Even More Preschool Learning Activities

We started our 2012/2013 Homeschool Preschool year on Monday.  Every morning since we started, L and E (37 months old) have been requesting to "play Preschool".  I have a separate post planned that details our daily routine, but here's a sneak peak of some of the activities we've been doing...

The girls really enjoy working on the standing pocket chart.  I gave them some activities that I made for them a while ago (when they were 18 months old - 2 years old), but although they are easy for them, they get a great sense of accomplishment by being able to complete these activities independently.  Above, E is sorting picture cards by color (I made these by putting stickers on sturdy paper and laminating them).  Here, L is arranging groups of objects by size (small/medium/large):

They also found this activity that I made for them a long time ago - putting together circle halves by color (made from free paint-chip samples):

The easier activities definitely give their brains a break from all the reading and math we've been doing lately.

Another favorite this week has been the nesting sock monkeys.  I traced the outline of each shape, so they have a guide for placing the monkeys from largest to smallest.  I taught E the process of putting the nesting monkeys back together again (look for the smallest base, find the matching top, etc..), and she's been practicing this task a lot.

There's also been a lot of fine-motor-skills practice with dot painting, cutting, and gluing:

Of course, the dot-paint containers make great bottles for hungry stuffed animals:

L and E are getting better and better at phonemic awareness activities.  They can do tasks like matching these magnets to their starting letters completely on their own:

One of L's favorite games involves rolling dice:

She counts the dots and then we do a certain physical activity that many times (like hopping, standing on one leg for that many seconds, Mommy swinging the child around that many times, etc...)

Both girls enjoy the challenge of making the "staircase" with the abacus.  This is still too difficult for them to do independently, but I think they understand the general concept of adding one more bead each time. 

I'll post more of our activity trays as I remember to take photos.  It's been such a fun week of learning so far...