You can complete God’s Little Explorers Preschool Curriculum with just a few resources (school and craft supplies and a children’s Bible), but these are a few other resources I have found to be quite helpful!
Highly Recommended:
Read And Learn Bible – I found this Bible when my oldest daughter was beginning to read on about a 2nd grade level, and I love it! It doesn’t “add” any extras to the stories, and it stays accurate to the Biblical account. It is a nice read-aloud Bible, but your child can also use it for themselves when they learn to read.
Wee Sing Bible Songs CD and Book Edition – This CD has many of the songs I remember singing as a child, and it includes quite a few songs we’ll be using through the year.
What’s in the Bible DVD Set – I’ve been quite impressed with this approach to teaching children (and parents) about the Bible. This series comes from the creator of VeggieTales.
Recommended:
Uncovering the Logic of English: A Common-Sense Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Literacy – I think this is an amazing book–with a message that is sorely needed in today’s educational climate.
The Big Picture Story Bible (Book with CD) – I’ve loosely based the Bible stories for the year on this story Bible. The purpose of this Bible is to give children an overview of how the Scriptures all fit together.
Nice add-ons:
Usborne’s Wipe-Off Ready for Writing: I prefer to get little fingers ready for writing with tons of hands-on fine-motor activities, but this book is excellent for preparing your child to write (practice tracing circles, squares, making lines, and tracing letters).
The Reading Lesson: Teach Your Child to Read in 20 Easy Lessons – If your child is showing signs of reading readiness, this is an easy and inexpensive way to get started. You can see my review of it here.
Scribble Art: Independent Creative Art Experiences for Children (Bright Ideas for Learning) – We will be doing crafts and various kinds of projects, but this book is excellent for art experiences. I just recently got this, so I am using this for all three of my girls one afternoon per week for a basic art curriculum.
Anholt’s Artists Series – These are excellent picture books to use when teaching about artists. We pick out one artist per month and learn about him (or her). Sharing one of these stories and looking at various works from the artist is a gentle introduction for preschoolers.
- The Magical Garden of Claude Monet
- Van Gogh and the Sunflowers
- Matisse the King of Color
- Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail
- Leonardo and the Flying Boy
- Degas and the Little Dancer
- Cezanne and the Apple Boy
Christmas Carols for Kid’s Heart (Hymns for a Kid’s Heart, Vol. 3) – Beautiful CD and stories to use during Christmas.
Passion Hymns for a Kid’s Heart (Hymns for a Kid’s Heart, Vol. 4) – Excellent CD and devotions to use during Easter.
Hymns for a Kid’s Heart – A free site based on the books above (plus two others that seem to be out-of-print). It offers free MP3 downloads for the hymns and free sheet music.
Along with the weekly lesson plans, I’ve also included ideas for:
Hymn study: Each week, the girls and I learn a hymn during our Bible time. We practice it every morning. While they may not have all the words by the end of the week, they have generally picked up the tune and a few of the words. We will repeat the hymns each year, so they should eventually know them!
Composer study: The main way we study composers is to listen to a LibriVox story about one of them per month, find and listen to music by the composer throughout the month, and find and print a coloring page.
Artist study: We pick one artist to study per month. I have purchased the Anholt’s Artist series above, so we read the book first. Then, I find various works from the artist and we look at them. I will also have the girls do an art project in the style of the artist (you can view our Masterpiece Monday series here).
Optional Resources Recommended for Each Week
Week 1:
- Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: Anniversary Edition of a Modern Classic
- Blueberries for Sal
What’s in the Bible Volume 1
Week 2:
Week 3:
- How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Dragonfly Books)
- Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss
- The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons
- The Apple Pie Tree
by Zoe Hall
- Hi Ho Cherry-O
(just pretend they are apples!)
- Noah’s Ark
- Good Night, Gorilla
- Polar Bear, Polar Bear
- Sequence for Kids (game)
- What’s in the Bible (Volume 2)
Week 5:
- Bailey Goes Camping
- S Is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet (Alphabet Books)
- Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids’ Guide
- Tent
Week 6:
- Mouse Paint
- Color Kittens
- White Rabbit’s Color Book
- Color Dance
- Candy Land – The World of Sweets Board Game
- Twister
Week 7:
- What’s in the Bible (Volume 2)
- Caterpillars, Bugs & Butterflies: Take Along Guide (Take Along Guides)
- Pharoah, Pharoah
song
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden
- Fascinations AntWorks Illuminated Blue
- Zobmondo Entertainment The Ladybug Game
Week 8:
Week 9:
Week 10:
Week 13:
- J Is for Jesus: The Sweetest Story Ever Told
- What’s In The Bible? Buck Denver Asks…Why Do We Call it Christmas?
- The Crippled Lamb
- Little People Christmas Story Nativity Scene Playset
Week 14:
- The Three Gifts of Christmas: Book with Audio CD
- The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey with CD: Gift Edition
- STAR OF CHRISTMAS
Week 15:
Week 16:
- God’s Names (Children Desiring God)
- Chrysanthemum
- Wilton 101-Piece Cookie Cutter Set
(our favorite set)
Week 17:
Week 18:
- Growing Vegetable Soup (Voyager Books)
- Bread and Jam for Frances (I Can Read Book 2)
- Melissa & Doug Food Groups
- Melissa & Doug Cutting Food
Week 19:
- Veggie Tales: Are You My Neighbor?
- Love You Forever
- Love Song for a Baby
- Heart stickers (we found ours inexpensively at Walgreens)
Week 20:
Week 21:
Week 22:
- If You Give a Pig a Pancake
- The Three Little Pigs
- Lauri Dot-to-Dot Farm Animal Lacing set
- Fisher-Price Classic Farmer Says See N Say
Week 23:
- Wooly Willy
- You Are Special (Max Lucado’s Wemmicks)
- Fred and Friends Food Face Plate
- My Body (Science Books S)
- See Inside Your Body
Week 24:
Week 25:
- The Spoon in the Stone: A Lesson in Serving Others (Big Idea Books / VeggieTown Values) (Bk. 1)
- Officer Buckle & Gloria (Caldecott Medal Book)
- First Facts: Community Helpers Series
- Fireman, Police, and Doctor/Nurse Printable Packs
- Charoset Recipe
- Unleavened Bread Recipe (at the bottom)
Week 26: