Preschool Curriculum Part 3

The main piece of curriculum that I decided on was Before Five In A Row.  I purchased my book from Rainbow Resource for $35.00, but I know that you can find it for much cheaper elsewhere.  You can check homeschooling resale pages to find some deals.  I have also heard that you can sometimes find it at the library.

I really like this curriculum because it focuses on good books.  For those that choose, it gives you a passage of scripture to start the day/week off with that matches the theme of the book.  It also offers a lot of ideas on how to incorporate different subjects from the chosen book that week.  I plan on taking 1-2 weeks on each book (depending on how fast my son wants to go through it).  Some of the books are older and out of print.  I know I will probably have to use inter-library loan in order to find a few, but that is fine with me.

There are lots of outside sites that offer ideas on how to supplement each book.  I have found that I really like Homeschool Creations for their supplements.  They have different pages for sequencing, math, writing, letter recognition, colors, and much more.  I plan to laminate the pages that I like, and then I can have Isaac use a dry erase marker to work on it each day.  I am creating a folder for each book.  That way each week I can just grab it and go.  Laminated pages will work great for other kids in the future.

We also use ABC Mouse.  We have had a subscription for over a year now.  My son loves it!  We have a laptop set up so that he can do his homework while Daddy does his.  ABC Mouse is the reason Isaac has known his upper and lower case letters for about a year.  It's great!

This week I have started looking into coops.  I think I found one that I like, but I can't participate fully until after the baby due to an attendance clause.  However, they have public field trips every other week, family activities, and mom's night out that I can go to without being a full member.  We will have our first field trip on August 20th.  I am excited, so I hope that I am feeling well enough for an outing that day!

For the first time in about 4 years I ordered a new insert for my planner.  I cannot express how excited I was to open it!  I use Google calendar, but there is just something about being able to see everything on paper.  I have already started planning out the next month of activities.  This way I know when I need to request the books I need.  I plan on getting additional books to go along with the main book for the week.  This will help me expand on different aspects.