The Preschool Homeschool

When some people think of learning toys they picture mini-toy computers and electronic learning games. Although these toys do have a place in the educational spectrum, they aren’t the best choice for preschoolers. My daughter received a mini-laptop for Christmas. While she likes playing with the small mouse and having a kid-sized computer, it’s not her favorite toy. Her favorite toys are ones that require no batteries, don’t make any funny sounds or have a computerized voice saying “Bye-bye!” every minute and a half. Her favorite toys are her kid-sized pots and pans set, her apron set and her beauty salon.

These toys are her favorite because they require imagination and imitate real-life. She cooks everything from soup with ice cream in it to pancakes and ketchup. She gathers all her makeup and pretends to be a famous stylist with her pretend curling iron, blow dryer and scissors. Granted, she makes me look more like a KISS band member than a movie star, but she’s proud of what she’s done. So the best learning toys aren’t always the ones that make the most noise, have bright colors, scream at you in a computerized language, or require you to sit in front of the TV.  Here’s my daughter enjoying some of her toys - we’ll keep it a secret that she’s actually learning!

Happy new year everyone! What are your goals for your homeschool this year? This year is a big year for us. We’ll be finishing up our 3-yr. old pre-k program and start learning more advanced stuff after summer. She turned 4 in December, so by this fall she should be ready for some serious Pre-K fun!! Our goals for the first half of 2009 are:

• Learn all letters and letter sounds by May
• Know how to write her first name
• Know how to spell her first name
• Know her phone number and address
• Know how to count and recognize numbers up to 50
• Know basic addition using counting and sorting activities
• Know how to mix and create new colors from primary colors

That’s about it for the rest of this school year. Our goals for the latter half of 2009 are dependent upon how far we get in the earlier part. We haven’t done much since Thanksgiving, but we’re getting ready to get back into the swing of things. The last relative leaves tomorrow and then life gets back to normal.