Alivia and Nolan's 2013-2014 Home school Preschool Program!

I'm super excited to be planning for Alivia and Nolan's preschool program. I have been debating on whether to try and find some kind of program for Alivia because she LOVES the idea of school, meeting friends her age, and playing. In the end, I have decided to just home school her for preschool. Then I figured that Nolan will be 2 and although he won't be able to do all of the program, he can do bits and pieces if I scale it down to his level a bit more. I think I was hesitant to try it again, because I attempted a preschool program with her last year, but I wasn't disciplined enough to see it through. I don't think it was the right program for me or her either, and it was pretty intense for a 2 1/2 year old. What was I thinking? :) Another reason I decided not to put Alivia in a preschool program is the cost. It is expensive. I had someone once tell me that investing in your kids education, no matter what age, is a positive. I whole-heartedly agree, but some of these programs cost an arm and a leg, like more than our mortgage. We can't afford that! And, even the ones that are less expensive will lead us to become even more strict and tight with our money then we already are. I figured that if we can't pay for a program, I can invest my time instead of money. I am already home with them every day, I might as well be intentional and start a program myself. I don't have it completely worked out but I will be following the guidelines and ideas from the program, God's Little Explorers. It's ridiculously cute and it feels like I can follow this plan better. I will add some ideas from ABC Jesus Loves Me, which is what I attempted last year. Even though this program was not for us, I really liked a few things from it especially the rhymes on how to write out numbers and letters (for Alivia). Also, I will add a few books, crafts, and snacks each week that I find on pinterest if we have enough time or need more items. Since I have not started it yet, I don't know what to expect. She offers planning pages to print out, which I have already printed. I plan on starting my binder next week.

I also plan on doing one field trip, service project, or play-date a week to get the kids of out the house and involved in other people's life. We already do much of this, so this won't be much of a change. Whereas a school schedule will be a big change for us-especially since we have free-flowing, unplanned days, but I am hoping that it will be an appreciated change in our daily lives.