Need Help Preschooling My Own Son

www.starfall.com

No need to say more. My 2 1/2 year old son has played on this website since he was one and he adores it.

Try this website for great products. A friend of mine highly recommended it to me and I'm going to be starting with my 2 kids asap. IAHP.org. Have fun! You could also learn more on a basis of what he wants to learn. For example, if he loves rockets go to the library and get some books on rockets (even adult rocket books) and build one or buy one and let him set it off as the culmination.

Hi,
Go to the local Dollar Store, they have a ton of preschool books that helps with colors, numbers, shapes, alphabets, word building, etc. And they only cost $1. Most of the ones I have found have Disney characters on them and so my son is able to get "Lightning McQueen" or "Buzz Lightyear" or "Winnie the Pooh" books. He loves them and they work great.

Can I make a suggestion of putting your son in preschool program not only for academic success but for social success. Going into Kindergarten if he is going to public school he will so need that peer level of understanding. Putting him in two days a week can double his chances of being a great reader and successfully excelling, seriously. Statics prove children that attend a preschool program away from home are far more likely to succeed in public school and do better on tests.
Seeing you are a perfectionist too, it will help him a lot more to get with another grown up and learn to listen, get the structure of a classroom as well. It will give you downtime with just your daughter and help him grow some independence from you!!!
If you insist on doing it yourself, drop by a local preschool and ask for their curriculum, also Sams club carries huge curriculum books starting at a preschool level.

Hey M.,

I'm the same way, an all or nothing kind of person. I've been trying to change that tho. I have found that when I just jump right in I end up burning myself out.

I think that "working" with you son on different projects for a couple of hours at one time is going to wear you both down. Even just one hour is a bit much for most 3 yr olds.

I really like the idea of doing a different theme every week or so. I wish I thought of that one when I was working w my son (he's starting the 1st grade this year).

You can print up tons of pages at sites like, Songs4teachers.com, ABCteach.com and thelearningpage.com. You can also go sites for you and your son to play at together, like Noggin.com, NickJr, Fisher Price, Play Skool, PBS Kids. Also there are tons of work books out there. You can go to Target, Wal-Mart and even the dollar store.

Here's another idea, Keep a buch of your basic kiddie craft items on hand. (I had a box that I could just easily pull out of the colest that was stocked w gule, crayons, colored paper, pie tins, your basic kiddie craft items.) If you're watching Barney w your son and they make a drum, then after the show (or during it) you can just pull out your handy dandy craft box and he can make his own drum too. While your working on the craft talk about it and the peices that you're using; "We're going to use this BIG ROUND RED coffee can for our drum. I really like this RED color *sam*. Do you like RED too? Oh, look! The top of our can is a ROUND CIRCLE." (The words in caps are the types of words that you want to foucs on trying to repeat a couple of times.)

Also, I always made sure that he had books around him (you know all the little kiddie books, and now he loves to read and I'm not even a big reader).

Now as far as planing your day, that's really just up to you and your sechedule.

I did a lot of playing w my son. I just kinda followed his lead. What ever it was that we played with I just made sure to talk about the size, color and shape of the toy, what it was and what it did.

I even talked at luch time to him; "Oh, look at the carrots, they're ORANGE and they are ROUND CIRCLES" or " The cheese is a SQUARE. Look it has FOUR sides, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR."

Other than just playing with him and talking to him I only did a fast flip thur our flash cards (shapes and colors, numbers OR letters) in the moring, a worksheet or two a day late morning (by the time he was four, he LOVED doing his "papers" and he stared to ask to do more. by the time KK started he was doing 4 to 6 sheets a day!) and a craft in the afternoon. And I tried to stay on a schedule.

I didn't think that I was really doing that much, until he started KK then I learned how a little bit can go a long way.

Just remmember: KISS; Keep It Super Simple. Doing that helps keep you and your little one happy and it helps keep all the learning FUN.

B. :)

hi M.,
i run a small preschool out of my home, so i know how you feel about trying to get all that info organized into a schedule. my suggestions are to
1) pick a time that you can consistently have preschool and don't change it to run errands or whatever. treat like you're actually taking him to preschool
2) start small and then build. maybe start with only half and hour to get him used to the idea, then add more time as he gets more used to it. if he has never had formal instruction before it will probably be a little stressful at first to try to pay attention that long, even if it's stuff he likes.
3)in my classes i teach a letter and number each week and choose a color, shape and theme for the whole moth. i like having a theme for the whole month becuase it gives me more flexibility to choose science and art projects. plus if you use theme related songs (tons on the net) he'll have a chance to learn them with is a great prereading activity.
4)how ever many days you choose to do preschool (i suggest 2 days/week) divide your activities between the two days. in my class we did art and science on one day and math and music on the second day, with reading/phonics and circle time every day.
even doing this full time, once i had a scheudle of topics for the year, i usually only had to spend a few days at the end of the month reseraching and planning for the next month. daily prep can be as easy as you want too. there are lots of crafts and science projects on the internet that only require common household objects. also look in the dollar bins at target right now. they have tons of puzzles, flash cards, workbooks, etc that are great for prescool and there only $1! as far as social needs go, invite a friend over once in a while to do preschool with you! they think it's great! the key to doing prschool at home is:
Be Consistant. and don't worry if it is a little rocky at first. give a while and you'll work out any bugs and your son will love the personal attention. Good luck!

Hi M.,
First off just take a deep breath and RELAX. I don't know if you'll be home schooling, which I would highly recommend but either way you can find lots and lots of things to teach your children just by using "life itself". People make way too much out of formal education and fail to see how important everyday life teaching is.

Something I started last year with my 3 year old is a small 3x5 card file. On each card I have written various "subjects".
Ex: Gardening, Reading, Bible Study, Cooking, Music, etc. I generally let my daughter randomly pick a card out and then we work at whatever is on the card. Of course some of the cards only take a few minutes and some take much longer so you may need to do a couple of cards. Use your imagination here.
Just remember, everything about your life can be a teaching/training moment for your babies. An example of that is going to the grocery store. My daughter (now 4) with minor directions can pick out the type of food we want and the quanity. She knows how to use the weight scales in the produce dept and how to check the expiration dates on various products. Get your little ones involved early and they will be your greatest asset later on. God Bless!

My son goes to a preschool but, i really think he got more from our daily conversations and time together. (Other than the socialization about classrooms).
We talk about time during the day, the calendar, shapes. Letters he learned from alphabet toys and the leapfrog videos and flashcards (where he learned all his sounds). I also love discovery toys (yes I do sell them but, very low key) because they are very educational and give you ideas on how to play and learn at the same time (Just an idea if you are looking for toys for a birthday etc).
Then Target has had some great flashcards and books in their $1 section. Costco currently has a curriculum book for preschool and another for kindergarten. Also I just went into Mardel's and they have some great books. I picked up a sissors one as that is something he needs some time on and does not gravitate to himself. But, they have everything.
Make it fun and low key. I like it being time with mom and we play and learns at the same time.

You're doing a great thing for your son. I don't personally homeschool - my boys attend Buena Vista Elementary - a local public Montessori school - but I know lots of moms in my mom's group that do. Their children work on their socialization at our weekly playdates.

I would find a local mom's group or homeschooling group to help you out.

It is overwhelming - there's unschooling, Montessori, and then traditional methods. Each method has great concepts for learning.

Maybe you could visit a preschool or two to observe how they organize their day.

Some books I like -
What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know - E.D. Hirsh, Jr., and John Holdren
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764127896?tag=healthymo...
Teaching Montessori in the home : the pre-school years by Elizabeth G. Hainstock
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452279097?tag=healthymo...

I think you can pick them up from the library.

Also, www.starfall.com for reading prep is awesome. My boys learned all their letter sounds from that website AND learned basic computer skills at the same time.

Taking him on errands like grocery shopping or the bank or post office or laundromat also offers practical life lessons and let you get some stuff done during the day, too.

Check your local dollar store for preschool workbooks, too.

Take a breath and take your time.

You have great ideas with the weekly/daily schedule. Put it on a chart on the wall for both of you and try those for a while. Then adjust it as you go along. Ask him his opinion, too. :)

I think you are on the right track as far as just introducing him to the basics of letters numbers, shapes, etc. Your idea of a theme a day might be your best route and you could incorporate it into the letters. For example, if you start with letter a your theme could be alligators. Show him what the letter looks like, the sound it makes, and a word it starts with.(Don't get frustrated if he can't remember the next day the sound or the name of the letter, children need lots of repetition.)Then you could learn an alligator song, read an alligator book make some sort of snack that looks like an alligator. I would make sure that you don't do the same thing everyday, so it is always exciting and fun for him(by that I mean don't have a themed snack, or song everyday)Instead of a letter a day you might want to pick three letters to work on for the week, and maybe some of your themes would last two days. I would also play a lot of games, even when you are out places such as, look for things out the window that have a triangle shape, or can you find the letter s somewhere on this page, or the I spy game--I spy something that is blue, or I spy something that starts with the d sound. If you really wanted to you could go to Lakeshore or the Bookies or another teacher store and but a book for preschoolers. They have all kinds of theme books, and idea books. I think the best thing is to keep it simple and fun and laid back. i hope this helps. Good Luck

We haven't been too formal about our "preschool." I think it's more valuable when it's child-motivated. Sort of a "montessory" approach. So we would go to the library and I'd ask my then 3 1/2 year old what he wanted to learn about. We'd get some books on that subject (polar bears, penguins, earthquakes, volcanoes, planets, tractors, construction equipment, etc), some educational videos, etc. I called them "units," but only to myself. When the library books were due, we took them back and got a new subject (or new books about the same subject if that's what he wanted--it's all child-directed). He's really quite interested in lots of things now, but I never forced him to learn something that he wasn't interested in. Take opportunities as a family to go places that are interesting to him. For example, for a weekend family vacation, we drove to Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. It's all about volcanoes and lava tubes. Volcanoes are a favorite at our house, so my son was in heaven there. And it's not like it wasn't interesting to the parents, too!
My son got an "art box" for Christmas. It's a Sterilite Show Offs box with a lid that snaps on and a handle. We filled it with art and school supplies (right now is the perfect time to fill one!) like crayons (22 cents), glue sticks (17 cents for 2), a stapler, tape dispenser, pencils, colored pencils (88 cents), markers, hole punch, white glue, ruler, shaped hole punches (look for shapes with one piece--we got a paw print that cuts 4 pieces. It's not nearly as fun as our frog or star punch!) and scissors. My husband brings home scratch paper from the office, so we have an endless supply of paper for him to experiment with.
Another art idea I found online is to cut up old wrapping paper (leftovers or used) into shapes and let them glue it onto paper to make a collage or even make a mosaic picture.
We have the LeapFrog learning videos: the Letter Factor, Talking Words Factory, CodeWord Caper, etc. We also have the WordWhammer fridge toy. Both my boys know their letters and the sounds each make, and my 4 year old sounds out words all the time. I try to find things he'd be interested to read, like signs when we're stopped at a light, or whatever he's talking about. Or signs in the grocery store. Today he read "frozen food," and on the way home, he spelled "bike" because he was so excited about his new bike.
My kids are going to be in school for the next 13-17 years (or more). I see no rush to get them started early. But if you make it a habit to learn as part of your everyday family life, you'll be amazed at what your child will pick up without any special effort or prep time!

Put him in preschool for the social aspect. My son's kindergarten class had 12 of 17 who had never had formal schooling and it was SOOOOO hard on the teacher the first two months.
My mom was in elementary ed for 35 years - her take was talk, talk, talk to your child and read, read, read, read. The rest is gravy. Going into kindergarten its nice to know letters and numbers but its not essential. what's more important is understanding and following directions. many kids just aren't ready for letters, etc before 5 or 6.
As another poster said, do things that work on fine motor skills - cut things (construction paper, collages from mags, etc.), do lots of playdoh, lots of painting, and lots of coloring.
Don't worry about anything formal, just take the opportunities as they come and do LOTS of reading. Really - that's all you need to do. We did (and do) things like making letters out of spaghetti when eating spaghetti, make S's when you're walking down the sidewalk, make letters in the snow or the sandbox, count stairs or RR cars or whatever else comes your way. just have fun!

Hi. Here is something you could try. At office depot/max stores, you can find peel and stick laminating sheets (20.00 for about 50) that are 8.5 x 11. Type up a sheet that says..letter of the week and leave a spot for it, then ..sound of the week and leave a spot/blank for it..etc

Glue it on card stock, Laminate that then add velcro to the blank spots.

Type up your variety of letters and sounds, colors, whatever you want to add to that mini poster. I suggest you first glue it on cardstock/old file folders) Cut them. Laminate them. Put velcro on the backs. (if you don't cut them individually, the laminate will peel off)

Now you can velcro your selection for each week to interchange it...thus helping you be organized and your child visual see it. If you want to do the color of the week, use a cute clip art crayon color or something.

don't overwhelm yourself. Start slow. I do themes per month (am a Speech therapist) but only see kids 2x week for 1 hour. So maybe you want your theme to be 2 weeks at first so you don't go crazy.

*make a calendar and write out your plans on each week.

For other activities, maybe you do the same velcro idea with days of the week mini poster and attach to each day ex; Monday =Song, Tuesday=Craft Wed=field trip/outdoors Thur= motor skills Friday=Book day/library etc

Good luck! p.s. i am like you...all or nothing! (Signed; Detail D. aka ...a typical Virgo!)

My son just finished his second year of preschool. He went twice a week and studied the letter twice before moving on to the next one. He went on field trips had Show N' Tell once a week and did an art project every time he went. There would be a song as well as a book, a snack, and an activity to go along with the theme.. Sometimes they would even watch a movie, but I think that was usually when the weather was bad and it had to do with the theme anyway. They also had play time. They would wear a certain color each day for a little while.

Sorry, my thoughts may seem a little scattered, but I'm sure you get the jist of it. Good Luck.

There is a store in Layton just off of Antelope, it's called Utah-Idaho supply. It has tons of school stuff.

You might want to check with your library for story times. They usually have a theme each week and that could be a fun activity to include as well as doing things at home that go with the theme.
You may also want to purchase the Leap Frog letter factory video my now 6 year old loved that video and knew his letters and sounds much quicker than my two older ones. I don't have the fridge magnet like someone else mentioned but that would probably go along with the video. My sons preschool teacher had flashcards that went with the video but I couldn't find them so I'm not sure if they still make the flashcards but I found the video at Target for $9.99. They also have a word factory video that is good for after he gets the sounds down. It teaches how to put the sounds together to form simple words.

I think the biggest thing to do at this age is continue reading to your son every day. Point out things in everday life that start with whatever letter you are working on.

Good Luck

I'm starting something similar with my dd, she's 2 1/2. I'm the same way, if it isn't perfect I don't do it. lol. anyway I'm using the Ten Terrific Weeks program that Usborne Books has. I'm doing the Farmyard Tales one with her, it introduces the basics of alphabet, colors animals etc. the guide has something for me to do every day of the week monday through friday for ten weeks. I don't do every day so it goes even further for me with her. It also has a supply list at the end of the guide to tell me what I will need to do that days activities so I can be prepared for the week. There was just too much information out there for me to process it myself I finally laughed at myself because I sell the Usborne Books and decided to use a program that was already made up! If you know a consultant who sells them, take a look at a guide. If you are interested and don't already know someone who sells you can check out my website www.celestsbooks.com for the Ten Terrific Weeks program. I love it and I have a sister and a few friends who have been using the program this summer as well. There are several different programs you can choose from and they are all fun and educational.

You already have some great ideas and you sound like me -- you've researched it and now how so many ideas that you can't possibly do them all and it's going to take hours and hours and hours and hours that you just don't have. BUT, you really want to do this for your son. So take a deep breath and write down:
1. What you want to accomplish (your goal) for this time
2. What your son needs to learn before he goes to kindergarten (the Utah PTA has resources that can let you know what his skill set needs to be for kindergarten)
3. What your son already enjoys doing (coloring, games, play-dough, etc.)
4. What he is interested in (my boy likes dinosaurs right now so we're learning ALL about dinosaurs and reinforcing colors, letters, and numbers along the way -- but we have focused on construction trucks and bugs too)
Now that you've written all that down you have a plan and a focus. Just start each week with a number and letter and have fun with him!

M.,

If you can find any books by Glen Doman regarding early childhood education, use them as a jumping-off point. They are really excellent, help develop your child's ability to learn, and are not hard to implement. I used them, along with frequent "nature walks" around our neighborhood, where we observed all sorts of things going on around us, and frequent trips to the library. Also, don't provide toys related to children's TV programs, but provide skill-building toys such as giant Legos - regular Legos as he gets bigger. This worked spectaculary well with my now 26-year-old, totally brillant and amazing son.

I have the perfect website for you... youcanteach.com. It is a basic, fun curriculum that teaches children letter sounds, etc through games, music, singing, etc. The focus is on one letter each week and there are simple lists of activities to do around each activity with books, children's songs, make believe adventures, etc. to reinforce the letter you're working on. It is a great curriculum and my children have really enjoyed it. Plus, most of the work is done for you. You just pick the letter you want to begin with, (there are suggestions for what order to teach the letters based on which are easier or more difficult for children to understand), choose which activities you want to do and go for it. Some activities include books you can check out from the library, or food you will want to get when you go grocery shopping that week (e.g. different apples for a taste test during 'a' week), so it is helpful to decide a little ahead of time, but there are enough activities with each letter that even if you are deciding on the spur of the moment, you will still be able to do enough of them with just what you have at home to have a great time. The information is all free, but if you are interested in a hard copy, I think there is also a booklet available. Good luck. This is such a great time for you and your kids!

I think it is important for you to realize that you don't have to do it all yourself, there are great (and often free) resources in your community that you can take advantage of. The best one in my opinion is our local library. I don't know what specific programs that your library offers but there are 2 near my home that both have terrific story times for young children, one also has a music and movement class, all are free of charge. There is also a free petting zoo located in a pet store that is popular with my kids, and while we are there we can talk about the animals and what kind of care and feeding they require, what their natural habitat is etc. We also take out books from the library about animals that they are most interested in. Our local zoo is not free but cheap, as is the university museaum. There are children's classes offered at each of these for a reasonable fee. You local rec center may offer free play times, but classes that you pay for are probably cheap too, $20 per month for us. All of these are great enrichment ideas that you can incorporate in your children's education. As for the basics, opportunities abound for practive with letters, numbers, colors and shapes. When you are baking or cooking have your son help you, count how many cups go into the recipe, talk about what color the ingredients are, even discuss division with the teaspoons and cups, help him to experiment with how many 1/2 cups or 1/4 cups make up one whole cup. My 6 year old now knows how to divide a recipe in half after cooking with me her whole life, and she knows what a leavening agent is and can name several examples of them. When you are driving ask him what color the street lights and signs are and talk about what each sign means, my 3 year old loves to point out the red stop signs and tell me that they are octagons. There are tons of sites on the internet with free printable worksheets and even lesson plans, but use those sparingly, teach your child through doing real world experiences! Art time is great, esspecially when it is messy! My kids love homemade playdough (there are many different recipes out there), ooblick (which is just cornstarch and water and a bit of food coloring), pudding fingerpaint (make instant pudding with whatever food coloring you like and smear it on paper plates or cookie sheets), we even use corn meal for indoor sand play in the winter when the real sand outside is covered in snow! Of course you want to use books (library ones are free!), blocks, puzzles, puppets, and other educational toys, but don't get caught up in a buying frenzy, it is OK if you do not own tons of "educational" toys, most kids prefer pots and pans, empty boxes (empty oatmeal boxes make great blocks), and other household items that are just as fun and educational. I hope that this gives you some good ideas, and remmber to relax! Your children will learn more and have more fun with a mom who isn't totaly stressed out and trying to do too much.

I have been a preschool teacher for 16 years and I recommend that you not over-do it with the preacademics unless they are embedded in other fun hands-on activities. My favorite model is The Storybook Curriculum (I forgot the author--someone from Boulder). It makes curriculum/activitiy planning so easy and meaningful to kids. You choose a storybook and think of activities that relate to the book. Some books lend themselves well to lots of ideas in lots of developmental areas and others do not. Feel free to ask me more about it.

Dear M.,
I would start out slow and build up to longer activities. Even an hour will be overwhelming for most four year olds at the beginning. I would choose one letter and one number a week to begin with. Parents magazine recently had an article advising what order to teach letters in as far as teaching them handwriting. This was in the May 2008 issue. Fisher Price has a "Little People" cd wtih songs for every letter of the alphabet (there's your music) and Leap Frog Fridge phonics helps to teach the sounds that each letter makes (incorporating more music).The art can be a simple and easy way to reinforce numbers and letters. You may need to break up the activities throughout the day, as even the most intelligent toddler has a fairly short attention span. The most important thing is to make each activity fun (otherwise there will be burnout for both of you)and look for teachable moments (point out the letter of the week in books you are reading to your son, in signs you see while out walking or driving, on toys that he's playing with or trace them in the sand or spell them with rocks at the playground). Have fun with this and let your enthusiasm rub off on him.

I think you are awesome and out of the ordinary for wanting to preschool your son! Good luck! Continue to listen to your gut and your heart and keep your babies close to you. They will be out in the world way too soon.

Enchanted learning on line is a great website that you can use for this age group.. You can also get preschool work books at costco or walmart that are helpful.

Just do a search online for preschool teaching and you will come up with a tone of great information.

Kuddos to you for wanting to be involved in your child's education. I know of a great homeschooling community online that might be of help to you: www.thehomeschoollounge.com
This is a free site full of awesome information.

Good luck to you and don't get discouraged or let anybody else discourage you!

Blessings,
C.
www.AHomeCareer.com

Look online for Teach me Mommy, it's a great curriculum for a mommy taught preschool and sounds just like what you are looking for. It has activity and craft suggestions and a theme for each lesson. We did a letter a week, then numbers. There's a great workbook available at Walmart for practicing letters and numbers. Good luck! (p.s. the book is only about $25.

M., I've been in the education profession for 14 years (I have a masters). I've been a mom for 5 years. I agree that you should keep things simple. Your son is 3 1/2 after all. I agree that this shouldn't be a huge source of stress. You've got enough stress with 2 children, household chores, etc. And you want this to be an enjoyable experience for your son. I also sympathize wih organization being a challenge. And, yes, there is lots of information out there. There is nothing that any of us can say to make you a preschool teacher in one email. I can understand wanting to be perfect, but you need to let go of that. This will be a learning experience for both you and your son. I would suggest having learning centers in your home. For example, have a library where all of your childrens books are kept and you can read to your children. Read to them regularly. I read to my children at nap time and night time. And I read to them whenever they ask me to. We have a basket of musical instruments. We "jam" whenever we feel the urge. We turn on the radio and sing and dance together. Learning doesn't always have to be academic. Music is scientifically proven to help brain development, language development, and physical development. Have arts and crafts readily available. This helps brain development and fine motor skills. Do games and puzzles that are age appropriate. Kids learn best if it is fun. Do physical activities --- inside and outside. Simply let your kids play. Kids learn a lot from playing --- alone and with others. Be conscious about what toys you have available to your kids. Have your kids help you around the house --- cooking in the kitchen, cleaning, etc. Responsibility is an important lesson. Get on the computer with your kids. There are great internet sites and software out there. We like PBSkids, Noggin, Baby Einstein, and Leapfrog products. TV and DVDs, too. Limit the time spent in front of the computer and TV, though. Get out of the house. Go to the library for story hour. Host or attend play groups. Go to gymnastics or dance class. Join tee ball, soccer, or swimming. With all that said, the latest research shows that attending preschool helps children with school success. Now, take that with a grain of salt. I didn't go to preschool and I turned out fine. But that was also over 30 years ago. Things have changed. I think what's most important is to make it enjoyable for your son. What are his interests? For example, my son is obsessed with transportation. So, anything that I can relate to cars, trucks, etc. --- he is more eager to learn. Also, take advantage of teachable moments. When your son asks questions... don't just answer the question for him. Say, I don't know. Let's look it up. Then go online, or even better, go to the library. Research age appropriate books that will answer his questions. And, for goodness sake, limit the worksheets. I just use worksheets for the restaurant or car trips or in times when activities aren't possible. Worksheets are not fun. Kids don't learn from worksheets. It's just busy work. Kids learn by doing. The most important things to do are to love your son, and develop his confidence, independence, and love of learning. Teach him values. Give him roots so you can give him wings later on. A parent's job is much more difficult than a teacher's job. I would focus on that. A predict that your son will do well because you care.

I would keep it as simple as possible at this age. As a former preschool teacher, the main thing is to just enjoy quality time with your son. I suggest reading aloud as much as possible. There are wonderful picture books out there. The main thing at this age is to expand your son's vocabulary. This is done just by talking to him and giving him as many experiences as possible. There are gobs of educational games out there. I would just spend time playing with your son. Just make sure you both enjoy your time and don't make it stressful! HAVE FUN!

I found a blog where a mom who did just what you want to do...homeschool preschool. She put together a 26 week curriculum online that you can just print out each week. It has the letter and number of the week. It also has a theme for the week and activity ideas and a book list. She has really made doing a homeschool preschool SIMPLE and FREE! Check it out and good luck!

http://ourpreschoolhomeschool.blogspot.com/2007/09/our-pr...

Be sure to enroll your son in some sort of activity where he will be with children his age. Many children who do not attend day-care and/or pre-school start out in kindergarten at a disavantage. Your child needs to learn to work and get along with other children his age. That is something that can not be taught at home with just you and him. I taught 2nd grade for 23 years.

M.- I have been a preschool teacher for almost 20 years. This is what I think would work for your situation:

*a fine motor skill activity (scissors skills, holding crayons/pencils correctly, gluing, lacing beads/noodles/cut straws, block building-legos or wooden blocks)
*a large motor skill activity (jumping, hopping, skipping, throwing, kicking, etc)
*Colors/shapes/counting objects/sorting
(that will easily take up 2 hours you can even add a learning video to help support what your teaching him-Elmo and Blue's Clues both have great color and shape videos)

Environmental print works best at this age for letter recognition. Looking at books together, pointing out letters on menus/ signs.... Without getting into phonics letters are just shapes to children. You could start with the letters if you are just wanting him to learn to write his name.... Always teach him to start the letter at the TOP and remember that if they have the basic fine motor skills they will be able to print- don't force the alphabet at this time.

Every moment is a teachable moment-measuring in the kitchen, grocery store outings-look at numbers and environmental print, even letting him brush your hair is a fine motor skill for him.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I am happy to help!- H.
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I would imagine you are planning for the one-on-one time when your daughter is napping, right?

Keep it simple - mostly, he'll love the time with you. You could definitely do a lot of things that are cheap and simple. Have a box of supplies on hand - magazines you can cut up, glue sticks, paint, brushes, paper, construction paper, toilet paper tubes/paper towel rolls, popsicle sticks, crayons, etc.

With your letter or theme, have him look at child friendly magazines and find pictures that start with that letter, or pictures that go with your theme. Kids these days need far more practice with small motor skills like cutting with scissors. You can paste the pictures to a piece of paper that goes along with your letter or theme. Keep the pages when you're finished and make them into a book - what a great ABC book, or book with lots of pages of different themes. He'll love it!

You can make simple letter cards out of index cards - put the letter on one side and have him draw a picture of something that starts with that letter on the other side. Or have him look in magazines for pictures or use stickers or whatever. Then you can re-use the cards when you talk about letters at a later date.

Painting - just simple painting - kids LOVE! If the pictures he makes are too big to keep for a long time, take a photo of his projects and make a book with him using the photos about his artistry. My Art Book or something... Use an old shirt for a paint shirt, and buy washable paint. Less worry about mess... My daughter also loves to be outside, so we fill a bucket with some water, and give her a paintbrush, and she paints anything and everything with the water. She loves it and has a ball! Easy clean up too! :)

Play-dough is an awesome activity. It's cheap and you can use it over and over again. You can even make it at home if you don't want to buy it.

Have music time! Just dance - play instruments - make instruments - have him gallop, walk backwards, march, clap, reach up high and then down low, play "freeze" and stop the music and he has to stop and freeze, etc. I love the Greg and Steve CD's - they're the best!

Go to the library and check out teacher type resources - project books for toddlers, books that go with your theme, you can even check out videos (DVD's) that may go along with your themes too. Then you don't pay out of pocket for things either.

I think a three year old can stay very engaged for an hour and a half, as long as you don't spend too long doing any one thing (watch him for cues of needing to change to something else), and when he's busy and focused, you two will have great fun together.

Make snack together - kids love to eat! They also want to do things that the adults in their lives do, so "cooking" or making food is so fun for them. Delicious too!

My advice is to plan ahead - have things ready the night before so that when your time together starts, he's not having to wait for you to get organized and find the things you need. If your schedule changes and you're not able to do it that day, you're ready for the next day.

Just a few ideas - keep it simple - and have fun!