Preschool at Home

I was working from home today and that means I got do school work with Mac for the first time! Having the opportunity to work with him helped me get a sense of his attention span, what activities captivate him the most and what his skill level is in general.  It was also extra fun because I got to "play school" like I used to do when I was a little girl to get my "teacher fix" (I always thought I was going to grow up to be a teacher)!

 

What did not surprise me is how good Mac is with structure and routine. We've always been very big sticklers when it comes to maintaining a structured rhythm to our days and this really helped Mac transition into "Preschool Time."  He has had no problem sitting down to practice with worksheets or do letter work or even play independently.

Today, I followed a routine I found on a homeschooling mom's blog.  We started the with breakfast together - this is typical for us anyway. After breakfast, we brushed teeth, combed hair, pottied and got dressed - again very typical for us.  At this point, I let Mac have some free play while I got the lessons together.

He was able to do about half of his alphabet work (I show him a letter and he finds the matching letter on the mat I made).  He completed all of his tracing practice and proceeded to draw more horizontal lines on the back of his worksheet.  He also did all of his math work to the best of his abilities.  At two, he's not exactly willing to always follow directions! 

Following preschool time, I showed him his sensory bin and got him started on playing with that while I put up the lessons and then set out his snack. 

Before we moved onto snack time, I had Mac help me clean up the sensory bin materials.  He is very good at helping with clean up and is now getting to the point of being able to complete the job on his own!

 

Mac had a big morning, so he was ready for a nap before even having lunch.  I was ok with this as he had, had a snack. 

 

During his nap I, prepped lunch, cleaned the kitchen, played with Adrian, and made homemade laundry soap.

 

 

Practicing his own skills!

The rest of the day flowed well. We went to the store and played outside with the neighbors.

I found that implementing preschool time created this very positive environment for our family.  Though we have always tried to insert lessons and learning in everything we've done with Mac, he was definitely ready and hungry for more!

 

I'm so glad we have chosen to preschool Mac here in our home and I look forward to the next time I am able to spend a day with him having preschool time!