preschool

Mixing colors: Ideas for homeschool preschool activities

Mixing colors: Ideas for homeschool preschool activities

catherinemryan

These homeschool preschool activities help kids learn about mixing colors in a hands-on, fun way. Make sure to read all the way to the bottom to read about our preschool science experiment, a dragon that spits foam! This post contains affiliate links.

Homeschool preschool ideas: Activities and lesson about mixing colors, including art and science projects for toddlers! Ten Thousand Hour Mama

At a recent meeting of our homeschool preschool, one mom joked that I was the messy mom—not necessarily because my house is always disheveled (which it is), but because my homeschool lessons always involve a warning: “We could get messy today. Dress accordingly!” The toddler-friendly activities about mixing colors were no exception.

I’m a giant fan of anything having to do with art and paint, but I try to design my homeschool preschool activities to involve pre-math skills, science and/or fine motor and gross motor skill-building options. So when I planned a day to learn about mixing colors, I kept this in mind and included hands-on projects that tick multiple boxes.

The mixing colors homeschool preschool lesson was a success! The kids—and the moms—got a kick out of the variety of activities we did to learn all about mixing colors. Read more →

Preschool sounds theme and activities: homeschool ideas

catherinemryan

Plenty of attention gets paid to sensory play these days—a quick dip in Pinterest turns up slime recipes, scented cornmeal and even instructions on how to dye spaghetti noodles for a squishy bucket of fun. Yet hearing is one sense that is often neglected in sensory play. At a recent homeschool preschool meeting, then, I focused on a sounds theme and activities—and it was a roaring success.

Toddler preschool sounds theme and activities for homeschool - ideas for sensory play. Ten Thousand Hour Mama

With this theme and sounds activities, the kiddos engaged their sense of hearing at every turn. They also practiced fine motor skills, creativity, gross motor skills—and had an absolute blast doing it.

Whether you do a homeschool preschool for your kids or just want some sensory play that engages your kids ears, the sounds theme and activities here will be an absolute delight.

Read more →

Toddler homeschool preschool: Daily schedule for fun + learning

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Kiwi comes with me to drop off Big Sister Peeper at her pre-K every day. She puts together puzzles, reads books, waves to the teachers and constantly tries to sneak the same teddy bear home with us. (“Blue! My favorite!” she insists, clutching the bear to her chest, when I have to yet again persuade her to put it back.) So when I told her she would be going to her own school—a toddler homeschool preschool—she shone the biggest smile at me.

“Me school!” she shouted, literally bouncing up and down. “So excited!”

I saw it with Peeper when she was a 2 years old: Her homeschool preschool strengthened her curiosity, listening skills, friendships and love of learning. I knew it would be no different for Kiwi, so several friends and I recently began a new toddler homeschool preschool.

They’re loving it already.

This toddler homeschool preschool daily schedule sample is an easy way to start teaching your kids at home. Ten Thousand Hour Mama

This post contains affiliate links. Clicking and buying nets me a few pennies—thank you for supporting me and my family! Read more →

Toddler activities about color: Homeschool preschool curriculum

catherinemryan

The other day I hosted the first meeting for our new toddler homeschool preschool. I wanted our first topic to be “classic preschool”—as well as something accessible to our 2-year-olds. I thought about doing a back-to-school theme but figured it was too abstract; instead, I chose to focus on toddler activities about color.

Kiwi is constantly learning about the world through colors. When she asks for a bowl, she specifies what hue she wants. She calls on things not just by their name (“dog”) but by what kind of dog (“white dog”). And about 100 times a day she holds up one finger and announces, “Blue. My favorite!” (Followed immediately by, “Purple. Peeper’s favorite!”)

A homeschool preschool curriculum filled with toddler activities about color, then, was right up these kids’ alley. They enjoyed the fine motor skills-tuning project, the sorting activity that works on pre-math skills, and of course plain ol’ art.

Do you have little ones that would love toddler activities about color? Try these! Even if your toddlers don’t know yellow from red, they’ll enjoy these activities—and learn at the same time.

These toddler activities about color, for your homeschool preschool or just a fun project, are a great way for kids to learn about colors—and to have fun! Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

Bear curriculum for homeschool preschool

catherinemryan

Think back to your childhood and, probably, a treasured teddy bear was there to comfort and cuddle you. Your kids might be the same—Peeper is. Although she sleeps with a stuffed Elmo and a Findus the Cat most nights, a few bears are among her most treasured lovies.

I thought it would be fun, then, to structure a homeschool preschool meeting around a bear curriculum. Grrrrr!

Want to use a bear theme to teach your preschooler, too? Here’s the bear curriculum we used at preschool recently.

homeschool preschool bear curriculum

Books

I started the bear curriculum by reading two books. First we read The Teddy Bear Picnic (which, by the by, is a song). The kids had such a fun time spotting bears in the book that looked like the teddy bears they brought from home!

We also read We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. It’s fun to do motions for each obstacle the family traverses—wave your arms for the wavy grass, tiptoe when they go through the cave. (FYI, you should totally check out Michael Rosen acting out his book—he is hilarious!)

These books also set up the later activities. Read more →

St. Patrick’s Day preschool activities: Rainbow curriculum

catherinemryan

True story: Along with Radiohead’s Creep and Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Around the World, Kermit’s Rainbow Connection is one of my go-to karaoke jams.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F44HRvn8tiA]

So naturally, when it was my turn to host our co-op homeschool preschool this week, I wanted our St. Patrick’s Day lesson to include lots of activities with rainbows!

If you’re looking to infuse your fun with some St. Patrick’s Day luck, or get all rainbow-y on a regular day, here are some activities from me as well as links to additional ideas. Happy St. Patty’s Day! Read more →

#MotivationMonday from a toddler’s POV

catherinemryan

I’m not sure about you, but I’m having a hard time getting my Monday in gear.

We had a wonderful but slightly hectic weekend, complete with a glam photoshoot, catching up with friends we haven’t seen in way too long, and a brunch with about a dozen babies and their families. (The cuteness quotient was out of control.)

But Daylight Savings is still kicking my rear and I’m feeling stretched very thin.

Happy Daylight SavingsTo help me buck up, I’m channeling Peeper as today’s motivational coach. In my head, I’m thinking of what Peeper might say. Here’s how that’s playing out so far this morning in my #MotivationMonday. Read more →

Home Sweet Preschool: Start your own homeschool preschool

catherinemryan

homeschool preschool

Forget health food crazes and packed gyms; the nuttiest New Year phenomenon is preschool visits, if you ask me. But a handful of friends and I are skipping the preschool tours altogether; we’re starting our own. You can, too! Read on to learn how to start a homeschool preschool of your own!

How to start a DIY homeschool preschool = Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

Our favorite children’s books: Shapes

catherinemryan

SHAPES!Some of my earliest memories feature my great-grandmother, whom we all called Pretty Grandma and after whom Peeper is named. I sometimes watched Hollywood Squares with her—for whatever reason, she loved the trivia and cheesy banter. It was all over my head, but that’s the first thing I think of when someone says “shapes.”

Peeper, and probably your preschooler, doesn’t automatically envision a celebrity tic-tac-toe gameshow, though.

To help little ones learn about squares, triangles, circles—and even quatrefoils, add these books about shapes to your reading rotation. Read more →