Into the School Year we Plan...

Boy have we been busy!  We've been learning about family vocabulary words in Spanish and American Sign Language, playing in fountains at the Farmer's Market, enjoying a birthday party, watching movies with friends, working in our garden, and all together having a great time!  I've been spending a lot of time working on our curriculum for the upcoming school year.  I've completed the calendar for Tot School and Preschool A and posted it here: http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/LittleAdventuresPreschool/2012-2013-tot-school-and-preschool-theme-calendar
If you've got a toddler or a first year preschooler feel free to follow along with us.  I'll be posting the lesson plans and printables for each week (hopefully) 2 weeks in advance.  There will be 3 complete curriculums by the end of the school year.  A toddler (tot school) curriculum, Preschool A curriculum, and Preschool B curriculum.  Preschool A is for the first year preschooler, learning the basics of group manners, learning time versus playing time, letters making words, writing, and math skills.

Preschool B's calendar is posted here: http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/LittleAdventuresPreschool/preschool-b-school-year-calendar
Preschool B is a whole 'nother animal.  It goes right along with my philosophy on education - you teach them the basics of learning (such as reading, writing, and math basics) and you teach them how to learn and be a responsible citizen, and then you scaffold back your involvement in directing their education and take full responsibility as second in command to your child's eduction, with your child being the first in command, naturally.

I stumbled onto a FANTASTIC article about schooling that goes hand in hand with my thoughts on what kids need to be exposed to in life.  It covers the thought that teaching kids facts in this day and age gets them nowhere.  But teaching them skills allows the world to be opened to them.  Read the whole article here: http://zenhabits.net/kid-skills/

The Preschool B curriculum is not about facts. It is about skills. I don't expect kids to master these skills in the one day I have it on the calendar to introduce to them though. As an adult I'm still trying to master some of these things. Every day, they will grow and learn and be exposed to skills that they can practice and improve upon in their own learning. I know some of you follow my line of thought to the T. I will eventually be unschooling with my kids, but for right now, I know that teaching them the basic reading, writing, math, etc. and then focusing on skills I'd like to foster in them, I know that they will be prepared for the world. And other kids in my preschool or following along at home will be successful no matter what their schooling looks like for next year. They will excel in public, private, and home schooling options. We are creating little learners to master whatever the world throws at them in the coming years.