Hello! If you're in search of ideas about how to begin preschool at home with your two year old then you'll be off to a good start after you've read this page.
Lesson plans, etcetera, for two year olds
Some moms choose to surf the web to find activities for their two year olds and they put together their own set of lesson plans. That is one good way of going about it. There is a plethora of sites out there to find art and craft ideas, activities to encourage the development of fine and gross motor skills, songs and fingerplays, music to listen to, recipes to do with little ones, coloring pages, Bible lessons, and on and on. This worked for me for awhile but then I found myself spending so much time looking for stuff to do that it was becoming kind of a lot of work. And sometimes an activity that looked like something good to do ended up not working so well with a two year old. Like gluing. He had no interest in gluing any of the magazine pictures I so carefully and lovingly cut out. I envisioned us blissfully spending an afternoon together creating a collage but it turned out he had the most fun pounding his glue stick all over the table! "Not like that! Like THIS!" I said emphatically as I kept demonstrating to him over and over again. But all to no avail. The good news is he's improved immensely in this arena. I just needed to wait a couple more months till he was ready. Such a difference the passage of two months can make when it comes to learning readiness.
There are a few books you might consider. Two that I considered are Ann Ward's Learning at Home and Jean Soyke's Early Education at Home but these are for three year olds and up, not two year olds. Two books with good reviews at Amazon are paperbacks by Trish Kuffner called The Toddler's Busy Book. and Picture Book Activities.
Hands On Homeschooling
I bought Hands On Homeschooling by Terri Wilson. Her lesson plans are made especially for two years olds. Her book (it's a binder actually) appealed to me because she includes lots of arts and crafts. Our son loves art and I think it's because we've done so much of it. She also does Bible stories every day and I want our son to know the stories of the Bible. I don't know them so HOH makes this very easy for me. If you would like a little more information about Hands On Homeschooling here is an overview of the first three months (for two year olds). She also has a curriculum for three and four year olds and an Idea book if you don't need actual lesson plans.
One aspect of doing this homepreschool thing that I was on the fence about was whether or not to teach the alphabet. I think that knowing the alphabet is not too relevant to the life of a two year old. I have no doubt he'll learn the ABCs and I am not of the mind to push this kind of learning on him at this age. He's got other much more important stuff to learn and understand. Well, here is an excerpt from HOH that put my mind at ease:
"In regards to the alphabet, the goal this year is to expose your child to the world of letters. Don't worry that your child cannot write each and every letter, tell you things that start with that letter, or even tell you what each and every letter is called when they see it. He/she is only two. Give them a fun way to learn about letters and go in to more detail next year."
This sounded very good to me. It allows for child led learning.
Before Five in a Row
Another excellent set of lesson plans is called Before Five in a Row
by Jane Claire Lambert. It's for two to four year olds and it is a fabulous way to introduce your child to some great books. You'll have fun too! One of the best features about B4FIAR is that there's a very active FIAR message board
where you can "talk" with other moms who are doing B4FIAR too. Jane Claire Lambert describes B4FIAR as "a treasury of ideas to inspire learning readiness." In the introduction she emphasizes that the goal is not to teach academics, but to provide a strong foundation of academic "readiness," and that the desire to learn is the foundation you want firmly in place long before you begin a child's formal academic training. How true. I've been reading to our son each day since he was born, but B4FIAR helped us become so much more observant, not just of the pictures in books, but also on our walks and just doing everyday stuff.
Slow and Steady Get Me Ready
Another option is a book called Slow and Steady Get Me Ready. I have not seen this one myself but I've read positive comments from moms who use it.
Skills lists for two year olds
Here are a few skills checklists. Michele Lewis' is the most detailed and comprehensive:
Skills List For Two Year Olds by Michele Lewis
World Book.com
Abeka
But all these skill checklists can cause you to lose sight of the big picture. Curiosity and a love of learning are the most important things to nurture in your child.
The fun part
You can make up a name for your homepreschool! When your kids reach school age a name for your homeschool will give them something to identify with, and when they're asked by other kids what school they go to they will have an answer. You'll probably use it for paperwork too. For now, it's purely for fun.
If you're the creative type and you really want to do something with that new name that you took so long to think of, then here are some neat ideas from Loree of NY, an experienced homeschooling mom, about how she uses their family homeschool name:
"I made a school seal that goes on school stationery as well as return postcards for the school to send back to me when they have received my paperwork. I've also made business cards, and refrigerator magnets for family and friends."
Did I hear REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS??? Sounds like a good Christmas gift idea to me!
How to think up a name
1. Your last name.
2. Something geographical about where you live (corner, hills, bay view).
3. Something reflecting your philosophy (religious, educational, etc.).
4. Ask your mom for ideas.
That's what I did! She went through her thesaurus and looked under learning and found abecedarian which means "one learning the rudiments of something, as the alphabet." We like it and no one else will have the same name. Thanks Mom!
Stuff to do with kids who are two