I was so, so, so excited to start Mother Goose Time this month. Little Guy knows his basics (ABCs, letter sounds, numbers to 6 - well kind of to 10, but he usually confuses them after 6 - and colors) and it is definitely time for him to get some more hands-on learning before he is old enough for book work.
It was seriously hard for me to wait. First waiting for my kit to arrive (I feel like package tracking is such a catch-22, on the one hand its cool to know when your package will arrive, on the other hand it kind of ruins the surprise...) and then waiting for the new month to start so we could start school. It was only a few days, but they were torture!!!
We actually started a day earlier than the calendar suggested. We started on Monday the 29th, and will be a day ahead until the week of Christmas, at which point we will fall behind when we take the week off. I am a little "type A" about some things, and separating themed weeks seemed like a mental challenge. So we will also run a day into January with the Sights and Sounds of Winter theme.
We started out the week with Drums. Little Guy did NOT excel this day. It was a little humbling for this mom who though her little boy was oh-so-smart. He did well with the concept of white, because he already knows his colors, so when I let him take the paintbrush and find something white in the house he thought it was pretty fun. Sadly his ability level went down from there.
Our first real activity was called Name Beats. He was supposed to be learning about syllables in words, especially his name. First he wrote his name on a nametag (well I wrote his name on the nametag and then he "copied" it, although it looked nothing like his name...), then we were going to clap or pound for each syllable. He did not get it AT ALL. He thought it was loads of fun, and we had fun clapping to all the names in our family, but he didn't understand why, or clap at the right times.
Next we did Drum Design. He isn't great at the discussion questions to be honest. First of all there is just him, which limits the excitement level, second of all, he is 2.5 and doesn't know much yet. So he didn't answer me when I asked him what sounds different objects make when you pound on them. He did however have A LOT of fun being allowed to pound on pots and bowls and stuff. He decorated his drum (his first time using markers, although I think he had more fun capping and uncapping them than actually using them), telling me he was "writing his name". He was supposed to use the drum to the beat of a song, but it was hard because the dowel kept falling out. Plus he doesn't apparently "feel the beat" so while he could get a rhythm going, it was his own, not the one in the song.
At this point we read a story (Olivia Forms a Band - which I found really, really boring, and he didn't seem to care for either) and went to the play room to kick a ball around for "recess".
The next thing we did was Rhythm Patterns, which he HATED. My son is not really defiant, but when it comes to being told to move his body in a particular way he is not a fan. He is pretty obedient most of the time, but when its time to play Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes, or applaud the end of a song, he is obstinate. You are supposed to draw 4 cards and follow/repeat what they say to make a pattern. He only did this activity under duress, and even when I simplified it to two cards, he was still clapping six times, stomping once, drumming 4 times, etc.
Last was Drum Communication, an activity where you communicate through drums like some cultures used to do. He didn't really communicate anything, but he had fun pounding on the ground and being silly. The instructions also said to have the children draw a picture or write a secret message to a friend. Instead I had him write a letter to someone. He drew on one side of the paper, then I turned around and dictated a letter to my brother "Uncle Tad" for him. The letter was ridiculous, I will have to share it on here later.
All in all it was a really fun start to our pre-school. Little Guy really enjoyed himself, I felt good spending so much quality time with him, and he got to try a lot of new things. He didn't do very well "academically" but I have never really worked with him on the things he was assessed for today, so hopefully he catches on eventually.
It was seriously hard for me to wait. First waiting for my kit to arrive (I feel like package tracking is such a catch-22, on the one hand its cool to know when your package will arrive, on the other hand it kind of ruins the surprise...) and then waiting for the new month to start so we could start school. It was only a few days, but they were torture!!!
We actually started a day earlier than the calendar suggested. We started on Monday the 29th, and will be a day ahead until the week of Christmas, at which point we will fall behind when we take the week off. I am a little "type A" about some things, and separating themed weeks seemed like a mental challenge. So we will also run a day into January with the Sights and Sounds of Winter theme.
We started out the week with Drums. Little Guy did NOT excel this day. It was a little humbling for this mom who though her little boy was oh-so-smart. He did well with the concept of white, because he already knows his colors, so when I let him take the paintbrush and find something white in the house he thought it was pretty fun. Sadly his ability level went down from there.
Our first real activity was called Name Beats. He was supposed to be learning about syllables in words, especially his name. First he wrote his name on a nametag (well I wrote his name on the nametag and then he "copied" it, although it looked nothing like his name...), then we were going to clap or pound for each syllable. He did not get it AT ALL. He thought it was loads of fun, and we had fun clapping to all the names in our family, but he didn't understand why, or clap at the right times.
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| Banging on pots and bowls |
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| Decorating his drum |
The next thing we did was Rhythm Patterns, which he HATED. My son is not really defiant, but when it comes to being told to move his body in a particular way he is not a fan. He is pretty obedient most of the time, but when its time to play Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes, or applaud the end of a song, he is obstinate. You are supposed to draw 4 cards and follow/repeat what they say to make a pattern. He only did this activity under duress, and even when I simplified it to two cards, he was still clapping six times, stomping once, drumming 4 times, etc.
Last was Drum Communication, an activity where you communicate through drums like some cultures used to do. He didn't really communicate anything, but he had fun pounding on the ground and being silly. The instructions also said to have the children draw a picture or write a secret message to a friend. Instead I had him write a letter to someone. He drew on one side of the paper, then I turned around and dictated a letter to my brother "Uncle Tad" for him. The letter was ridiculous, I will have to share it on here later.
All in all it was a really fun start to our pre-school. Little Guy really enjoyed himself, I felt good spending so much quality time with him, and he got to try a lot of new things. He didn't do very well "academically" but I have never really worked with him on the things he was assessed for today, so hopefully he catches on eventually.
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| His finished drum |
I am a blog ambassador for Mother Goose Time. My son and I receive free curriculum in exchange for sharing our experiences. All opinions are my own and not influenced by the fact that I get it for free!
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