Every Day May 2013: Preschool Group

Breckin's man dressed in winter clothes

So, two of my girlfriends and I decided to do a little preschool group from Jan-May of this year with our 3-year olds.  There were 2 girls and Breckin and we take turns teaching them in our homes one day a week for 2 hours.  In the beginning we kind of laid out a "lesson plan" - for example this week I taught about the letters T & U, Winter and Personal Hygiene (I focused on toothbrushing) - sometimes I got to everything on the agenda and other times I didn't.  We wanted to have our preschool end around the same time as the school year, which is why some weeks had multiple letters and others didn't.

While I can honestly say this age is not my favorite (is that awful to say?) it has been a really fun experience to watch as these 3 kids have progressed in just a few short months.  When we first started I dreaded the weeks I had to teach, because I knew Breckin was just going to be a TERROR!  One week he actually spent over an hour (so more than HALF of preschool) in Harper's crib in time out because he wouldn't stop harassing the girls, he wouldn't listen, he wouldn't do what I asked him... that was a miserable week :(

Breckin's Letter U practice writing

But there have been weeks that have been really awesome.  The first week that I taught and Breckin actually did the practice writing worksheet (with help, of course) I felt so triumphant.  I think we were on letter L (which was week 12) and he actually tried to trace the lines.  He was interested in it and wanted to do it (only took THREE months!)  Not long after he started writing letters ON HIS OWN (E, F, H, I, L and T, so all the ones with straight up and down or back and forth lines... but still!) so I know that my frustration and determination is going to pay off.  It can just be hard to remember that in the moment when you have three 3-year olds running in different directions, wanting to do different things and you're at your wits end.

I only have one more week to teach and it's the letter Z so we've talked about doing a group trip to the Zoo for our last class, which sounds like fun and I know the kids would LOVE it!  It's been a really good experience having this dedicated time each week to work with Breckin (and the girls) on specific things: letters, writing, colors, shapes, etc.  But it's been even better on the weeks that Breckin goes to the other houses :)  

I think there's something to be said for your child learning how to listen to and take directions from another adult.  He has to listen to me all day, every day and when he gets to school he'll have a teacher to learn from, so I think it's important he have that interaction with other adults and not just me.  Of course I'll continue to work with him, but you know that your kid is almost always better behaved for other people, so having some learning happening outside the home is advantageous in my opinion.

Breckin still has TWO FULL years before he'll start kindergarden (and chances are we'll have another baby at some time in those two years) so I don't know that I'll be able to do this in home preschool again with him, but I'm so glad I did it this year and had this experience with him, it's something I'll always cherish.