After months of talking about working on a preschool curriculum and toying around with the idea of getting started, I've finally just started making my own and doing it with the boys. They're only two right now, so it's super-easy PreK stuff. We're just going to be working on things they're interested in for about one to two week stretches, so I guess they're like little units. The first unit we're doing is Trains, and I'm planning on also doing Space and Rockets, Baby Animals, Weather, Family, Construction, and anything else they end up expressing interest in. Just those should keep us going until about the end of April.

I'm making it up as we go, mostly, because right now I'm not too worried about missing crucial learning goals. We're incorporating shapes, colors, numbers, and letters into each unit and just sort of talking about them casually-- no workbooks here unless they seem interested in it (I guess I'm a bit of an unschooler when it comes to PreK?). They're already really familiar with all four of those categories and know most shapes, most colors, numbers up to thirteen, and the whole alphabet, so we're really just working on consistent recognition now. And keeping it fun. Right now, a big goal is keeping things fun-- they need a schedule and some productive activities to give order to their day, but this is by no means You Must Be The Smartest Toddlers Ever drill work.

In fact, a lot of this is really training grounds for other things-- they pay attention really well to books at home if we're sitting on the couch, or coloring if they're in high chairs at the table, but we need some practice with those things out of the familiar context. They need practice sitting in chairs they aren't strapped into or sitting on a rug to listen to a story and not wandering off. It also helps me to be more intentional about how I interact with them during the day instead of just telling them to "go play."

That said, I'm probably going to be sharing some of what we're doing for each unit on this blog and you're welcome to use any of the stuff I've put together. Even if you aren't planning on homeschooling, if you're having a hard time managing time and toddlers it might help to just have a focus for your day. I'm actually just deciding now to post what we've been doing this week as a separate post, since my explanation is already long enough to stand on its own.

I'll always welcome comments and suggestions for materials relevant to our unit topics that you feel like we've missed-- I'm just scouring the internets and my own shelves to try to avoid buying very much right now. We're making a lot of use of the library and might even hit up Goodwill for books and craft supplies soon. God's already blessed us by providing some stuff for free this week!

Next post, Trains, week one!