Learning at Home: Teach My Preschooler #Review & #Giveaway #HolidayGiftGuide

My husband and I didn't really see eye to eye over sending our son to preschool this year. I thought B was ready, and that a couple of mornings out of the house would be good for him, and good for me, as well. My hubby, on the other hand, thought that because our son isn't always the best listener, that was a clear sign that he wasn't ready to have to listen to a teacher. So, I have been doing my best to work with Balian at home, following a homeschool curriculum for his age group, which includes lots of activities, reading, etc. However, I'm no teacher, so I try to draw from as many free resources as possible, to make it work for him, and for me.

When Balian and I first began following the curriculum, I was struggling to keep his interest for an hour and a half. I quickly realized that it was too long to expect him to sit and color or work on projects with me. I knew I needed a better solution, and thankfully, I was given the opporunity to try one of the kits from Teach My this season. I explained to Christy at Teach My, why the Teach My Preschooler kit would be perfect for our family, and she was more than happy to send a kit to us, so we could start learning together at home.

Teach My was founded by President Christy Cook. Her son began reading at 18 months, and Christy was in search of the proper teaching tools to continue an enriching educational experience at home. Unable to find the tools and resources she was looking for, Christy designed her own kit, with a series of matching, flash cards, etc. She quickly realized that matching was a key pre-reading skill for children. Christy had a passion to develop a learning kit for young children, so she began organizing focus groups and play groups with other moms and their children. This helped Christy be able to organize the information from the focus groups into a coordinated teaching set, which she named Teach My Toddler. The kits were such a hit, that there was then also a demand for a kit for babies, and even preschool aged children!

Teach My Preschooler Kit: Ages 3-6

I was thrilled when our Teach My kit arrived. I couldn't wait to open it up and explore the contents, and then integrate the tools into our daily lesson plans. We currently use a Letter of the Week lesson plan, which involves math, science, geography, reading and crafts/activities. The Teach My kit for Preschoolers contains resources that will aid parents in teaching reading, writing (printing), counting (1-100) and basic math to their little ones, in just twenty minutes a day.

Teach My kit, packaged in a handy carry case.

The kit itself contains over 70 pieces, from posters to flip books and a drawing board! Everything is packaged neatly in a handy file box, with a handle, which makes it easy to transport. The kit includes four different categories for learning, and the resources and materials for each category are grouped and packaged together in heavy plastic. When Balian saw the kit out on the dining room table, he was very excited to check it out!

Ready for Math- Addition Booklet

When Balian noticed the foam cut out numbers in one of the kits, he told me he wanted to count with them. So, I set out the Addition booklet. The booklet encourages children to work on simple addition by matching, and counting. B and I had a lot of fun together, as we matched up the number sequences and read aloud, 'One plus zero equals one,' and so on.

Balian, excitedly looking for the number 'two,' since it comes after 'one.'

'Let's do more math, mommy!'

More matching fun, with cute little foam faces and numbers, too!

The math kit also includes a large poster for simple addition and subtraction fun! We added up our little friends, and then they all slid down the slide, into the sand pit! Oh, what fun we had as we counted, laughed and learned together!

Large learning poster for introductory math- a great hands on learning experience!

Balian did so well with the math series in the Teach My kit, and had so much fun with it, that he was itching to explore the reading materials right away! I didn't want to overload him with too much in one day, but he seemed too excited for me to tell him that we needed to wait until the follwing day to check it out. So, we dug out one of the readers (one of ten included in the kit) and began to read together. We worked on sight words and recognition with letters, and had a lot of fun doing so,

Teach My Preschooler reading booklets.

Balian, reading through the alphabet in one of the reading booklets...

The reading booklets have been wonderful for us. Since we began using them just a few short weeks ago, Balian has really taken more of an interest in reading, and sits with me much longer for story time, giving me his full attention. I stop and ask him questions as I read to him, and he points things out to me on the story pages. Reading time has become a part of our day that we both truly look forward to, and it's my hope that he'll soon be reading a bit on his own!

Working on letter recognition- which words start with the letter 'a'? How does the letter 'a' sound different in these two 'a' words?

We've been having so much fun with the Teach My Preschooler kit. I am very thankful that the kit includes a teaching guide for parents. Like I said, I'm not a certified teacher, so I do the best I can based on my own knowledge and creativity. This guide is easy to follow, and allows us to set a pace and structure that works for us and our schedule. We take about twenty to thirty minutes every morning, usually right around or right after morning snack time, to work on two categories, which we rotate from day to day. We integrate the flashcards, the drawing board and even the fun train flashcard set (what little boy doesn't like trains?). I also add in a worksheet or coloring sheet here or there that I printed off from an online resource, and sometimes we also add in a craft or baking project.

Complete contents of the Teach My Preschooler Kit

Teach My Preschooler Kit Includes/Features:

Teach My Preschooler Reading

Teach My Preschooler Printing

Teach My Preschooler Numbers to 100

Teach My Preschooler Math

FEATURES:

10 Readers

60 Flashcards

1 Flashcard Reward Tin

1 Flashcard Holder

1 Magic Drawing Board

78 Print Transparencies & Printing Guide

101 Train Flashcards

3 Posters

2 Flip-Books

Foam Numbers, Counters and Equation Signs

Teaching Guide

Storage case

Age: 3 Years +

We switch our focus from day to day- some days we work on counting, others on math, and others, we work on printing and writing our letters and numbers. We do read every day, though- during the day, and before bed. The Teach My Preschooler Kit has everything I need (and then some) to teach my son while he's at home with me. Trust me, if I can teach my child, you can teach yours! In just twenty minutes a day, you and your child will be laughing, learning and making memories that will last a lifetime!

Teach My has developed learning products and kits for babies, toddlers and young children...

Teach My Baby Kit

Teach My Toddler Kit

Teach My Baby First Words

Teach My Preschooler The Time

Whether you're looking for a starter set or a complete kit to begin teaching your baby, toddler or preschooler, Teach My has fabulous resoures for parents and teachers! Even if your child is in daycare or preschool, this is still wonderful to have and use at home, so you and your child can learn together! Any of the Teach My sets or kits available would make a wonderful, thoughtful gift for a teacher, or for parents. Balian and I are learning and bonding at home while we read, write and count together. It's something we both look forward to doing together each and every day! Give Teach My tools a try- you won't be disappointed with these award winning teaching sets!

Want It? Buy It!

Head on over to Teach My to explore all of the options available for teaching your children in your home or while on the go! Kits and sets are available for teaching babies, toddlers and preschool age children. You can also connect with Teach My through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.

Want It? Win It!

One lucky MBP reader will win their very own Teach My kit of choice! Winner may select the kit that best suits their family's needs. Just use the Rafflecopter entry form below to enter for your chance to win! Giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents, 18 and older!

Special thanks to Christy and the entire Teach My team for allowing us to try this wonderful teaching and learning kit at home, and for offering this wonderful giveaway for our readers.

Good luck!