Registration is open for our fall Preschool Enrichment Club! Today I am sharing how this club came to be and more about this is unique opportunity to join an online community geared towards raising children to love learning and be curious about the world around them.
Last January my older daughters’ beloved former preschool director called to ask me if I was planning on sending our youngest to their three year old program. She had been on the wait list for years.
I tossed and turned over the decision but ultimately decided to say no. Not that I didn’t love that preschool, but with her older sisters (and one about to be in the 8th grade!) I realized how fast those little years go and I wanted to savor the time at home with her a little more. I also wanted to simplify my life as much as I could. Fewer carpool pickups and drop offs and lunch packing helps a busy mama like me!
This year would be an opportunity to really try out the concept of being my child’s ultimate teacher. Reading to her a lot. Enjoy taking her to field trips like the Zoo and the Arboretum and working on basic concepts like colors and numbers in our everyday routines.
Then the pandemic hit.
And after the success of our children’s book club this summer we had so many moms begging for us to do something similar in the fall. Something to give a little bit of structure to those long days at home, a list of books with some intention behind them.
Furthermore, with many preschools and Mothers’ and Parents’ Day Out programs not opening this fall, some moms are feeling sad that their children are missing out on those fun and enriching preschool learning opportunities and traditions. Other moms are opting not to send their children over health concerns. And then there are the moms are sending their children to preschool but aren’t sure how consistent it will be this fall.
So that’s when I had an idea:
Let’s start a Preschool Enrichment Club for ages 2-5 that encourages us to raise children who love learning and are curious about the world around them. Not a “virtual” preschool with a lot of worksheets and checklists, rather a community that will encourage play and literature to enrich a preschooler’s time at home. Moms who are in the same boat – whether by choice or not!
Each month we will have two cute preschool themes with a list of quality books to read and activities to go along with them. The activities we suggest will intentionally focus on the skills and experiences children typically experience at preschool including:
- Fine and Gross Motor Skills
- Phonemic awareness
- Numeracy
- Music
- Art
- Cooking
- Games
- Imaginative Play
Since I am not an expert on preschool things, I enlisted my friend and former preschool teacher Jessica Hendricks (who is!) to compile all the books and activity guides. You can read more about her education background here.
Jessica has compiled an amazing list of books (board, picture, non-fiction, chapter) for each theme and has planned the coordinating activities to be simple to prepare and easy to integrate into your day. THANK YOU JESSICA because I have neither the time nor mental space to come up with ideas on my own!
Much like our book club this is a low-stress community. Every family is different and how you choose to use these enrichment resources is up to you! Also they are easy to use across preschool ages, depending on how you set them up. If you have older children learning at home they will want to join in, too!
Getting children outside in nature is highly encouraged in our club and we will also include safe outing suggestions that go along with each theme. And we will have some enriching “ZOOM” field trips throughout the fall.
I would love for y’all to join Louise and me in this Enrichment Club. We will have so much fun in our private Facebook group sharing ideas and encouragement and all the resources will be on our membership site so anytime you need an idea or book suggestion you can find it easily.
We have made this super affordable for four months of enriching preschool resources so I hope many can do this with us. Please pass along to your friends because we are going to have so much fun!
Read more and register here!
Celebrations Tab Dress: c/o Grace and James Kids
What do you think?