Pre-Homeschool

I have begun "preschool" for Lorelai this week.
I plan to build up to a more structured schedule, so we are taking small steps right now. It's an adjustment, poor thing. She has some ADD tendencies.

For the first week I plan to have a letter and number of the day. We then collect items in a small bag that begin with that letter, and hopefully I can tie in the number somehow. We then show dad the bag in the evening and explain what the letter is and what the objects are. This reinforces the information, and gives her something to work towards when wondering around the house searching for items. We also talk about the day of the week, and the weather. Though she does not tell me what the weather is, rather what she wants the weather to be. Her answer is consistently "snow." We'll work on that.

The second week I plan to work in a book of the day, and if I'm feeling really bold, a corresponding art project. Her speech skills are a tad behind, but she's making great progress, so I think a word of the day could help her along. One that I know she has trouble pronouncing and using correctly in a sentence. The approach of "_____ of the day" will work best for her age and for her adjustment into schooling in general. We will ease into larger, more general concepts over time.

The third week I'd like to work in "bigger picture" things like months, seasons, states, and word identification. Like her name, her sister's name, etc. Introducing food groups will also work itself in, mainly because we are working on expanding her toddler palate.

The fourth week I see us starting some concrete themes. This will definitely take more work on my behalf. Planning a week in advance, and making sure we have enough time to dedicate to the entire daily lesson, even if we need to divide it up through the day. So what starts off in week 1 as "letter A and number 1 on a sunny Monday" will evolve into "letter L and number 12 on a cloudy Friday, October the 12. Book: It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown; with pumpkin stamp art. What season do we see pumpkins? The word of the day: "orange"; and pumpkin muffins for snack." by week 4. (Yes, I know my timeline doesn't match up with my example, but you get the idea...I hope.)

All of this is easy to plan out, it's the execution (with an infant) that will need practice. I also think a teacher planner is in order soon.

Some things she already excels in:

• fine motor skills
• color identification
• shape identification 
• animal identification

These things will come in handy when I work them in with the daily lesson. I hope this will deter frustration and create a link she can relate to. Stickers will also help motivate her, to a point. She's got a pretty hard-headed streak. Hence the "easing into" school. I do not want her to view school as a punishment or a chore...not yet anyway. ;)


M.LEWIS