We started our homeschool preschool year off with a unit on insects. Now, Little Guy is not particularly interested in insects. However, our local botanical gardens was having a "Bug Day," so I thought it would be a great way to peak his interest. Our zoo also had a butterfly exhibit all summer, so we had an opportunity to get up close with the butterflies.
We started with books. We pulled out some classics, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Quiet Cricket, and The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle. We also made a trip to the library and checked out several non-fiction books about insects. We spent time every preschool morning reading. (These books were left out in a basket all the time, so many of these books were read throughout the week, at various times of the day.)
Little Guy loved using the felt pieces to tell the story. I would read the book, and he would put the story pieces on the felt board. It was really cute watching him to pretend feeding the food to the caterpillar.
He also really enjoyed stringing the bead caterpillar and then wearing his necklace. He wasn't too interested in the lacing (even with the cute caterpillar) but found another use for the leaves.
Little Guy loved this activity! He would shout, "Alphabet Monster, eat the (letter)!" He got so excited about "feeding" the monster. It was a great way to review the alphabet in a silly way!
To practice some counting skills, I would like us to begin using dominoes. There are many things that can be done with this manipulative. As a teacher, I know when I introduce something new, I must allow time for play. It is no different with my own child. So this week the dominoes were to play with and to observe.
We made several trails of dominoes to be knocked over (really, can you play with them and NOT do that?). Little Guy stacked them and listened to the noise they made on the floor. We also wrote what we noticed about them. Little Guy would make an observation, which I wrote, then I would make an observation for him to write. We did this twice during the unit because he asked to do it again.
I want to make sure to include name recognition or writing into our preschool time. To practice his name, I wrote it out on a piece of paper. He then had to cover it with bug stickers.
This is another activity that we ended up taking turns with. He would choose a sticker, then me. This only makes sense, as it is a difficult decision which sticker to choose next.
Little Guy loved playing with the insects! I ended up cutting leaves out of craft foam for him to put the insects on.
We also worked on making insects out of egg cartons. This idea came from Gummylump. Little Guy actually got really into painting the egg cartons. Mommy enjoyed helping, too!
Little Guy completed the number cards, but not the 3-part cards. Since the numbers went to 6, it was great to stretch him a little, since we have mostly worked up to 4 in the past.
I am trying to incorporate some food skills into our preschool time- during snack. One thing that Little Guy practiced was using a butter knife to cut a banana into slices. He was really excited to do this!
So there are our first 2 weeks of preschool! Little Guy seemed to enjoy the time, as did I. There were other activities that we did not complete, but at the end of the two weeks we were ready to move on.
How is your preschool going?
Check out more insect ideas on my Alphabet I Pinterest Board!
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