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Making The Most of the Preschool Years/100 Activities to Encourage Independent Play! Review by Lisa Barthuly & Family
By: Valerie Bendthttp://www.valeriebendt.com/
Teaching our littlest homeschoolers should be FUN, and Valerie gives great tips, TONS of great activities, and lots of fun ideas in her book Making The Most of the Preschool Years.
As we know, children are like sponges in their earliest years, fill that time with worthwhile, fun activities that instill a love of creative learning! This book contains a book list, reading suggestions, a list of supplies to have on hand, and 100 fun filled learning activities!
Just some of the activities include: Leaf Prints, Clothespin Dolls, Scoop the Rice, Sponge Painting, Dot-to-Dot Pictures, Paper Plate Lacing, Finger Painting, Water Play, Crayon Rubbings, Butterfly Blot Art, the list goes on and on!
This book is geared toward the five and under set, but both my 4 and 7 year olds have had a ball doing many of these activities together. The Art Show idea is great; in fact, we now have a permanent wire strung across one of our walls that displays the latest masterpieces. Valerie includes ideas for making a replica of your own town, puzzles, games, puppets...along with lots of patterns, and they can be photocopied and used with all the children. The Paper Plate Masks were a big hit, and the pattern made it very simple! These are all such neat activities!
Valerie also sprinkles bits of her acquired wisdom throughout the book, and shares ideas on the teaching of our children. The book has both ideas for working independently and working on projects together, keeping our youngest children entertained, engaged, and ENJOYING learning...Sshhhhhhh...It's disguised as fun! Definite Thumbs up!
