Preschool

There is something truly special about the preschool age.

I love their zest for life and new experiences. Watching the wheels turn on their little faces as they put together concepts is completely adorable. They are still young enough to want to hang out with Momma (in fact, we are close to super hero status). They are  tiny little humans (which I find completely charming) and they are full of vibrance, giggles, and so. Much. love. 

Their unquenchable thirst for knowledge and incredible retainment sets the stage for the INSANE amount of learning that takes place over the ages of 3 to 5.  

“A youth human brain is a chaotic jungle of neurons getting “wired” together into intricate circuitry patterns. Early experiences have an enormous influence on children’s absorbent sponge-like brains and also strongly affect the way they mature. By providing everyday activities that arouse your child’s curiosity, you’re helping to create neural pathways that will increase their learning efficiency and capacity. Expose your preschooler to a variety of stimuli and allow your child hands-on interaction with three-dimensional materials. Cooking, finger-painting, clay construction, musical instruments, and going to festivals, petting zoos, museums, tide pools, concerts, and outdoor natural areas are all sensory-rich activities.”     

greatschools.org

I was inspired to put together this resource in the spring of 2020. As history will show, the quarantine was a period of time that many things changed globally within a matter of weeks. Schools were no longer in session and at the time of this writing, might be closed or extremely altered come fall. Parents everywhere inherited the paramount responsibility of being the primary source for our preschool children’s education. In mid April I started looking through different websites for a preschool home school curriculum of sorts. My eldest daughter was 4 and was exploding with questions about the things around her. Most of the resources that I found online weren’t quite what I was looking for (or too expensive).  So I decided to go rogue and create one myself.

Soulshine Momma Preschool is for parents who want to incorporate small blocks of cognitive enrichment with their young child with a focus on science, music, and art. Each unit theme has 5 topics that are supported by slides, art projects, science experiments, music videos & songs (with ukulele tabs) and life applications. It is meant to serve as a platform for discussion, teaching, and knowledge reinforcement for the inquisitive child. The pace that you complete each unit is not of importance. The important part is that you are  seeking out time to teach your little one in a way that works best for your schedule. And for that, you deserve much praise. But mostly, I hope that it serves as a reliable resource for parents who want to integrate small periods of focused learning for their preschooler without having to spend the extra time having to plan from scratch 

Is this a good fit for my child?

The topics covered will require an attention span of about 10 – 15 minutes at a time. (If your kid can sit through a tv episode, they can sit long enough for these activities)  If you have a child that is in constant motion, they may not be quite ready for a lot of the material provided. But if your child can sit for 10 – 15 minutes and stay interested enough in a subject to engage with you and ask questions – they could really love this.

Is this a good fit for me?

This depends. If you are seeking creative ways to teach your child different topics about the world around them in focused increments, you will really enjoy the flow of Soulshine Momma Preschool. If you enjoy science and/or simple science experiments you will have a lot to choose from. And if you play (or would want to play) the ukulele because every nursery rhyme seems to be the same two chords, you found the right place.

Is this an Actual Preschool Curriculum?

This is not a licensed program and I am not a licensed professional. I’m just a momma who likes science, art, and strumming a ukulele for a delighted audience. I like to organize things digitally. I wanted to share with other parents who might find this of value. And I really like hanging out with my spawn so this felt like a completely worthwhile endeavor. 

What do I need to get started?

I created each unit on the Google platform (Google Docs & Google Slides) so you would need either a computer, laptop, iPad (ideal), or smart phone. Arts and Crafts vary from week to week. Reading lists vary from week to week. Basically, you need a screen, the internet, and 15-30 minutes of a time block.

Below are the first two modules that can help jump start your little one’s Preschool Experience this fall. Feel free to look them over to see if this is something you and your child would enjoy. If you are interested in receiving notifications when the next ones roll out, please follow along on our Soulshine Momma Preschool Facebook Group!

-CLB

Week of Sept 7th

Week of Sept 14th