I don’t even know how to start this post without sounding like I’m pretending to know it all, so I’m just going to go ahead and jump right in. For several reasons – reasons ranging from laziness to selfishness all the way to genuinely wanting the best for Axton – I decided to not enroll Axton in a pre-k or preschool program this year. Instead, I just started ordering random preschool books online. He’s been doing mazes since he was about 2 1/2 years old, so we started with really basic preschool activities – tracing straight lines, coloring shapes, etc. We also did a rotating co-op preschool last year, and so I could gauge where he was at with his general writing skills. In the co-op group there were lots of Letter print outs, and I could tell he had good control over being able to trace/write his numbers and letters (when looking at an example). That’s where it started. From there, I slowly started ordering more “specialized” preschool books instead of just general preschool books with a lot of different, random topics in them.

I’ve found that Axton does a lot better with chunks of specific topics in a book, than short bursts of a simple introduction to a topic. For example, we both prefer books with a whole section devoted to telling time on a clock or specific shapes versus books with those topics being randomly spread out through a huge generalized Reading/Math/Colors preschool book.

Here’s what we’ve found is working best for us right now! We usually do our preschool time during Rhenner’s nap (and that way I can use a show after his preschool is done as a reward/incentive to finish).

We have a very loose schedule: We do our “Core” subjects every day. Our Core subjects are Math, Reading, and Scripture study. Then on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I will choose one or two additional topics for us to cover. I have a schedule on my calendar and rotate between:
Art/Art Project – I still want to make this more structured and start learning about specific artists and art movements. For this semester, though, one of his big art projects is illustrating a book. I recorded Axton telling me a story and will be printing it out into a booklet. Then he will illustrate his book and give copies to family for a Christmas present. This is both a language and art project!
Technology – Axton is starting a blog, has his own email, and likes to type messages to his grandma or friends. This is not a time for him to play computer games. I’m teaching him how to type and navigate his way on a computer.
Music – I just bought those little stickers to put on the keys of the piano to start teaching Axton basic notes. We also include dance parties in this category 🙂
Science/Health – See below
Geography – I REALLY love the books I found for Science and Geography. They are simple, yet thought provoking and invite a lot of conversation to begin. At the back of their books they have a Parent Section that talks about ways you can expand each page, or do an activity with it. The book also has experiments in it, too. I’m really excited for these ones. We’ve only done a few pages in both but so far they are just what I was looking for in a science and geography book.

Foreign Language – I would like to eventually start to teach Axton either Spanish or French. French makes more sense because I know preschool French, but Spanish is more practical. So I haven’t moved forward on this yet.

This may seem like a lot, but we hardly ever spend more than 15 minutes on each topic, unless we are doing a special project or experiment with a certain topic. So generally we spend one hour on preschool a day.

For our Core subjects:

Math: I use two books for math with Axton. One, which we just barely finished, covered things like flat and 3D shapes, telling time, counting money, measuring, etc.

I LOVE these Bendon books. I found them in the dollar section of Target, and they are my favorite preschool books we’ve used/looked at/bought so far.

Math: I use two books for math with Axton. One, the Math Concepts book, we just barely finished. It covered things like flat and 3D shapes, telling time, counting money, measuring, etc. It was really fun.

Now that we are finished with that one, we are using the book below to continue the same type of topics.

We are also almost finished with the subtraction book (another Bendon brand), and I loved the way it taught subtraction. It started with pictures, and crossing out each picture to symbolize objects being subtracted. This gave Axton a good visual representation of what he was doing.

Then the book taught how to use a number line, which also really helped him understand the process of subtraction.

He is to the point now where he doesn’t always need the number line. Or, if he does use it, he doesn’t draw on it, he just counts in his head, rather than drawing the jumps on the number line.

So that’s how Axton learned subtraction! We’ll be attempting to conquer addition when we finish this book! Axton LOVES math and it is always the first thing he asks to start with (I always let him choose what order we do our topics in).

Reading: We also use two books for reading, and either do both in one day or just do one or the other, depending on how well he is doing that day. The first is another Bendon book, Reading Readiness. I’ve had to adjust the instructions on this book for him, and help him a lot, but it’s still been a great introduction to hearing sounds within words, and the relationship between a letter and the sound it makes.

We also just started using the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons, which my friend Emily recommended to me. I really like how this one introduces sounding out words and sounds, but I know I put Axton at a disadvantage by making him memorize the names of the letters rather than the sounds they make. I like the physical act of underlining the sound with your finger/your child’s finger as you make the sound of each letter. It also has a script of what you say to your child and what you’re looking for in his response, so it takes a lot of pressure off of me to know how to teach him to read. They also have you practice writing, so children can connect the idea of sounds they say to sounds written on the paper.
Lastly,
Scripture Study – I read about 3 verses from the Book of Mormon outloud, with Axton repeating lines back to me, so he gets used to hearing and saying the type of language used in scriptures. Then I will read him one chapter from the illustrated children’s version of the Book of Mormon. Afterwards, we talk about what we read and I try to ask him questions to make sure he is understanding. Today we read about King Benjamin preaching to the people and I had him to tell me 3 things that King Benjamin taught the people. I had to reread a few different parts to him for him to come up with the 3 things, but then when Adam came home from work he was able to “teach” Adam what King Benjamin had told his listeners.

I always try to give Axton an opportunity to “teach” Adam something he learned that day, to make sure he is really comprehending things and that I’m not getting too far ahead of his skill level/comprehension.

We also count Axton’s soccer practice/games as his “Gym” time….haha!

Maybe this sounds intense, but it’s really not. I’m really flexible with it, and read his emotions and interest for each day. I do have a schedule, and we follow it on good days. It’s a balance between pushing him just a little outside of his comfort zone and also not pushing him so far that he loses interest. I realize that most of the success we’ve had so far is mostly because Axton has the personality for it. He enjoys learning and takes instruction from me easily – I know not all kids are like that. Some kids simply respond better to someone that’s Not Mom.

Bottom line – I have no idea what I’m doing. We have fun, he likes it, and it gives us a chance for (usually) positive interactions, which increases his self-esteem. For now it’s working. I can see myself continuing this next year, for kindergarten. I have a lot to learn, and have several homeschooling books in my To-Read list, one of which is The Well-Trained Mind. I’ll follow up if ever I get around to reading it 🙂