Yahoo's Preschool at Home

Yahoo is 3 1/2 years old. Where did the time go? It feels like just yesterday Yip and Yap were 3 1/2! 

When the boys were 3 years old, and we lived in Illinois, I took them to an hour and a half "preschool" at the local high school two days a week. The program was through the home economics department, there was one teenager per child and basically it was giving these high school students hands on experience with young children. They had a big playroom, they provided a snack and usually the kids did some sort of fun art project with a teenage helper. 

The boys spent their next two years, still in Illinois, in a more formal preschool in the next town. Twice a week they spent the mornings at preschool in a nearby town while I ran errands. We moved to Kansas right before they started kindergarten. 

Out here in Kansas, where towns of any size are few and far between, Yahoo doesn't have the preschool options that the boys do. A lot of people have asked me if she's in preschool this year. But no, she's not. 

There is a preschool in our little town. Preschool is five mornings a week but they have to be 4 years old to attend. I sure wish she could go to preschool, she has so much energy that it really needs to be focused on something. 

We did look into going to Dodge City twice a week for a preschool, but it was just too far away to justify driving there so often (besides the days we drive there for football games.) 

I decided to have preschool at home this year. Now, I'm not an expert on kids of this age by any stretch of the imagination BUT I have subbed a LOT in the local preschool so I've stolen lots of ideas from there. 

Most days Yahoo and I have the same morning routine. 

We do our calendar and add another day everyday. We count the numbers and work on number recognition. We have pictures so she has an idea of what is planned for certain days; Sunday is for church, Thursday is for Library, Saturday is for football, etc. And we add special days on the calendar too, like birthdays or days that I'm going to be substitute teaching. 

We sing the days of the week song to the tune of the Addams Family theme song. 

Then we sing the Months of the Year Macarena

I laminated Yahoo's name (Leola) and she practices signing her name with a dry erase marker. Then she's in charge of marking what the weather is doing on her chart. Hmmmm....it's windy in Kansas??? I never would have guessed! 

Do you remember the Letter People? I remember this curriculum when I was in kindergarten and Yahoo loves to point to the letters and say the sounds but her favorite thing to do is watch this Letter People video! 

Some days she dresses Jesse the Weather Bear. 

Today he stood naked though, poor guy, it was only 65 degrees out! 

I bet he was freezing! 

I usually try to have some sort of activity to do with her. 

Some days we sit and count, make patterns with beads, go on a shape or color hunt. Today we made a fall tree. 

And then there are some days we don't do anything. Because after all she's three and sometimes she's just not in the mood which is fine with me. It's hard having your mom as a teacher I'm sure. 

It would be nice to have a preschool nearby but we're doing to best we can out here on the prairie. Besides, I can find just about anything I need on the Internet! 

Anyone have any great activity that Yahoo might enjoy?