A New Plan

This past year, I have been trying to do little learning activities each day--Monday was Gentlemen Training, Tuesday-Literacy, Wednesday-Math/Science, Thursday-Art/Music, and Friday-P.E. It went fairly well, but I'll admit that the week when we did something everyday and stuck to the schedule was rare. Life just gets too busy...with what, I don't know. Because I enjoy doing learning activities with my kids, and because I feel like it really is beneficial for them, I've decided to re-vamp my program and do things a little differently. I've decided to pretty much do preschool at home with my boys two days a week. My oldest boy, Sam, will still be going to preschool because I think that it is important for him to interact and learn from other people and children, but on the days that he's not in preschool, we'll do school of our own. I don't think you can ever do too much learning! Also, I'm a teacher at heart and making lesson plans just makes my heart swell with joy. You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can't take the classroom out of the teacher!

Just a little background: I have three little boys and a little girl on the way. My boys are 4 1/2, 2 1/2, and 1 1/2. I plan on differentiating the learning to meet the needs of each boy. Hey, if Laura Ingalls Wilder could teach a classroom with little kids to teenagers, I can do this! My hope is to be well-organized and have a good plan, but to also be very flexible and able to change plans as needed.

So, here's the plan:
We will have class twice a week. This doesn't include Gentlemen Training which we will still do on Mondays as its own separate activity.
Each month we will have a theme for the month and will try to focus all of our learning and activities around that theme. (Before, I picked out books and activities according to the letter of the alphabet we were learning, but now we will focus the concepts we're learning around the theme).
Each day our lessons will include something from the following categories: literacy (reading/writing), music, math, science/social science, art, and movement. I anticipate our preschool to last about two hours, including a snack break. I'm planning on going from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m./lunch. The structure will look something like this:

1. Literacy
2. Music
3. Math
4. Snack
5. Science/Social Science
6. Art 
7. Movement

Each child will have their own binder or folder where we will keep his papers. They will also have their own pencil box with their own class supplies, such as crayons, pencils, and paint.
I am trying to decide whether to get a learning mat and sit on the floor or to get a 'learning' table cloth and sit at the kitchen table. I want something that will signify that we are now doing learning time. Maybe I will get both. =)
I also want to do at least one field trip each month.
My goal is to keep this as fun and simple as possible. I will be having #4 in September, so things might get a little crazy, but I really think we can do this. Cross your fingers for me and feel free to use any ideas that you like. I'm so grateful for Google and Pinterest. I really try to give credit where it's due. I am amazed by the creativity and ideas of other people. Thank you, creative and smart people! You make my life so much better!
 I am really loving the planning phase and can't wait for September to come so that we can get started on this!

The Basics

I have three boys under the age of four. Most days I don't know where the time goes. I have many ideas of things I want to do with the boys, but sometimes everyday life just zips us through the day, and we don't accomplish any of my ideas or goals. I want to teach my children good things. I want my boys to be smart, kind, and good. I want to cut down on our screen time. I want, I want, I want.

In an attempt to be more structured and to make sure I do some quality things with my kids each day, I've decided to implement what I'm calling The Mommy I Wonder Preschool. I Wonder because I hope to fuel my children's sense of wonder...and because sometimes I wonder how I'm going to do all of this! The idea behind all of this is to teach my kids the basic things that I think they need and to keep it simple and thus doable. I am working with very young children, so the concepts will be very basic. I'm also working on a budget, so I will be trying to keep expenses down.

I've decided to start this blog and share what we are doing so that you can use some of the ideas too. You are also more than welcome to comment and share some of your ideas and thoughts too. It would be greatly appreciated!

Here's the basic structure:
Each day we will have a different focus. And like I said earlier, I want to keep this simple but structured.
Monday--Manners and Virtues
Tuesday--Literacy (reading and writing)
Wednesday--Art and Music
Thursday--Math and Science
Friday--Health and P.E.

I will be taking advantage of local resources also, such as story time at the local library or book store, Discovery Gateway, local museums, etc.

I'm so excited to get this started. I have to admit that when I used to teach middle school, one of my favorite things was lesson planning. (I'm kind of a nerd like that). And, of course, I really love my students!