Toddlers and Preschoolers

July 22, 2009 by KellyH.

Oh, how I miss those days of teaching! My youngest is going to be 9 next month… 4th grade in September. He still loves to do the hands-on stuff, but it’s just not the same. With toddlers and preschoolers, everything is new, everything is “wow!” and every lesson takes lots of body movement to complete. As they age, the movements get refined until it is just their hands moving a pen across the paper, or clicking the mouse button on the computer.

Planning for the earliest years was quite easy– anything that took us outside was a successful day of schooling!

When my oldest was in 1st grade, his brother was in K4. They were both thrilled to do science because it usually meant going outside. When I was teaching grades 5 & 3, I added in another boy in K. It was nice that the older boys could work more independently, but at the same time they still loved being involved in the hands-on stuff the best.

Eventually I added a girl to the group, giving me students in K, 3, 6 & 8. While the two oldest would work independently, the 3rd grade boy loved to be involved in the lessons for his sister in K. My last boy began K when his sister was in 2nd, putting the older boys in 5th, 8th & 10th.

What was my #1 favorite way to integrate the K child into our studies? Using coloring pages. Even the older children enjoyed listening and discussing things while they kept their hands busy!

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