Learning at Home: Preschool & Kindergarten : A Christian Parent's Guide With Day-By-Day Lesson Plans Using the Library As a Resource [Spiral-bound]

Ann Ward (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1988

Home school parents begin to educate their children very early. This book really takes advantage of the strengths of the preschool learning years and includes lesson plans for ten subjects of study--all designed to fit into a stress-free one-hour-and-a-half each day. The curriculum covers a full two years. Great for helping new families get started in home schooling.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 271 pages
• Publisher: Christian Life Wotkshops (February 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 092346302X
• ISBN-13: 978-0923463021
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Structured, complete school-at-home -- a good resource, May 6, 2000

By 

"a_mom" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning at Home: Preschool & Kindergarten : A Christian Parent's Guide With Day-By-Day Lesson Plans Using the Library As a Resource (Spiral-bound)

Learning at Home includes a complete, very structured curriculum. All the necessary subjects are covered, including Bible and Health/Manners. Each week has separate Monday through Friday lesson plans. The lesson plans seem very "school-like" in their approach and design. For those parents unsure about how to homeschool, this should provide reassurance that all necessary areas are being covered. A detailed list of concepts taught is included for all of the various subjects.

For my tastes, it's a bit too structured and too much like school-at-home. The author suggests a school schedule that breaks some tasks down into as little as 5 minute intervals. The calendar time recommended for each morning, where the children recite the days of the week, date and numbers 1-50 (progressing to 1-100) seems too much like the rote memorization and drill technique used in public schools.

The book does, however, contains some excellent ideas for learning/teaching. The Grid, a matching game, is a great tool for various types of learning. The suggestions on house cleaning, including how to involve the children, is insightful. The ideas on follow-up and review after a field trip are quite good, too.

The information above indicates that the book is spiral bound. It's not. It's a standard 8 1/2 X 11 paperback. A spiral binding would be very useful since that way the book could be left open to the page(s) including the day's lesson plan.

Leaning at Home is a good resource. I plan to refer to it often.

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - recommend it highly, March 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning at Home: Preschool & Kindergarten : A Christian Parent's Guide With Day-By-Day Lesson Plans Using the Library As a Resource (Spiral-bound)

I am just finishing my 2nd year of hsing and 1st with this book (used Before Five in a Row last year). This book was excellent and I'm having trouble finding something just as good for next year.
The curriculum is for M-R with a F field trip. Subjects include Bible, Reading, Arithetic, P.E., Stories (M-R), Art (M&W), Music (T&R), Character Building (M), God's World (T&R), Health & Manners (W). The "school" should take 30 min - 2 hours (we lean toward the 30min). The F field trips and following M thank you notes really sold me on the book.
You supplement with library books that you order 2 weeks prior. You'll need worksheets, cards for games, etc that you can either make or purchase. In addition, you'll need the basics, crayons, paints, paper, etc. Probably stuff you already have.
The author includes lots of helpful info about planning your day, etc that the first time hser may find useful. Don't let the format scare you - you can be as flexible or rigid in your schedule as you like.
The only drawback I've found is that the book is for preschool AND kindergarten but the kindergarten section repeats the preschool subjects with the exception of reading and arithmatic. Seems a bit repetitive for the teacher, if not the preschooler.
Overall, this is a wonderful book. Since using it, 3 other friends have begun using it as well. A final suggestion: we invited other preschool friends along on our fieldtrips and made them into playdates with lunch afterwards.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a concise, easy to uses base curriculum., August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning at Home: Preschool & Kindergarten : A Christian Parent's Guide With Day-By-Day Lesson Plans Using the Library As a Resource (Spiral-bound)

Ann Ward has written a terrific base curriculum for preschool and kindergarten. It provides all of the groundwork to build a year of exciting lessons. It is a realistic framework that anyone could use to teach their child. I have used it as the base curriculum for a three day a week preschool program. It includes Bible lessons and all the classic subjects taught in a traditional school environment. This is the only book I've seen that covers preschool through kindergarten in one volume.