Curriculum Planning: Pre-K

A couple weeks ago I shared my thoughts on education. Well this week, I want to share the fruits of my research labor and what I have planned for Minion. Of course this is a preliminary guideline that will be adapted and modified based on Minion's abilities and interests.
For starters, I have been pinning any school related ideas and projects for some time now. So when I started my curriculum research, I started there.

This helped me setup my curriculum planner binder.

Cover sheet from this set.

So now I could actually start planning my curriculum. When I was homeschooled, my mom just bought a comprehensive curriculum for each year. For 1st through 8th grade she used Calvert and we both loved it. I would love to use the same for Minion but financially I don't know if we could always swing it. So I started researching building my own curriculum that would be comparable in offering Minion a well-rounded education while being affordable.
This is where my pinterst board has been extra handy as well. For Pre-K I want to start Minion off with Montessori style education at 18 months. The concept of letting a child learn organically and at his own pace while doing fun activities really resonates with me. As he grows a little older, we will then introduce more structured book work to help him learn the 3R's.
I am so happy that Calvert makes their course outlines for each grade available for download. So I started with the Pre-K outline to get an idea of what our goals should be.

Using that as my guide I was able to create the following curriculum for Minion's Pre-K education:

Goals of Pre-K
Subjects: Number Readiness, Stories & Poems, Reading Readiness, Arts & Crafts, Music

We will learn: colors, geometric shapes, name and address, seasons, parts of the body, helping at home, how other people live, politeness, animals, senses, materials such as wood, stone, metal, growth, change, telling time, musical instruments, United States trivia/national heroes, farms and farm animals, community helpers, the circus.

Time Allotment: 2.5 hours a day of activities ranging from workbooks, reading, to hands-on activities.

Budget: Less than $403 which is price of Calvert. Below List = $212.06

18 months

Montessori 3 Period Lesson - Maria Montessori had a method to teach vocabulary to children; she called it The 3 period lesson. This is best done with real objects, for example have 3 types of fruit in season, vegetables, clothing or utensils. Other can be realistic objects (miniatures of animals) that can be found in any toy shop. Have a mat on the floor to lay out he objects on, or sit with the child at their table. One may put these objects on a tray or basket for easy handling.

- Fist period is the introduction of the object. Show the object to the child and say” This is a (name of the object)”. Then lay it on the mat or let the child touch and hold it, even smell it if possible, then repeat the name of the object. Repeat the process with the other objects. By allowing the child to feel and smell the object it makes a more concrete memory for them. - Second period is to ask the child to point to the object that you have named. “Can you point to me the (name of the object)?” Then move the object to another place so you know the child remembers the name and not the placement of the object. This period makes the lesson more alive and interesting. You may also ask the child to move the objects to different spots on the mat.

This stage can be extended for under 3’s by asking the children to place the object that you have named ( another way of identifying if they know the name of the object) to a different area of the mat, or removing or putting it in the basket, or handing it to you. You can incorporate vocabulary words for placement such as ‘first’, ‘in front’, ‘behind’, ‘at the back’, etc.

- Third period is to ask the child to name the object as you point to it. This is mostly done with older children who can fluently talk.

Introduce Learning Tower (DIY for $30) & Kids in the Kitchen ($17.65)

Montessori Activities - How We Montessori

Weekly Pinterest Art & Craft Project

Introduce helping activities like putting clothes on, feeding the dogs and giving them water, watering plants, sweeping, washing dishes, dusting, setting table (forks & napkins), etc.

2 years

Pre-K Letters, Numbers & Shapes Super Workbook from Sylvan = $14.18

Get Ready for Pre-K = $13.56

Montessori Activities - How We Montessori; 50 Activities

Weekly Pinterest Art & Craft Project

Start learning Kingdom Melodies

3 years

Quiet Time Boxes = $50 for assorted materials

Weekly Pinterest Art & Craft Project

Rainbow Piano (ask grandma for copies of songs) = $9.95 for 42 song pdf book

Montessori Activities

What Your Preschooler Needs to Know from Core Knowledge Series = $13.86

Hooked on Phonics Learning to Read Pre-K Complete = $38.06

Pre-K Shapes & Measurement Success from Sylvan = $11.36

Brain Quest Preschool: 300 Questions Trivia = $10.75

El alfabeto Flash Cards = $2.69

I am so excited about the curriculum I have planned that I cannot wait to start implementing it with Minion. I'm sure once I do, I will share progress updates :)