The Weekly Curriculum: 52 Complete Preschool Themes

I bought this book unsure of how my daughter was going to spend her summer vacation- I just knew I didn't like the idea of her sitting in front of the television all day. This book turned out to be one of the best purchases I have made towards at home lessons. Everything is easy to understand- the more difficult lessons also have pictures for explanations. The products needed for the lessons are cheap and can usually already be found at home. Each week contains a different theme (all of interest to pre-schoolers and kindergarters). For example, the five senses, colors, ladybugs, teddy bears, monsters. Not only are special themes mentioned but also there are separate categories for each class- science, art, and language. Last week, my daughter and I worked on the senses of hearing and touch. One of the games she really enjoyed was the listening hunter were you close your eyes and have to find the bell- something similar to hide and seek with the need to rely on hearing rather than seeing. This book provides simple idea, yet creative, that can keep the children as well as yourself entertained anywhere for 5-30 minutes while the children learn and apply different concepts in school.

I have an almost 3 year old and I just wanted a book to give us some structure for a little "schooling" at home. It's great because it obviously gives you a theme for the week and then a few activities. Kids love routine and repetition and this is great. Every morning while my younger son is napping we do 1-2 activities out of the book for the week. He loves that he's learning about the same things all week. No matter what we are doing I try to incorporate the theme. I also go to the library weekly and get books (that are recommended in the book) that corespond with the theme. It's exactly what I was looking for.

Education Excellence, I found this book a great resource for planning activities that my family day care children enjoyed. This book is simple to follow and it is easy to scaffold onto. Having 52 fully planned weeks with a multitude of activities related to the themes has made my job planning less time consuming so I can spend this valuable time with the children enjoying their learning.

Barbara Backer's new book, "The Weekly Curriculum" is one of the best resources for preschool and kindergarten teachers to be published in a long time. Barbara provides easy to follow lessons that can be implemented throughout the school year. One of my favorites is her "Special Days and Holidays" section. Instead of rehashing the standard holidays that have been written about over and over, Barbara introduces new days such as "National Pretzel Month" and "Mitten Tree Day", with a large variety of activities to reinforce the theme and stimulate the creative imagination of the children. As a kindergarten teacher with with 25 years of experience, I have found in Barbara's book many, many, ideas that I can introduce to the children in my class this year. This is a book that should become a classic on the preschool and kindergarten teacher's bookshelf.

Finally, a curriculum book with a different approach! As I peruse this outstanding, yet simple collection of teaching ideas, I find myself getting excited for summer vacation to be over, so we can try these great ideas! (Well...for a few minutes, anyway!) These activities cover all the learning and development areas in ways that will keep the children's attention and don't require any complicated preparations. I really can't wait to put these ideas into action! Well done, Barbara!