Top 10 Preschool Educational and Fun Websites

We are living in a brand new world. A world of technology! When I was little, I played Barbies, colored in my coloring book, watched Saturday morning cartoons and The Muppet Show at 7:00pm. I played outside from sun up to sundown and never heard of a gig, byte, a thumb drive or a mouse (unless we caught one in the trap). My preschooler has heard of them and is pretty good with the mouse. Here are the Top 10, tried and true preschool websites, my son has enjoyed.

1. www.sproutonline.com (PBS and Sprout Characters, Elmo, Calliou, Superwhy, Thomas The Tank Engine, etc. Games, Coloring Pages, Videos, Crafts and Recipes) Free
2. www.starfall.com  (Learn ABC's, Learn To Read, Dress-up Gingerbread and Snowman, just to name a few. This is my sons favorite.) Free 
3. www.fisher-price.com  (GeoTrax, Little People, Power Wheels, etc. Coloring Pages, Online Games, Puzzles, Memory Match, Shapes and Colors, etc.) Free 
4. http://funschool.kaboose.com  (Click on the Preschool at the right. Online Games, Coloring Pages, Fun and Educational) Free 
5. http://kids.aol.com/KOL/1/KOLJrGames  (Letter Games, Shapes, Numbers, Printables, Music & Stories) Free 
6. http://treehousetv.com  (Calliou, Dora, PBS Characters and NickJr. Characters. Videos, Online Games and Coloring, etc. ) Free 
7. http://disney.go.com/disneyjunior  (Disney Characters. Online Games, Stories, Videos and Coloring) Free
8. www.seussville.com  (Cat in the Hat Characters. Book Videos, Online Games) Free 
9. http://duplo.lego.com  (Duplo Animations, Activity Sheets, Online Games and Coloring Pages) Free
10. www.kneebouncers.com  (Have fun learning while you play. ABC's, numbers, Online Games, Sight Words, Guess Who, Popping Bubbles, etc.) Free Trial Week. $2.95 a month or $19.95 yr.

Keep your child safe by installing a kid safe browser, Create a seperate Windows account (a Guest account to protect your files) and to protect your computer itself, you can download a program like Toddler Keys to prevent tiny hands from fiddling with your computer by locking your drives, the keyboard, and the mouse.

Top 10 Preschool Reading List + More Excellent Literature

My favorite books for my preschooler are below. My son has a wicker book basket with a great selection of books, just for him. Most preschoolers want to hear the same stories over and over again, which is actually very beneficial. Your child can get so much enjoyment from a few well-written children’s books rather than getting him a new one every time you go to the store. It allows the child more time to enjoy the written language and he has a chance to really understand and process the stories.

Some excellent preschool literature:

1. The Little Red Hen pictures by Lucinda McQueen
2. Richard Scarry’s Please and Thank you Book by Richard Scarry
3. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
4. Guess how much I loveYou? by Sam McBratney
5. The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
6. Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
7. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
8. What do you Do with A Kangaroo? by Mercer Mayer
9. Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
10. Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier
11. Peepo by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
12. The Mitten adapted by Jan Brett
13. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess
14. The Greedy Python by Eric Carle
15. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
16. The Real Mother Goose illus. by Blanche Wright *Rand McNally and Co.
17. Play with Me by Marie Ets
18. We help Daddy by Mini Stein
19. Harold and the Purple Crayon
20. Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day
21. 101 Things to do with a Baby by Jan Ormerod
22. Little Cottontail by Carl Memling
23. The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
24. The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
25. Richard Scarry’s First Word Book
26. There was and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback
27. The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
28. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See? by Bill Martin Jr.
29. Good Night, Moon by Margaret Wise Brown 

So, hug your child, pick a story and read a great book!

Parent Corner ~ Time for Me

One thing a look forward to is Mom's-Night-Out and Hubby Date Nights. I need that time to be refreshed and renewed. I cater to every need of my children, home and family, with joy on my face, most days. Then, there are those days that I want to run out of my house screaming. Yesterday, Jack had colored himself purple, one of those stray markers left unattended, and whichever child was responsible for leaving it out, got the job of cleaning him up. My preschooler is wide open and hands on. He has poked holes in a wall with a screwdriver, knocked a hole in a door to a room that he was locked out of, drew on quite a few walls in my house and up the stairs. I love him and I like to think that I am quite aware of where he is and what he is doing, but I am still only one person. So, I look forward to those quiet moments I can steal away. Those nights out with my husband or friends. My quiet time with the Lord in the morning, to get a fresh perspective on the day. Just a few moments when a babysitter or grandma is watching my little ones and someone at a restaurant is serving me. Budget some money and time for yourself. Take the time to put yourself first at some point in the day, it isn't selfish and you are worth it.

Busy Bag Ideas ~ Pom Pom Patterns

This was the first activity we tried. With the preschooler busy bags, they concentrate on shapes, colors, ABC's, numbers and just plain fun. He had a lot of fun with the Pom Poms. It was easy for him to match his colored Pom Poms to the colored circles already given. We received a sheet for color patterns and he could continue the pattern to the end of the sheet. There was also a black and white pattern sheet so he could create his own patterns, but that wasn't as much fun for him. You can find the sheets at http://unsolicitedadvice-n-such.blogspot.com/ . I am going to do more on my own, maybe Pom Pom patterns that make the Abc's and numbers.  
                                                                     Busy Time: 10-15 minutes

Busy Bags! Activities for Preschoolers

My Preschooler Busy Bags arrived this summer and we have been using them for a month. There are always some activities they will enjoy more than others. He really loves the playdoh mats, what preschooler wouldn't. He enjoys the noodle caterpillar, popsicle colors, the fishing game and the sensory bottles. We haven't even played with everything because he wants to play with the ones he likes. There were a few things we received in our package that he hasn't learned about yet but we are ready when he is. It really got my creative juices flowing. Now I look at what he is learning and wonder, what can I make that will make it more fun and bring it home. I love them and can't wait to be in another swap or host one of my own, locally. I will take some pictures and explain them one by one, as we use them, so you can make them for your preschooler.

P.E. ~ Burning Off Some Energy

We need PE everyday. Built up energy, inside a house, does not mix. On nice days, it's easy. We go outside, walk to the park in our neighborhood, ride a bike or just run around. On rainy days, it's a little harder. We do have a Wii and he loves to play on that, we will walk around the mall or a big box store or we budget in a few visits to one of the bouncy house fun places. We will put on some music and dance or just march around in a circle. If that energy doesn't get out on purpose, he will start running the halls, up and down the steps, just going a little crazy and making me a little crazy. I plan on getting that energy out on purpose everyday.

Let The Older Teach The Younger

As a homeschool mom, one of my biggest frustrations, is how to keep my preschooler busy and out of trouble, while I am teaching my other children. His school just doesn't last as long as my older children. I use our busy bags, I read him stories, I go over his lessons, he builds with legos, he races his cars and only an hour to an hour and a half has gone by. I am not a big fan of TV babysitting, but some days, I wouldn't mind. One day I came up with an idea, if I block our time, I can also include time where the older children play with Jack during our school day. You know what, It Worked! They get a little break from schoolwork and Jack is entertained and not getting into trouble. Just 20 minutes from each child and that is an hour where Jack is being entertained and I can help the other kids with their questions or even go clean or sweep something real quick. I can do this at several points during the day and they can play with their little brother. I will post more about our daily schedule and block times later.