Preschool Ideas for the Twins

I am at the beginning stages of planning my homeschool year for my 4 year old twins, Scout and Sawyer.  Here is my philosophy with my 4 year olds: whatever I do with them is icing on the cake, so to speak.  Whether or not I make some elaborate plan, they will learn.  I was shocked when my daughter started writing her name at 3 1/2 years old without me ever teaching her how to pick up a pencil.

However, I find that life is a LOT easier when we have a game plan.  When we don't have a plan for the day, I get overwhelmed with the kids and (surprise, surprise) it becomes a lot easier to let them spend way too much time on electronics.  Or, something like this happens:

Below is a compilation of things I'd like to work into my upcoming homeschool year with my 4 year old twins.  Most of these ideas came from other bloggers.  I am so incredibly grateful for all the time these bloggers taken to share their work.

This post is simply my personal resource page and the process I use to help me think through our plan.  There are entire blogs out there that are devoted to compiling preschool plans.  After I compile a list of ideas that will work for us, I'll shape them up and put them into our schedule for the year.

General

Dude!  I should just pick one of these learning tray activities a day from this Pinterest board!

Kumon - My First Book of Cutting and My First Book of Tracing

Starfall - this is a great site for the twins to visit when I need a little time to focus on Merrick, my 7 year old.  We're going to have to bite the bullet and pay the $35 membership this year!

I really like The Wannabe Homesteader's flexible schedule here.  I like the idea of using Uno, the card game, for a math game!

Confession of a Homeschooler's Letter of the Day curriculum and printables.

Letter of the Week web site.  Also has sound of the week ideas!  

Bible

For the past 2 years, we've been using the free bible lessons from God's Hand in Our Lives for the core of our bible lessons.  For the most part, I just have the children color the coloring sheet while I tell them the Bible story.  However, I feel like this gets monotonous at times and loses its effect.  I still plan on using GHOLs on a weekly basis, because it helps us to get through all the Bible stories in the Bible.  However, I'm thinking of breaking it up a bit and adding in some other Bible curriculum like the following:

Good Morning, God - This book looks great!

Math

Love these ideas of how to use Hotwheel/Matchbox cars for math at the Measured Mom!

Phonics and Handwriting

Totally Tots alphabet crafts.  Totally Tots also has a Letter of the Week plan here.

Science

I really need to be better at incorporating science into our weekly curriculum.  Typically, we get great science ideas from blogs such as Science Sparks.  Also, we will be using Janice VanCleave's 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, & Incredible Experiments (Science for Every Kid) with Classical Conversations.  However, I have been meaning to get Magnets to Mudpies for a while and may just have to pull the trigger on that.  Or, I may look through blogs like Science Sparks and make a list of one science project we can do together a week.  

Independent Play

Straws and Connectors

Water & Sponges as seen at 1+1+1=1

I think I'm going to have to give in and make workboxes for each of the twins, including sensory bins.  Clarissa, again from 1+1+1=1, has a video that is so helpful here.   Confessions of a Homeschooler also has an awesome workbox video as well!

As I do my research for the twin's school year, I think the plans are shaping up in my noggin'.  I think my game plan will be to start off with a Bible lesson for all 3 children.  Then, I will send them to their workboxes.  In the twins' workboxes each day there will be:

Bible lesson (together)

Sound/Letter of the day/week activity

100 Easy Lessons (with Mommy)

Handwriting

Books to read independently

Motor skills

Math game

I'm not sure how to work this in to the workbox system, but we will probably add reading with Mommy and a craft to their schedule at some point. And, we may have to have a "chore" box as well. I also love the file folder idea. I can not believe that it has taken me three years to come across the workbox and file folder ideas! Brilliant! I can totally see how those two ideas could give our entire homeschooling experience a complete face lift! I can't wait to get started!

Now to go obsessively pin pages into my new file folder and workbox Pinterest boards!  

Yeah!!! I feel like I am one step closer to planning my "home's cool" year!!!