Teaching Tuesday: Resources for Pre-School

Today I wanted to pass on a few resources that I have used to plan some hands on, age appropriate activities for both Landon and Elaine.  For me the day gets away from me if I am not purposeful in my time with my children.  Before I know it I have spent the morning on laundry, email, dishes, and cleaning.  Then it is lunch time followed by nap.  Then after nap it is supper prep time, then dinner, then baths and bedtime.  The day is gone and I haven't taken the time to focus on my kids.  Really spend time with them.  So even when Landon was very little I started looking for ways to play with him intentionally and help him learn about the world around him.  The first resource I found was a really fun book, Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, by June Oberlander.  I purchased an older edition from ebay.  It starts at birth and goes through age 5 with an activity a week.  I haven't always done every activity with each kid, but when I am looking for something fun to do it is full of age appropriate ideas.  The ideas usually involve things you find around the house.  I have had to improvise a few times for instance when it suggests using empty spools...I don't sew enough to have empty spools lying around, but I always found something that would work.  This fish activity was one I found in the book.

The second place I want to highlight is Hubbard's Cupboard.  It is a website with tons of great ideas for 2 and 3 year olds.  I have used lots of her ideas this year.  I used her monthly themes loosely for Elaine.  I love having the suggested books to read, because finding books at the library can be tricky while watching a 4 year old and a potty training 2 year old and pushing a stroller.  I also used several of her ideas for Christmas too.  Here Landon and Elaine are making shape angels, a link I found on Hubbard's Cupboard's Christmas list.

Next Tuesday I have some activities I have used to teach reading comprehension that can be used with several age levels and with almost any book.  Later this week the crafty organization project I have been working on and another yummy recipe.