We’re on letter “R” in our preschool alphabet games. This is our family’s version of a Tot school for my 34 month old son. This week I’m trying a new planning tool to organize our study in the alphabet. It’s a Montessori method of challenging little ones to learn by using their natural tendencies towards learning. You can read more about it on my Preschool Planning Post. On my planning post you can download a FREE planning chart and organizing chart. The purpose of this tool is to help me brainstorm new ideas on ways we can implement learning and I’m not using it like a checklist but more like a brainstorming tool. Some of the things we do during the week are also great for learning but were never planned. I think that having tools like this mainly helps me to be more intentional about the time I spend with my little ones.
This is a snapshot of our plan for the week. I used a rolling ten-drawer cart to organize our activities. I scheduled things for certain days but I let my son choose when we actually did most things by opening drawers and selecting things that interested him.
Sample plan for letter “R”
The drawers for our letter “R” week looked like this. If you don’t want to use a rolling cart you may want to try using cookie sheets as “trays” or boxes or baskets – whatever works for you. I’ve seen other mommy bloggers use trays and it works great for them.
Letter “R” drawer contents
Some of the items I moved out of the drawers and placed on my son’s play table so that he could see the new lesson when he woke up Monday morning. I placed the flashcards of a rabbit, rose, rat, ring and rhino on the board and drew a rectangle and a box of the color red. Our color for the week is “red” and our theme is “reptiles”. I also created some coloring sheets including a reindeer, rattlesnake, rabbit and rhino. You can download the coloring sheets here: Letter “R” printables and the Lesson on Reptiles.
The set-up with our magnet board and play table looked like this:
We start each day with a short amount of play and then sit at our breakfast table to read a bible story (build character), pray and have breakfast. For play time, Peanut immediately started opening drawers and was most interested in the raisins. This is from the “small objects” category and involves fine motor skills. He used my silver measuring spoon and started feeding his stuffed animals the raisins. You can see the video here: Feeding Raisins to his stuffed animals.
Later that morning, Rudolf also got a taste of Peanut’s ring pop (a planned part of our sensory items: taste). Here is our little man enjoying his ring-pop.
As part of our study of the letter “R” I tried to show Peanut how to trace the hollow letter from a foam puzzle. He at least colored the inside. As you can see, Nugget wanted in on the action. 🙂
For our “puzzle” or “spatial” part of the week I used some pattern cards and foam magnet shapes I purchased online at Amazon to help acclimate Peanut to patterns.
There are two patters from this set – a rocket and a robot (on the play table itself) and here is our little man building a rocket.
I filmed video of Peanut’s rocket assembly that you can watch here: Rocket Assembly
I think the most fun I’ve had so far is in the “practical” skills application in the form of chores. I asked Peanut to help me make the bed and as you can see it wound up being a fun “cuddle time” with his little brother.
Again, don’t forget to download the FREE Letter “R” coloring sheets and Reptiles Lesson (just click the buttons). And you can download a FREE Planning Chart for your Preschool at Home.
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New Subscribers
I’ve seen a tremendous increase in new subscribers and if you are a new subscriber – welcome to Happy and Blessed Home! I’m so glad you’re here and below I’ve listed a few links that you may want to review to help you become a bit more familiar with some of the resources on my blog:
- FREE 30+ Activities for each letter for Preschoolers Learning to Read through the Alphabet
- FREE Printables – as I create things for my children, I share them via this blog
- FREE Alphabet Printables – I love to illustrate and I created these for preschoolers
- Preparing for Kindergarten Series – insight from the book, “Skills for Preschool Teachers”
- One Word Devotional Series – encouraging words for moms w/video
- Preschool Morning Board Series – an easy visual system to teach basic skills
- Montessori Planning Post – with labels, organizational charts & more
Thank you for joining us on our journey through the alphabet. For me the letter “R” stands for rest and refreshment. Something this mommy needs all the time. Just a sweet short time to rest and refresh with the Lord always energizes me for the next day. I pray you are finding rest and refreshment even in your busy life.
In His Grip,
Additional links can be found at my Link Party Page.
