The Preschool Experiment

Spilled milk. Not something I would usually cry over, but lately, I've been strung a little tight. Having just moved and with my little girl (8mos) beside herself lately, I would be lying if I said my stress levels weren't through the roof! I was starting to feel pretty short tempered, and out of control. My anxiety was getting the best of me, which meant my kiddos were getting the worst of me. My little girl was demanding near constant attention, and I was feeling like my toddler was not getting the attention he needed as a result. Something needed to change. Thus began my new adventure, preschooling my toddler at home.

I find organization and planning very cathartic. So when I needed something to help turn my mood around and get my anxiety under control, I did something that may seem counter-intuitive to some. I decided to build a preschool curriculum for my 3 year old. Having never tried anything like this before it was a lot of work, but 4 weeks in and I am very glad I started this. I am managing my anxiety and stress much better, but the biggest improvement has been the amount of quality one on one time spent with my toddler.

As he is only 3 I'm not really strict on the way we learn, nor do I expect him to pick up on concepts right away. I do not have unreasonable expectations. In fact most of what we do is done through play. But I have become much more intentional about making time to play, and it has had a wonderful effect on us both! I thought I would share a bit about the process of making my curriculum, and likely follow up with some of the activities we do each week in subsequent posts. I am certainly not an expert, and I am really just feeling my way through this process.

Setting up

The first thing I did was come up with a list of skills, both educational and general life skills that I wanted to work on. Then I came up with a second list, with more general skills, that I wanted to use to help learn all the rest. Things like Gross and Fine motor skills.

Then I went through and drew an agenda for our year with monthly and weekly sections. This obviously could have been bought, but I had a spare notebook, and I found the repetition involved rather relaxing.

I came up with a theme for each week, as well as assigning a letter, number, colour, and shape to focus on. I plan out the main pieces for each theme about a month in advance. The activities are usually worked out a week or two before we actually get to that theme.

I keep a little sheet protector for each week of the month to come with colouring pages, and activity sheets that focus on the letters, numbers, colours and shapes we will be working on and then I sort out any larger activities closer to the date.

We don't always get through all the pages, but that's ok, they are there and easy to grab if we need some quiet colourig time throughout the week. Any we don't use I just save to use later on.

Teaching Time

When I started this I think I was envisioning a solid routine with table time after breakfast, then outdoor time. Crafting after lunch, and then a nap. I don't know who I was kidding, with a baby to wrangle as well, and the chaotic schedule we are currently keeping, that was never going to happen.

What I have found instead is learning plan that is a integrated into our real lives, so much so that it barely seems like learning at all. But it is learning, already there are clear improvements in his skills and I'm seeing improvements in his mood and our relationship as well. Now there wasn't really anything wrong with our relationship before, but it does seem a little closer and more fun than it used to be.

I have learned that a little preparation goes a long way. I keep a homeschooling bin within reach now. A few things I always keep in it are, crayons, flashcards, books on shapes and colours, an alphabet colouring book. I also have a few things that I swap out every week, such as the colouring and worksheets for that weeks theme, playdough in whatever colour we are learning that week and any reading books that fit our theme as well. Then I add items that we will use for any crafts or activities we have planned for that week.

It's super handy to have it all at the ready, and is also within his reach so he can play with any of the materials whenever he would like. Setting it up like this allows me to be able to quickly dive into something whenever he is interested, or any time of day that works as I never need to run around getting supplies.

What I've learned

I have loved this new experiment, I do feel like it is helping me get a little closer to the mom that I want to be. I love crafting and playing with my kids. But I do have a tendency to get hung up on the work of having a family, and miss out on some of the fun. This has brought a lot of the fun back for me. I'm looking forward to sharing some of our themes with you in later posts. Maybe a few updates on how things are going as well!

Until next time, be safe and be kind.