I purchased so many preschool curriculums for my kids. I bought the subscription boxes, the daily hands-on activity curriculums, the expensive programs, the workbooks, the paid apps and the free apps.
I tried it all!
From my experience, the curriculums were either expensive, boring, not at my child’s level or the day’s activities weren’t fitting in with our day.
They all looked great but I needed something totally different.
THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED / REALIZED
Every kid is different.
Every child learns differently. Some like singing, some like getting messy… some like workbooks. Having a curriculum that had activities that were set in stone just didn’t workout for me.
Every kid is at a different level.
I found that with these curriculums, the activities were either too hard or too easy. They would either be frustrated or bored. These one-size-fits-all curriculums didn't work well.
Every homeschooling parent’s situation is different.
For me, I had a baby and that made some of the activities a little challenging. I spent big money on some curriculums that ended up being super hard to use because of the current situation I was in.
With preschoolers, every day is different.
There are so many things that can affect your preschooler’s drive to do school.
Do they need to eat?
Do they need a nap?
Did they sleep bad last night?
Did you have a play date?
If you can’t get to the daily activity, you don’t want to feel like you are falling behind.
I needed to know what my goals for the year were because I needed to know if my child would be ready for kindergarten.
I felt completely lost with all of these curriculums. I felt like they were throwing activities at me and I needed to know if they were okay to adjust or if I would mess everything up from changing or skipping something.
Themes are great, but…
I love themes! I’ve learned so much about life and all of the things around us from learning about themes… even at a preschool level. I didn’t love curriculums that only focused on themes because it got repetitive.
Themes are also a great way excuse to get together with other homeschool families for a co-op day.
Kids love watching TV but not for learning.
My kids love TV and they can sit and watch it for hours but they want to watch what they want to watch. When my kids were super young, they loved the learning videos but they eventually got past that and found other things they were interested in.
Like I said before, every kid is different. My kids didn’t want to watch tv for learning time. They didn’t even want to use the learning apps no matter how well they were put together.
They might use an app for a short time or watch a short educational video but I would never be able to use that as the core of my curriculum.
WHAT I ENDED UP DOING
Finally, I decided I would create my own preschool curriculum.
I figured out what the preschool goals were and I create a chart. Then I created an assessment based on the preschool goals. This allows parents to see exactly what they need to focus on with their child and what they can use as a refresher.
Next, I created a child-led program. This allows you and your child to choose the activities you do based on your child’s interests, your child’s mood, supplies you have and availability that day.
Then I throw in real life topics for your child to learn about. This is also where he or she will do art and science.
My kids love learning time now.
It wasn’t easy but it was something I needed to do! Not only for myself but for everyone else facing the same struggles I was.
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Xx Jeni
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