Prepping for September

Alright everyone, we're just 2 weeks away from our start date, yay!

To make sure everyone feels confident and prepared going into the month I thought I'd explain a bit and open this post up to any questions for those joining in on the lessons.

First, make sure you have glanced over the supplies list for Week 1. Click the image below and print it out if you'd like. Most things are pretty standard, and other things like construction paper, googly eyes, and fingerpaints are things that will be used for future lessons so don't feel like they are one time things. If you need ideas on the cheapest place to find things you don't have just let me know! As a hint, Target's dollar section has googly eyes and IKEA has a $5 small set of primary colored fingerpaints. Construction paper can be found anywhere for pretty cheap, as can markers and crayons. I'm getting apples from our backyard tree (aren't you jealous, hehe!) but I'm pretty sure those are easy to find elsewhere :)


Second, hop online or head over to your local library to reserve some books for this month. Below I have the entire month's list of suggested books. Don't stress if you can't find all of them, this is a suggested list, not the end-all-be-all of reading time! So long as you can scrounge up 2 books per week you'll do just fine I promise. Oh, and The Little Red House with No Windows and No Doors is a printable booklet I've adapted that you will be able to print out, fold along the crease, and staple into your own little book. Very cute and very easy I promise!



Third, think about where you want to do your crafts, songs, and reading time. Then you can put your craft supplies in easy reach. Remember, old shoeboxes make perfect boxes for craft supplies and they're free! Don't forget an old t-shirt or bib for an art smock. I plan to hang my son's in our pantry door for easy access since we do crafts at the kitchen table.

For reading time it might be good to have a basket for books around. You can refill this basket with library books every month, so your kids can browse books related to our theme whenever they want. This way library books stay organized in one area, easy to round up when they're due.

As for lessons, we (the planners) will be making the lesson plans and posting them 1 week in advance every time. Each week will have 3 days of lessons so you can choose which days you want to do the activities. When we post the lesson plans for the week just print them out and glance them over to see which materials you'll need to get out for each day. That's it, no creativity or teaching license required I promise!! Just plan to sing songs, do a craft, read a book, and enjoy your kids. Then show off their crafts to dads and grandparents to ooh and ahh over.

Now that I've written a novel and hopefully not scared anyone off, any questions?