Calendar Time Routine with a Preschooler

Hey friends! 

If you are new to the blog, WELCOME!

I am a homeschooling momma to my 4 year old preschooler and 9 month old son.

We are so blessed to share our adventures using our Mother Goose Time Preschool Curriculum, which we think is downright amazing.

We never have school at the same time everyday.  

However each time we start school, it goes in the same rhythm, and it always starts with Calendar Time- even if I get nothing else done homeschool wise.

So here is our Calendar Time Routine which is all completely provided by MGT.

Because I want my girl to learn to count, know number recognition, and think about pattern as we go, we start the month with a blank calendar and add to it daily.  Each day my preschooler has to figure out what the next number is, what the pattern is on that card (this month is boy/girl, purple/blue), and what the day of the week is.  She then tells me the weather and we go through our sight words that come with our I Can Read Book.

Here's a 3-4 minute video.  She is soft spoken, so you might have to turn up the volume :) 

 Once we complete all those things, it's easy to transition to our Daily Topic Poster and discuss what my preschooler sees and what she thinks we will learn about that day.

Here is a video to what Calendar Time looked like when she was 2:

And here is what it looked like when she was 3:

I am so glad I have these videos.  It really shows how much she's grown in the past 2 years.  

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What Calendar Routines do you have?

File Folder Games with Mother Goose Time

Hi, my name is Leslie and I am a former public school educator (8 years).

Currently, I home school our little preschooler, Avaleigh, who is 3.5 years old using 

Mother Goose Time- a prepackaged curriculum unit study for preschoolers.

The quality of the things we receieve are TOP NOTCH and as a teacher, I REALLY struggle in throwing this stuff away when were are done. But my house just can not handle keeping all the stuff.

There are some things we get every month though that I do keep- one of those being the 

BOARD GAMES.

I turn these into file folder games and store them in a filing crate.

Here's how I do it:

First I find out where the board game is using the Supplied Core Tools list and dig it out of the box, and then I get the supplies I need: a file folder, small snack bag, pieces, and glue.

First I open the snack bag and staple it to the back of the file folder.  This allows the bag to open completely and makes storing the pieces easy.

Then, I glue the game board to the inside.  I like to do this with the file folder almost closed that way the middle creases line up and there are no air pockets.

Then I look at the lesson and read through the directions on how to play together. 

I also look at the learning goals that are listed underneath the title.  In this case the goals are:

Patters and Sorting 18.2

Self-Direction 2.2

I then look at the back of my Teacher Guide and see what exactly are the expectations.

Self-direction 2.2 is about maintaining attention and repeating an activity until success.

Pattern and Sorting 18.2 is about matching, sorting and charting. 

During the game the child is expected to match colors.

I write these goals and expectations on the front of my file folder, and write the title of the game and whether it is Math or Reading related.  

Now if Avaleigh needs help in a certain area, I can easily find the game to help reinforce those skills.

If I had a class, I would let parents check these games out and play them at home with their preschoolers.  As an educator, you do not just educate the child, but also the parent.  Parents want to help their kids, but some just don't know what to do or where to begin.  As a teacher, you can assess the needs of the child and equip the parent at home with games that the child is already familiar with.    Mother Goose Time makes it possible to share the fun of learning at home- 

creating fun memories in the process.

A win win for everyone.

And all I had to do was glue it in a folder.

Happy Learning friends!

Preparing for the Next Unit of Preschool

I love when my new little school bus box arrives on my doorstep from Mother Goose Time.

There are some main things I do to prep for the next month that make life so much easier, and I want to share them with you.

1. Prepare and order books if needed.

The first thing I do is go through the teacher guides and order the suggested books for the month.  There are usually 7-9 books.  For the past 2 months, I have used Amazon and Thrift books and spent about $25 on the books for the month.  You can read more about how to prep your library here.

      2.  Break out the TEACHER TOOL BAG.

The Teacher Tool Bag has the Activity Calendar in it along with all the Teacher Guides.  I write in the Sunday column of the calendar all the books we will be using that week which are listed in the Teacher Guides.  

    3.  Get Materials out early!

There are certain materials I like to have out all month long instead of waiting for that particular day.  On the back of the picture that has the theme and words "Teacher Tool Bag" (above picture), is the Supplied Core Tools.  This is a dream list for me! It tells what bags certain materials are in.  Basically everything that is highlighted below, I dig out and either place around our homeschool/preschool classroom or prep the materials. 

     4. Punch out and Prep certain materials.

There are a few materials that need a little extra time to prepare.  Here's the ones I pull out early and how I prepare them:

I like to have the Little Journal out early in case we want to start it sooner.

The I Can Read book I take out and add to our library collection so that Sweet Pea is reading it throughout the month. 

I always tape a sandwich bag inside of the I Can Rad book and place the arrows and punchouts that come with it.  Sweet Pea always thinks that reading this book is a game since I ask her to point to the word that matches on her arrow.

I then prep our calendar.  I get the next month's name which came in the start up/ welcome kit and punch out the calendar numbers and place them in a snack size bag.  This makes it super easy to start calendar time everyday. 

     5.  Laminate.

Many many moons ago, my husband bought me a laminator for Christmas.  #teacherchirstmaslist

Fortunately, it still works wonderfully and I can laminate the few items I need to each month, including the Thematic Poster and nametags. 

     6. Place manipulatives.

I like to have our manipulatives out all month.  The more fine motor practice the better.  I place our newest manipulatives in open baskets on Sweet Pea's playroom table.  When she wakes up or during quiet time, she can play with these however she wishes.    

I routinely do this prep work each month and it makes things so much easier!  

What are some things you do each month to prepare for the next?

A Typical Day in a Preschool Homeschool

As a former public ed teacher, I loved a set routine!

It allowed the students (and myself) to know exactly what to expect, providing a sense of comfort knowing what is coming.

However being a part-time Children's Pastor and Homeschooling Momma, has forced me to live a life where our days are more fluid than structured.  Throw in a 3 year old who is also transitioning from naps to quiet time, and everyday becomes a new adventure.

Tuesdays- Fridays are our days to do Preschool using our Mother Goose Time in the afternoon.

MGT has daily activities laid out for us including:

-Circle Time

-Community Challenge

-Creative Art

-Small Group

-Table Top

-STEAM Station

-Story Corner

-Music and Movement

-Closing Time/Reflection

We don't do all of these, but we usually do 3-4 activities.
The bolded activities above are the ones we usually do.

 During Sweet Pea's nap or quiet time, I prepare our activities so that we can start our fun after she wakes up which is usually around 3pm.  

We always do our Circle Time which includes our calendar, weather, and daily topic poster. 

Here's a little video of it in action... and FYI... it took me almost 20 days to realize we were not in the month of August anymore, but September.  I'm going to play the  "pregnancy brain" card.

She really got me with that tiny orange island!  She's so observant.

After Circle Time, it's time to do some of our other activities.
Sweet Pea loves to color and create so we always do the what is suggested in the Creative Art section.

She also loves to read, so we always read and do the discussion in the Story Corner.
 (This page was about eyes, and Sweet Pea was showing where hers were.)

I also prep the Table Top activity and STEAM station; although we might not get to them.

If she is still into what we are doing, then we will do the Music and Movement activity, but we don't always get to this.  I think I should probably incorporate it into the Circle Time... hmmmm.....

   Because it is just Sweet Pea and myself, we don't usually do the Small Group activity or we wait and do this when daddy comes home.

We will then play and learn until about 4:30 pm when it becomes time for me to prep dinner if I haven't done so already. If dinner is already prepped, we continue playing either outside or in her playroom until daddy comes home.

Once he gets home, they play or relax together while I finish up dinner and then we enjoy dinner at the table together every night.

As I type this, I am truly realizing how blessed I am to live the life I have.

Is everyday a perfectly structured day? NO WAY!

But everyday is filled with little moments to treasure.... sometimes I need to focus on searching them out and holding on to them.

I am just so grateful to have little moments with her each and every day and for our little family of three... soon to be four.

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