I have had a younger group for many years and so I never did a specific curriculum. I have never purchased anything, followed lesson plans or anything super structured. We will have crafts that tie into the holidays or seasons, we would do coloring/art and that type of thing as time allowed. I just depended on how much time I had to prep things and what the kids were up to for the day.
At this point, I would love suggestions on a structured curriculum. I think the most frugal way is for me to buy one set of lessons that can be copied as needed. I would love to have something that includes items appropriate for ages 2 to 4....all the basics like colors, shapes, letters. I would like to have something that I can follow and not have to do so much prep on my own. If there is an option that includes one teacher guide and then you purchase the extras for each student, that would be fine too as long as it wasnt crazy expensive. I also need something with no religious based themes.
So the first thing I need is suggestions on a curriculum that might work for me. I have a small group of six children to work with but not every child is here on every day so I would also need something where it isnt a huge issue if someone misses a day. It will be too confusing to go back constantly and redo stuff and keep track of who is here when. I am working around 3 part timers so I would like them to just jump in whenever they can but not miss out if they are not here.
If you create your own curriculum, what does it include on a daily basis and what resources do you use? I am open to ideas on creating my own but would love as much detail as you have time to share with me. Do you have particular sites that you follow for each day, particular books that walk one through each days lessons, etc? Like I said, I really need to have something just laid out and ready for me. Posting "oh I just put together my own and it was really easy" is not helpful to me at this point. I need details
Also, I do not have a degree or a lot of training towards early childhood learning as far as education/curriculum goes so I really would love something that keeps that in consideration. I dont have lofty goals of teaching kids to read at age 3. I mostly want something that begins the experience of learning....sitting down, follow instructions, covering very basic skills. Something that is educational and structured but not pressuring me and the kids to be super advanced in anyway. does that make sense? For instance, I did not learn phonics in school to learn to read, nor have I ever had education in teaching young children phonics so I dont feel comfortable getting that far into a preschool curriculum.....I just want to keep it very basic and easy for me to teach.
I know this has been discussed a multitude of times before so I appreciate your patience in sharing your experience with me.