Pearls' 2011-2012 Curriculum

Pearl turns 3 this August and thinking of that and our desire to homeschool our children has had me pondering what to do this year for her.
One of my summer goals is to get her year planned out and create some lists to help me each month prepare for our activites and stay on top of things (hopefully) with the princess due in late Sept.

Areas to Concentrate on:

Language Arts
Math
Science
Art
Practical Life

Language Arts:
1) Sign up for and complete Speech Evaluation with public school system.  This will give us a better sense of where Pearl is at and if there are any areas for us to work on either at home or with therapy provided.
2) Work on Alphabet: recognition of letters, proper sound of letters, tracing letters.
3) Utilize and re-inforce: Our local library for pre-school storytime (ages 3-5), at home read-alouds (link to book lists: )

Tools: Montessori Capital Case Sandpaper Letters Print w/ Box, Montessori Lower Case Sandpaper Letters w/ Box, Melissa & Doug Magnetic Wooden Alphabet

Math:
1) Numbers: learning proper sequence and counting.

Tools: lots of living books with a number focus, everyday life:)

Science:
1) Foster sense of awe and wonder at Creation
2) Nature walks near home and local parks

Tools: The Kids' Nature Book: 365 Indoor/Outdoor Activities and Experiences (Williamson Kids Can! Series), Insect Lore Creature Peeper, Insect Lore Live Butterfly Pavillion

Art:
1) Doing art projects (finger paints, water colors, playdough, coloring pages)
2) picture study (a picture out every two weeks and have Pearl describe to me what she sees: good for language skills and pointing out colors, etc.)

Tools: First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos, Mini Masters Boxed Set

Practical Life:
1) Learning daily chores and rhythms (ie: picking up toys after herself:)
2) helping in the kitchen (baking, cooking, setting the table, cleaning up; she's actually really good and interested in this)

Liturgical Year:
1) Pick a few  Feast and Name days to celebrate each month
2) special meal or treat and listen to a little bit about saint and celebrate (need to create monthly master list to help with planning for these; supplies needed.)

Weekly Rhythms: Knowing that we will have a new baby in the Fall, I wrote down what I'd like to get out of the house for. 

1) Our church group's weekly playdate
2) Wednesday AM Mass followed by Preschool Storytime at the library. 

That's it. Those are the only two...well, three things I'd like to get out for each week.

DH can help watch Pearl in the evenings so I can grocery shop if need be.  We'll guage how it is with two girls:) Other activities, like Sunday Mass and ministry events, include DH, so I'd have an extra set of hands and eyes. 

Helpful Books, Links and Posts

Mother's Cupboard Pre-kindergarten

Elizabeth Foss' preschool series:


Part 1: It's a Wonderful Thing

Part 2: The Art Box

Part 3: Language Arts for Little Ones

Part 4: Number Fun

Part 5: Leading Little Ones to the Good Shepherd

Part 6: Practical Life with Little Ones

Shower of Roses

Catholic Icing

Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home

Before Five in a Row

Catholic Mosaic: Living the Liturgical Year with Literature an Illustrated Book Study for Cathoilc Children

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready