Two weeks ago I left you with a description of Circle Time. Rereading my own post it sounds like a rigid and monotonous routine. In all honesty, though, that is the only formal school we do, and it really isn't all that formal! I 'm pretty sure that my troop of toddlers is incapable of formal, rigid, or monotonous anyway.
Circle Time is followed by Table Time. While Cousin F sings the alphabet, Agent 004 sits down at the table to complete the weather chart. I watch that F points to each letter as she sings, then set her up with a number or letter task. Today she worked on the clothing number matching cards on her mat.
As soon as Agent 004 completes the weather chart she starts the task that I have set out in her cubby. Recently this has included her sound mat, a maze, or a file folder game.
When the girls complete their assigned task, they move onto "Mat Time," which is a Montessori-ish child led activity period. It isn't so much preschool time as it is time to play with small and messy things that would otherwise drive Mama bonkers.
In practice the only differentiation between Table Time and Mat Time is that I choose the first activity for each child (Table Time) and from that point forth the children choose their own activities (Mat Time).
Circle Time is followed by Table Time. While Cousin F sings the alphabet, Agent 004 sits down at the table to complete the weather chart. I watch that F points to each letter as she sings, then set her up with a number or letter task. Today she worked on the clothing number matching cards on her mat.
As soon as Agent 004 completes the weather chart she starts the task that I have set out in her cubby. Recently this has included her sound mat, a maze, or a file folder game.
When the girls complete their assigned task, they move onto "Mat Time," which is a Montessori-ish child led activity period. It isn't so much preschool time as it is time to play with small and messy things that would otherwise drive Mama bonkers.
In practice the only differentiation between Table Time and Mat Time is that I choose the first activity for each child (Table Time) and from that point forth the children choose their own activities (Mat Time).
Here are a few snapshots of Mat Time this week:
Cousin P is gluing a collage while Agent 004 uses a workbook and Cousin F plays a number matching game.
All four children drawing on the windows with Crayola markers.
And that is how we make preschool time Work for Us.
completed last night
) and books about trucks (like 
). It's a start, right?
, then I will start in on my growing backlog. I have 
on order through interlibrary loan, but if that doesn't come in on time I think that I will read 
again.
by Jan Brett - one of our all time favorites.
by Hazel Hutchins - offers concrete examples to illutsrate the abstract concept of units of time.
by Caroline Repchuck and Josephine Martin - the illustrations are beautiful, but the story is vapid. Worth borrowing from the library, but not one that we will purchase.
by Uri Shulevitz - a cute but forgettable winter tale.
by Barbara M Joosse; illustrated by Barbara Lavallee - a young Maasi boy learns that a father's love is unconditional. A great book for reinforcing paternal love and affection as well as introducing a new culture.
by Laura Leuck; illustrated by Kyle M. Stone - a wonderfully illustrated tale of a boy and his dad. On a pirate ship. Some crude humor, but otherwise very cute.
by Gene Zion - Stan is a new new garbage man who can't bear to throw anything away. He gives the broken treasures away to the people of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the broken items are returned to the curb the next morning. The book's message seems to be that fixing things up is futile and that broken things are better used as landfill than reused. It was not all bad, however -- it led to great discussions about creative ways to reuse broken things.
by Caralyn Beuhner and Mark Buehner -a cute story about snowpeople's nocturnal antics.
- this is another book that we keep in the van. It is a cute story in which Big Bird opens a store on Sesame Street.
by Marc Brown - Agent 002 selected several "scary" books from the school library this week; the girls have asked me to read this one several times.
