Letter of the Week

A few weeks ago I decided that baby girl needed some more structured play/learning time at home.  We had always been running so many errands and going to all different classes that we weren't home all that much! So this winter, to get some sanity back and save some money, we spent more time at home.  I started to feel like she was always entertaining herself by simply emptying her toy bins in every room, constantly calling for me, or watching WAY to much TV.  

So I decided to do a search for some kind of "letter of the week" or beginner preschool activities that we could do each day/week.  I wasn't really sure what I was looking for, but just wanted to see what was out there to just give her a little time each day where she has to sit and focus on ONE thing (she tends to struggle in that area a little bit).  And I just happened to stumble upon an incredibly amazing program that I am soooo excited about! 

Erica, from Confessions of a Homeschooler, has created a "Letter of the Week" program that (in my opinion) is absolutely phenomenal.  

According to her website "This curriculum is a full 26 week core program for preschool students (ages 3-4). Included are weekly lesson plans that cover all the subjects a preschooler needs and more!" I can't imagine the amount of time she put into creating this program, as well as MANY other curriculum programs that she shares on her site.  She offers many of her printables free on her site, but I chose to purchase the entire program on CD for 3 reasons: It is inexpensive, you don't have to download/save the files on your computer (my computer is almost completely filled with photos), and after seeing all the work she put into the program, I felt she really deserved the credit (and money) for it! Don't get me wrong, as a teacher, I am all about sharing ideas/resources/etc., but if you take a look at this program you will see why I wanted to pay her for it! 

I received my CD within a few days (thank you!) and immediately got started with planning how/when/where I was going to use everything.  I don't plan on homeschooling my kids, although the thought is still in my head, I just wanted something a little extra and fun to keep her busy when her baby brother arrives.  I have only prepared the vowels so far, as  I quickly found that preparing all the materials is ALOT of work, I can't imagine having to create them all, then print, cut, laminate, organize. I also have not printed everything, but picked and chose different activities for each letter/week. I am hoping to spend the next several weeks before baby arrives, hopefully finishing the entire alphabet! It definitely gets easier to organize once you learn what all the activities are and how they are used! Baby girl has gotten her hands on some of the finished products she found in my office and asks almost everyday is she can "play" with them.  Makes me even more excited to really jump into the curriculum with her.  

I plan to use a similar system to Erica's Workbox System to organize our materials each week.  I bought a 5 drawer shelf from IKEA and plan on putting 3 or 4 activities into each drawer for the week.  Baby girl can then take out her box for the day and work on the activities, either on her own or with my help.  This sounds so good on paper, but we'll see if it works or if I keep myself organized enough to actually do it.  I am hoping after I put the work into the printing, cutting, and laminating, it will motivate me to really stick to a schedule with it! 

Speaking of laminating, I also love using my new laminator from Walmart.  It only cost $25, and is so easy to use! Thanks for the recommendation, Erica.  

There are so many great ideas for all ages in Erica's lesson plans and on her website, www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com. Even if you don't homeschool or plan to, I highly recommend checking it out! She is pretty amazing and also provides links to so many great products and other great websites!