My daughter is a brand-new five-year-old. She is a lover of life. She plays hard and laughs hard. She watches the world through the eyes of her brothers (ages 10 to 17), so in some ways she's mature. And though she observes school all day, five days a week, she is not really very interested in organized learning. And that's fine.
Before our homeschooling days, all of the boys went to organized preschool. They enjoyed it, but I'm not sure that they learned that much. I'm not sure. I've never homeschooled preschool, so I'm having a hard time knowing when to push her or just leave her alone.
Especially when it comes to reading. I taught my fourth grader to read, but that was in first grade, after he had two years of preschool and one year of kindergarten. He had a pretty good foundation, especially when it comes to alphabet recognition.
My daughter is not very willing to learn, and she doesn't remember what she learns from one day to the next. She can print her name, but if I teach her a letter and its sound (one not in her name) she doesn't remember it the next day. I ask her, "What letter is this?" She says, "I don't know."
I'm not really wigging out yet, she's a young five, and she's very active (i.e. doesn't sit still long), but I'm looking for book titles that will help. We have a few books on the alphabet; Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a favorite. But, I go to the library and come home with nothing. I go online to reserve alphabet books from the library and when I bring them home, they are (pardon me) crap.
So, if you've been through homeschooling preschool, take pity on me here and leave a few titles in the comment box. I will say a prayer for you. Thanks.
Hi! I came over to your blog from Waltzing Matilda's page.
ReplyDeleteI have homeschooled preschoolers before, and the one thing I learned (the hard way) was not to push too hard 'till they're ready. My oldest went along with things until the middle of first grade, at which point I finally admitted that we needed to backtrack and re-do some kindergarten concepts she'd only 'pretended' to understand!
Here are some alphabet books we enjoyed:
Dr. Seuss's ABC (a classic)
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert (bright, colorful, fun pictures)
Learn with Dick and Jane: Letters (a sticker book! Lots of fun!)
Harold's ABC by Crockett Johnson (the purple crayon strikes again)
In addition to these, I'd look for a fun workbook or two for the letter writing activities, if you don't already have some.
I have to agree with you that lots of the alphabet books out there are truly awful, unfortunately.
I haven't homeschooled, but have worked with preschool children. Why not have her make an alphabet book herself. Take pics herself and make a kind of scrapbook and/or cut from a magazine? One or several pictures on a page for each letter. Focusing on a letter per week works well too. Have fun:~D
ReplyDeleteI'm finding with my son that it took igniting with other materials before the books "clicked." LeapFrog Videos especially (with their Fridge Phonics), Sandpaper Letters, Foam Letters...different ways that he can do hands on with the letters.
ReplyDeleteAs far as alphabet books, we love them, and have found lots and lots.
I found this list, which we have read many of these. Also, A Apple Pie illustrated by Gennady Spirin (gorgeous!). Jerry Pallotta's books are a big hit, too. Margaret Wise Brown's Sleepy Alphabet, enjoyable. Your daughter will love Tasha Tudor's A is for Annabelle.
Some lists I found:
http://www.literatureforliterature.ecsd.net/alphabet_books.htm
http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/curriculum/Library/alphabetbooks.pdf
This is an old thread with some great recommendations: http://4real.thenetsmith.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=182
For some Catholic ABCs, try http://www.neumannpress.com/alofsain.html
http://www.amazon.com/Altar-B-Bible/dp/1568544588
http://www.catholicartworks.com/index.html
Sorry so much!
I don't have any other titles to add but one thing that worked with my most difficult reader was making a notebook of letters and pictures of what began with that letter- one letter per page. It was completely her decision what pictures I drew and then she got to color them. She was able to go back over them whenever she wanted. She really loved getting to choose the picture and then seeing if I could draw what she picked.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great titles and suggestions, ladies. Prayers for all!
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