ABC's Worksheets?

[MommyMuffin]

I am not a teacher and my oldest child is 2. She will be turning 3 in August. I want to homeschool her for preschool. I am very overwhelmed.

There is so much information out there I am getting confused. She knows her letters. I am working on the sounds that the letters make.

What is the next step in teaching literacy and reading? What type of worksheets do your children like? We sing ABC songs and do flashcards. She has mastered this...what do I start teaching next?

[Kaddidle Care]

Oh please don't get overwhelmed!

Teaching her how to hold a pencil properly is what I would also do at this point.

PreSchool where I work is touching on this and that. How to cut things without help and that's easy by just drawing a line on a piece of paper, then make it curvy, then at an angle. Make sure she is holding the paper properly when cutting so that she never cuts towards her hands.

Introduce shapes, numbers and colors - we do one a week, sometimes we take a couple of weeks to do them.

She can start tracing her name as well - Capitalize the first letter and lower case letters for the rest. (Many of us have taught all capitals only to have to go back and start again for Kindergarten.)

I use this site for my Pre-K's for tracing papers with their names on it.
http://www.mymoondrops.com/spelling.html

I've also gotten a lot of things from this site: http://www.first-school.ws/
I'm a PreK Assistant and if the Teacher is out and hasn't left me anything I go here for ideas the night before or that morning and print some things out to copy at work. There's LOTS to choose from right on one site.

Most of all, have fun with it. Don't over do it - make sure there is lots of time for play in-between. And don't forget to read to her!

[SilverSabre25]

Look into the Montessori approach; it lends itself well to homeschooling. www.countingcoconuts.com is a great blog by a woman who homeschools her preschooler with the Montessori approach.

Hands-on learning is going to be much better for both of you than trying to force her to do worksheets. They aren't developmentally appropriate.

Don't push either of you too far or too fast; take it slow. At her age, the day should still be full of playing, playing, and more playing. They learn best through play. The biggest benefit to a Montessori approach, IMO, is that it is play-based, or at least feels like play to the children who are doing it. Provide the right materials and the opportunity for her to work on her own and at her own pace and you'll be amazed at what she suddenly knows!

[melskids]

Originally Posted by SilverSabre25

Look into the Montessori approach; it lends itself well to homeschooling. www.countingcoconuts.com is a great blog by a woman who homeschools her preschooler with the Montessori approach.

Hands-on learning is going to be much better for both of you than trying to force her to do worksheets. They aren't developmentally appropriate.

Don't push either of you too far or too fast; take it slow. At her age, the day should still be full of playing, playing, and more playing. They learn best through play. The biggest benefit to a Montessori approach, IMO, is that it is play-based, or at least feels like play to the children who are doing it. Provide the right materials and the opportunity for her to work on her own and at her own pace and you'll be amazed at what she suddenly knows!

where's the "like" button?! i totally agree!!!!!

i dont use worksheets for children that young. i actually dont really use them at all, unless sometimes the older ones want them to play "school".

(just a few ideas...)

we make letters/numbers/shapes in sand and playdough, use the chalkboard or dry erase board, stamps and stencils, in art, table top games like memory or matching, etc.

and we read, read, read books! (the most important, i think)

i also label pretty much everything in our playspace with enviromental print. the chairs are labeled, their cubbies, the plants are even labeled with the names of them...lol, the toy bins and baskets, posters with real life objects, etc.

..and i LOVE counting coconuts!!!!

[Kaddidle Care]

Counting Cocounuts link doesn't work for me.

I work with older children for the most part so the link I posted is what I use. We get them ready for Kindergarten.

[melskids]

try www.countingcoconuts.blogspot.com

[SilverSabre25]

Originally Posted by melskids

try www.countingcoconuts.blogspot.com

der, sorry! This is what I get for nursing with one hand and typing with the other and being too lazy to go look up the link, and just guessing. Heh, heh...

[melskids]

Originally Posted by SilverSabre25

der, sorry! This is what I get for nursing with one hand and typing with the other and being too lazy to go look up the link, and just guessing. Heh, heh...

lol. i know the feeling. except i'm usually feeding a DC baby!

[meganlavonnesmommy]

I love BOB books and Leapfrog videos. I'm not a big supporter of TV, but the leapfrog videos are so great for teaching beginning letter sounds. I'll post some of our most used websites in a seperate post, many of those have printable worksheets.

http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Books-Set-...0402869&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Facto...0402899&sr=8-3

[Nu2biz]

I get my worksheets from our local Dollar Tree (this has saved me time and money). I also go to counting coconuts for ideas (there are so many). I also just found a new site.. Homeschoolcreations.com. I just printed off the astronaut pack and my dck seemed to like it. Best of all it's free. I am going to start this next "school year" with sandpaper letters. It's a Montessori method and I really like it. I've also found a list of what letters to teach in cretin order. I also agree with what else has been said.. Cutting (i started with a bin with paper and a pair of scissors and showed how to hold them) glueing colors shapes patterns etc. I also do a letter (shape color etc) a week as well. Good luck and have fun!

[Candyland]

Originally Posted by Kaddidle Care

Oh please don't get overwhelmed!

Teaching her how to hold a pencil properly is what I would also do at this point.

PreSchool where I work is touching on this and that. How to cut things without help and that's easy by just drawing a line on a piece of paper, then make it curvy, then at an angle. Make sure she is holding the paper properly when cutting so that she never cuts towards her hands.

Introduce shapes, numbers and colors - we do one a week, sometimes we take a couple of weeks to do them.

She can start tracing her name as well - Capitalize the first letter and lower case letters for the rest. (Many of us have taught all capitals only to have to go back and start again for Kindergarten.)

I use this site for my Pre-K's for tracing papers with their names on it.
http://www.mymoondrops.com/spelling.html

I've also gotten a lot of things from this site: http://www.first-school.ws/
I'm a PreK Assistant and if the Teacher is out and hasn't left me anything I go here for ideas the night before or that morning and print some things out to copy at work. There's LOTS to choose from right on one site.

Most of all, have fun with it. Don't over do it - make sure there is lots of time for play in-between. And don't forget to read to her!

I love your approach, Kaddidle Care.

[daycare]

I agree that right now is the time to learn to hold your writing tool. Usually around this age I have them draw lines, trace lines, circles and squiggley lines. I teach them how to draw lines from the top to bottom. I show them where to start to make a circle. All of these things will be necesary when learning to write their letters. I teach them what it means to make a line across and so on.

Once I feel they are able to hold their pencil correctly and have good contact to the paper with it, I move them on to lower case letters.

I was taught that upper case letters are only 5% of the letters that we read, so children will identify with lower case letters much sooner than capital.

I think that no matter where you start, as long as you start some where and don't push them too hard, make it fun the children will love to write..