Meg asked me how long it takes to prepare Little Bug’s learning activities and when I prepare them, so I thought I’d just put the answer in a post.

I’ve said before my motto with these learning activities is “fun and easy prep”. I didn’t want this to be a source of stress for either of us. I wanted it to be fun for me and fun for her.

Since I am a former 4th grade teacher, I find myself looking forward to the time I get to spend finding activities! It gives me a touch of my former life as a teacher pre-kids!

Now that I have become familiar with a lot of the “homeschool” and “crafty mom” blogs out there and I have my favorites and usually stick to looking through those to find activities to do with Little Bug, my prep time has decreased.

LIST OF FAVORITE BLOGS:

Confessions of a Homeschooler (This blog is phenomenal. The majority of our activities come from here.)
http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/

Preschool Alphabet (I find the majority of our “crafty” activities here.)
http://preschoolalphabet.blogspot.com/

1+1+1=1
http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/

Homeschool Creations
http://homeschoolcreations.com/

The Activity Idea Place
http://www.123child.com/act/

ABC Bible Verses (I recently found this site that has a Bible Verse for every single letter of the alphabet!)
http://totallytots.homestead.com/InMyHeart2.html

I usually start with those blogs. When I find an activity I want to do, I copy and paste the website into an email with a brief note of what the activity is and what supplies are needed.

Then I go look on Pinterest for ideas. If I find any, I pin them and then write in my email a brief summary of each activity and the supplies needed (so that all my ideas are in one place).

In my email I also make a “to print” list with links. Most everything I find from Confessions of a Homeschooler requires some printing. After all activates are gathered and I’ve made my “to print” list and “supply” list, I send the email to myself so that it is always accessible to me.

I ran into a problem with this because we have no printer at home! My mom quickly offered to print anything I would need! (Huge blessing!) So, she prints things off and then she will even cut and laminate things for me. I know. She spoils me. She said she would love to cut things out and laminate them. It’s no secret on here that I have an awesome Mama!

I spend probably an hour per letter searching for activities. Then to print and laminate it is probably another half hour to an hour, depending on how many activities it is to print and how much cutting and laminating is required. So prep time is anywhere from 1 to 2 hours per week/letter. I take the time to do this during IP, naptime or after the girls are in bed and between all that time, I have plenty of time for 1-2 hours of planning/prepping time for these activities.

Then, during the week when we do the activities (Monday - Friday) I would say the prep to get the activity(ies) ready for that day is 10ish minutes. I take the time to decide what we are doing that day and gather supplies needed during Little Bug’s independent playtime. We do “learning time” right after her IP time and during Sweet Pea’s morning nap.

If you are saving the ideas I’ve found and have done with Little Bug, they really are easy prep and fun things to do with your preschooler. Little Bug always asks me after her room time, “What are we doing today, Mommy?!” She loves our learning time together. And so do I!

I try to pick a variety of activities. Some activities require us to sit at the table, some we can do on the living room floor and some activities are best to be done outside. Some activities have a reading, writing, math or science theme – but I don’t sit here trying to make sure I’ve covered all subjects in every week! That would be called stressful and I don’t want stressful!

I look for fun and easy prep!

- Elaine