Experience Toddler

This month we have been given the chance to review the Experience Toddler curriculum.  It's set up a little bit differently than Experience Preschool, but just as easy to use.  It's still a complete preschool curriculum in a box.  Instead of a lesson plan book with daily bags you get activity cards and weekly bags.  There is a suggested order to use the different bags, each of which comes with a book.  There are 20 cards in each weekly bag, you just match up 4 of the same number (we started with one) and you have the whole days lesson.  

We started off by reading the book that was provided in the preschool curriculum, "Bella and the Umbrella."  This was a long book and I wasn't sure if Ronan would listen to the whole thing, but I think the big colorful pictures really helped hold his attention.  After we finished it he said book and flipped it back to the beginning to read again, but I told him we'd have to wait and read it later.  One of the things I love about Experience Toddler is that the books are included as read alouds on the included CD.  My 6 year old is just starting to read and later sat and listened to the book while following along.  Of course Ronan heard the story playing and came in to listen to it again.  

There was a sticker sheet with a scene that went along with the weekly book.  Ronan worked on his pincer skills trying to get the stickers off and put them o his paper.  He ripped a few of them trying to get them off the sheet, but was getting better by the end.  

There was also an included double sided play dough mat.  Ronan practiced rolling play dough into balls and counting to 4.  He loves play dough and I like that the mat keeps the play dough from getting all over everything.  Our last activity was dancing to and holding up a yellow piece of paper (we used a yellow egg) when we heard the word yellow.  Each monthly box from Experience Toddler comes with a monthly CD that is a great addition to have with a preschool curriculum.  Ronan loves music so we wound up listening to all the songs.  Our first day was a success and I think this simplified preschool curriculum is a better fit for where Ronan is developmentally at this point. 

Weeding

We just finished up our Down on the Farm theme with Experience Preschool, which offers a complete preschool curriculum.  Each month is a different theme.

We spent a day learning about weeding.  Ronan, like most preschoolers, loves play dough.  We "planted" straws and pipe cleaners, both of which were provided in our monthly preschool curriculum box from Experience Preschool, and then Ronan "Weeded" them out of the play dough.  He really enjoyed putting them in and pulling them out, and it's a great fine motor exercise.  

We moved onto bigger weeds.  I threaded dish cloths through our laundry basket, a suggested activity from Experience Preschool, and Ronan had to pull them out.  Ronan is receiving physical/occupational therapy to help improve his gross and fine motor skills.  This activity was a great way for him to work on some of the bigger arm muscles as well as his finger and hand muscles, plus he thought it was fun.  

One of the great things about Experience Preschool is that it is a complete preschool curriculum in a box.  Everything you need (minus a few basics like paint and play dough) is included.  We looked at a picture of a plowed field, and then Ronan used a comb to drag paint over paper.  Then he added some sand to give it texture.  He loves to paint.  There was another suggested activity for the day that we didn't get to.  It was a little too advanced for Ronan so we read some extra books and played a bit longer with the play dough.  Experience Early Learning just came out with a new Experience Toddler curriculum this year, which I am excited to have been given a chance to use next month.  

Preschool Curriculum-Corn

This month with Experience Preschool, formerly Mother Goose Time, we're learning about farms.  We spent week 1 learning about farm animals, week 2 was about farms, and week 3 is about food from a farm.  

We spent the day learning about corn with Experience Preschool.  We started by using a sheet to make a parachute and crumpled up balls of paper to throw on it.  We pretended the paper was popcorn and shook the sheet to make them pop off.  All kids love playing parachute.  

The complete preschool curriculum from Experience Preschool comes with all the materials you need  for crafts, minus basic things like glue, scissors, markers, paint.  The kids used bubble wrap to dip in paint and make corn kernels on the corn cutouts that were provided.  There was also green paper to use to make the husks and corn stalks.  Ronan loves to paint and after he finished his corn he painted the newspaper.  

All good preschool curriculum come with math activities.  Right now Ronan is just learning to count, so far he can count to 5 in English.  He used the pig manipulatives to work on one to one counting.  Elli did the harder math problems that were included on the story math cards this month.  She was very proud that she didn't even need to use the pig counters to get the answers.  After math, Ronan and Elli played with the pigs for a while, along with some other farm animal counters we have.  I love that Experience Preschool sends new manipulatives in every monthly box.  The pigs were a big hit, even though we already had a set of them.  

Ronan and Elli worked together to color a mini book about corn.  Elli used the book to practice her reading, and Ronan was able to practice holding crayons the right way.  

We finished up with some farm books.  Experience Preschool gives recommended books for every day, that are great if you're doing a farm themed preschool curriculum.  Unfortunately our very tiny library rarely has the recommended books, but I've food lots of farm books that we're reading this month.  

Chickens

We just started a new month with Mother Goose Time, which means a new theme.  This month is down on the farm, and we started day one with chickens.

Every month starts with a new name tag.  Ronan can't write his name, or even trace it at this point.  I write his name on the name tag and hopefully that will help him with recognizing it later.  He's working on holding crayons and pencils the right way which is what we practice on the name tags.  Elli likes to help Ronan "do school" so she used her white board to write her name and draw a barn with animals.

The kids played a game where they took turns rolling the pocket cube and moving a baby chick around the game board to the coop.  If they rolled the fox before the chick made it home then they had to start over.  The girls really liked playing this game with their little brother and helping him move the piece and roll.

Ronan was given an egg that he could use to paint a picture, but instead wound up finger painting the egg and his paper.  He LOVED the paint and was quite happy getting his hands dirty with it.  

We finished up by reading Blue Chicken.

Birds

We spent the week learning about pets with Mother Goose Time's September theme of family and pets.  One of those days was spent learning about birds.  

Ronan played feed the bird which is a great game to help with his fine motor skills.  You play the game by rolling the pocket cube and then using tweezers to pick up the same number of seeds and feed them to the corresponding numbered bird.  We had to simplify this since Ronan is just starting to count (he can count from 1-4 right now) and doesn't recognize numbers yet.  He likes to roll the cube, but then just picked however many seeds he wanted and gave them to whatever bird he felt like while I counted for him.  

I read the I can read book to Ronan.  A new one comes in every monthly box and they are great for emerging readers since basic sight words are repeated throughout them.  Ronan is just starting to learn English so we didn't use the sight word pointers, but instead talked about the pictures in the book.  

Elli wanted to do the invitation to create with her littler brother.  They looked at a picture of birds for inspiration and were given bird cutouts, feathers, and markers to make their picture.  Ronan holds things backwards so a lot of the time was spent turning the marker around in his hand and showing him how to hold it.  This is something he is also working on in physical therapy so this is  great way to get extra practice.  

We finished up with a book.  

Happiness

This week with Mother Goose Time we're learning about feelings and emotions.  We started with happiness.  

Every monthly box comes with a forest friend book that features a trait, this months was kindness.  I read the book to Ronan and then he took it and looked at the pictures himself.  I don't think he understands a lot of the stories yet, but he loves to listen to people read and to look at books.  

We practiced making happy and sad faces and rolling the pocket cube to match the face it landed on to the same colored chart.  

The color of the month is red.  Ronan did not like the color wand and didn't want to use it, but Elli loved it and wants one in every color.  We did show him other red things in the house and showed they were the same as the wand.

Elli loves to help out with "school."  She played the happy heart game with Ronan and showed him how to roll the pocket cube and hand out heart cards.  

Elli really likes the I spy letter sheets.  She found everything on the paper that started with F and pointed them out to Ronan.  He even said a new word, lion, while we were pointing out the different pictures.  *The letter sheet for the day was actually supposed to be H for happy but I wound up switching them around accidentally.  

Family Trees

I'm excited to have the opportunity to use Mother Goose Time's preschool curriculum at home with our newly adopted son from China.  I'm hoping that this will help him learn more English and also increase his motor skills.  He has cerebral palsy so is a bit delayed in gross and fine motor skills, plus having been in a orphanage he just hasn't had a lot of exposure to things like crayons, blocks, etc.  Both his older sisters loved Mother Goose Time when they were younger.  Each monthly box comes with 20 daily topics centered around one monthly theme.  We are starting off by learning about our families and day one was family trees.  

Normally we would start with the calendar and weather, but I'm holding off on that part for a little bit until Ronan understands a bit more.  

We started off by reciting who shook the apple tree and worked on counting 5 red felt apples.  

I wrote Ronan's name in yellow highlighter for him to trace with a pencil.  He scribbled on the card, but I know in time he will eventually learn how to trace and then graduate to writing his name independently.  

I showed Ronan a photo of an apple tree, and gave him paper, markers, glue, scissors and stickers to design his own apple tree.  He really enjoyed doing this and worked on his tree for a very long time.  

Elli decided she also wanted to make a family tree.  She designed her own apple tree and wrote the names of our family members on the apple stickers.  

Ronan loves play dough so he really enjoyed counting people and putting them in play dough.  We listened to the monthly themed CD while working.  Tomorrow we're going to learn about siblings.