Wrapping up my series on our new preschool curriculum, Mother Goose Time, I am going to focus on the Daily Discovery Bags!
If you missed my previous three posts, feel free to check here (1), (2), and (3).
I don’t know why, but I get so giddy opening up these bags. I love, love, love that the designers and writers of this curriculum are so meticulous, thinking right down to the details of needed cotton balls and pipe cleaners for different activities. All I need on hand most days that isn’t included are the usual suspects: scissors, tape, glue, markers, etc..
Below is all that was included in Day 1’s Daily Discovery Bag. (So this is just 1 of 20 bags that we will get to explore this month! So fitting that this month’s theme includes treasure hunting! Even the mamas/teachers get one of their own!)
Here is the daily sheet to visually represent Day 1’s topic, Island, and a conversation starter on the bottom.
We have our name tags that will help Peter (4 yrs) start to learn how to write his name, as well as continue to give Natalie (7yrs) consistent practice on spacing and handwriting.
This is a new, great improvement from the last time we experienced Mother Goose time. Before, we would have received a piece of coverstock, similiar to the one below, but formatted in such a way that we could cut and fold it into a cube. While a cute idea, it was not very durable and needless to say, usually didn’t survive the month. Now they have designed and provided this permanent cube that has little sleeves on each side, so that you can cut out these square cards and insert them. So for day 1, we obviously were creating a die for one of the activities. (Spoiler: in other days, we have different inserts to reuse the cube for other activities. Such a clever idea!!)
We also received a nice coverstock card for the number 20. Each month, depending on the number and focus, we will receive others to help build a reference collection.
Next was our first craft activities: an eye patch and a spyglass!
As you can see below, they provided all the needed materials, minus some tape to secure the spyglass once decorated.
Arrr!
(Peter, aka “little prince”, age 4)
(Natalie, aka “the Sweetness”, age 7)
Each month we also receive a coloring book that goes along with the theme. It’s so visually appealing that my kids usually ask to continue on with it after we are done with the first day’s activities.
I love that they decided to highlight the letters inside the words, not just beginning sounds. This is a perfect example of why Mother Goose Time has been such a good fit for me and my two kids. This one book alone helps me also introduce short and long vowel sound concepts to Peter, who already has his letter sounds down, but we haven’t really started narrowing in on isolated vowel sounds yet. However, with my almost second grader, this is a great review and practice for her in phonics and writing, not to mention she loves coloring as well. So both kids, although currently almost 3 years apart, can sit side by side and both glean a lot from this curriculum. It’s been a great program for our summer before Natalie starts second grade.
Seriously, so cute!
And each month there is a family newsletter included. While this is great resource for teachers in public and private school environments to send home to the parents of their students, this has been really handy for our family as homeschoolers because it helps my husband to see an overview of all that we’ll be covering at home while he is away at work. We desire to stay in close communication about the kids’ activities, so this is a great tool for my husband to be able to peruse without me having to organize information before we really get into the month’s activities.
Here is a glimpse of Day 1’s activities found in the Teacher’s Guide that I referenced in Part 1 of this blog series.
One of the activities asked the children to draw their own picture of an island, whether based on the daily topic sheet provided or other books we had collected for the day. While Peter was not interested in this activity personally, my daughter embraced it wholeheartedly, pulling out our art bin in search from various materials to add texture and variety to her picture. As a mom and teacher, it is SO fun to watch the differences in their personalities and interest levels, and often I find that one’s passions inspires the other.
And last, but definitely not least, are some pictures of my kids enjoying the math manipulatives provided in this month’s box. Another activity from Day 1 suggested we play with water, seeing the foam alphabet letters float and exploring how different objects interact with the water. The kids loved it and continued to play for quite some time after the day’s lessons were over.
My daughter discovered that the wet foam letters stuck to the side of our bins, and so this started an impromptu spelling challenge to see what all she could spell.
And Peter decided to build a rocket ship after seeing how the plastic manipulatives floated, as well as how the water reflected their color onto the bottom of the bin.
Overall, we are off to a great start with Mother Goose Time and look forward to diving into July’s theme, Camping!
As an official Mother Goose Time Blog Ambassador, I receive curriculum in exchange for posting about our honest and authentic experiences with the curriculum. Click here for more information on Mother Goose Time.
Inside the Box: A Peek Into Our Preschool Curriculum, Part 3
JennyWrapping up my series on our new preschool curriculum, Mother Goose Time, I am going to focus on the Daily Discovery Bags!
If you missed my previous three posts, feel free to check here (1), (2), and (3).
I don’t know why, but I get so giddy opening up these bags. I love, love, love that the designers and writers of this curriculum are so meticulous, thinking right down to the details of needed cotton balls and pipe cleaners for different activities. All I need on hand most days that isn’t included are the usual suspects: scissors, tape, glue, markers, etc..
Below is all that was included in Day 1’s Daily Discovery Bag. (So this is just 1 of 20 bags that we will get to explore this month! So fitting that this month’s theme includes treasure hunting! Even the mamas/teachers get one of their own!)
Here is the daily sheet to visually represent Day 1’s topic, Island, and a conversation starter on the bottom.
We have our name tags that will help Peter (4 yrs) start to learn how to write his name, as well as continue to give Natalie (7yrs) consistent practice on spacing and handwriting.
This is a new, great improvement from the last time we experienced Mother Goose time. Before, we would have received a piece of coverstock, similiar to the one below, but formatted in such a way that we could cut and fold it into a cube. While a cute idea, it was not very durable and needless to say, usually didn’t survive the month. Now they have designed and provided this permanent cube that has little sleeves on each side, so that you can cut out these square cards and insert them. So for day 1, we obviously were creating a die for one of the activities. (Spoiler: in other days, we have different inserts to reuse the cube for other activities. Such a clever idea!!)
We also received a nice coverstock card for the number 20. Each month, depending on the number and focus, we will receive others to help build a reference collection.
Next was our first craft activities: an eye patch and a spyglass!
As you can see below, they provided all the needed materials, minus some tape to secure the spyglass once decorated.
Arrr!
(Peter, aka “little prince”, age 4)
(Natalie, aka “the Sweetness”, age 7)
Each month we also receive a coloring book that goes along with the theme. It’s so visually appealing that my kids usually ask to continue on with it after we are done with the first day’s activities.
I love that they decided to highlight the letters inside the words, not just beginning sounds. This is a perfect example of why Mother Goose Time has been such a good fit for me and my two kids. This one book alone helps me also introduce short and long vowel sound concepts to Peter, who already has his letter sounds down, but we haven’t really started narrowing in on isolated vowel sounds yet. However, with my almost second grader, this is a great review and practice for her in phonics and writing, not to mention she loves coloring as well. So both kids, although currently almost 3 years apart, can sit side by side and both glean a lot from this curriculum. It’s been a great program for our summer before Natalie starts second grade.
Seriously, so cute!
And each month there is a family newsletter included. While this is great resource for teachers in public and private school environments to send home to the parents of their students, this has been really handy for our family as homeschoolers because it helps my husband to see an overview of all that we’ll be covering at home while he is away at work. We desire to stay in close communication about the kids’ activities, so this is a great tool for my husband to be able to peruse without me having to organize information before we really get into the month’s activities.
Here is a glimpse of Day 1’s activities found in the Teacher’s Guide that I referenced in Part 1 of this blog series.
One of the activities asked the children to draw their own picture of an island, whether based on the daily topic sheet provided or other books we had collected for the day. While Peter was not interested in this activity personally, my daughter embraced it wholeheartedly, pulling out our art bin in search from various materials to add texture and variety to her picture. As a mom and teacher, it is SO fun to watch the differences in their personalities and interest levels, and often I find that one’s passions inspires the other.
And last, but definitely not least, are some pictures of my kids enjoying the math manipulatives provided in this month’s box. Another activity from Day 1 suggested we play with water, seeing the foam alphabet letters float and exploring how different objects interact with the water. The kids loved it and continued to play for quite some time after the day’s lessons were over.
My daughter discovered that the wet foam letters stuck to the side of our bins, and so this started an impromptu spelling challenge to see what all she could spell.
And Peter decided to build a rocket ship after seeing how the plastic manipulatives floated, as well as how the water reflected their color onto the bottom of the bin.
Overall, we are off to a great start with Mother Goose Time and look forward to diving into July’s theme, Camping!
As an official Mother Goose Time Blog Ambassador,
I receive curriculum in exchange for posting about our honest and authentic experiences with the curriculum.
Click here for more information on Mother Goose Time.