Please recommend some lesson plans for a pre-kindergartener.
June 10, 2011 1:45 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for some structure to give my almost 5 year old this summer, please recommend some pre-canned lesson plans for a pre-kindergartener.
Can you recommend the best pre-K/K lesson plans or worksheets (online or print)?
I've seen these previous threads: Learn Me and You take care of my kids. She will definitely get lots of free play, arts and crafts, music, reading, etc. I'm looking to add a little bit of structure and organization for myself and the sitter she will be home with 3 days a week. Specifically I would like themes, projects, and worksheets. Yes, I have googled "preschool themes", "kindergarten worksheets", etc, but there are a bazillion and one of them. I'm not looking for hardcore home schooling, my problem is that I have 3 kids under 5 and work part time, so my brain is mush and I just can't come up with this myself -- even something simple like deciding to talk about bugs today ... or patterns or the weather or maps ... is often beyond my cognitive abilities lately.
Can you recommend the best pre-K/K lesson plans or worksheets (online or print)?
I've seen these previous threads: Learn Me and You take care of my kids. She will definitely get lots of free play, arts and crafts, music, reading, etc. I'm looking to add a little bit of structure and organization for myself and the sitter she will be home with 3 days a week. Specifically I would like themes, projects, and worksheets. Yes, I have googled "preschool themes", "kindergarten worksheets", etc, but there are a bazillion and one of them. I'm not looking for hardcore home schooling, my problem is that I have 3 kids under 5 and work part time, so my brain is mush and I just can't come up with this myself -- even something simple like deciding to talk about bugs today ... or patterns or the weather or maps ... is often beyond my cognitive abilities lately.
Five in a row is generally pretty well regarded, as far as I can tell.
I know some homeschoolers who have used it (along with other materials - it's not a whole curriculum, or anything) and really liked it. It's basically a series of activities organized around children's books. The idea is that you read the same story for five days, with new learning activities related to the story each day.
(Just in case 'hardcore homeschooling' in your question means religion, the explicitly 'Christian' resources are all in a separate, supplemental volume which you don't have to buy or use. The authors of FIAR are evangelicals, but plenty of secular families find it easy to skip the religious bits.)
posted by Wylla at 4:01 PM on June 10, 2011
I know some homeschoolers who have used it (along with other materials - it's not a whole curriculum, or anything) and really liked it. It's basically a series of activities organized around children's books. The idea is that you read the same story for five days, with new learning activities related to the story each day.
(Just in case 'hardcore homeschooling' in your question means religion, the explicitly 'Christian' resources are all in a separate, supplemental volume which you don't have to buy or use. The authors of FIAR are evangelicals, but plenty of secular families find it easy to skip the religious bits.)
posted by Wylla at 4:01 PM on June 10, 2011
learning how to mix colors
Use frosting and food coloring, then eat it on cupcakes.
posted by CathyG at 4:55 PM on June 10, 2011
Use frosting and food coloring, then eat it on cupcakes.
posted by CathyG at 4:55 PM on June 10, 2011
Disclaimer: I work on this site. Is this the sort of stuff you're looking for?
posted by sa3z at 6:25 PM on June 10, 2011
posted by sa3z at 6:25 PM on June 10, 2011
SparkleBox? Also TSL Books? You can search for ESL stuff as well for reading/phonics.
posted by kathrynm at 3:16 AM on June 11, 2011
posted by kathrynm at 3:16 AM on June 11, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
PBS also has a whole section for teachers with lessons and activities. They have a lot of cool stuff for the little ones and some of them go along with short clips from shows like Dinosaur Train. Even though it says it's for teachers, lots of them are short and can be done at home easily.
Starting rock collections, leaf collections, making musical instruments, marshmallow dinosaurs, trace fossils, and bonsai tree painting are all fun and easy. It may help you to pick a few themes you think they would like and then collect activities that way. When you search for "Kindergarten activities bugs," it will be a lot less daunting than looking at a whole bunch of different topics. You don't have to present the activities in a themed way, but that might also be fun (Maybe a few days on on zoo animals followed by a trip? Dinosaur activities and then a trip to the museum? Bug activities and then a bug movie!)
I just finished a week doing a Pre-K and Kindergarten summer camp and some of their favorite things were: learning how to mix colors and then mixing them (usually not allowed in school apparently), playing with roly polies, and digging for dinosaurs. We had a blast- make sure you enjoy the activities too :)
posted by Mouse Army at 3:00 PM on June 10, 2011