All STAY AT HOME MOM's HELP!?

I need your help in learning tools/equipment that I can use to teach my children basic preschool needs. I have a 2 year old who is REALLY smart, but I'm not sure how to encourage his learning while staying at home. We read A LOT of books and that is where he gets the bulk of his learning--I want to invest in some learning equipment/tools to help aid in his learning (I also have a 10 month old who will soon be able to start learning in depth as well) I am just not sure what to buy! I also don't know where to really start with WHAT to learn--should I make mini-lesson plans? Pick a theme for the week? Does anyone have any helpful information for me? I would really appreciate it.

I relied on an interactive approach to learning. My eldest daughter has always been very advanced and it was challenging when she was younger. Trying to find a balance between learning and play was our biggest hurdle.

I found that educational outings provided the best of both. A trip to the zoo, art gallery, museum or planetarium is a valuable learning experience while still being fun. Even a walk through the neighborhood can be educational if you engage your child and talk about their surroundings. Every single article in your own home is ripe with educational value, why does dust fly when you sweep the floor? How does an egg beater work? What happens when you put blue and yellow food colouring into the bath tub? The trick is being creative and aware of your surroundings on a child's level. The bulk of my daughter's early learning came from me talking about her surroundings, engaging her in thoughtful dialogue and hands on playing. Little minds are most open to those they trust and respect, a little bit of explanation and discussion goes farther than any amount of purchased supplies.

im a stay at home mum of 1 daughter. i dont think you really need to buy all of those mumbo-jumbo technological pieces of crap that babies use for a few days and dont use after that.
instead you should be taking him out to the park and for walks and on public transport etc and teaching him words and things that he will use later on!

good luck =]

You can get alot of great tools from the dollar store or other stores. DVDs and learning books. Also some great websites. One off hand is a fisher price it teaches shapes, and colors. My 3 yr old loves it. Keeps asking to play the obal (oval) Get some flash cards also that you can hang around the house and work on them or let them hold them and play games with them.

I home school and have been doing it since my daughter was 2. Dollar tree has a lot of cool things. From work books to full size laminated posters. I use those and even laminated place mats with the alphabet and numbers on it from walmart they run about a 1. I also get print outs from www.pbskids.org and some online school resources. I check out project books from the library to do at home. Like we just made bird feeders, she had made play dough she can eat, and we made some characters of the Bible out of empty toilet paper rolls.

field trips !
they can learn visually and hands on!
Library
museums
beach or lakes
nature walks
do counting games
add and subtract with rocks and leaves.

I happened to be at the dollar tree (store) one day and in there book section they had these educational workbooks. they have characters that the kids like ie: winnie the pooh, barbie etc. and I got all of the ones for preschool/kindergarten and used those w/my daughter.

We would spend an hour a day "playing" school, she loved it.

We do shapes one day, #'s another etc. monday through friday then I also found computer software that was for the same... they have some just for babies to use...very easy for them to use the mouse and point/click.... she started both at age 2 (that's when i found them)... we still get the computer ones for her...ie: when she was in K we'd get the 1st grade and etc. so she'd already have a "heads up" when she started into the next grade

She's now going into 5th grade and moving right along!!!

I think things like breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner, bath, bedtime routine, and sleep time work great on a schedule and kids thrive. However, I'm not a fan keeping the rest of their day too structured. I agree with the other posters that "lessons" aren't exactly encouraged at this age but activities are. The more activities and experiences your expose them too, the better off they will be.


If you really wanted to break up activities in catagories you could strive to fit these into you day and week.

Art: chalk, coloring, play dough, finger paint

Music: singing, dancing, instruments

Outdoor: walks, bikes, bubbles, swimming, water plants, feed birds, pick flowers, sand box

Age appropriate TV programs: (in moderation) Sesame Street, Max and Ruby, Wonder Pets, Elmo, Backyardigans

Reading books and flash cards: useful subjects are the alphabet, colors, animals, nursery rhymes

Structured/group play: Ball/catch, hide and seek, building blocks, patty cake, dress up, palydates

Free/unstructured play: offer wide range of safe age appropriate toys and safe environment and allow independent play.

Field trips: park, zoo, farm, pet store, ice cream shop or restaurant, beach, carnivals, circus, concerts, holiday activites, library or book store, story time

classes: mommy and me gym, dance, stroller strides

you don't have to make a lesson plan he is only two
when i was little to start kindergarten you had to sing your alphabet count to ten tie your shoes and draw a person with two arms two legs two eyes a nose and a mouth
so you should get leapfrogs and magnets with letters and numbers mabey have a letter or number or even color of the day
and bring it up all day and show him it. have flash cards and draw and color a lot. count snacks for example if he has fruit snacks say how many do you have? you could get one of those books with a shoe so he can tie it!

First of all, allow him to be a child and have fun. There will be time for lesson plans later (when he's ready for them). Make sure he has a chance to develop basic motor skills like jumping, walking in a line, balancing, dancing to music. These are very important for his future development. Also, continue to read to him and make sure he has basic experiences that will become the foundation of his future learning experiences (knowing about animals, counting, colors, shapes, textures, lines, rhymes, etc.) He's only two, and although he might seem ready for "advanced" lessons, you can't take forgranted the developmental milestones he's supposed to reach at THIS age. Oh, and don't forget potty training!