Preschool Plans for Thane

I am very excited about the plans I have put together for Thane. He has been asking me to teach him how to read and write for a few months now. We've been working on writing letters at random, but it just isn't satisfying him. After revamping the coming semester for Magnus, I noticed we have 26 weeks (give or take a few!) left of schooling this year. So, I decided to give my youngest the desires of his heart and we are going to study a letter of the alphabet each week. By the end of the year, my hope is that he will be able to recognize (he only has trouble with a few now), write (he does pretty good), and sound out all of the letters. If he is able to read Bob books (and the like) that will be a bonus! Here's the plan...(I'll show you what we are going to do for the letter "A")

Tuesday...Introduce the Letter; color and complete worksheet; read a book about that letter or an object/event/person associated with that letter (see books listed at the end of this post); learn the sound/phonic this letter makes using OPGTR and the phonics poem in the book.

Wednesday...magazine craft (he will look through all of the magazines I have been saving through the years and have moved from house to house, for pictures of items that begin with that letter. He will then cut and paste them onto cardstock. At the end of the year we will "bind" it and he will have a great scrapbook of his letter work.), practice writing the letter, and practice the sound/phonic by reciting poem.

Thursday...read more books relating to our letter and have Thane narrate the story through a picture drawn by him, practice writing, and practice the sound/phonic by reciting poem.

Friday... create mini book, practice sound/phonic by reciting poem.

Throughout the week, I have various coloring pages for him to color, we'll do some sort of craft activity associated with the stories, we'll point out the letter on signs while we are out, and we'll point out objects that begin with that letter.

As far as Math, I am going to teach him to recognize the written numbers and to write them. We are going to learn through playing the games in our Right Start curriculum, playing dominoes and other games like that, tangrams, bead patterns, and sequence type worksheets. I am also going to create a calendar for him to fill out each day with the date, day of the week, month, and year.

As far as History and Science, he will continue to sit in on these subjects with Magnus. He really enjoys the stories, maps, and crafts. He likes do to whatever his big brother is doing. Glad Magnus is a great example for him to follow!

Here is the list of books we are going to read and narrate...

A

Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

B

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Billy and Blaze by CW Anderson

Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett

C

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

D

Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

E

The Egg by MP Robertson

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

F

Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue fish by Dr. Seuss

G

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone

H

Hedgie’s Surprise by Jan Brett

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

I

The Iguana Brothers by Tony Johnston

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff

J

Bread & Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban

Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? By Carlstrom

K

King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood

A Kiss for Little Bear by Minarik

L

Little Bear by Minarik

Ladybug, Ladybug by Ruth Brown

M

If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett (retold and illustrated)

N

The Napping House by Audrey and Don Wood

Noah’s Ark by Linda Haywood

O

The Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall

Owl Moon by Jane Yolan

P

A Puppy for Annie by Kim Lewis

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long

Q

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood

Quick, Quack, Quick! by Marsha Arnold

R

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

S

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

T

The Turtle and the Hare

Little Time & the Brave Sea Captain by Ardizzone

U

The Umbrella by Jan Brett

Great Day for Up by Dr. Seuss

V

The Valentine Bears by Eve Bunting

W

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

X

A Fox: The Sound of X by Alice K Flanagan

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

Y

The Yak Who Yelled Yuck by Carol Pugliano-Martin

Z

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss

I think this is going to keep us busy and Thane will get a lot out of it. It should give him a head start to the things I have planned to teach him next year in Kindergarten.