Hello Friends!
Thank you so much for visiting our Playschool Program! I created this curriculum for my sons James (age 4) and Henry (age 2.5) as a way to have a routine and schedule come fall. There has been so much uncertainty this year so I wanted to have a little bit of normalcy and consistency for their school year.
The Playbased Preschool Program is designed around playing and learning at the same time. It’s meant to be easy for parents to implement. Whether it be a toy or a common paper good, most of these materials are already available at home. The activities are meant to be flexible so you can do them how it fits your schedule (I attached a sample schedule below). For example, you can do one activity in the morning and then one in the afternoon or all in the morning before nap etc. The possibilities are endless. We can’t wait to play along with you!
Let’s get started!
Lauren, James and Henry (and Teddy)
SCHEDULE
| CIRCLE TIME (Calendar, Weather, Read Aloud) |
| FINE MOTOR / LEARNING ACTIVITY |
| INDEPENDENT PLAY |
| SNACK |
| SENSORY ACTIVITY |
| OUTSIDE PLAY |
| LUNCH / NAP |
Circle Time
Calendar – Display your calendar in your schooling area. We placed ours in our playroom next to the table. Each morning start your day with the calendar. Say “today is Tuesday, September 1st, 2020” while pointing at day. If it’s a calendar where you can put in the date, have child put the number in the next slot. If it’s a paper calendar, have children make an ‘X” on the day!
Weather – Display weather chart next to the calendar. After calendar time, have child pick the weather of the day.
Read Aloud – The book in the Read Aloud section of each day is a suggestion based on books I enjoyed reading in the classroom and books we enjoy reading as a family at home. After you finish with the date and weather, start your book! As you are reading the book, ask child questions (Ex. What color is the apple? What do you think will happen next? Is the bunny happy or sad? How many apples do you see?) Don’t have the book? You can buy it! Just click the blue book link. You can borrow from the library. Our local library has curbside pickup! Or check out YouTube. There are lots of options for video read alouds with fun graphics and voiceovers.
Fine Motor Activities
Fine Motor Skills are activities that involve using the smaller muscles, usually of the hands, in coordination with the eyes. For example, using scissors, writing, eating, buttoning clothes etc are all fine motor activities.
Learning Activity
Learning Activities are activities designed to stimulate learning using numbers, letters, thinking etc. exactly as the name suggests.
Independent Play
Independent Play is a very important skill for children to learn. They choose what they want to play with and let their imagination run wild as they play by themselves or together with another child. I usually let the boys play independently for as long as time allows!
Sensory Activities
Sensory Activities stimulate the senses : touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing. It encourages exploration and creativity while the child plays.
Weekly Themes At A Glance
| Week 1 : Back-To-School | Week 21 : Feelings (R) |
| Week 2 : All About Me | Week 22 : Kindness (S) |
| Week 3 : Five Senses | Week 23 : Dinosaurs (T) |
| Week 4 : Apples (A) | Week 24 : Numbers (U) |
| Week 5 : Farm (B) | Week 25 : Volcanoes (V) |
| Week 6 : Weather (C) | Week 26 : Space  |
| Week 7 : Leaves (D) | Week 27 : Colors (X) |
| Week 8 : Pumpkins (E) | Week 28 : Transportation (Y) |
| Week 9 : Halloween (F) | Week 29 : Insects (Z) |
| Week 10 : Election (G) | Week 30 : Spring |
| Week 11 : Harvesting (H) | Week 31 : Nursery Rhymes |
| Week 12 : Being Thankful (I) | Week 32 : Clothing |
| Week 13 : Gingerbread (J) | Week 33 : Pets |
| Week 14 : Trees (K) | Week 34 : Food |
| Week 15 : Snow (L) | Week 35 : Opposites |
| Week 16 : Winter (M) | Week 36 : Plants |
| Week 17 : Habitat (N) | Week 37 : Water |
| Week 18 : Teddy Bears (O) | Week 38 : |
| Week 19 : Community Helpers (P) | Week 39 : |
| Week 20 : Shapes (Q) | Week 40 : Summer |
WEEK 1 : Back-To-School
| MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | |
CIRCLE TIME | Maisy Goes To Preschool by Lucy Cousins | Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus by Mo Willems | School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex | All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold | The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn |
FINE MOTOR ACTIVITY | Build Magnatile boxes by color (ie. red box, yellow box etc) | Baking : Chocolate Chip Cookies | Dot Stickers. Find Red, Yellow, Green, Blue construction paper – have child sort stickers on each color. | School bus : Cut paper plate in half. Cut out two black circles and paste as wheels. Have child rip or cut yellow paper and paste on bus. | Color with colored pencils |
LEARNING ACTIVITY | Sorting: Using tongs, Place pom pom to coordinating color (ie. green pom pom to green box) | Count the stickers on each paper. | Write alphabet on easel paper and on post it (one letter per postit) Have child match | Write numbers 1 – 10 on a post-it (1 numnber per post-it). Have child place number of cheerios on each post-it. | |
SENSORY ACTIVITY | Play dough with cookie cutters | Tie a knot a piece of string or yarn. Have child thread Cheerios to make a necklace | Fill sensory bin with sand. Have child find puzzle piece and place on piuzzle. | Paint hand. Stamp hand on paper. All hands are unique! |
Magnatiles / Dot Stickers / Post-It Notes / Play Dough / Cookie Cutters / Sensory Bin / Puzzle / Paint / Construction Paper/ Sand / Pom Poms
WEEK 2 : All About Me
| MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | |
Circle Time | We’re Different, We’re The Same by Bobbi Jane Kates | I Can Be Anything by Jerry Spinelli | Stand Tall Mary Lou Melon by Patty Lovell | It’s Okay To Be Different by Todd Parr | The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin |
Fine Motor Activity | This is my foot. Trace foot. Measure foot. | Baking : Banana Bread | Draw a circle. Have child draw their face using crayons | Trace hand. Write name of each family member on each finger. | Write child’s name. Have child use dot stickers to go along name. |
Learning Activity | Write alphabet on window with dry erase markers. Call out a letter and have child erase with a paper towel! | Write child’s name on easel paper. Write a letter of child’s name per post it. Hide around house and have child match the letter on post it to the letter on paper. | Fill sensory bin with sand. Write numbers on post-it notes. Have child write the number in sand using finger. | Trace child’s body with chalk on driveway. Label parts of body. | |
Sensory Activity | Play dough with tools | Cut out a cardboard “frame.” Have child decorate with glue and various materials and whens it;s dry paste a photo of them in the back! | In sand sensory bin, hide magnetic or puzzle letters of child’s name. Have child find them and spell name. | Fill sensory bin with cheerios, chips, pasta and toy hammers and have children mash. |
Play Dough / Sensory Bin / Puzzle / Toy Tools / Dry Erase Markers / Sand
Easel Paper / Post-It Notes / Chalk / Crayons / Measuring Tape
WEEK 3 : Five Senses
| MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | |
Circle Time | I Hear a Pickle by Rachel Isadora | Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do you See by Eric Carle | Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss | My Five Senses by Aliki | The Magic School Bus Explores The Senses by Joanna Cole |
Fine MotorActivity | Texture collage – glue various materials (ribbons, pom poms, buttons, yarn etc) | Baking : Jello | With Mr. Potato Head, say I smell with my…and have child place the coordinating body part on Mr. Potato Head | Fingerprints – stamp finger in stamp ink pad. Then have child press finger on paper. | Play Dough with uncooked pasta |
Learning Activity | Compare / Contrast – Pour sugar in one jar and salt in another. Use 5 senses to determine | Bring a magnifying glass outside to explore nature up close | Fill glasses with different amounts of water. Take a spoon and gently hit cups. | Outdoor scavenger hunt | |
Sensory Activity | Stretchy ooblek : Mix 2:1 ratio of corn starch and liquid dish soap | Smell, taste, see, play with the jello. | Listening Walk. Go on a walk outside. What do you hear? | Fill 5 paper bags with different objects and have child guess what’s inside (ie ball, toy train, | Fill sensory bin with rice and add measuring cups, spoons etc. |
Magnifying glass / Measuring Cups / Paper Bags / Mr. Potato Head
WEEK 4 : Apples
LETTER : A
| MON | TUES | WED | THURS | FRI | |
Circle Time | Apples by Gail Gibbons | The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall | Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss | The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons | Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins |
Fine MotorActivity | Cut apple in half. Paint one side and stamp on paper. | Baking : Apple pie | Draw a large chalk apple tree on driveway. Have child draw the apples. | Letter A : Draw a bubble letter A. Have child use dot markers to fill it in. | Take an apple and toothpicks. Have child poke toothpicks in apple. |
Learning Activity | Take half of apple and Name parts of apple. | Cut open apple. Count 10 apple seeds. Fill a glass with ⅓ cup vinegar. Next, put in seeds. Then add ¼ tsp. Baking soda. Watch the seeds jump | Place different size toilet paper and paper towel rolls on table. See if apples balance on each one. | Put oats in sensory bin. Using a cinnamon stick, write letters of alphabet | |
Sensory Activity | Bobbing for apples : fill bin with water, apples, and scoops. Have child pick up apples with the scoops | Apple Washing – fill bin with water and fruit scrub brush. Have child wash the apples! | Taste Test – Get a red, green and yellow apple. Compare and contrast taste, smell, sound (when you crunch), see, touch | Apple cloud dough – 2 cups flour, ½ cup veg. oil and apple pie spice. MIx together. Add spoons, measuring cups, etc |
simply lauren 