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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 5:35am | IP Logged
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Tracy,
I've used LS for 3 preschoolers. With the first two we made it for a few weeks and then it was just too much preparation. I could not keep up with all the planning necessary. For the 3rd child, I spent my summer preparing, and I mean really preparing and it worked much better. But, I really did take a lot of time over the summer.
~I got a file crate, but ended up needing two.
~I bought some of the big 2 gallon zip lock bags.
~I labeled the bags for each lesson, planning on a lesson per week. There might have been a few lessons I left out, knowing we wouldn't get to them, but I think I had 36 bags in the end.
~Then I went through each lesson and filled that bag with everything I would possibly need to make it work. So the bags would have the recommemded books that I had on hand, copies of poems, copies of the craft pages, the exact colors of construction paper required, glitter, whole punches,, buttons, straws, chenille stems, stickers (the exact amount) etc. I made it so there was absolutely nothing that I would have to gather once the year had started.
~If there was any cutting or gluing that I needed to do before the lesson, I did it then. (Cutting out 5 little monkeys, and rainbow colored angels comes to mind.)
It was a huge project! The only things that did not go in the bag were scissors, crayons and pencils. I even bought a big pack of glue sticks so I could put one in for each lesson that required it. (I knew we would eventually use them up for other things.) It took forever!
But! That year, preschool was a breeze. My ds really enjoyed it and so did I.
However, I will have a preschooler next year and I am thinking of something to use, but it wont be LS. For one thing, I know I'm not going to have the time to put everything together again. For another thing, I can tell this ds is just not going to want to sit with me and do little finger plays and craft projects. His "preschool" will probably be reading picture books with me at various times in the day and maybe doing a coloring page or something while his big siblings do their work. He just doesn't have the "sit with mommy and do preschool activities" temperment! I think with this dc I would find myself very frustrated after doing all that prep work and then find he wont sit still long enough to actually do the five little monkeys activity or whatever.
Hope that is helpful information. I think it really is a good program, it's just so mom-intensive. Having more that 2 or 3 kids makes it really difficult.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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JamieCarin
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| Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 6:59am | IP Logged
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Becky,
Thank you so much for the info on how you organized LS! I have LS to do with my son this Fall. I had plans to get everything prepared over the summer but wondered how best to do it. So now I have some direction at least!
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TracyFD
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| Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 7:32am | IP Logged
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Ok Becky, you (or some uber mom) should go into business selling subscriptions to prepackaged LS crafts! Really - I use Shirleysprepackagedcrafts and pay $160 a year for a box to arrive every month with everything I need for 12 crafts a month. They are simple; color and shape of the month and major holiday themes. Something like this for LS would be such a blessing!
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Tracy
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1 absent-minded professor, and one adorable toddling terrorist.
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KackyK
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| Posted: Feb 15 2011 at 12:34pm | IP Logged
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I've used LS as a resource for our little co-op classes or saint of the month or retreats or other activities we do. I love all the finger plays and books. I think the illustrations aren't really my style. So we may do a craft similar or I have reworked a craft.
Now off to check out shirley's crafts!
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
Beginning With the Assumption
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Feb 18 2011 at 7:58am | IP Logged
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TracyFD wrote:
| Ok Becky, you (or some uber mom) should go into business selling subscriptions to prepackaged LS crafts! |
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Well, it will have to be an uber mom Tracy!  I considered all the preparing an act of mortification, and prayed that I might get some time off of purgatory for it! Just kidding. It wasn't really that bad. I just came to really dread seeing that big box of stuff waiting for me each day until I had it done.
I have heard and read so many comments about LS being a great program but it is too time consuming for busy homeschool moms. I think you're right about someone prepackaging everything. They would probably make a fortune. I for one would purchase it!
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Becky
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Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Feb 18 2011 at 8:09am | IP Logged
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Just coming back after reading this thread with a wonderful idea!
Cay, or someone as talented, could come up with a Catholic Mosaic Preschool program!!! I can see it now - a different saint's picture book each week with some letter/number activities, little crafts, etc., all centered around the particular saint. Maybe something in the style of FIAR. Cay, yoo-hoo, are you listening?!
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Becky
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JennGM
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| Posted: Feb 18 2011 at 8:35am | IP Logged
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Have you seen Lacy's ideas at Catholic Icing? She is running a Catholic ABCs
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Erin
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Becky
I think your preparation is awesome, I know I need to do something like that to make it successful, as I'm afraid my book is gathering dust. I would only need to do 10 weeks at a time, mmm maybe I could 'pay' one of my dds to do photocopying etc.
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Erin
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jillian
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| Posted: Feb 18 2011 at 1:48pm | IP Logged
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CKwasniewski wrote:
I hate to be a downer... but I will.  I agree with these ladies that the lists are good. However, you've got plenty of great lists of read alouds and music available for free online.
Unless you are REALLY crafty, and have LOTS of hands -free time, the whole thing is maddening. I bought this and eventually threw it out bc I thought, "What mother of a toddler is going to have time to do all this stuff??!"
If you want to really get something worth your while, buy the CGS album for 3-6 and spend your time putting those presentations together.
my not so humble? opinion,
CK |
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This is why I opted against it. Plus it seemed like it was better suited for groups like a sunday school class or co-op or something that wasn't for us.
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Questa7
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| Posted: Feb 28 2011 at 7:16pm | IP Logged
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I haven't been around long, but I want to thank Becky for her wonderful post on preparing/organizing for LS. My son and I are starting LS in the fall (was going to start it sooner, but have decided that with an important move coming up during the summer, perhaps it would be better to wait for the beginning of the school year.) So with everything we have coming up, it is really good to know how much time to spend ahead of time on prep, and have some suggestions on how to go about it! Thanks!
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Is Little Saints Preschool prog. worth $
