preschool lately.

N's preschool program, aptly named 'junior kindergarten,' has been kicking into high gear lately. The majority of the year so far has been unstructured, with regard to learning letters....coincidentally my biggest concern before he gets to kindergarten. Now they've implemented a letter of the week, show and share based upon that letter, and - get this - homework. They send home a little packet every weekend. It's a great idea to get him used to the routine of having homework and to reinforce what they learn but it is like herding cats. It's not uncommon for N to spend up to an hour on a single worksheet just because he would rather be doing anything but that. It makes me relieved that we delayed starting kindergarten and I'm trying to use this time to spark some curiosity and help him be as prepared as possible.

With the aid of some of our own supplies, including a two-minute sand timer (which works like magic, by the way), we've been able to practice pretty writing regularly at night. This dry erase board from Dollar Tree is great for practice and the gloves (his choice because they make him "evil") made for easy clean up.

Hand in hand with writing has been some fine motor skill practice that, to Nate, is all fun and games.

Thematic show and share has also been fun to have him rifle through his most precious belongings that start with the letter of the week. It was "G" a few weeks ago and he was excited to take in pictures of his grandparents.

Finally, we're continuing our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten journey and we're halfway there! Nate was proud to write his name on an animal and hang it up on the bulletin board in our local library. This has been a great little program that's free and offered in many public libraries. While we have a good number of books at our house, I'm always glad to add in a little more variety to the mix and expose Nathan to new stories.

And that's what's preschool shaped up to look like lately! I'm excited to make some great progress before we get to summer break.