Homeschool Preschool?

So my Anthony will start Kindergarten next year (09). He will be 4yo (5 that Sept). He is SO very smart. Many things I read about kindergarten readiness...he can already do at 3.

My real problem is financial. I owe his preschool money from last semester. He can't return next semester until I am caught up on the tuition. He was only going 2 days a week. Now, first I don't know how I'm gonna get caught up before Sept to allow him to attend. AND I know there will be no way that I am pay MORE money to have him attend another day or 2 in the week. I really wanted him to go more often so he would be ready for K.

So my question is...is there a good preschool homeschool program out there that you would recommend? I was thinking that if I couldn't afford tuition at school, then at least I could work with him at home to prepare him for kindergarten. I hate the thought of him being behind or left out because I couldn't afford a better education.

Thanks for any tips!

 

Here is one that all the kids might enjoy. Letter of the Week

 

We're going to homeschool the girls. Right now, we aren't doing much more than letters, colors and gross motor skills. But, I do have this page (among MANY others) with resources and recommendations bookmarked and I've been there often. Hope it helps you!

 

For reference sake, my boys 3 year old curriculum at preschool was colors and shapes. At the 4 year old level it was letters and numbers. If you work on them with writing letters, make sure you do capitals and lower case. My friend didn't send her daughter to 4 year old preschool, and only taught her uppercase, and she had a bit of trouble catching up with the others.

 

Rhea, I would get some index cards and make flash cards with the alphabet. Work on sounds... then make flash cards with simple words, like cat, bat, fat. Any simple word families you can think of... Dr. Seuss' Hop on Pop is a good book to use that will give you the words you can teach them (and some sight words like "the", "and", "of") and he will be able to read it once you are done.

Also numbers like Sharon mentioned. Thomas the Tank Engine is fun and helps teach that. You can start small with a number chart, then teach counting my twos (use pick up sticks!) and then by 5s, and then by 10s. Then you can teach him simple addition (pick up sticks again or legos).

 

I got some great ideas from this THANKS LADIES!!! That's great info!!!

 

QUOTE(mac+evie @ Jul 27 2008, 04:31 AM) [snapback]898392[/snapback]
We're going to homeschool the girls. Right now, we aren't doing much more than letters, colors and gross motor skills. But, I do have this page (among MANY others) with resources and recommendations bookmarked and I've been there often. Hope it helps you!



Laura,

Would you mind sharing the sites you have bookmarked. Im always looking for new pages with thigs to do for the boys. I know I have a ways to go but preschool os so Expensive here that Im not sure Ill be able to send them and i too want a headstart.

if you dont want to post them you can send them via pm or I can give you my email addy.

thanks!!!

 

Don't forget, preschool is more than just letters, numbers, and shapes too. A big area of focus is fine motor skill development. SO make sure you offer plenty of practice time with the following:

playdough
lacing
beading
cutting (this is huge; kinders with weak cutting skills really struggle to keep up with the pace of things in class)
coloring
(anything else that will help build those little hand muscles!)

Also, if there is any way you can enroll him in some sort of extracurricular class through the city's rec program, I highly recommend it. It is important that he get some of the social readiness skills as well (listening to other adults, sharing with other children, waiting in line, taking turns, being away from mommy, etc.).

I just want you to know that I have loads of kids come to my kindergarten class every year that have not had preschool, and they do just fine academically and socially. Preschool is not a prerequisite in my opinion. There are so many things that you can do at home (and that you are already doing) that can equally prepare them! Good luck!

 

Thank you so much! The links provided seemed really helpful!! I really appreciate it.

Funny, I look at the tips for his age and he is way above the suggested curriculum. I guess thats a good thing.




PS - thanks for moving this to 1-4...I thought that's where I put it and was looking for it this morning. *der*

 

gosh - 4 more people posted while I was reading...LOL

Kate - thanks for those tips, too.

Thank you everyone.

 

Is there a seperate forum for Homeschooling multiples? We are beging to research homeschooling and would love to talk with other parents of multiples that are HS or are thinking about Homeschooling.

 

There isn't and I really wish there were. We are in our third year of homeschooling our older children. It would be nice to talk to other homeschooling parents of mulitples to figure out how to keep two occupied at the same time while schooling others, etc.

We used many of the links listed above to HS our DD through preK and K. But we were very low key with her. Learning at that age really should be all about fun and not so much about structure. We are starting her on 1st material this year and it will be the first time in 2 years we will actually sit down to do more formal schooling. She can't wait to learn like her brothers ahve been.

 

Here is a site I really like.

This fall I am going to be taking my boys to our local Jr. College. They have a Lab School where people learn to become preschool teachers and childcare providers. They even have an infant center. It is awesome. I did the same thing with my older son. You do have to be taking classes at the college for them to go but I needed to take some classes anyway as well as finish up my student teaching. It is super cheap (like $1.50 an hour) and they have the best of everything there. Plus you figure you have twice as many teachers there because they have the mentor teachers, student teachers and aides. Maybe you can see if there is anything like that around your area? You would be able to take all of your boys.

It sounds like Anthony has a great headstart!

 

QUOTE(nikki_0724 @ Jul 27 2008, 06:53 AM) [snapback]898646[/snapback]
Laura,

Would you mind sharing the sites you have bookmarked. Im always looking for new pages with thigs to do for the boys. I know I have a ways to go but preschool os so Expensive here that Im not sure Ill be able to send them and i too want a headstart.

if you dont want to post them you can send them via pm or I can give you my email addy.

thanks!!!


I tried posting this before and my browser crashed just before I could click send. :angry: So, here goes nothing...

I love The Ounces Scale as a way to gauge developmental milestones and get some activity ideas.
And another developmental site: http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content...hart/page1.html
Here is a list of sites I have bookmarked. I haven't had time to really explore all of these sites, but if they'll help someone that's great.

http://www.mothergoosetime.com/
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/forest/2468/
http://www.preschoolexpress.com/
http://www.homeschool-curriculum-for-life....curriculum.html
http://www.homeschoolingonashoestring.com/preschool.html
http://www.time4learning.com/homeschool-preschool.shtml
http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/ho...-preschool.html
http://www.besthomeschooling.org/articles/...s_ps_kdgtn.html
http://www.handsonhomeschooling.com/
http://www.abchomepreschool.com/
http://www.independenthomeschooling.com/20...ur-young-child/

Most likely I won't buy a packaged curriculum but rather combine ideas and information from all of these to create my own.

HTH!!

 

You are all giving me so much awesome information! Thank you so much. I went out today and spent $60 on new fingerpaints, crayons, safety scissors etc etc. LOL Also got some activity books and flash cards. We'll see where that goes. I have gotten some great ideas from everyones links.

 

I don't think he'll be behind at all by "missing" preschool. Have you thought about starting a playgroup for social interaction? I did that last year once a week with several other moms.

For homeschool curriculum, you might try "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." I wouldn't push it if your son doesn't show an interest, but I have taught several of my children to read using the program.

Another option is to try your local high school -- sometimes they do a preschool program. Ours did, for two months in the fall and two months in the spring. Not a ton of time, but the price was unbeatable -- $70 for 2 months, 3 days a week.

 

QUOTE(ChristinaB @ Jul 27 2008, 06:59 PM) [snapback]899155[/snapback]
For homeschool curriculum, you might try "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." I wouldn't push it if your son doesn't show an interest, but I have taught several of my children to read using the program.


I have this book. It hasn't taught them to read while sitting on my bedroom floor yet... . I am going to tackle the reading thing this year and I am thinking of trying this method (not the osmosis, the 100 ES). How does the program translate when it comes to reading books? From the bits I have read it uses symbols for indicating what the sound a letter makes (example: long e vs short e). How do kids learn to decipher the rules of reading?

 

I'm going to add this even though I sent it as a PM to mommy23monkeys.

Not sure if I can put these links up on the forum thread, but here's a few of our favorite sites.

www.starfall.com (does not cost anything and is one of my 3 year olds favorites)

www.time4learning.com (costs money, the preschool area seemed to move too slow for my pretty advanced 4yr old and Grade 1 was too much, but my then 5th grader loved his level.)

www.clicknkids.com (this one costs and we just started it for my almost 4 year old, so far it's been good)

www.progressivephonics.com (the first few books in each level are free)

www.learntoreadfree.com

www.kindersite.org

Hope this helps you. I go back and forth whether I'm going to homeschool again. Right now with the twins so young, my DS1 and DD1 will be attending school again this year.

Oh and www.welltrainedmind.com is a great site to purchase used curriculum. Go to message boards, then Sale and Swap

 

QUOTE(pamallhoney @ Jul 27 2008, 09:07 PM) [snapback]899259[/snapback]
I'm going to add this even though I sent it as a PM to mommy23monkeys.

Not sure if I can put these links up on the forum thread, but here's a few of our favorite sites.

www.starfall.com (does not cost anything and is one of my 3 year olds favorites)


Sure you can! I love Starfall! We use it all the time at school. We also use Scholastic Clifford Reads and www.aaamath.com. AAA Math has math even for the youngest of kids (Pre-K, K) so they are already learning numbers there too!

And I wanted to add how important cutting is (like Kate mentioned). It seems so many kids are behind in that (I have taught 1st grade and it was awful watching them cut!!), so I would highly recommend letting them go at it. Also guide them in coloring, holding a crayon, how hard to press and a pencil too. Important motor skills to have!

 

QUOTE(Sarah© @ Jul 27 2008, 06:14 PM) [snapback]899265[/snapback]
And I wanted to add how important cutting is (like Kate mentioned). It seems so many kids are behind in that (I have taught 1st grade and it was awful watching them cut!!), so I would highly recommend letting them go at it. Also guide them in coloring, holding a crayon, how hard to press and a pencil too. Important motor skills to have!


I drew a big circle on a paper today and he actually cut it out! I was so proud.



And one good thing about him, he is not lacking in the social arena. He is a social butterfly. lol

 

QUOTE(mommy23monkeys @ Jul 27 2008, 09:24 PM) [snapback]899284[/snapback]
And one good thing about him, he is not lacking in the social arena. He is a social butterfly. lol


The apple does not fall far from the tree.

 

Rhea - Thanks for posting this thread. Tons of great tips and information.

 

I taught preschool for about 5 years. I originally started working there because my oldest daughter was 4 and preschool was just way too expensive... so I took a job as a preschool teacher at a daycare, and was able to bring my kids with me for free! It was a big win/win/win situation... I had an income, got to see my kids, and had free preschool and daycare!

I plan on homeschooling the twins for preschool. Making up a curriculum is a piece of cake. I would do it about a month at a time... come up with a craft, a few songs, a story, etc. for every day you are having school. Maybe let the kids make carpet squares to sit on during circle time so they know this is special school time. You can work on letters and numbers using a variety of materials (play dough, felt, etc). I used a magazine called "The Mailbox" for a ton of ideas. You can see some ideas at themailbox.com. If they carry it at your library, you can make copies to use. It was a lesson planning lifesaver for me on many occasions! I don't think you need to buy any pre-packaged programs. September is usually back to school, October usually focuses on Halloween (yep, the whole month!), November- Thanksgiving/fall stuff, December- Christmas/ winter holidays, January- snow (you can do fake snow projects, fill the sand table with cotton balls, etc. if you don't have snow by you), February- love/ Valentines day, March and April- spring, May- Summer... and you're done! You can do a week of learning about veggies... space stuff... sports... whatever they are interested in! I always loved art that the kids created... not stuff where you ended up with 10 of the same exact project. I loved making stuff out of huge boxes with the kids... a box painted to be a tv that the kids would get behind and act for each other... a refrigerator box if you ever have access to one, can be made into a phone booth... You are going to have so much fun!

I plan on inviting a few kids from the neighborhood to come to school, maybe 2 or 3, so it feels more like school. At four years old, I don't think they would need more than 3 days a week. And you don't need to have them sit at circle time for more than half an hour. You can do some free play, circle time, art time, work with letters, maybe have a water or science area set up (a magnifying glass and leaves for example), and snack time. Try to have a routine... at circle time have a hello song, do the weather, play some games...

Well, I could really write pages and pages! If you have any questions feel free to pm me! I hope some of this helps!
Helen

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Jul 27 2008, 09:08 AM) [snapback]898657[/snapback]
I just want you to know that I have loads of kids come to my kindergarten class every year that have not had preschool, and they do just fine academically and socially. Preschool is not a prerequisite in my opinion. There are so many things that you can do at home (and that you are already doing) that can equally prepare them! Good luck!


I was going to post a few sites on homeschooling preschoolers, but looks like everything I have has already been posted. BUT, here are a few craft sites that we use (I homeschool my preschoolers and we're going to homeschool for school). We love these sites and have lots of fun with crafts:

http://www.everythingpreschool.com/
http://www.dltk-kids.com/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/
http://www.first-school.ws/

Also here is a link to my blog post about our "Alphabet Workbooks": http://alongtimeagofaraway.blogspot.com/20...-workbooks.html

And finally I'd like to add that I agree with the above quote. There is a ton you can do with them at home, in fact you are probably doing it and not even realizing it. Any time you all go to the store, or the bank, or the mall, or the post office you are teaching them things. Take those opportunities to talk about those places, show them how to shop, pay for things, stand in lines, associate with other adults, ect. It takes a little more time, but they will learn more than you can imagine.

Good luck, and who knows, you may just love the homeschooling thing! (I wasn't planning on homeschooling until I started doing the preschool stuff at home and feel in love with teaching my kids!)

 

QUOTE(KPS1971 @ Jul 27 2008, 04:23 PM) [snapback]899051[/snapback]
Is there a seperate forum for Homeschooling multiples? We are beging to research homeschooling and would love to talk with other parents of multiples that are HS or are thinking about Homeschooling.



QUOTE(Aurie @ Jul 27 2008, 04:32 PM) [snapback]899059[/snapback]
There isn't and I really wish there were. We are in our third year of homeschooling our older children. It would be nice to talk to other homeschooling parents of mulitples to figure out how to keep two occupied at the same time while schooling others, etc.


Just wanted to say I'd love to see a subforum for homeschooling too!

 

QUOTE(r-twins @ Jul 27 2008, 07:35 PM) [snapback]899422[/snapback]
Also here is a link to my blog post about our "Alphabet Workbooks": http://alongtimeagofaraway.blogspot.com/20...-workbooks.html


I love your workbooks. I might just have to steal that idea.

 

QUOTE(mommy23monkeys @ Jul 27 2008, 09:26 PM) [snapback]899483[/snapback]
I love your workbooks. I might just have to steal that idea.


I should have given you the links to where I found most everything:

http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/trace.htm

http://bogglesworldesl.com/alphabet_worksheets.htm

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/alphabetp8.htm

http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/abcprint.htm?n=abc

http://www.beginningreading.com/Free%20Workshe.htm

It took some time and a little money (I used 8 different worksheets for each letter which is about 200 page proctors for the two books) but they can be used for several years as they master handwriting. So it's an investment, not an expense.

 

Just thought I'd add that there are whole curriculums for preschool. I used one for both my 2 older boys. Not too expensive either. Both were reading and a year ahead by kindergarten.

I'd like a homeschool forum too! We are 5 years into homeschooling now.

I'm sure you'll do a great job getting your DS ready for school. Who know's you may end up enjoying it so much that you'll keep it up instead of sending him to school.