Early Preschool Learning

I really love teaching. And I miss it. I absolutely love my job as a stay-at-home mom, but part of me really misses teaching. I loved my classes in college and learning about how a child develops and grows in their learning. Recently, I went through all my college stuff and found my old notes and textbooks. Some of it was garbage, but some of it was fascinating to reread again. It made me want to teach again! However, I do not want to be away from my children all day and I don't miss some aspects of teaching, so I came up with a solution. I am going to start teaching my own children! (brilliant, I know!)

My children are still young (almost 3 and 1), but there are activities we can do at home that are FUN and ENGAGING. And of course, we will still have lots of time to just play.

So, I'm going to begin this journey and share it with you. Not sure if I'll have any readers, but maybe I can give some ideas to someone out there wanting to teach their children. This blog will also be a good journal for us as we go through this.

This quote is from one of my Emergent Literacy books.
"Literacy learning happens best through meaningful activities rather than direct instruction and immersion in "print rich" environments." -Crawford

And that is my goal. As we dive into this, I hope to create meaningful activities that are hands-on and fun for the kiddos. I don't expect my children to be reading at age 4, but I just want to begin a love for learning.

My plan is to go through fun units throughout the seasons. Our first unit is apples!! I am excited to share with you what we do throughout this unit.

Yesterday, we went on a nature walk to collect acorns and other fall items. Both kids had fun!

Troy was anxious to see what he would be doing with the acorns the next day.

This morning, we started with the "A" box. I filled a box with items that start with the letter 'a' and had him explore it. 

**not sure if that bug is really an ant, but I thought it was close! :)

You could definitely add more to the box, like an angel, animals, alligator, army men, etc.

He was so excited to do this activity, that right after breakfast, and during brother's nap, we started

 (which is why he's in his pjs!)

After opening the box, we discussed what each item was and that each word started with 'a' and 

what sound the letter 'a' makes.

 And he wanted to eat the apple :)

Then we did an apple & acorn sensory tub.

Inside, was oatmeal, real & fake acorns, number cards, & 'A' letters

He LOVED playing with the sensory tub. I think he played with it for about an hour!

 It is kinda messy, so I would recommend doing this over a blanket

or outside...it was just too early for us to go outside!

 We used measuring spoons and cups to scoop and dig.

I love sensory tubs because kids can be creative and imaginative. There are no rules

or guidelines, they just explore.

Has anyone else done this before? Or another sensory tub? Would love to hear from ya!