While my girls are only pre-school age, I am trying to figure out if I should homeschool them. I was never homeschooled as a child, and attended public schools. But, with all the violence you see in the schools, the large class sizes and schools not passing required tests to meet educational standards, I oftentimes think that it would be better to homeschool the girls, so that they could get the best education possible. I have a handful of friends who homeschool, and say that this is the best thing for their family. while, on the other hand, I have other friends who say kids will lose out on friendships formed in schools, being away from parents so that they can learn to be independent and become their own person, etc. There are so many pros and cons, so this is one decision that will take some thought and discussion with my husband, as it would be a huge commitment on my part to develop and teach the curriculum, while also making sure to take the girls to events and meetups with other home schooled children for socializing.
But, in the meantime, while I think about homeschooling (we still have a couple years before Savannah would start Kindergarten), I have been utilizing online preschool programs and websites to help teach the girls the basics that they would need, and would learn if I had enrolled them in a local preschool program. One program that I have been using for over a week now, and am loving is Chalk Preschool. Unlike many other websites offering online preschool curriculum, Chalk Preschool is the only one that I have found that offers free online preschool activities that are really beneficial and keep the kids engaged. I don't have to worry about ads popping up on the screen directing me to other websites to buy additional products/services, which I love. I don't know about you, but I go crazy sometimes with the in-ad popups some of my kids' apps have, or the need to buy additional add-ons to keep the apps/programs running. It adds up over time, and the kids get frustrated when they can't play it anyone unless I make an additional purchase. But, like I said, Chalk Preschool is totally FREE. :-)
Miss
Christina, the new teacher for the web series from CHALK Preschool,
introduces the Chalklets - See more at:
http://news.chalkpreschool.com/news.php?include=144974#sthash.LBgzWfMI.dpuf
Miss Christina, the new teacher for the web series from CHALK Preschool, introduces the Chalklets Each day you and your child(ren) can sit in front of computer and go through the lessons of the day. Don't worry about the kids getting bored, or saying that they already saw that video or did that activity, as Chalk Preschool offers up new lessons, videos and activities on a daily basis, which keeps this online preschool curriculum site and fresh and engaging.
The past week and half, my girls have been learning all sorts of things, as they related to science, math and literacy. Before stumbling across this website I had started to work with Savannah on writing the letters of the alphabet. I would write out the letters and have her trace them and then try to make her own letters. I even went out and bought a handful of activity books to help -- but, nothing seemed to get her excited about learning how to write. Then, I logged on to Chalk Preschool and printed out daily printables, which were letters of the alphabet (lower and upper case of a given letter). Each day I would print out a different letter to practice. You would think that a simple printout of a say "Xx" or "Vv" would not excite a preschooler...but, I was wrong. Savannah loved being able to first color in each of the letters, and then had fun tracing the upper and lower case letters until she was confident enough to try and write out each letter herself. I have a refrigerator full of upper and lower case letter printouts to show off her writing skills. You should have seen how proud Savannah was of herself as she made her first "Xx." She was smiling from ear to ear, and I couldn't have been a prouder mom. :-)
In addition to the daily printout, Chalk Preschool also offers up daily weather reports, talks about the day of the week, numbers, and so much more. There are even ideas for crafts that you can do with kids centered around the days lesson. Today we are planning to do freestyle art and will decorate the walls of the playroom with our masterpieces, as this was one of the hands on suggestions for the art portion of the preschool lesson plan. Right now, as I am writing up this review, Savannah and Arabella are coloring in the letter of the day, "Bb". I will be working with them shortly on practicing to write this letter, in both upper and lower case form, so that they can add another letter to growing writing skills. :-)
I have never seen my girls so engaged and excited about wanting to learn new things, than when they see me logging in each to Chalk Preschool. It also helps make the day more fun, as we not have a routine to get up, have breakfast, get dressed, and then we spend time on Chalk Preschool going through the different videos and lessons. The online curriculum provides 45-60 minutes of easy-to-follow videos spread out over 25-30 lessons per day.
Then, after lunch, we do a craft suggested from the website, along with the printable activity. And, when I tell my friends with little ones about this website and how much my girls have learned in a short period of time, they are amazed and say that they will be checking out the website for themselves. They also love that it is FREE and chock full of fun, educational videos and lesson that really do help a child learn and grow, as you help prepare them for kindergarten or homeschooling.
If you have a toddler or preschooler and have been looking for ways to teach them the suggested preschool curriculum that they should have under their belt before they enter kindergarten, then you will want to check out Chalk Preschool. A few of my friends whose children are enrolled in a local preschool program and have been using this website since I told them about it, can't stop raving about it, and keep telling me that their kids are learning so much more with this web-based online preschool.
Visit Chalk Preschool Online, and sign up for a FREE account. Within a matter of minutes you will be registered and ready to experience all that is great about Chalk Preschool Online. Don't forget to check out the Chalk Preschool Blog, for great parent resources, videos that offer up fun arts and crafts ideas, and so much more. Just the other day, we watched a video on how to make our own snow globes. We will be heading to the craft store tomorrow and have a weekend arts and craft activity planned. The girls can't wait! :-)
Happy learning!
Follow Chalk Preschool Online at Facebook -- https://www.facebook.com/ChalkPreschool.
About CHALK Preschool Online:
CHALK Preschool was founded in Chicago in 2005. The success of its initial six schools resulted in a nation-wide demand for more locations. The online version, which embodies the successful curriculum of the brick-and-mortar schools, was created to accommodate the requests and furnish a full-scale, user-friendly mobile learning experience. CHALK Preschool Online emulates the classroom setting with vibrant videos to engage children.
With over 8,000 preschool lessons produced exclusively for the program, every day of the week provides a new step in a continuing educational journey. Motor skills are encouraged by dancing along to original songs that reflect the learning standards. Core subjects are introduced and then re-enforced through developmentally appropriate, hands-on activities.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored campaign with Mums the Word Network and Chalk Preschool . All opinions are my own.
This is such a great idea and I think every little bit helps to prepare children for school. This would be especially great with a big computer monitor.
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Thank you for sharing this site. My son is 2 and I feel it is never too early to start learning new things. We are also thinking about homeschooling my son for preschool. [email protected]
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