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Lesli Richards
www.thehomegrownpreschooler.com
email: [email protected]
678-779-0725
A Year of Playing Skillfully
1. Overview of Child Development for Children 3-7
2. What we need to cover during this period of time in order of priority:
 Love for God
 Respecting Parents
 Basic Self Care/ Home Routines
 Mastering their bodies
o Gross motor skills
o Fine motor skills
o Manners
 Education in Wonder
o Experiencing nature
o Participating in songs, stories and art of human culture
o Cultivating love for the lovely
 Grammar
o Pre-reading skills
o Formal phonics program
o Lots of reading outloud
 Arithmetic
o Counting
o One-to-one correspondence
o Manipulative based Math program around 5-6 years of age
Home Organization Best Practices:
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Low shelves
Invitations to play placed strategically in the home
Sensory play easily accessible
Activity boxes
Schooling Different Ages at a the Same Time
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Fill little buckets first
Provide open ended activities that will keep their attention
Use older kids to manage younger ones for small blocks of time
Plan out activity boxes for times you need to work with older kids
Mentor recommendations (people to help you become a better teacher!...the one you want for your child in
high school!)
Andrew Kern
www.circeinstitute.com especially his webinars on teaching from a state of rest…which can be found here:
https://www.circeinstitute.org/node/2794
His article on Inspiring Children is not to be missed! https://www.circeinstitute.org/2012/04/inspiringchildren
Marcia Somerville – Marcia offers so many tools to mentor mothers at www.tapestryofgrace.com
I highly recommend auditing her Master Teacher Program here:
http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/tu/index.php#6
Sarah MacKenzie – www.amongstlovelythings.com
Sarah hosts a membership site called Read Aloud Revival that is well worth the small fee, just for the “cheat
sheets” alone!
Book Recommendations:
The Homegrown Preschooler by Kathy Lee and Lesli Richards
A Year of Playing Skillfully by Kathy Lee and Lesli Richards
10 Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen
The Liberal Arts Tradition by Kevin Clark and Ravi Scott Jane
Loving the Journey by Marcia Somerville
Final thoughts:
Be flexible.
Don’t squelch their wonder.
Drop by drop, the bucket is full.