Free Lessons for Pre-nursery Kids
What do you do with a bored two-year-old who is advanced for her age? Take her to preschool or playgroup! But if you are on a budget or has a toddler who has an erratic napping schedule like I do, that might not be the best option for now.
If at least an hour or 2 in your hands, you can try homeschooling your toddler. While formal homeschooling in this country doesn’t start until the child is 4 years old, there are programs that cater to the much younger set. One such program is ABC JESUS LOVES ME. What I love about it is aside from being a Bible-based curriculum, it is also free! It was created by a mom of four kids who comes from a family of educators. Heidi, who lives in a farm in Northwest Arkansas, is a teacher at heart who has a Masters in Education majoring in Pre-Kindergarten to 12th grade.
This is how she describe the curriculum: ” ABCJesusLovesMe.com was created for parents, teachers, grandparents, and people just like you who desire to give the children in their lives an academic and biblical foundation. Each preschool curriculum, supportive idea, and printable shared on this website will provide you with the ability to do just that. The information and objectives help you be intentional as you train the child(ren) in your life. Simplicity is the key to this Christian, Bible-based preschool curriculum site. The curriculum is basic enough for the most energetic child but allows for supplemental material to be added for the child who desires more sit-down activities. The learning is incorporated into the child’s day instead of controlling their day. The key is allowing the preschooler to explore, play, and learn new things through trial and error; not through “drill and kill.”
Mishca learns about the 4th day of creation through arts and crafts
The website contains all the materials you will need to start homeschooling your child, including the lesson plans, printable supplementary materials for arts and crafts, Bible memory verses, letters and numbers. All you need to do is to print them out! There are also suggested reading materials which can be found in (of all places) Youtube! Apparently some people video tape themselves reading the books to their children. Youtube also has animated version of the books from the likes of Dr. Seuss. Heidi also put suggested activities connected to the weekly lessons. Teaching colors by making home-made ice cream! Or making star-shaped pancakes to reinforce the Creation story! How creative can you get? Plus there is a helpful timetable that she personally used while homeschooling 4 kids. (I am already overwhelmed with one, imaging having 4 school-age kids.)
We started this April of last year for the 2 year old program. This January I spent 1 whole day printing out the 36-week lesson plans. We now allot 1 to 2 hours of our day to go through the fun lessons. The lessons can be covered in just 3 days of the week but there are plenty of suggested activities for those who have more time. Mishca is enjoying the lessons so much she’s the one requesting “Teacher Mom” to have school time with her. One fast way to get her to sit down and behave is to announce that we’re having school time. I also enjoy slowing down to tell stories, sing songs and make arts and crafts with my gregarious youngster who is growing up so fast. These are moments that money cannot buy.
This afternoon she showed her artwork and told her grandparents that “God created the heavens, the sun,moon and stars.” It felt good to see that she is learning about the things of God at such an early age and telling other people about it, too!
This is the ABC JESUS AND ME website: http://abcjesuslovesme.com
Another helpful Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten website is Starfall.com.
Make time to invest in your child’s education today!