A reader recently asked me this and I promised a post for her--I just hope I got it out quick enough for her and all of you who were wondering too!
I did preschool last year --and can I just say that I haven't done any preschool in eight years?! It was SO much fun to be able to do it again after so long and we had a blast! I felt like I truly savored it and enjoyed doing all the things with little Bella that I have always wanted to do but not might have had time to over the years with many little children all at once.
Now just for the record--for the older ones I used to always use Rod and Staff Curriculum for their preschool year. This was a set I used and here is another along with this. And I used them very loosely because I feel like preschool needs to be a time to play, have fun, and enjoy all the little kid things that slip away all too quickly. Lots of outdoors time, dancing, singing, dress-up time too.
(This post contains affiliate links--please see our disclosure policy.)
We loved these puppets and finger puppets I picked up at the dollar spot in Target. This is not just school but can also be used as part of her Quiet Bin time. In addition to my wood toy addiction, I also have a love for felt toys so of course I had to grab a few packs of money, alphabets, numbers, and so forth. You can find some that are similar here:
HAND PUPPETS
FINGER PUPPETS
FELT NUMBERS
FELT ALPHABET
This felt money pack goes well with our play cash register! We used to just print out money online when the money that came with it got lost but this will last longer.
We used these books and several were the dry erase marker kind that you can just wipe and reuse. She loved every single one and would beg to do school. Here is what is listed:
BIG PRESCHOOL BOOK
WIPE CLEAN WRITING NUMBERS
WIPE CLEAN 123
MELISSA AND DOUG SCISSOR SKILLS (one of her favorites!)
TRACING AND PEN CONTROL WORKBOOK
We also use our iPad for her and found some great Bible apps and others for learning her alphabet, numbers, and doing puzzles which sharpened her thinking skills.
Some other random things I picked up:
I love this felt map:
You can place the landmarks on it!
Even though this talking globe is not new I wanted to show it to you because my kids like it so much and play with it every year. I got it at Once Upon a Child but you can also find some here.
We like Melissa and Doug so also got this Abacus for counting.
Some basic flashcards:
A matching game, Melissa & Doug Sticker Collection, Match It Mathematics, and Matching Game Cards, Printing Numbers with Shapes, Numbers, Math & Shapes.
There is definitely more we had added throughout the year (and I didn't include everyday supplies --you can find our basic list here-- or curriculum or other odds and ends because it would just take too long) but just wanted to give you a glimpse of how simple we kept it. We also attended library classes for reading and crafts and checked out a ton of preschool books!
We also added a ton of fun this year by doing special things like:
MAKING A WATER BEAD SENSORY BIN
MAKING HUMAN PLAY-DOH MATS
And having our Poetry Tea Times along with a lot of painting!
QUICK HELPFUL TIP BEFORE I GO:
One of my absolute favorite books to pick up for me to help my young ones is this little gem:
I did preschool last year --and can I just say that I haven't done any preschool in eight years?! It was SO much fun to be able to do it again after so long and we had a blast! I felt like I truly savored it and enjoyed doing all the things with little Bella that I have always wanted to do but not might have had time to over the years with many little children all at once.
In case you are new here, we have nine children and we have four that have already graduated. I will homeschool five this year --two in high school, and the twins in middle school, and little Bella joining us for Kindergarten. She has been asking me every day for the last month when school starts!
Now just for the record--for the older ones I used to always use Rod and Staff Curriculum for their preschool year. This was a set I used and here is another along with this. And I used them very loosely because I feel like preschool needs to be a time to play, have fun, and enjoy all the little kid things that slip away all too quickly. Lots of outdoors time, dancing, singing, dress-up time too.
But last year I used something totally different and loved it.
So I will share some some really cute things I got for her. I wanted to start with some of the fun things first:
(This post contains affiliate links--please see our disclosure policy.)
We loved these puppets and finger puppets I picked up at the dollar spot in Target. This is not just school but can also be used as part of her Quiet Bin time. In addition to my wood toy addiction, I also have a love for felt toys so of course I had to grab a few packs of money, alphabets, numbers, and so forth. You can find some that are similar here:
HAND PUPPETS
FINGER PUPPETS
FELT NUMBERS
FELT ALPHABET
This felt money pack goes well with our play cash register! We used to just print out money online when the money that came with it got lost but this will last longer.
We used these books and several were the dry erase marker kind that you can just wipe and reuse. She loved every single one and would beg to do school. Here is what is listed:
BIG PRESCHOOL BOOK
WIPE CLEAN WRITING NUMBERS
WIPE CLEAN 123
MELISSA AND DOUG SCISSOR SKILLS (one of her favorites!)
TRACING AND PEN CONTROL WORKBOOK
We also use our iPad for her and found some great Bible apps and others for learning her alphabet, numbers, and doing puzzles which sharpened her thinking skills.
Some other random things I picked up:
I love this felt map:
You can place the landmarks on it!
Even though this talking globe is not new I wanted to show it to you because my kids like it so much and play with it every year. I got it at Once Upon a Child but you can also find some here.
We like Melissa and Doug so also got this Abacus for counting.
Some basic flashcards:
A matching game, Melissa & Doug Sticker Collection, Match It Mathematics, and Matching Game Cards, Printing Numbers with Shapes, Numbers, Math & Shapes.
There is definitely more we had added throughout the year (and I didn't include everyday supplies --you can find our basic list here-- or curriculum or other odds and ends because it would just take too long) but just wanted to give you a glimpse of how simple we kept it. We also attended library classes for reading and crafts and checked out a ton of preschool books!
We also added a ton of fun this year by doing special things like:
MAKING A WATER BEAD SENSORY BIN
MAKING HUMAN PLAY-DOH MATS
And having our Poetry Tea Times along with a lot of painting!
QUICK HELPFUL TIP BEFORE I GO:
One of my absolute favorite books to pick up for me to help my young ones is this little gem:
They updated the cover but the inside is a wonderful treasure trove of songs, poems, games, and more to help your little one learn all the things that you might have forgotten about at that age. You will definitely want this book for your collection! They also have it for all elementary school ages too.
I am hoping for a fun year of learning this year and I hope you have one too!
What preschool books would you add to this list?
2 comments:
I absolutely LOVE the felt ideas! I was just mourning that I had no pre-schoolers left after my 4 have grown out of it. It has been my favorite to teach. I would add Horizon Pre-school curriculum and BIG foam letters to hop on for ABC's. We used to make a new pattern out of them every week as we'd add a new letter. Also, starfall.com is great to continue working on letters/reading.
Hi Journey,
Yes, love all the felt things, I have a few more that are not in the pictures too that I will share one day. I love Starfall too. We also like Tozzle and Bible for Kids apps. Thanks for stopping by!
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