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A Homeschool Curriculum for Pre-School and Kindergarten |
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Lillian Jones |
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These are lots of things a parent can do to help a child develop a love of learning and searching—things that will carry through as a foundation for a life of joyful and successful learning. Most of these are things a parent does at one time or other anyway. A bonus is that your child will be getting a good foundation for later studies, even picking up some elements of reading, writing, and math. |
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Homeschooling for Preschool |
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This website is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about homeschooling for preschool. You'll find information about unpreschooling (unschooling a preschooler), resources for two-year-olds, skills lists, curricula suggestions, and more. |
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Homeschooling Preschoolers |
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Teri Ann Berg Olsen |
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Learning at home begins at birth for children. The preschool years can be the most enjoyable time of year to homeschool—children are self-motivated, eager to learn, naturally inquisitive and curious about everything. In this article Teri Ann Berg Olsen gives some great ideas for creating a learning environment in your home, how to incorporate learning into play, and lists several games that can help your child learn while playing. |
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Pre-K Smarties |
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Pre-K Smarties is a preschool education resource for parents teaching preschoolers with tips for early reading using phonics, parenting articles, family freebies, and deals on the best educational toys. |
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Readiness |
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Vicky Williams |
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This article takes a look at one mother's coming to terms with her daughter's readiness, or lack thereof, to learn to read. |
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The Wonderful, Wacky World of "Unpreschooling" |
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Celeste Land |
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Society expects parents to send their two- to five-year-olds to preschool. But more and more parents are coming to understand how learning at home is important and meaningful. "Unpreschooling" is the concept of applying an unschooling philosophy to those years of early learning. Celeste Land details the challenges and joys of this type of education for young children, including the socialization issue, burnout, and life after unpreschooling. |
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Cheyenne Mountain Zoo |
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Situated on 146-acres, 70 of which are developed, at an elevation of 6,800 feet in Colorado Springs, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is the only mountain zoo in the United States. The Zoo is home to more than 600 animals representing some 142 species from around the world, over 30 of which are classified as endangered or threatened. Special features include Primate World, Wolf Woods, Asian Highlands, and Lion’s Lair, My Big Backyard, and the new African Rift Valley.
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Denver Firefighters Museum |
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The Denver Firefighters Museum is located in an historic firehouse, built in 1909. The collection includes firefighting equipment dating back to the days when horses provided the locomotion. Learn all about the games that firefighters used to hone their skills, the big Denver fires that they have fought, and how trained horses and dogs helped the firefighting effort. Try on a firefighter's uniform and visit the gift shop, which offers many hard-to-find firefighting memorabilia and souvenirs.
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Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys |
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The Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys' mission is to provide educational and cultural services to the greater Rocky Mountain region through the preservation, exhibition, collection and interpretation of the visual arts using miniatures, dolls and toys.
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Denver Zoological Gardens |
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The Denver Zoo houses more than 4,000 animals representing nearly 685 species, and the nation's first environmentally-friendly natural gas-powered zoo train. The new 5,500 square-foot Dragons of Komodo exhibit for the rare Komodo dragon features the largest indoor habitat for Komodo dragons in North America. The Denver Zoo's other state-of-the-art exhibits include Tropical Discovery, an indoor rainforest where visitors journey past waterfalls, darkened caves, jungle ruins and tropical riverbank exhibits, and Primate Panorama, which spans seven acres and exhibits 29 of the world's most spectacular species of primates and features a one-acre habitat for the endangered western lowland gorilla.
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Ocean Journey: Landry's Downtown Aquarium |
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Located in downtown Denver, This world-class aquarium doesn't just display underwater creatures - it recreates their habitats and tells a story of two great rivers and their journeys to the ocean -- the Colorado River as it flows to Mexico's Sea of Cortez, and Indonesia’s Kampar River along its journey to the South China Sea. The aquarium displays 15,000 specimens, representing 300 species of fish, birds, mammals, and invertebrates, including tigers and sea otters, living amidst 1,000 live plants. |
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Plains Conservation Center |
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A visit to the Plains Conservation Center offers a unique way to experience the natural and cultural heritage of the High Plains of Colorado. |
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Pueblo Zoo |
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The Pueblo Zoo covers 25 acres, is located in Pueblo City Park and was established in the 1920's. It is easily accessible for all visitors including those using strollers & wheelchairs. The zoo exhibits more than 300 animals of 110 different species from throughout the world. Under the Zoological Society's direction, the zoo is being developed as a "biopark," a place where animals are exhibited in natural settings, where the interdependence of Earth's life - plants and animals, including humans - is made clear for all to see.
Among its exhibits are the African Lion exhibit; the Ecocenter, where visitors will find a tropical rainforest and the Black-footed penguin exhibit; the Herpetarium, which houses a collection of cold-blooded creatures including reptiles, amphibians and insects; the education building, which houses the hands-on Mahlon T. White Discovery Room; and the Pioneer Farm with its many domestic animals that can be fed by visitors. |
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Sangre de Cristo Arts Center and Buell Children’s Museum |
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From contemporary and historic visual arts exhibitions to an interactive children’s museum; from world-class performing arts programs to hundreds of education classes, the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center has it all. The Center is located in Pueblo.
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CharlotteMasonKindergarten |
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A group for Charlotte Mason Mom's using the curriculum outline suggested in Karen Andreola's summer of 93 Parent's Review titled, "A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six", and also trying to complete the Kindergarten Skills list as described in Catherine Levison's book, A Literary Education. |
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CM4primaryyears |
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To discuss the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling elementary age children, and to share the joys and concerns of everyday life. |
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Stack the durable, brightly colored wooden beads on 5 hardwood dowels in sequence to match the design on one of the pattern cards. Builds complex reasoning skills as well as sorting and coordination. Includes over 45 brilliantly colored beads, 5 dowels, and 10 patterns that increase in difficulty. |
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Bob Books are organized into sets that progress in level as your child learns. They have cute stories and darling illustrations. These books are perfect for children ages 4 to 8.
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Explode The Code provides a sequential, systematic approach to phonics in which students blend sounds to build vocabulary and read words, phrases, sentences, and stories. Frequent review of previously learned concepts helps increase retention. Each workbook in this series contains exercises that incorporate reading, writing, matching and copying. The consistent format of the books helps facilitate independent work. This series includes primers—Get Ready for The Code, Get Set for The Code, and Go for The Code—which introduce initial consonant sounds. In addition, Beyond The Code provides a comprehension component introducing basic comprehension skills with phonetically controlled stories. You'll find product information here.
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Five in a Row provides a step-by-step, instructional guide using outstanding children's literature for children ages 4-8. Unit studies are built around each chosen book. There is a series for preschoolers called "Before Five in a Row," along with other volumes for older children. |
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If you've wondered how to help your preschooler get a head start on learning, Nancy Chupp has the answer. With practical, easy-to-implement activities, you can teach your child a solid base of skills necessary to enter the educational system with confidence. This book carefully weaves the basic tenets of learning theory into a playful, stimulating daily experience for preschool children. Give your preschooler a head start ... read this book! |
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Happy Phonics uses games to teach early reading skills. Simple yet entertaining and educational, these phonics games are printed on colorful, sturdy cardstock ready to cut out. Included is a mother-friendly guidebook which contains details on how to teach phonics and reading, how to pronounce and teach the phonics sounds, how to make your own simple beginning readers, and step-by-step teaching information for each phonics sound. Happy Phonics covers beginning to advanced phonics. |
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JumpStart Toddlers Introduces a World of Learning and Discovery! JumpStart Advanced Toddler has more fun and enriching learning activities than ever in its new 3-CD set designed especially for your Toddlers early learning and developmental needs. |
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Ready to read and rarin' to go? Hopsalot the rabbit has a whole basket of carrot-shaped stickers for preschoolers and kindergartners who complete this 32-page, full-color workbook featuring the animal characters from the bestselling JumpStart children's software program. The activities in this book focus on beginning and ending sounds, short and long vowel sounds, and rhyming words. Each activity is different, so an adult will need to explain the directions. "Hints from Hopsalot" appears at the top of many pages, with helpful ideas on reading skills for adults to share with young readers. A sheet of reward stickers picturing all the JumpStart characters is included, along with a certificate to fill in and color after completing the workbook. (Ages 3 to 6) --Marcie Bovetz |
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Learning means fun with the curriculum-linked, classroom-proven workbook series from Scholastic and JumpStart, creators of the popular educational software for children. Playful animal characters guide prekindergarten-age kids through the exciting new world of letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and sizes. The 320-page workbook contains an entire year's worth of exercises, with three different skill levels for "jumping" ahead. Every page has a new, sequenced challenge for the young learner, from tracing and writing uppercase letters to completing nursery rhymes to matching shapes and colors. Full-color art and lively games and activities make education an adventure, while reward stickers and Certificates of Completion reinforce children's sense of accomplishment as they complete each section. Helpful Eleanor the elephant is on hand to provide learning tips and offer support (and stickers!) to students. What could be more important than giving kids a jump-start in learning? The book includes answer keys and 120 full-color reward stickers. (Ages 3 to 5) --Emilie Coulter |
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Preschoolers who are learning their letters can follow Eleanor the elephant and her friends in this 32-page workbook with brightly colored illustrations, a sheet of reward stickers, and a certificate of completion on the back cover. The worksheets provide a preschooler with practice in tracing uppercase letters and writing them independently, drawing curved and straight lines, recognizing beginning sounds, and grouping sequences of letters. "Tips from Eleanor" (for an adult to read to the child) is included on many pages, along with a complete answer sheet on the last page. The Scholastic JumpStart workbooks feature the same characters as JumpStart, a leading educational software package for young children. (Ages 3 to 5) --Marcie Bovetz |
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A child who is just learning how to write numbers will be ready for this 32-page workbook offering a wide variety of full-color worksheets, a sheet of reward stickers, and a certificate for a job well done. The beginning pages cover identifying and writing numbers from 1 to 10, and the remaining pages concentrate on the correlation between numerals and groups of objects. The activities include beginning math concepts such as counting, grouping, estimating, and determining more or less. An adult will need to work along with the child to explain the different directions for the worksheets. Eleanor the elephant and the other animal characters featured in this workbook are also the stars of JumpStart, a leading software program for children. (Ages 3 to 5) --Marcie Bovetz |
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JumpStart Advanced Preschool has more fun and enriching learning activities than ever in its new travel themed 3-CD set designed to prepare your child for Preschool and beyond. With premium features and extensive content JumpStart Advanced keeps kids engaged and learning for hours and that can bring out the best in your child. |
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This set of 10 simply designed colorful wooden blocks and pattern boards includes 100 blocks in six different shapes and colors. They help develop shape recognition and spatial relationship skills. The contents store neatly in a durable wooden case. This games was awarded the Scholastic Parent & Child's 2004 "Top 22 Toys that Make Kids Think" award.
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* Is your child halfway through first grade and still unable to read? * Is your preschooler bored with coloring and ready for reading? * Are you worried that your child will become lost in overcrowded classrooms? * Did you know that early readers hold an advantage over their peers throughout school? * Do you want to help your child read, but are afraid you'll do something wrong? SRAs DISTAR® is the most successful beginning reading program available to schools across the country. Research has proven that children taught by the DISTAR® method outperform their peers who receive instruction from other programs. Now for the first time, this program has been adapted for parent and child to use at home. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is a complete, step-by-step program that shows patents simply and clearly how to teach their children to read. Twenty minutes a day is all you need, and within 100 teaching days your child will be reading on a solid second-grade reading level. It's a sensible, easy-to-follow, and enjoyable way to help your child gain the essential skills of reading. Everything you need is here -- no paste, no scissors, no flash cards, no complicated directions -- just you and your child learning together. One hundred lessons, fully illustrated and color-coded for clarity, give your child the basic and more advanced skills needed to become a good reader. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons will bring you and your child closer together, while giving your child the reading skills needed now, for a better chance at tomorrow. |
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The experts in child development now offer a way to help your child break free from an MTV attention span! |
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With its comprehensive curriculum providing a sound basis in the fundamentals of math, art, history, language arts, science, and technology, the phenomenally successful Core Knowledge series has become an esteemed tool for parents and teachers striving to better educate today's children. And since it is agreed that the first years of schooling are crucial to a child's lifetime educational achievements, it is no wonder that parents and teachers alike have been asking for a volume for kindergartners.
This primer for those just beginning their school careers was devised with the contributions of over 2,000 parents, educators and students, distilled into a user-friendly volume specifically designed for parents to use with their children. Eighty pages of four-color illustrations enliven the new, bold design of this latest title in a series adopted by hundreds of schools nationwide and appreciated by thousands of adults looking to instill in children a lifetime love of learning. |
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