magnet to back of lid

Resources:

Apple Unit Helps
http://www.kinderkorner.com/apple.html
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/apples.html
http://www.thekcrew.net/apples.html
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/Apple_Math_Booklet.pdf
http://www.teachingheart.net/appleunit.html

Autumn/Fall Unit Helps
http://www.fvsd.ab.ca/stm/autumn%20Themes.htm
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html
http://www.homeschoollearning.com/units/unit_09-21-01.shtml

Lynn is a blessed wife to a wonderful husband of 12 years, a mom to three children, ranging from 15 to almost 8, and in the process of expanding their family through adoption. They are in their fifth year of homeschooling, using a hands on/eclectic approach to learning. You can find out more by visiting her blogs @ Learning By Living and Ladybug Chronicles.

June 2, 2009 By Karin Leave a Comment

Beginning Mathematical Reasoning by Dough Brumbaugh & Linda Brumbaugh (Bright Minds; 2005) is part textbook and part lapbook. Geared for the 3 or 4 year old child the book focuses on the introduction and beginning concepts of 5 NCTM Standards: Number and operations, algebra, geometry, measurement and data analysis and probability.

While the workbook portion of the book involves circling, coloring, drawing, writing, or filling in the blanks, the textbook portion may just involve counting, pointing or discussing the answers with a parent which is certainly age appropriate and helps keep learning entertaining for the young learner.

The illustrations and layout are appropriately sized, colorful and uncluttered. While it is advisable to follow the lessons in order, parents may choose to skip ahead if a child is enjoying a particular skill set since they are repeated throughout to reinforce learning.

There are enough skills and lessons in this 235 page book to cover a prek3 and prek4 year with some supplementation (using manipulatives) by the parent. Though children all develop at different rates, the first half of the book is best for a typical 3 year old, while the last half of the book may be better suited for a 4 year old due to the writing that is involved to complete the lessons.

Karin Katherine is a proud stay-at-home mother of four who feels blessed to be the mother of 5 year old fraternal twin boys and two daughters, ages three and 10 months. You are invited to follow her homeschooling adventures at www.PassportAcademy.com and her adventures as a mother, wife, homemaker, decorator and organizer at www.MommyMattersBlog.com

May 15, 2009 By Karin Leave a Comment

Do you see a duck?
Or, is it a rabbit?

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichetenheld (Chronicle Books;2009) is a playful picture book for young children that takes a creative spin on the classic visual puzzle and turns it into a wonderfully captivating story for preschoolers and young readers.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is the author of the series Little Pea, Little Hoot and Little Oink and fans of her books should also check out her website for short films, animated versions of her children’s books and other entertaining distractions.

Fans of Rosenthal’s sense of humor will not be disappointed in this latest offering, although the writing is more conversational in this picture book.

Watch the animated book here:

May 8, 2009 By Angela 3 Comments

Last month we talked about how you can teach your child fine motor skills to get the writing. Now I want to equip you with websites to keep you going.

I don’t know about you but one of our greatest frustrations has been the use of scissors in our home. Our budding writers have cried, have thrown them and we have spent countless amounts of wasted time trying to master the skill of cutting. You may be wondering what the solution was. No it wasn’t those fancy ‘bounce back’ scissors that they have in the pre-school classrooms. It wasn’t ‘grown up’ scissors. It wasn’t quitting.

We went back to the basics. I printed out single straight-lined worksheets for them to cut. We cut one page a day, per week until they mastered it. One page did not overwhelm any of us. I would add in ‘cutting’ playdough with those silly bounce back scissors. They did not mind this because playdough has no rules.

You can find some good cutting printables here:

Positively Autism: Scissor Activities

So back to writing. Again…hours of lost time trying to force the issue. Kicking and screaming, hair pulling…exhaustion. (The kids too.) I finally decided that if I could get both children to write their name (in any dialect of their choosing) once a day then we were making progress. I would be able to add tracing and mazes masked in other ‘school work’ in other places. It worked!

Here’s some printable tracing activities for you:

TLSBooks: Tracing Activities

Don’t you just LOVE playdough? I admit, I was not a fan at first until I found out how many wonderful things you could do with it within the school day. I mean, what kid doesn’t love playdough?? And as an added bonus for those of us who have children who still put everything in their mouth–it’s non-toxic. You may be wondering why that would be a concern for me since my kiddos are 7 and 6, but as a mother of a 7 year old boy who swallowed a bouncy ball last month I will tell you–it’s a BIG bonus. (By the way, my copycat 6 year old daughter had to follow suit and swallowed a ring a few days ago.)

Anyhow, here are some super wonderful playdough activities and recipes:

PreKinders: Playdough Ideas

PreKinders: Playdough Recipes

Here are two of my favorite websites. I mention them because I am very much a person who learns by having things ‘spelled out’ for me. I need steps. I need to be able to copy and paste these items into my personal schedule. If you look closely at the second link you will see that the pig graphic gives detailed pictorial instruction. Those young children who cannot read the word ‘glue’ will surely recognize the picture and this builds confidence.

Hummingbird Educational Resources: Recipes, Great Fine Motor Activities

Education.com: When Pigs Fly

And finally.. for you visual learners, a special treat. The following link will take you to step by step videos that teach you how to strengthen your child’s fine motor skills. Ah, the beauty of the internet!

Expert Village: Wonderful Videos on How to Teach Your Child Fine Motor Skills

angela Angela DeRossett is military wife, homeschooling mother, and an advocate for autism research. Angela can be found blogging at Homeschooling the Chaotic Family and Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy.

March 28, 2009 By Karin 1 Comment

Paws, Claws, Hands, and Feet is written by homeschool mother and author Kimberly Hutmacher (Sylvan Dell Publishers; 2009). The story itself would appeal to young preschoolers with it’s rhyming phrases as two children take a dream journey from morning to night, using hands and feet just like squirrels, monkeys, rats, spiders, frogs, penguins, elephants, lions, kangaroos, pandas, and eagles as they travel through the African savannah, Australian outback and the frozen Antarctic.

Jumping, thumping
bouncing beat,
paws, claws, hands, and feet…

As with all Sylvan Dell picture books, free online resources and support for the book is available on the Sylvan Dell Publishing website. All information in the book was verified by a Curator of Education at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Kansas. Educational activities related to the book include: a matching activity where children identify an animal based upon their hands or feet, discussion questions and paws, claws, hands and feet adaptations.

March 28, 2009 By Karin 2 Comments

Little Skink’s Tail by Janet Halfmann (Sylvan Dell Publishing; 2007) is a delightful story about a skink who finds herself being attacked by a hungry crow one day. Lucky for her she has a special trick that she can use to protect herself from would be predators. In a blink of an eye she snaps off her tail and scurries away leaving the crow to chase her wiggly wobbly tail! Although glad to have eluded danger, the next morning Little Skink is sad because she misses her bright blue tail. Without a tail of her own she begins to imagine what life would be like if she had the tail of some other forest creatures. In the end she realizes that while the other tails are beautiful on the other animals, her tail is really the best for her, which is of course a wonderful lesson on accepting how God created you.

In my opinion Little Skink’s Tail is a homeschool mother’s dream picture book. The story on its own is of course entertaining and carries a good message, but there is so much more to this picture book. The illustrations are well done and each page not only helps to illustrate the story but also shares in detail what can be found in Little Skink’s natural habitats such as the shelf mushrooms growing on the decaying log and other animals found with Little Skink in the forest.

Like all Sylvan Dell Publishing books there is a lesson plan in the back of the book—-a homeschool mother’s dream, you don’t have to worry about making up your own! In Little Skink’s Tail there is a footprint map where children learn to identify the footprints of a Deer, Turtle, Squirrel, Owl, Rabbit, and Porcupine as well as offering practice on reading a map. There is also a tail matching activity where children are asked to identify an animal based on a illustration of its tail.

A preview of the book is available here.

See also, Wild Tracks: A Guide to Nature’s Footprints if your child enjoys the footprint activity.

March 27, 2009 By Karin Leave a Comment

Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta (Kingfisher; 2007) is a beautifully illustrated, collection of 80 traditional tales from around the world, featuring stories from: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australasia.

Although the stories are wonderful to read on their own, you should certainly consider tying them into your geography studies as we did. After reading a few of the stories aloud, I was amazed when my young children (3-5) began referencing similar plots in other stories we had read together such as the story of A Real Princess: A story from Denmark (page 66) and The Princess and the Pea. When comparing traditional folk tales it’s also easy to see how people from other parts of the world are not so different from one another after all. This book has certainly added an element of excitement to our geography studies and the children look forward to hearing new stories from around the world and then locating them on the map.

But the true test of a picture book is how often it is requested at night. And I can assure you this book is a new favorite.