Before COVID-19, Alex and I had planned on sending Dakota to a local preschool for a couple hours a day, twice a week. She’s a bright girl who is eager to learn, but above all we wanted to give her the social interaction it was abundantly clear she craved and needed. The pandemic has forced us into a new reality. We are lucky in several ways, including the flexibility of my job so that I can continue to stay home with both girls, work part time, and now also homeschool them both.

Hello, my name is Christine and I am a Type-A overachiever. There was no half-assing this one. Ergo a full-fledged 5-day-a-week preschool curriculum developed from what I like best about Montessori, Waldorf and just plain old regular preschool — all customized to meet the individual needs and interests of Dakota and Nora.

I’ve learned a lot along the way: Dakota has the patience and concentration to sit and learn for long periods of time — only as long as I am by her side (more for companionship than needing direction). Nora – on the other hand – checks out at only a few minutes into most activities, preferring to climb all over mama during lessons, tear up Dakota’s beloved crafts, dismember every single laminated flash card I make, and consume copious amounts of Elmer’s glue. Oh, and five days a week is often asking too much of myself so it’s okay to take more time off to simply explore the world around us without regimen.

There’s no one size fits all for all families. I’m not a trained educator. I wouldn’t even dare to claim to know what I’m doing. But I’ll share here what we’ve found works for us.

Setting a Routine

Each month has a Learning Unit (September’s was Farm). Each week our activities cover STEM, Reading/Writing, Art, Music (supplemented with our virtual Music Together Chesapeake classes), and Practical Life activities. Originally I’d planned for STEM on Mondays, Music on Tuesdays, etc. but the reality is we do whichever activities I’ve had the capacity to prep the night before / morning of depending on my own work schedule. That said, each week has a clear theme that coincides with the month’s unit (more details on that below).

Each day is structured similarly. The structure gives the girls a sense of what to expect. Everything is done in two hours or less — anything more is too long.

Weather / Date / Day of the Week: We kick off each morning stepping outside. Fresh air in the lungs, making observations, and a chance to be grateful for the sun, rain and wind that keep the world running round. Both girls sprint to the front door for this every morning. We use this weather board to report what we’ve observed. Then we take note of the month, date and day of the week.

Storytime: Our local library has been a godsend. I usually try to check out a month’s worth of books and gradually dole these out each week. The girls are over the moon about it and it’s a great way to keep a rotating themed home library of books without breaking the bank.

Originally I had envisioned a lively Circle Time at this point, but the enthusiasm, dedication and prep needed to cut out 5 felt farm animals that can sing and dance every morning became overwhelming. So when I have time, we do a rhyme or song here in addition to a book (or two). Usually, we don’t.

Indoor lessons: This typically consists of flashcard games, simple crafts and baking / practical life activities. We do themed worksheets and coloring pages when I’m I’m too busy with my own work to prep much more. I try to keep most of our lessons play-based.

Outdoor lessons: Nora’s favorite part, this includes messier crafts, scavenger hunts, nature walks, field trips, etc. When everyone is feeling antsy, we cut the “school day” short (or eliminate altogether) and just head to the park or go on a hike.

September Unit: Farm

Week One: Farm Animals (*actually 1 1/2 weeks)

STEM

• Can You Build A Barn? Replicate a barn shape using popsicle sticks. (I made my own worksheet)
• Feed the Goats counting game using Cheerios (I made my own worksheet)
• Test strength of materials of the houses from The 3 Little Pigs story – dry angel hair pasta “straw”, sticks and wooden blocks “bricks”; I also turned this into a craft where the girls used these materials to re-create the houses
• Build a horse stable using wooden blocks + all kinds of other imaginative play with our Melissa & Doug Farm Friends
• Build animal houses / habitats in the backyard… the dirtier the better! We used some rubber farm animal finger puppets that were gifted to us when Dakota was born.

Art:

• Shear the Sheep (Paper plate with long tissue paper “wool” that needs to be “sheared” with scissors)
• Cotton Ball Sheep (stick leftover shearings + cotton balls on contact paper / paper plate sheep)
• Make Your Own Barnyard Cow (from Simple Mom Project)
• D is for Duck Craft (from All About Learning Press)
• Pin poke horse shape
• Stamp art – create farm scenes with our Melissa & Doug farm animal stamps
• Horse Life Cycle coloring page (from education.com)

Games

• Round Up the Sheep (draw sheep faces on white balloons; ask kiddos to round them up into a sheep pen using fly swatters)
• Milk a Cow fine motor activity (from The Inspire Treehouse)
• Pin the Tail on the Horse (I made my own)
• Animal Movement Commands (Roll like a Pig, Hop like a Bunny, Stomp like a Cow, Strut like a Rooster, Gallop like a horse, Flap like a Chicken, etc.)
• Animal Sounds with our Melissa & Doug Magnetic Farm Hide & Seek Board (ask Nora: “What does the horse say?”; ask Dakota “What letter does horse start with?”)
• Farm Animal Homes Matching (from Turtle Diary)
• Farm Animal Shadow Matching (from Tot Schooling)
• Farm Animal Matching (from TeachersMag.com)

Reading / Writing:

• Farm Tracing Mats (from Fluffy Tots)
• Farm Animal Beginning Sounds (from Fun Learning for Kids)
• Farm Animal flash cards (I made my own)

Books:

• Farm by Roger Priddy
• Peek-a-Boo Farm by Joyce Wan
• You See I See on the Farm by Michelle Sinclair Colman
• Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy E. Shaw
• Knock, Knock! Who’s There?: A Book of Animal Sounds by Pamela Chanko
• Pete the Cat Old Macdonald by James Dean

Circle Time Songs and Rhymes:

• Old Mac Donald Had a Farm (works great with this farm felt board set from Little Folk Visual)
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• Baa Baa Black Sheep
• Little Bo Peep
• 5 Little Ducks
• Trot Old Joe
• The 3 Little Pigs
• The 3 Billy Goats Gruff

Themed Snacks:

• Taste a variety of foods from different animal food sources. We did milk, yogurt and cheese — each from cow, sheep, and goat’s milk.
• Follow horseshoe tracks (I cut from construction paper) to a horse snack (carrots, apples, granola “oats”)
• Chocolate pudding “mud” with animal crackers
• Ice cream made from cow’s milk
• Animal faces made from frozen waffles, cream cheese, fruit, etc.

Field Trips

• Visit a local petting farm. We visited Kinder Farm Park.
• Feed the ducks at a local pond or park. We did so in downtown Annapolis.

Week Two: Chickens (*actually 1/2 week)

STEM:

• Feed the Chicks Farm Counting Mats (from Modern Preschool)
• Disappearing Eggshell Experiment (from Parents First)
• Collect items from backyard or a nature walk to build a mini chicken coup
• Chicken Development Puzzle (from Mirus Toys)

Art:

• The Little Red Hen Handprint Art (from Fun Handprint Art)

Reading / Writing:

• Practice tracing short words like Hen, Egg, Chick

Games:

• Chicken egg (Easter egg) hunt in the backyard

Books:

• The Little Red Hen by Diane Muldrow (this is the version you’ll remember from your own childhood!)
• Rooster’s Off to See the World by Eric Carle

Snacks:

• Try eggs different ways to see what your children like best — hard boiled, scrambled, omelet, etc.
• Bake bread or simple bread rolls (accompanies The Little Red Hen book)

Week Three: Farm Crops

STEM

• Corn Counting (from I Heart Crafty Things)
• Carrot Harvesting and Matching (from Happy Tot Shelf)
• Counting with frozen peas (I made my own worksheet)

Art:

• Corn on the Cob Finger Paining (from Artsy Craftsy Mom)
• Wheat Stalk Fork Painting (from 3 Dinosaurs)

Reading / Writing:

• Farm Crops Beginning Sounds — Group crops (either real or play kitchen food) next to the letter each word starts with
• Animal to Food Source Matching game (I made my own flash cards)

Games:

• What’s In My Bag? Hide farm crops (corn on the cob, zuchinni, gourd, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, onion, potato, apple… whatever you have in your kitchen) in a bag. Ask your kids to feel without seeing and guess what each is.
• Farm Crops Riddles. Describe different farm crops and ask your preschooler to guess what it is. (Example: I am red, round, juicy and have seeds. Many people think I am a vegetable but I’m actually a fruit. What am I? A tomato!)
• From Plant to Food Sorting Cards (from Montessori for Everyone)
• Dig up the farm crops “growing” in the sandbox the scrub them clean in the water table

Books:

• Mrs. Peanuckle’s Vegetable Alphabet
• T-Veg: The Tale of a Carrot Crunching Dinosaur by Smriti Prasadam-Halls
• Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray

Snacks:

• Shuck corn and make one of our household’s favorites — Vegan Baked Oil-Free Hush Puppies (from the Vegan 8)

Week Four: Farming and Farming Machines

STEM:

• Set up a Farmer’s Market, including shopping lists, cash register and play money. Role play to teach about supply and demand, the exchange of goods and services for payment, and gratitude.
• Tractor size sequencing (I can’t find the Farm Tot Book I used for this one to link!)

Art:

• Make a farm garden with Play-Doh
• Tractor Mud Painting (great rainy day activity!)

Reading / Writing:

• T is for Tractor. Name other items found on a farm and have your child guess the letter each starts with.
• Connect the Dots Tractor Printable (from Kids Press Magazine)
• Seed and Plant Matching Game (from Preschool Powol Packets)

Books:

• Good Morning, Farmer Carmen! by Fran Manushkin
• On the Farm, At the Market by Brian Karas
• Farming by Gail Gibbons
• We’re Going to the Farmer’s Market by Stefan Page
• Look, There’s a Tractor! by Ester Aarts
• Farmer John’s Tractor by Sally Sutton
• The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

Snacks:

• The Seeds We Eat (inspired by Teach Beside Me) – a great activity to accompany The Tiny Seed book
• Order dinner one night from a local Farm to Table restaurant

Field Trip:

• Visit a local farmer’s market. For us, it was Diehl’s Produce.

On the whole, our first month was a big success. The girls are still excited about school every day and I’ve found ways to balance everything on my plate better so that I’m less overwhelmed doing it all.

It’s pretty incredible to have the opportunity to be so intimately in tune to how each of my children perceive the world around them. The pride on Dakota’s face when she accomplishes something new… the way Nora lights up when she’s found a new way to communicate with me what is going on inside that little head of hers… these are moments I wouldn’t trade for anything.