Once we decided I would homeschool McKenna my mind started spinning about how I was going to do this. Where do I find worksheets? How much time do I spend on handwriting? Spelling? Counting?
I quickly went to twitter and asked on my Facebook page and found some great resources to create my plan.
And then we began.
And her difficulty with small motor tasks made my little worksheets a failure.
Writing was causing her to fatigue (and get frustrated) quickly and I could see her eyes wandering to the toy box in the next room.
I realized my carefully planned worksheets would become scrap paper and I would have to focus on hands-on learning to make this work.
Here are our favorite activities of the week:
Peel Away Letters
What you need:
-glue
-wax paper
-food coloring
1. Drop a few drops of your favorite food coloring into a bottle of white glue.
2. Replace the cap and let your kiddo shake away until the food coloring is mixed in thoroughly.
3. Using the glue, draw an example of the letter you are working with on the wax paper and then let your child do the same. (squeezing the glue is a great way to sneak in strengthening little hands)
4. Get creative and let them draw pictures of things that begin with that letter or squirt a pile of glue onto the wax and they can trace their letter in the glue too.
5. Let the letters and pictures dry and then peel them off the next day for an extra chance to review what they learned.
Find the letter
What you need:
-paper
-lots of things to sort through (also known as whatever you have nearby)
1. Write the letter you are teaching on a piece of paper or let your child do it.
2. Go on a scavenger hunt for items that begin with that letter and have your little one set them on your letter. We had lots of fun with this, it helps build sorting skills and recognizing letter sounds and since we were using items at home she spent the week continuing her learning by telling us what began with “m” whenever she came across it in the house.
I think I might be getting the hang of this :).
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Love the glue idea! I can see how that would put a fun twist on the letters for little ones! Pinning!
Your scavenger hunt reminded me of the one I did recently – http://picklesink.com/2012/10/01/paparazzi-in-training/ My son loves taking pictures so I sent him off with his camera for the hunt. We tried a second one using the letters of his name – Benjamin – which he found more challenging. I love the glue idea!
I love these ideas! Even though our son goes to preschool outside of the home, I still think these are great – I will definitely be using them! Hope things continue to improve with you & McKenna 🙂
Thanks so much, it’s been an unexpected surprise to have it going so well already.
Thank you for sharing such great ideas. Hugs to you and McKenna.
What a fantastic idea. We sent our son off to school but I know that learning has to continue in the home…especially since he has 29 kids in his class!!!
Thank you for sharing this!
I like that scavenger hunt idea! I’m going to have to try that soon. My little guy is 3 and we are doing preschool with him this year as well.
On another note…I noticed from your Facebook comment above that you are in Michigan, which makes me smile because a) my son’s name is Orion and b) I am in Mi as well, by Lansing. 🙂
You’re such an awesome mom. Seriously… I love my kids dearly but I could never homeschool! Preschool maybe… anything past that and they’re out! I just don’t think that I have the patience for it.
Great ideas! I may try that glue thing with my kids.
Those are some great activities. You are going to be great at homeschooling!
Thank you, I love it so far. Not sure I could juggle it with all my kids though. I’m amazed at moms who homeschool all of their kids.
Most parents who start homeschooling this early have been homeschooling since birth, but never considered it as such. Taking it upon yourself to be mindful of what your child needs to learn, plus when to learn it, is a natural part of homeschooling, and preschool needs only a small amount of structure and planning to be successful.
I love this. Great ideas. I was thinking about homeschooling before, but very casually. But since you and I have talked, I’m thinking this is something I may seriously need to look into for D.
We had full intentions of sending her to preschool until it came time for preschool. She was petrified and I’m not sure if she would have ever got used to it. We decided she would learn a lot more without the anxiety. It’s been great.
Such great ideas! I know you guys are going to do great at this. Can’t wait to hear more about it!
It’s going really well, better than I thought and I like the challenge of finding things that work best for her.
Thanks for nice photos of creative jobs of a lovely kid. Really it’s a funny and interesting post.
I love these activities – fun and educational!
Also love the Mom drawing 🙂