Preschool Powol Packets

Do you ever get excited about Christmas when it's still just October?? Thinking about my preschoolers and the lights, trains, trees... I can't help wanting to start planning new activities! That's why I'm super excited to share these new Christmas Train Playdough Mats --they're perfect for pre-K classrooms, homeschool, or kids who just like to play with playdough and talk about their awesome trains! You might have noticed I already published a Christmas Dinosaurs Preschool Packet , and I am beyond excited to share these little Christmas trains!  These train playdough mats would go perfectly with a unit study or theme about trains, Christmas, or even gingerbread (if you make gingerbread trains)!!  You can print a bunch or just print one set and laminate them! Use the playdough to add train decorations, people or animals or luggage to the trains, or any other accessories you want! Let your preschoolers build a playdough bridge for the train to go over! Line the pages ...

The other day I was in a group, and we were talking about using things our preschoolers are excited about to teach them. I came up with this activity as an example of something you could do with a kid who gets excited about volcanoes to help him learn letters. I am a strong advocate for learning by play and learning with hands-on activities. You will recognize this popular preschool science activity, but I added a small change: mystery letter cups! Three cups are labeled with "B," "S," and "F" (or whatever letters you want to work on).  Inside the cups are a few tablespoons of baking soda (my "B"), salt (my "S), and flour (my "F"). I used the first letters of each word in this example, but it's really not necessary if you want to work on other letters. Inside the vase, let your preschooler pour about a cup of vinegar. He can add red or orange food coloring, too! (My kids are a little obsessed with food coloring! I should do ano...

This is our second How to  Homeschool Preschool  class! The topic for today is: 9 Awesome Pre-K "Learning" Activities! And, as you read through the "lesson," you will find a link to get this fantastic little printable reminder for free! Homeschool Preschool 9 Awesome Preschool "Learning" Activities A lot of people I know get stressed out about making sure their preschooler is "doing" enough "school." It turns out that there are TONS of educational "learning" activities that you should give you and your preschooler credit for! As you consider the activities you plan into your preschoolers day, please remember the three "Big Picture" goals we talked about last time: 1- Help develop a love of learning. 2- Encourage a broad range of experiences. 3- Develop skills to learn more. Amazingly, your child comes pre-programmed to explore, learn, and develop on their own! Preschoolers will naturally gravitate toward activities t...

This is our first How to Homeschool Preschool class! The topic for today is: What Preschoolers Need to Know! And, as you read through the "lesson," you will find a link to get this fantastic little checklist for free! Before we get started, it's really important to point out a quick definition here: I consider 2-6 year old children "preschoolers."  This definition is important because this list of skills is NOT one that I'd expect a 4-year old (or even many 5-year olds) to have completed. I think the "kindergarten" year should be spent playing and using every-day learning opportunities to teach these skills. Finally, please read all the way to the end of this article! There is A LOT of good information, and I couldn't just stuff it all in the first few paragraphs! So, let's get started... Homeschool Preschool What Preschoolers Need to Know Preschoolers are delightful in a way no other age group is! Their excitement and energy are contagiou...

Do you want to homeschool preschool? I would love to help you! I am going to run a 7-day Homeschool Preschool event for anyone who is homeschooling young children (or considering it)! This event is going to have two big components: 1- Posts here on the Preschool Powol Packets blog 2- A "live" event on Facebook ! Homeschool Preschool Event Let's look at these two components one at a time: 1- Between on October 7th and 14th, I will have 5 new posts going up here (at Preschool Powol Packets) that cover things like... ** What Preschoolers Need to Know ** 9 Types of Learning Activities ** Schedules & Routines  (What a typical day might look like) ** Organizing Lessons, Units, and the Year! Each blog post will be linked here, so you can just bookmark this page and come back to read them at your own pace. 2- Facebook Event ! If you're on Facebook, hop over to this event , and click "Going!"  I will be sharing the blog posts there and discussing each topic duri...

I've seen a lot of people new to homeschool preschool asking about how to teach writing lately, which makes a lot of sense because writing is a super important skill that we all want our kids to have! The answer to teaching preschoolers how to write though, is a little bit longer! Preschooler hands are not nearly as developed as school-aged children or adults. Check out these x-rays: Look especially close at the wrists and joints. The wrist bones in a 3-year old are not nearly formed! Many of them are still cartilage! Also notice the spaces where muscle and connective tissues will grow.  And just like learning to use the toilet or walk, children's bones do not all develop at the exact same time. Some preschoolers are truly not ready to write a lot. Others love it, and write happily (even as young toddlers). Your preschoolers will let you know if they want to write or not! If they are not ready to write, you can still develop those bones, muscles, and joints with "writing...