PreschoolB

Preschool B is where life and learning really start getting exciting!  I'm a licensed teacher, and I've taught in the public school system.  Parts of that were amazing, parts of it were less than what I'd like to offer my children.  I have a strong belief that if we teach children the basics of reading, writing, and math when they are young they can take the reins and lead their own education as they get older.

I follow a scaffolded approach to schooling.  Tot School is an exploration of school tools, manipulatives and ideas.  Preschool A is a teacher directed learning environment where I pick the theme and make make all the lesson plans to fit my understanding of student needs at this age.  Students learn in a more traditional, or classical, schooling manner.  Preschool B is my first step at taking away a layer of scaffolding, or teacher-directedness.  I'll still follow a literacy program (Annie Moffatt's Ready2Read program specifically) and I'll still follow a math program (Touch Math for PreK and Kindergarten if students are ready for that).  But, rather than following themes of content we will be following themes of concepts.  Rather than learning about Pumpkins we will be learning about Working Together, or Apologizing.

This year, in both Preschool and Kindergarten at the Options program, we'll be spending approximately 6 weeks working through an inquiry block. The blocks include:

• Who We Are
• Where We Are In Place And Time
• How We Express Ourselves
• How the World Works
• How We Organize Ourselves
• Sharing the Planet

The ideas floating around preschool are far from concrete.  I have an umbrella of projects and will be looking for the interest-led spark that will lead our discussions, impact our writing and art and show up in our science lessons.

In preschool this year you can expect some, but not all, of the following ideas to be explored:

• Who We Are
• Conversations about being "Bucket Fillers" and developing friendships.  
• Passions and interest of each child.
• Where We Are In Place And Time
• How things haven't always been the way they are today and things will change in the future.
• Possible exploration of communication and its changes over time.
• Exploration of family in terms of siblings, parents and grandparents.
• Vocabulary: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
• How We Express Ourselves
• A study on emotion and actions/reactions.
• Color and Music
• Friends/Bucket fillers
• Telling stories
• How the World Works
• Magnets
• Simple Machines
• Properties of water at different temperatures
• Plants
• Insects
• How We Organize Ourselves
• Community helpers: firemen/police/librarians, etc.
• Jobs we do around our homes and in school to help out: cleaning up messes, sharpening pencils, setting the table
• Responsibility for one's self
• Sharing the Planet
• Space
• Friends/Bucket Fillers
• Treating animals and property with respect
• Serving others to help impact a positive environment 

I'll be sharing ideas for lesson plans and our experiences in the classroom, but it won't be very much in advance - unlike the other two curriculums.  Preschool B is more organic and in being that way it will be harder to share what we'll be doing too much in advance.  I feel like a year of Preschool B will set up all children for success, no matter where their life leads them after the school year.  Students will have the skills to work together, work independently, and an embedded yearning to learn - in all public, private and homeschooling situations.