Anne,
I don't use any particular curriculum and my choices on what to teach are based on what I feel the girls are capable of/what they are interested in. There are a few books/curriculum I use to flesh out my goals.
Science
- Most of our science is based on a bi-weekly theme that I choose. Usually, this theme is based on something that Lily is interested at the time or something I think she will enjoy. This week, as you may guess, is Polar Regions.
- There is also a really great preschool science site that we pull from for experiments -
http://www.teachpreschoolscience.com/index.html. Don't forget when you're doing experiments to start the vocabulary and routine of the scientific process now!
- As for learning the animals, I will make both a powerpoint for each region and a set of flashcards.
Geography
- When it comes to learning what countries to locate in a given week, I just choose arbitrarily.
- As you can see, if there is a place that relateds to out thematic study we will also learn to locate it.
Math
- We are following the standards in Book One of the Complete Canadian Curriculum (meant for grade one students). We obviously don't physically do the worksheets (though I suppose you could). We instead do fun activities based on the concepts presented in the book.
Language Arts
- We are following "First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind" (also for grade one) which is where the first few goals come from. This is mostly English Grammar lessons.
- For sight words, we are using the Little Reader trial at the moment in combination with our homemade flashcards that we usually use.
- For phonics, I am simply choosing a CVC word family each week.
Foreign Language
- We have chosen to begin with French, Chinese, and ASL because they are the languages that I have some proficiency in. Also, Lily was born in China (Chinese), we live in Canada (French), and ASL helps to tie the languages together.
- We are waiting for Little Pim to arrive to add to our lessons
Bible
- For our bible story, we use the "My First Message" bible. I then create corresponding comprehension questions and choose a craft to do.
- As for our verse, I chose a list of verses that I thought could be understood and applied by a toddler and we work on one each week.
Music Theory/History/Appreciation
- We use rhythm and music note flashcards
- I choose a composer to add to our listening library each week.
Performing Arts
- Lily LOVES to dance! I'm just teaching her some basics right now.
- Lily really enjoys music, particularly guitar because she sees so many people around her playing. I will add chords as I feel she's ready.
Art
- We have an art curriculum on the way (Artistic Pursuits - As They SEE It). In the meantime we are arbitrarily choosing an artist to study.
Phys. Ed.
- We don't get out much, so we do simple yoga and active console games at home.
Misc.
-Anything I feel we should learn that doesn't fit into the other categories.
- I also often make printable learning games for us to play, based on our theme.
I hope this helps - feel free to ask any more questions you might have!!
Digg
