Lesson Plan for the Week of August 6, 2012 (beginning August 8)

WELCOME TO THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Today is our first official day of preschool.  In our house, Tyler is starting his online public school today, so the little boys and I are starting preschool today, too.  Today will be mostly a day of "getting to know you" as we help our preschoolers learn about school, what it is, what we do, and what kinds of things we'll be learning this year.  Don't panic if things move slowly, or don't go according to plan today.  Getting used to a new routine takes time.  And don't panic if you aren't able to complete everything.  I tried to over-plan a bit in hopes that our preschoolers will be occupied for more than ten minutes.  But, remember, while we do have goals in mind for the year, the most important thing is loving our children, so relax and have fun.

 I've tried to make things fun and easy this week.  This is more of an assessment week, a chance to clarify in our minds what exactly our preschoolers know and what we need to work on this year.  Next week we will start our Letter of the Week program.

Below is this week's complete plan.  You can print it by using the "Print Friendly" button at the bottom of the post.  You can also click on the links at the bottom of the post to print a PDF of the materials list, preparation guide and lesson plan seperately. 

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8

MATERIALS

• An American Flag and/or a copy of the Pledge of Allegiance 

• A Bible and a copy of the Pledge to the Bible

• Alphabet Line or Wall Chart

• Alphabet Puzzle , also numbers, colors, and shapes.  Wooden puzzles are the best because they are easier to grasp and they have durability.  Melissa & Doug makes amazing puzzles, but I've also found some at Dollar Tree, so don't hesitate to look there.

• One piece of black poster board or four pieces of black construction paper taped together to form a large square

• Colored Pipe Cleaners

• Tape

• Bookmark Craft template and instructions.  (The bookmark craft is in the right panel.)

• Scissors

• Crayons or Markers

• Glue

• Small string or ribbon

• Books for Storytime

PREPARATION

• If you are using a flag, pick a place to display it or a way to bring it into the room every day.  A small flag on a stand is perfect.

• Print out the Pledge of Allegiance poster, if needed, and affix it to the wall in your school area or to a piece of display foam for easy portability.  Do the same with the Pledge to the Bible poster.

• Put up the Alphabet Line or affix the Wall Chart to a piece of display foam.

• Gather puzzles.

• Have ready black poster board or construction paper square, colored pipe cleaners, and tape.

• Print out the Bookmark Craft Template and instructions.  Gather crayons or markers, scissors, glue, and ribbon or string.

• Gather books for storytime.

LESSON PLAN

ACADEMICS

• Pledge of Allegiance

• Show your child the flag and the Pledge of Allegiance poster.  Explain that the flag is a symbol of our country and that to pledge to the flag is a promise that we make and a reminder to to ourselves to respect our country and do our best to be good citizens. (Click here for more ideas on explaining the Pledge to young children)  Tell your child that we will be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day.

• Model the Pledge (click here if you need help) for your child (stand up with right hand over your heart) and have them copy you as you slowly say it. 

• Pledge to the Bible (as desired)

• Show child the Pledge to the Bible poster.  Explain that saying this pledge is our promise and our reminder to respect God's Word and to hide it into our hearts.  Tell your child that we will be reciting the Pledge to the Bible every day.

• Model the Pledge (click here if you need help) for your child.  Help them to put one hand on either side of the Bible and have them copy you as you slowly say the Pledge.  

• Show your child the Alphabet Line or Wall Chart  

• Tell your child that this is called "The Alphabet".  These are the letters that we use when speaking English to talk, read, and write, and that they will be learning what each letter is, how it sounds, and how to put them all together!

• Sing the "Alphabet Song"

• Point to each letter on the Alphabet Line or Wall Chart while singing to show the child what each letter looks like as you sing it.

• Play with Puzzles:  Alphabet, Numbers, Colors, Shapes

• As your child is doing each puzzle, ask your child to identify the pieces.  This will help to assess how much they already know.  You may be pleasantly surprised!

• If your child can identify most of the pieces, place them randomly on the floor or table and ask them to pick up a piece as you call it out.  This will help them learn to differentiate when given choices.

CRAFTS

• Make an Alphabet Sign (from home-school-coach.com)

• Our children might need a lot of help with this activity as they may not yet be familiar with the shape of each letter.  This is an excellent foundational activity and a great way to get in some fine motor skills work.

• Using pipe cleaners, help your child form each letter of the alphabet.

• Tape each letter in order onto a piece of black poster board or four pieces of black construction paper taped together to form a large square.

• Hang the poster somewhere in the school room, or affix it to a piece of display foam.  This could even be your alphabet chart!

• Make a Pledge of Allegiance Bookmark (from first-school.ws)

• Template and Instructions found here, in the right panel

Bookmark Craft from First-School.ws

STORYTIME

   

 THURSDAY, AUGUST 9

MATERIALS 

• American Flag and/or Pledge of Allegiance poster

• Bible and Pledge to the Bible poster

• Alphabet Line or Wall Chart

• Two sets of Alphabet Flash Cards, printed out, cut into individual cards, and laminated  

• Construction Paper or Felt in various colors

• Markers

• White Poster Board

• Glue

• Googly Eyes, Pipe Cleaners, etc to make the caterpillar's face

• Books for Storytime

PREPARATION

• Gather flag, Bible and display boards as needed.

• Print out two sets of Alphabet Flash cards, cut them out into individual letter cards, and laminate them.

• Cut out circles in different colors and sizes, using construction paper or felt.  Write one letter of the alphabet onto each circle, A-Z.  Leave one circle blank for the caterpillar's head.

• Gather a piece of white poster board, glue, and the materials that you will be using for the caterpillar's face.

• Gather books for Storytime.

LESSON PLAN

ACADEMICS

• Pledge of Allegiance

• Pledge to the Bible

• Sing the Alphabet Song 

• Play the Alphabet Matching game

• Prep:  Print, cut out, and laminate two sets of Alphabet Flashcards.

• Give the cards to your child and ask them to put all of the matches together.

• Play Memory with the cards.  52 cards can be a bit much for this young age, so work together.

• Play Simon Says 

• One of the most important lessons that children need to learn is listening to the authority figure and following directions.  Playing Simon Says with them will help to strengthen their listening skills, their ability to follow directions, and their ability to understand the concept "What would the authority figure think about my action?"  Use the game to get physical and assess your child's gross motor skills, such as hopping on one foot, running, and marching in place.

• You can use the Elmo Says book listed below for a fun twist. 

CRAFTS

• Alphabet Caterpillar Craft (adapted from dltk-kids.com) 

• Prep:  Cut out 27 circles in different colors and sizes, using construction paper or felt.  Write one letter of the alphabet onto each circle, A-Z.  Leave one circle blank for the caterpillar's head.

• On a large piece of white poster board, help your child to make a caterpillar by putting the letters in order.  Incorporate color and size identification, such as "Now we need the letter 'G', which is on a large, green circle."

• Attach the caterpillar's head to the body.  Let your child make the face by drawing, adding googly eyes and pipe cleaners, or doing anything else that sounds fun!

STORYTIME

   

FRIDAY, AUGUST 10

MATERIALS

• American Flag and/or Pledge of Allegiance poster

• Bible and Pledge to the Bible poster

• Alphabet Line or Wall Chart

• At least 26 paper plates

• Marker

• Tracing Lines Worksheets Set 1  

• Sharpened Pencil, preferably with a triangular shaped pencil grip

• Play-dough, either store-bought or homemade

• Play-dough tools, like a rolling pin, a plastic knife,  a fun factory, and cookie cutters

• Books for Storytime

PREPARATION

• Gather flag, Bible and display boards as needed.

• Write one letter of the alphabet on each paper plate, A-Z.  You can also use numbers, colors, shapes, and sizes.

• Print out the Tracing Lines Worksheets Set 1.

• Sharpen a pencil or two.

• Make play-dough if you will be using homemade.  Gather play-dough tools.

• Gather books for Storytime.

LESSON PLAN

ACADEMICS

• Pledge of Allegiance

• Pledge to the Bible

• Sing the Alphabet Song

• Play the Letter Hope game (adapted from here)

• Prep:  Write one letter of the alphabet on each paper plate, A-Z.  You can also use numbers, colors, shapes, and sizes.

• In a large space, such as the living room with all the tables moved out of the way, scatter the paper plates around, writing side up.  You will want to make sure that each consecutive letter is within hopping distance. 

• Play games with the paper plates
• Have your child hop from one plate to the next, in alphabetical order.
• Call out a letter, etc, and have your child hop to it. 

• Work on the Tracing Lines Worksheets

• As I mentioned in last week's Following the Plan Friday post, Jason does not yet know the concept of tracing a simple line rather than coloring in the line.  So today we are going to work on these worksheets to strengthen the fine motor skills and the concept of simple lines. 

CRAFTS

• Play with Play-dough

• Play-dough is awesome for strengthening fingers.  Kids love to play with it.  Tired teachers love to sit down and watch them play!

• This is an awesome homemade play-dough recipe.  We made ours about a month ago and it's still working great (keep it in a sealed container).  I even took it to our church nursery one night and it kept my nursery kids busy for an hour.  

• Specialized Play-dough sets are great fun, but the best tools are a rolling pin, a plastic knife, a fun factory, and cookie cutters.  Let their imagination go! 

STORYTIME

   


Click here for a Printable PDF of the Materials List 

Click here for a Printable PDF of the Preparation Guide

Click here for a Printable PDF of the Lesson Plan 

*********************See how our week went here

Our Alphabet Caterpillar

Disclosure Policy:  Some of the links in this post are my affiliate links.  I receive a small percentage of any purchases made.  Thank you! 

Following the Plan Friday

Welcome to the first installment of Following the Plan Friday!  Soon I will have a cool button and all that, but for today, I just have a review of my week for you.

This week's lesson plan was really the School Supply List, intended to get us looking at what materials that we have to do our lessons with and what might we need to acquire.

And for me, it meant getting motivated to clean out the Library, which holds our computers (one a Christmas gift from my mom, the other on loan from Tyler's school), my filing cabinet (a freebie from a house down the street), and a bookshelf that my husband built in high school!

I haven't finished my shopping yet, but I did pick up a package of Construction Paper, a box of Washable kids' paint, and a package of washable markers.  I had to go to the "R Us" store on Monday for a baby shower gift.  I had an additional $10 off coupon that was sent to me with my new credit card, so I decided to use it on school supplies.  The Crayola crayons, markers, and paints were Buy One, Get One Free, so I grabbed the paint and the markers, then rounded it out with construction paper.  I paid about $5 total.

Jason asked me why I was buying this stuff, so I told him it was for Preschool.  Up until then, Jason had not been too excited about Preschool (thanks to his older brother's influence), but when he saw the supplies he immediately started clamoring to go right home and immediately do Preschool.  I kept telling him that it wasn't time yet, but he would not be dissuaded.  I was thinking to myself "But I don't have anything planned!"  Told you I can't fly by the seat of my pants!

I was able to put him off by serving lunch, reading books and putting him down for a nap.

On to the Library...

We moved into this house in May, which was the end of the school year, so most of my art supplies and school stuff just got "packed" into my filing cabinet and have sat there until now.  When I needed something, I just opened cabinets and pushed stuff around until I found it.  It was a mess, let me tell you.

Monday's home-prep time is slated as my day to prep Jason's school work.  Since this week's assignment was to work on School Supplies, I spent the time in the Library.

First I cleaned off the top of the filing cabinet.  Everything that didn't belong found it's home.  Now it holds a three-drawer plastic bin filled with different kinds of paper, our computer disks box, and my lesson planning binder.

One of the things that had been taking up real estate on top of the cabinet was Tyler's work boxes.  Those were moved to their homes on the bookshelf.  These are for the four main subjects and are now filled with either subject's books.

Those folders on top will hold Tyler's daily assignments.  The clipboards were my addition last year when I saw a need for something hard to write on while sitting at the computer.  Love them!

Then I moved on to the inside of the filing cabinet.  I started pulling items out and making piles.  This is what my workspace looked like with only half of the first drawer unloaded.
 

I put all of the different writing/coloring utensils into separate containers.  I sorted out all of the broken crayons and set them aside for now.  Maybe I'll make broken crayon muffins sometime or something.  Glue, scissors and tape went into a box and everything was put into the top drawer.

Jason woke up from his nap and the first thing out of his mouth was "I want to do Preschool".  Um....I had just unearthed a Thomas the Tank Engine coloring book, so I asked if he wanted to color in it with the new markers.  That received approval and kept him busy while I worked on drawers two and three.

Then he asked for something else, so I gave him a book that I picked up in the Dollar Spot at Target.  It's called Loops and it has a picture on top, then the same picture on the bottom.  But the picture on the bottom is made partially out of traceable loops, which works on fine motor skills for penmanship.  So, I explained what to do and started him on the first page.

 It was very interesting to check on him later and see that, rather than just tracing the line with a single stroke, Jason was coloring in the line.  I realized that he has probably never been asked to do anything besides color, so he didn't know the concept of tracing the line.  Yeah, assessment!  Now I know what I need to work on!


He was so proud of his work, so I praised him and had him pick out a sticker for his page.

While he was doing his page, I finished up the filing cabinet.  Items for preschool went into the second drawer, items for Tyler went into the third drawer, and the bottom drawer holds my paper collection, clear contact paper and a box of clear page protectors and tabbed dividers from a project long ago that I decided to keep.

Aw, much better.

When Jason was done with the Loops book, he asked for something else to do (oh, no!  Is he going to breeze through my planned lessons this fast???)

I had just handled a box of colors and shapes flashcards, so I pulled them out real fast and asked Jason to sort them by color.  He did really well.  When he was done, we talked about the colors and the shapes.  It was fun!  And, thankfully, he was ready to be done with Preschool by then.

Plans for Tuesday and Wednesday were side-railed a bit when my youngest decided to take a flying leap off of my bed and hurt his left foot.  Thankfully nothing was broken, but he spent those days confined to the lazy boy or being held.  He still wanted to play, so we pulled a side table up close and he could sit on the edge of the chair and play.  Here he is "cooking".

Wednesday night I finished going over my School Supplies list.  I need to buy an Alphabet Wall Chart and some display foam, and a stapler.

I decided to print and laminate the Pledges signs, and I made my own Pledge to the Bible poster.  It's very simple, but you can download it here if you would like.  I printed them out on plain paper, cut them down, backed them with cardstock, and then laminated it with clear contact paper.

The clear contact paper stuff was awful and a laminating machine immediately went to the top of my wish list.

Today I am planning to go to the Dollar Tree and will pick up the rest of my supplies there.


How did your week go?  Did you get your school supplies prepped?

Goals and Plans

As I began to put together my lesson plans, I thought about how I wanted to arrange my days.

Do I want to have themed days:  Monday work on the alphabet, Tuesday work on numbers, Wednesday work on physical abilities, etc.?

Do I want to do a Letter of the Week, two letters a week, a more holistic approach, or no approach at all?

Do I want to have Jason do tracing with straight lines, or only curvy lines?

As I contemplated these things, I realized that before I could answer them, I needed to know what my goals were.

What am I trying to accomplish by teaching Jason preschool?

If doing preschool this year is just a way to keep the little boys quiet while Tyler does his schoolwork, then I can just pick three or four fun activities per day, and boom!  I'm done.

But, if I want Jason to learn something specific, to have achieved readiness in certain areas before I send him to Kindergarten in Fall 2013, then I need to be deliberate in the activities that I choose.

So I asked myself, what is my purpose?  What am I hoping to achieve with these weekly lesson plans?

Purpose:   For Jason to demonstrate Kindergarten readiness by being able to do at least 80% of the items listed in I Can Teach My Child's 71 Things Your Child Needs to Know Before Kindergarten.

Then, I broke it down into specifics:

1.  To teach letter recognition and letter sounds.

2.  To reinforce colors, shapes and sizes.

3.  To teach and reinforce number recognition, rote counting up to 20, and counting with meaning up to 10.

4.  To strengthen gross motor skills.

5.  To prepare for cursive writing, which Abeka begins with, by strengthening fine motor skills and scissor skills, and tracing mazes, lines, curves and circles.

6.  To work on personal and social development.

Next I thought about what I do not want to do:

1.  Teach Jason how to read.  Now, if Jason learns how to read naturally, along the way, that would be terrific.  But, I do not want to begin a formal reading program beyond the letter and sound recognition.

2.  Teach Jason how to write in cursive.  I will be concentrating on developing his skills and readiness.  I don't want to begin writing the actual letters because Abeka has a specific way of forming the letters and I don't want to purchase their books to teach that specific way.  That will be accomplished when he goes to Kindergarten.

3.  Become so focused on accomplishing my goals that I forget to allow Jason, as well as Justin and ME, to  relax and have fun.  While I am doing a preschool program at home, this is not real, formal school and I don't want it to become stressed out drudgery.

Putting my goals into a plan

I decided to break our day into three main components:  Academic, Crafts, and Storytime.

Academics will be focused teaching using a variety of different mediums, such as Alphabet Charts, Puzzles, Games, Tracing Papers, and more.  Each week we will focus on a different letter, and incorporate numbers, shapes and colors into each day.

Crafts will be getting down and messy, being creative together.  The craft may be related to what we are learning; it may just be something fun that I saw on the web.

Storytime will be when we sit down together and read stories.  Reading stories to our children is the very foundation of teaching them to read.  It provides us with an opportunity to be focused together.  And, its really great for getting kids drowsy before naptime!  We read together every day before nap.  Sometimes we will read books that are educational, sometimes we read books that are just plain fun.

(Hey, did you know that learning can be fun, and fun can be learning?  And that it's okay if they are not?  I'll have much more to say on that topic later)

I anticipate focusing approximately two hours a day on these activities (some of you veterans may laugh at how much or how little I plan, lol).  Some days will go smoothly.  Some days will not and the plan will get thrown out the window.  That's okay.  While I'm a strong supporter of plans and routines, I believe that the best thing we can do is follow our children's cues and be able to let go of the plan to focus on a need.  If we get so involved in an activity that we spend three hours with our children, that's wonderful.  If a child just needs to be held for awhile, sit back and enjoy it.  Our children are our number one priority, not the plan.

Free Printable Alphabet Wall Cards

Living Life Intentionally has just released these adorable Printable Alphabet Wall Cards.  They are perfect for use as an Alphabet Line!  The wall cards are 5" x 8".  She also has flash cards.

A Bumpy Start

I went to bed last night so excited.

"My "School Supply List" post will be up in the morning.  After weeks of writing, my blog is live!  I can't wait to dive into this thing."

I woke up this morning and turned on the computer as quickly as I could.

And almost cried.

My beautiful post looked nothing like it was supposed to.  The HTML was all off, making spaces where there wasn't supposed to be spaces, colors off, and the links...

Oh, the links!

Thank you, Amazon, for your wonderful little glitch that I just discovered.

So I quickly scrambled to fix things, and every time I fixed one thing, it seemed like another problem showed up.  I'm sure someone is wondering why they have 75 post updates in their email.

My boys fought in the background over blocks and coloring, angry because Mom wasn't paying them attention, sensing my tension and frustration.

And finally, half of my post refused to go back to black font, so I just sighed in frustration and changed it all to pink.

And wanted to quit the whole thing.

"How embarassing!  I can just imagine the 15 people who have already read this post this morning thinking to themselves 'Well, I had hopes, but, wow, what a terrible post'.  Ugh, I just want to quit now."

The quiet voice inside my head whispered back "Would you let your kids quit?"

I wouldn't.

I would tell them to find their mistakes, figure out what went wrong, and try again.  And make their next effort better than the last.  And that one mistake does not mean failure.

And, really, what am I trying to do here anyway?  Wow everyone with my awesome computer skills (haha, yeah right!) or have fun with my preschooler?

So I will carry on, and make sure that my links are working!

I'm so sorry for this bumpy start.  Thanks for baring with me.

I've got lots of fun planned and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

The School Supply List

My kids love shopping for school supplies.  Just yesterday my daughter asked me when we were going to start shopping for school supplies.  I said, "Katelyn, school doesn't start until the end of August for you!  We've got plenty of time!"  Tyler's online school always starts the first part of August, so I always buy his school supplies first, and Katelyn looks on longingly the whole time.  Then her time comes and we troop excitedly down every aisle.  We go through the list the teacher has sent and debate over red folders or green.  What kind of pens?  Will these markers last all year long?  So fun!  Buying school supplies is truly a perfect way to start the school year.


Now, since I am not rich and increased with goods, I am going to attempt to keep our preschool as frugal as possible.  For me, this means rather than relying on already made up curriculum that cost big bucks, I will be utilizing the resources and supplies that I already have here at home, like my printer, and purchasing any necessary items as inexpensively as available.  Dollar Tree (my favorite dollar store), Hobby Lobby with a coupon, and Amazon are my favorite places to purchase items.

So, here is our school supply list:

1.  ALPHABET LINE OR WALL CHART TO DISPLAY

I recommend having the whole alphabet displayed for easy visual access.  If you are using a dedicated school room where you can hang a large wall line, a set like this one here would be handy

This alphabet line measures over 14 feet long when assembled.

If you don't have a place or the space to permanently display an alphabet line (I don't), then the next option would be a portable wall chart like this one.

I've also seen alphabet wall charts at Dollar Tree.  They come in a big box that has all of these posters in it:

Affix the wall chart to a piece of display foam, also sold at Dollar Tree, for durability.  You can pull the board out when you are doing school and slide it into a closet or behind the filing cabinet when you're done.

A final option would be to print an alphabet chart on cardstock. I found some great options online like the one here.

 

Now, I went back and forth about whether or not to display the alphabet in our home in Manuscript (Print) or in Cursive, since Jason will be learning to write in cursive in Kindergarten.  I decided to display Manuscript because the Cursive wall charts were not in the Abeka style.  I also checked the Abeka website to see if their alphabet flash cards were in Manuscript or Cursive.  They are in manuscript.  So I will be displaying my alphabet in Manuscript.

(I was in the Kindergarten classroom last Sunday, teaching Sunday School, when I noticed that the Kindergarten teacher has the Abeka Large Flashcards displayed above the board like a line chart.  So, that could be an option for a line chart, too.)

Other fun wall charts to display would be numbers, colors, and shapes.  I found this set on Amazon and it has the alphabet, numbers, colors, and shapes, plus a few other fun ones.  Perfect!!

2.  LAMINATING MACHINE, CLEAR CONTACT PAPER, OR CLEAR PLASTIC PAGE PROTECTORS. 

We will be printing lots of pages throughout our preschool year, and many of them we will want to reinforce for durability so that we can reuse them throughout the year.  This is especially true if you will be printing off your alphabet chart rather than buying one.

The best option is to buy a laminating machine, especially if you plan to homeschool beyond one year, or more than one child (for example, I will be preschooling Justin at home after Jason goes to school).  Amazon sells a wide variety of laminating machines.  Bare in mind that you will need to purchase pouches, too.

If you don't want to use a laminating machine, you can also cover your papers with clear contact paper or place them in clear plastic page protectors. 

One of the advantages of laminating or covering your papers is the ability to complete the paper by writing on the plastic with a wet erase marker, which can then be wiped clean.  The page can then be reused.
 

3. PENCILS, MARKERS, SCISSORS, GLUE, TAPE

We will be doing lots and lots of writing, coloring, pasting and cutting as we work on our preschoolers' fine motor skills.  I will give you a list of specific materials each week for the projects we will be doing, but I recommend stocking up on these basic items during the "Back-to-School" sales.


4. WASHABLE PAINT IN A VARIETY OF BASIC COLORS AND PAINTBRUSHES

I didn't include paint the first time I wrote this list.  Then I wrote the first two weeks of lessons and realized that we will be painting a lot.  I don't know about your kids, but my kids love to paint.  So, stock up on a variety of basic colors.

I know that I've purchased a large variety package of paintbrushes at Walmart for under $2 in the past.

You'll also want to start collecting lots of newspaper (those free papers that they dispose on your driveway twice a week!) or purchase an inexpensive plastic tablecloth at Dollar Tree to protect your painting surface.


5. PRINTER PAPER AND INK

We will be printing lots and lots of pages.  Stock up on paper and ink so you don't run out in the middle of printing a fun page. ;)


6.  LOTS OF CONSTRUCTION PAPER, DRAWING PAPER, PAINTING PAPER, SCRATCH PAPER, PAPER, PAPER, PAPER

What's a project without construction paper?

Save all those junk mail fliers that come in the mail for scratch paper.  Sometimes they come in pretty colors!
 

7. STAPLER AND STAPLES 

A stapler was another things that I didn't include in the first draft.  We will be using a stapler for projects at least once a week it looks like, so it would be a good idea to have one handy.  Don't forget the staples!
 

8. AN AMERICAN FLAG AND/OR A COPY OF THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

As Americans, it is our responsibility to teach our children about the rights, responsibilities and privileges of being an American citizen.  One of the first ways to do that is to teach our children to respect the flag and to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  Katelyn and Jason's school says The Pledge of Allegiance every morning; we say it at home.  Last year I printed this one out, pasted it to red construction paper and posted it on the wall.

9.  A BIBLE AND/OR A COPY OF THE PLEDGE TO THE BIBLE, IF DESIRED.

The same thing holds true for Christians.

Optional, but good to have: A DRY ERASE BOARD OR ANOTHER TYPE OF BOARD THAT YOU CAN WRITE ON.

Don't forget markers and an eraser.


Ready to go shopping? :)

**You can print this page by clicking on the green PRINT FRIENDLY button at the bottom of this post.  You can also print a PDF version by clicking on the link below.

School Supply List Printable PDF

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You'll have to forgive me; I'm still figuring out all the HTML stuff. Thanks!

OFFICIAL LAUNCH!!! {$20 Amazon gift card giveaway}

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

Hello, and welcome to The Preschool Plan!  

I am so excited about this upcoming school year and all the fun and learning that we are going to experience with our preschoolers!

What is The Preschool Plan?  It's my weekly lesson plan that I will be using to preschool my four-year-old son, and I am providing it free for all of you.   My lesson plans are not store-bought, curriculum specific, rather I am taking the best of the internet and gathering it together in a fun, frugal, and cohesive plan.

Each weekly lesson plan will include a daily step-by-step guide for teaching academics, doing a craft, and reading stories with our preschoolers, as well as a materials list and a preparation guide.

Lesson Plans will be posted every Monday and will be for the following week, so you will always have a week to prep.

Check out my "Start Here" page to read more about me, my family, and why I started this website.

School starts on Wednesday, August 8, 2012, which is when most schools start here in our city.  Feel free to start with us then, or on your own schedule.

On Monday, July 23, I will provide a School Supply List: my list of "must-have" items that we will use all year long.

On Wednesday, July 25, I will post my goals for this preschool year and explain how I am structuring our daily lessons.  Each Wednesday following will be a blog post from me about a relevant topic.

Then, on Monday, July 30, I will post the first weekly lesson plan, giving you one week to prepare.  Because school starts on Wednesday, August 8, our first week will be a short one, covering only Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Fridays will be lots of fun around here as we look back on our week, share pictures and stories, and comment on what worked and what didn't.  I will provide a linky so that we can all participate.

To celebrate our official launch, I am giving away a $20 Amazon e-card!!

To enter, leave a comment, letting me know that you are here.  Then, tell all of your friends about The Preschool Plan and have them come and leave a comment.  If they mention you in their comment, I will give you an additional entry.

This giveaway closes on Friday, July 27th.  All valid entries will go into a hat and I will draw one name.  I will contact the winner by email.  Winner has 48 hours to claim his/her prize.

HERE WE GO!!

*$20 Amazon gift e-card is being paid for and provide by me.