In Home Preschool

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I am currently teaching preschool out of our home once a week to a few of my friends' children. Someone asked if I would share what I did during our hour and fifteen minute session. So last week I took pictures as we went about our routine.
I base each week off of a letter, more to have a starting point than anything else. I don't go in alphabetical order, instead we are studying letters that are simpler to hear and understand and working our way to the more difficult ones. (I am using the order from this website.) I have one mom stay each week to be a teacher's aide. (They also help me care for Cream during the session.) I make use of the internet in my planning. There are so many great ideas out there. Just do a Google search and you will have more ideas than you can even make your way through.
-Table Time: We start our day at a little table that I have set up with a few activities on. (I got the table from Sams Club. It is great because it folds for storage and because it has three different heights.)

This week the activities were putting pipe cleaners into colanders and playing some Thanksgiving games I had printed.
-Circle Time: After everyone has arrived and is settled we head into the living room for circle time. I purchased carpet squares so that each child has a designated area to sit. We sing a welcome song and talk about our letter for the week. I choose picture cards that start with our letter and we put them up on the white board. We also read books that have something to do with our letter or with the season.
-Calendar Time: I purchased this calendar from Oriental Trading Co.
-Project Time: We head back over to the table and work on some projects. Every week we do a letter sheet. I print out the letter for the week on paper and we some how decorate it. This week we used paint daubers to put dots on our Ds.

When they were done with their Ds they could use the paint to decorate dinosaurs that I had made out of paper plates.

We also went on a dinosaur dig this week. I froze plastic dinos in small cups and we used warm water and utensils to dig them out.

-Movement Time: During this time we do some sort of large motor activitiy. Sometimes I will put on a kids' yoga video from You Tube. This week, in honor of letter D, we had a dance party.

-Goodbye Time: We wrap up our lessons and say goodbye.