::preschool for Max::

Here's the skinny - Lily went to Goddard from the time she was 9 months old till the summer before she started kindergarten.  It was a wonderful experience.  They did a great job preparing her for school.  She loved Goddard, and even though it cost more than the mortgage on my first house, it was a good investment.  I was in school during most of that time period and I needed Goddard.  But now I have my wonderful babysitter, Alyssa.  She is so talented and loving to my kids.  I couldn't pray for better.  But the one down fall is that Max is not getting the socialization that I think he needs, nor is he getting the formal preschool curriculum that Lily thrived in.  I have been looking into lots of different preschool programs, but I have decided that for now I am going to try to dedicate some time and effort into teaching him myself.  He's only 2.5, we have a while till SAT's.  I can't teach him the social aspect, but I can teaching him the material.  At least, I want to try.  Next year I will send him to some kind of program that meets for a few hours a week, but for now he is mine.  Alyssa was home schooled and helped home school her younger siblings, so she is very on board with helping me teach Max.   


I want to focus on colors, shapes, ABC's, numbers, and writing his own name (seriously - it is Max, not Hollingsworth, we should be able to do it eventually).  

I want to give him exercises that stress fine motor skills, because his gross motor skills are way advanced.  The kid can already do a somersault.  I was going to make him some lacing cards but I found these on clearance at the craft store for $0.25.   


I work with a GENIUS of a woman who has a masters in child development.  She told me to think about sensory input.  Things like a box with rice in it to play in, or some kind of sand table.  I think I might get a rubbermaid container and fill in with sand for him to play in outside.  Then I can just put the lid on and but it up when he isn't using it.  Sandbox's gross me out, too much animal poop, so he is not getting a real sandbox.  

Something I really want him to do and enjoy is art.  So I brought home an empty carseat box from work and he and I worked on painting it today.  We used finger paint and talked about the different colors and shapes we were making.  

He painted with water colors too.  I asked him to find a color and paint with it.  He thought this was a really fun game and he kept getting it right.  The only ones he couldn't keep straight was brown and black.  That kid is so fun.  

I am really excited about figuring this all out and looking for ideas to help keep Max in love with learning and art.