Top 10 Non-Curriculum Essentials for Early Learning | Home ...

Because of the push for early childhood education in typical school settings, those who choose homeschooling often feel pressured to get the perfect preschool curriculum for their little ones, especially if the little one is their oldest. Having been a former classroom teacher, I was one of those people. Now I have learned to relax. Your kids don?t need curriculum in preschool. They learn through play. Here are my top ten non-curriculum essentials for early learning.

1. Games?There are SO MANY educational games out there, and even games that aren?t technically educational still offer educational benefits! Through games, young children learn social skills (the dreaded ?s? word), strengthen motor skills, practice beginning math and reading skills, begin critical thinking, and much more.
2. Small foods and treats?Things like Cheerios, blueberries, grapes, M&Ms, and mini-marshmallows provide endless educational opportunities. Young children develop their pincer grasp that aids in writing later. Kids enjoy sorting and counting these gems. You can teach all kinds of math concepts?the four basic math operations, comparison, geometry, and more. Kids can even make shapes and letters out of these items. Give a child mini-marshmallows and toothpicks (at appropriate age, of course) and let them build. They learn spatial thinking, and you get a half hour of quiet.
3. Cardboard boxes?In our home, cardboard is a precious commodity. My sons have made basketball hoops, swords, planes for stuffed animals, computers, book cases, a castle for aforementioned stuffed animals, and a club house out of a huge box Daddy brought home from work. Of course they had lots of fun, but they also learned teamwork, planning skills, and developed artistic skills with decorating.
4. Play Doh and clay?Most of us realize that Play Doh builds creativity and kids can build all kinds of things with it, including letters and numbers. Additionally, Play Doh strengthens hands for writing and other fine motor skills like tying shoes or buttoning clothes.
5. Puzzles?Of course puzzles teach children spatial reasoning and increase fine motor skills. Puzzles also afford opportunities for educational discussion?Where is the dog? Which flower is biggest? How many stars do you see? Not to mention you can find all kinds of specifically educational puzzles such as world maps and solar system models.
6. Writing implements?Pens, pencils, colored pencils, markers, crayon, chalk are all useful. Let your child experiment with different sizes and colors. Some children tolerate handwriting practice better when given a choice of colored pens or pencils.
7. Paper, paper, paper?This won?t save trees, but paper is very useful in early learning. Obviously children can draw, but you can also use it for folding up to illustrate fractions. Let your budding scientist make a chart of the kinds of bugs in his backyard or the kinds of cats in her neighborhood. Have a paper airplane contest or paper basketball shooting competition. Get all kinds of paper?lined, blank, colored, note cards, and rolls of paper you can roll out on the floor or hang on the wall for murals or tracing bodies.
8. Small toys?Toy animals, people, and cars can all be used as math manipulatives. You can also use them as hands-on tools for teaching colors, word identification, and acting out Bible stories. Don?t underestimate the educational value of a Hot Wheels car!
9. Blocks?From wooden blocks to Legos, and in between, blocks are a childhood rite of passage. In our family, Fisher-Price Trio Blocks have become invaluable. I purchased them when my oldest needed more than toddler blocks, but I didn?t want my infant to eat Legos. Give your child a set of Trio blocks, and you?ll be amazed at what they create. As expected, my boys have made weapons, but they?ve also made planet models, trains, cellos, kangaroos, people?I can?t remember everything they have made. For right-brained learners, Trio blocks are a great way to recreate things they have learned about.
10. Library card?Who needs fancy preschool curriculum when you have a library card? Introduce your children to timeless picture books and let them pick out their own. There is a wealth of information in picture books. This past fall we studied penguins for about six weeks, almost entirely from picture books and easy readers. Does your child love fire engines or ponies? Grab a bunch of books and let them ?read? them to you. This builds early reading skills as they learn how to hold the book, which direction to turn pages, to scan pages from left to right, and more. Of course you?ll read these books with your children as well. Most libraries have audio recordings, DVDs, and other materials, as well as special activities such as story time or summer reading programs.

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I think it?s safe to say that if you used these items to their fullest potential, you could have a fabulous preschool for years. There are even more things I didn?t put in my top ten list.?What would you add? Leave them in the comments!

If you?d like more information about early childhood education at home, check out these two reviews: Early Education at Home and Homepreschool and Beyond.

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Source: http://www.hedua.com/blog/early-learning-essentials/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=early-learning-essentials

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