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Our preschool and kindergarten learning journals have been the one tool that has stood the test of time and benefitted all three of my children, despite their different learning styles. I truly believe they are the easiest and most effective way to solidify new concepts; encouraging mastery as well as giving my little learners a good confidence boost.
I first started using a handmade learning journal with Squeaks when she was three. It wasn’t a consistent activity, but she loved it and it was effective! We used a simple spiral-bound notebook and when she was in the mood to “play school” I would quickly create a page for her to do. The pages were basic and could be done in just a few minutes. Perfect for a three-year-old’s attention span.
When Little Dude came along, I attempted the same scenario, making pages spur of the moment. But it was harder to do with two kiddos. I felt like I spent more time trying to figure out page ideas for him than we did actually doing the pages. Once Flash was born, the whole thing was out the window.
So one day I decided to sit down and create a pre-made learning journal. One I could simply open and go, no need to spend time searching Pinterest for page ideas. It was a good amount of work up front, but in the end, it was well worth it. Now I can be confident that the pages are not only easy to use and ready to go, but they also build on one another and flow into new concepts smoothly. This is a much more organized system than the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants method I had been using.
Get your Preschool Journal Printable here!
The Preschool Journal is great for ages 3-5 and is made to be a gentle introduction to basic learning concepts. I made sure to create pages that could be completed in ten minutes a day or less to accommodate growing attention spans. And really, at this age, there’s no need for much more than that. In fact, the Preschool Journal combined with my Preschool Busy Binder are the only “curriculum” I use for preschool at this point (and I offer them as a bundle too!). These tools, mixed with lots of play, book reading, and outside time, are all a preschooler needs!
Here are some concepts covered in the Preschool Journal:
- Alphabet- Letter recognition, letter sounds, and beginner letter formation.
- Numbers 1-10 – Counting, number sense, number recognition, beginner addition concepts.
- Color recognition and beginner color word recognition.
- Basic shape recognition.
- Fine motor and logic skills- cutting and gluing, left-to-right progression, and sorting.
It’s easy to do just one page a day, but so far both my boys ask to do extra pages nearly every time. I was actually going to wait to start a journal with Flash until he was a bit older (he’s three now), but when he saw big brother working on one, he wanted to join the fun!
I wanted to be sure there was as much room for success as possible so the the letters are nice and thick. This makes it easy for little hands, still learning proper pencil grip, to trace “in the lines”. There’s also the option for the little one to “trace” the letters using just their finger.
Each page has at least two skills to practice. Alphabet and counting, letter sounds and fine motor, colors and shapes. So it’s a page a day, but that pages packs a good educational punch.
Get your Preschool Busy Binder Printable Starter Kit here!
Get your MEGA Preschool Bundle, Printable Pre-K Busy Binder & Journal here!
The Kindergarten Learning Journal is very similar.
After the preschool journal was a hit with my boys, I knew a kindergarten journal was in order. It builds perfectly onto the preschool journal with a few pages to review concepts and then moves right into new challenges. The format is the same with just a page a day, but now they alternate language arts and math skills. It’s perfect for ages 5-7 for skills mastery and that great confidence boost that comes with completing your daily page!
Here are some concepts covered in the Kindergarten Learning Journal:
- Alphabet and early reading skills- long and short vowel sounds, over 60 C.V.C words, ten sight words, beginning sounds, and name practice.
- Penmanship using a manuscript line.
- Numbers 1-20 – Counting, number sense, number recognition, addition and subtraction, number words, and tally marks.
- Math skills- Telling time to the hour, patterns, counting by twos, lesser and greater numbers, and making ten. 3D shapes and 2D shape review.
- Fine motor and logic skills- cutting and gluing, left-to-right progression, and sorting.
I’ll be starting this journal with Little Dude this year. In my last post, you can see what other resources I’ll be using for kindergarten (and second grade for Squeaks). We’re both super excited to get started!
I hope these learning journals will be as well-loved in your home as they have been in ours!
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