Preschool Books for Age 3

The past week I have been in full school planning mode. Making games, laminating everything in my path, and way too much time researching. At this point I feel 100% committed to homeschooling preschool and beyond. I'm actually excited for it. We should be starting the first week of September. I'm waiting on a couple curriculum books for literacy and writing. Everything else is hands on activities and I'm sure those curriculum's will have plenty of hands on learning too. That is the hope anyways.

So while that is going on I've also compiled my list for this years literature. These books will be starting points and great ways to introduce new concepts. Each of these fall into a category that we will be going over this year. I don't have any planned for literacy and that may change. First I need to see what we may want after the curriculum gets here.

Math:

Pattern: Math Counts

The Greedy Triangle

Sorting: Math Counts

It hadn't occurred to me to use books to talk about new topics in math. The two Math Counts books came up in a separate search and I knew they would be perfect. We will be doing a lot with sorting and patterns this year so those will be a great addition to our math plans. 

Science: 

My Five Senses

A Nest Full of Eggs

What's Alive

Sounds All Around 

Air Is All Around You

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

From Tadpole to Frog

How a Seed Grows

I really like the idea of using books to introduce ideas in science. This book series looks great and there is also a level 2 with more in-depth topics. Depending on how these go we may use level 2 next year. 

Safety: 

Be Careful and Stay Safe

I said No!

Watch Out! At Home

I am really excited to have found these books. Teaching safety in preschool is so important. I have unfortunately worked at many that didn't. However I was lucky enough to work at Head Start where teaching safety was a very important topic. 

Multicultural: 

Whose Tools Are These?

Shades of People 

We already have several books that will be great for multicultural discussions. It's very important to me that the girls are exposed to all the different people in the world. I want to raise compassionate and accepting people. To me that starts even at this age. When they are aware that everyone is different and are taught the beauty in that they have a head start on accepting themselves and the people around them. Whose Tools Are These is about community helpers. Which is something Molly is actually really interested in right now. 

So that is our list of books for this year. I'm sure we will have more to add to the list as the year goes on and I can see what interests her. Having been a preschool teacher I know the frustration in not having certain materials or not having the time to present what materials you have. Things get crazy in a room full of kids. Of course many times you have what you need and you have their attention, but it isn't always the case. Knowing that and having the feeling that I am in control of what materials we have, the whole day to learn, and one on one to do so has really driven me to commit to homeschooling. 

School time!

Since we are now in mid July I have been scouring the Internet for a plan for this years school year. Last year was a flop. We quit midway through. I think it was easy for me to make the excuse that she was just 2. Which is fine, and I'm not losing sleep over it. However now we are on to age 3. Most of her friends...well all actually...are either going back to or starting preschool. Since Adam and I are both pretty much set on homeschooling I'll be getting serious about home school preschool.

I need to crack down and get stuff done, because if we can't get into the swing of things and follow a plan than she just needs to start school when the time comes. So it's not that I'm set that she learns a certain amount of thing in a certain amount of time, but more so that I need to know we can do this.

Now that we know we are staying here we will be making some changes in our home. We are switching rooms so the girls will have a bigger one. Their toys will go in their room, we will get rid of the extra bed, and take that old desk down to the basement. So what started as a classroom and then turned to a playroom will be a designated class. Clutter free. I am so excited!

I've been looking into the best curriculum fit for us, and have pretty much decided on several different ones for different subjects. Here is what I have so far for the upcoming year.

Math

Numbers Plus from High Scope I was really looking for a math curriculum that covered all the bases and could be used for the next year as well. I found several workbooks, but I was looking for something more along the lines of a strictly math curriculum. 

Math Kit I will also be getting the High Scope math kit. I really just wanted something that was already put together. Some of these items we may not get to till age 4, but we will already have them. I've looked at several kits and don't see much "fluff" in this one. Basically we could use all the stuff in this kit.

Literacy 

All About Reading  pre-reading kit. I've seen this used on many home school blogs I follow. It seems like a great start for Molly since we haven't touched much on letters at all. 

Critical Thinking 

Building Thinking Skills  I love this book based off the sample images! Knowing Molly and how she seems to learn best it looks like it will be effective with her. 

I have also purchased some worksheet books from Mama's Learning Corner

Everything else we do will be more along the lines of activities. Colors, shapes, writing, etc we will do through worksheets and play. 

The good thing is we will only have to buy this stuff once! 

Molly's 3rd Birthday

This weekend was seriously packed. I am completely warn out from it, but it was amazing and much needed. Usually when a weekend is packed for us it's with nothing fun, but this time we had so much awesome stuff planned. Above all Molly's 3rd birthday Saturday. 

On Thursday I got to go out with friends. We saw Tammy which was hysterical and then went to what else, Applebees. It's been some time since I've gone out.

Friday, the 4th, we went to the local fair. We spent three hours there. For our family that's a long time. Two little kids lose interest pretty fast. 

On Saturday we went to the parade which both girls loved. Natalie was in heaven. Then we went back to the fair and stayed 5 hours. The girls loved it. When we left I couldn't believe how long we had been there. It was nice having something to do for once. Usually anything fun is quite the drive. That night we went to a 4th of July party of some friends. The weather was perfect and my family was there also. There was a big pond that the kids played at. The girls ended up covered in mud. It ended with fireworks and Natalie was in awe. Molly could really care less. They hold her attention for a little while and then she was back in the dirt. That's my girl! 

We had Molly's party on Sunday. Of course it was a Frozen theme. We had it at my sister's house so we could make it a pool party. Molly had a blast. We had to keep calling her over to unwrap presents because she was too busy running around playing. It was a little bit of a stressful day getting everything together even though I didn't go all out by any means. This is the first time we have had a birthday somewhere other than our home. It's a bit of a chore! 

That night was the city fireworks. We went to our usual spot with some friends. I brought along this awesome Frisbee thing I got off Amazon. The girls had so much fun with it. Molly learned how to throw it that night and whoever got to it first got to throw it. 

The weekend was perfect and Molly had so much fun. I can't believe I now have a preschooler. Molly seemed to wake up Saturday and be my social. She waved at everyone in the parade. At one point even going up to someone in it and showing them this thing she had got. Today she waved to the cashier. Maybe age 3 will get over some of that shyness she gets from her dad and I. 

In other big news Molly learned how to swim today! I am in shock. Obviously she wears a floatie vest, but she doesn't want me to hold on to her at all. It's surprising because last year she was so far from it. She would cling to me. Today was her second time in the pool this summer. 

I know it's only been three days, but so far three is awesome. Just look how beautiful she is!