My husband and I will be taking our kids (1 and 3) out of daycare since he's home Mon-Thurs. They'll go to a friends house on Fridays so hubby will have them all day Mon-Thurs. He's very good about playing with them, getting them excersise (chasing them around!), playing games like Memory with my daughter and playing on the computer with them (Memory, Dora, just watching funny videos, etc).
I would like to have a 'theme' each week so that I can help set up a mini curriculum for them so there is a 'focus' each week like at daycare. For examply say one week I want to focus on the Artic - well I will find websites they can go to, books that we have about Arctic animals and print out stuff that she can do (tracing, dot to dot, etc) to tie in that theme. Then when I get home from work, I plan on having 1 hour of 'school' time with both kids to A. Give hubby a break B. Give me undivided attention with the two of them and C. Give them structured school time to practice letters, colors, writing, etc.
Do any of you know any good websites, lesson plans, themes, etc that I could use? I would really appreciate ones that you have tried/used/loved. I love to use a variety of objects/places/things for our learning time. We'll use playdo to sculpt numbers, animals, etc. We'll use shaving cream to draw shapes and letters. We'll bake breads to learn about math. We'll use our bodies to explore about energy and movement. We'll go outside and examine and pick up bugs and play in the dirt, etc. I just would like some direction as to what are some good themed lesson plans for ages 1 and 3!
I guess I should specify that this would only happen AFTER I get home from work for 1/2-1 hour. I'm not trying to create a lesson plan that hubby sticks with all day. I DO agree that kids at that age should be able to just play and not have SO much structure, but I also think at least my 3 year old will benefit from structured educational activities (not saying my husband WONT do this, but I'd like to participate and do things like this with her too!).
Thanks in advance mamas!
Maybe it's just me, but I think kids 1 and 3 just need to play. That's how they learn....they don't need that structure at that age!
I think having a theme sounds like a good idea, but at some point I see that going to the wayside. It sounds like your husband will be able to figure it out for himself what they should do day to day. Let them wing it and have fun together.
First of all, the library should have some resources for you. There are lots of pre-school curriculum books on the market. Sometimes you just have to read and figure out which fits your style. It has been a while since I wrote lesson plans, so I don't recall which I used. I know I kind of tried a few out and pulled bits from each as they fit what I was trying to do and my personal skill set. Nick Jr. has some stuff online for preschool at home activities. They do themes for the week and such. (I mention this b/c she likes Dora).
I do want to say, as a working mom with dad home myself, make sure you and hubby are on the same page. Stay at home dads get attitude from others (i.e. moms at the park) and can be sensitive to implications that they aren't doing it 'right'. Having previously worked in childcare and having had my own daycare, I had to make sure I wasn't dictating what they (Hubby and son) did or imply that he was not a great caretaker. Does he do things differently than I would? Yes. Is it drastically different? No. Is it worth hurt feelings? Absolutely not.
I guess what I'm saying is make sure your hubby understands that what you want to do with the kids has no bearing on your feelings about how he is doing or what he is doing with them during the day.
Hi, I know this late, but here are some ideas!
http://www.letteroftheweek.com
http://www.starfall.com has some fun reading games
My favorite for your 1 yr old would be PBS and for your 3 yr old would Letter of the Week.
Hope this helps!
One thing, shaving creme really hurts when it gets in th eyes and nose so go with something else like pudding or whipped creme. Maybe not as inexpensive but much yummier.
Sounds like a good plan to me, not anything I, or my friends, would do. We have laundry, meals to cook, dishes to wash, all those fun things...LOL. Anyway, I think if I get to play an hour out of the day then I have had a good day.
Maybe you should think about doing a home child care instead of what you do. You sound really qualified and have a good idea of what you want done.
I used the Mailbox curriculum books from our local business supply store. There is a different book for every month and they are filled with many different themes and idea that you can select from.
Link to sample page of the March month book for Preschoolers:
http://www.theeducationcenter.com///Images/dlr_images/pdf...
I loved having abut 50 different things to incorporate into my child care center classes and these books really helped me be organized and on top of things.
sounds to me like a great idea, though i dont think you need it. or rather i dont think the kids need it, but if it helps you to have a focus then go for it. at that age, you really dont need to get too complex. i would focus on really simple things like animals food weather transportation , stuff like that. or you can just go through the alphabet, google pre k A activities, B activities, stuff like that.
