I never expected to find myself wanting or needing a preschool curriculum. I wasn’t one of those homeschool moms who even wanted to homeschool preschool. I preferred to let my babies play and explore for as long as they could before I tried to come up with any sort of educational projects for them to do.
But, then came Creed. He was into everything, and I found I suddenly needed projects to occupy my busy preschooler. I couldn’t just let him play during school time. He needed something to do.
But, I didn’t want a “real” curriculum. I knew with all my heart, he could never handle sitting in a seat for even an hour. Whatever we chose would have to be just as busy as he is! And that’s where I started searching the internet.
“playful preschool curriculum”
“fun preschool curriculum”
“preschool for busy boys”
However, it was an Instagram post that became my “aha” moment! It was posted by a homeschool mom with several boys, and a feed full of beautiful {and playful} homeschool photos! One in particular caught my attention, and the curriculum she mentioned was A Year of Playing Skillfully.
It wasn’t long before I was hooked! I searched the internet for more information, and decided to pull the trigger and snag this curriculum for my busy little boy (and throw in his little sister while I was at it!). Little did I know what an amazing year I was in for!
But, let me start with the details…
Planning of A Year of Playing Skillfully
AYOPS arrives shrink-wrapped (if you buy a physical copy). Monthly theme pages and certain activities on glossy card stock are also included. The curriculum itself is separated into months with themes, character traits, and scripture for each month, so it makes sense to plan monthly.
I used the methods I outline in my book Flexible Homeschool Planning to plan each month of activities. I would gather supplies monthly and keep all of them in a laundry basket on a shelf in our dining room/homeschool room. I also joined the Facebook Group, and was pleasantly surprised by the activity and ideas there, including a monthly scripture graphic one of the mom’s put together!
The year starts in September, which was sort of sad for me considering we school year round, and I was itching to get Creed into the rotation by August, but the good news is The Homegrown Preschooler now has A Summer of Playing Skillfully! (I got it on preorder, so I currently have a digital copy and cannot wait to have a whole summer of fun with my little ones!)
Each month has sections on Home Life and Social/Emotional, Language and Literacy, Math and Manipulatives, Science and Sensory, Art and Music, Gross Motor and Outside, and Field Trips. There is a full supply list along with planning pages and pages for writing down memories. While I love that AYOPS keeps things very open-ended and relaxed, I’m not much for planning pages and I documented most of our school year here on the blog and on Instagram, keeping all the photos in a folder on my computer.
I would tape each month’s Scripture verse to my cupboard, so it was in plain view, but honestly, I feel like those verses were more for me than the children. I would remind them of the verse, but they can’t read and I often found I needed the verse of the month way more than they did!
The curriculum is written in a way that encourages 2-4 activities per day throughout the month, but it is not necessary to do every activity in the book. That’s where I’m thankful for my Flexible Homeschool Planning Method. It creates a routine for my little ones that doesn’t stress me out in the process! I simply do the projects I want to do when I want to do them. A Year of Playing Skillfully fits very well with this model because it doesn’t have every day lined out for you. That’s how I like it!
How to Make A Year of Playing Skillfully Work for Your Family
Every family is different, and every curriculum needs some tweaking, in my opinion. Some of the projects in AYOPS were too difficult for me to put together, but I found with a little tweaking, the result was the same. For instance, I couldn’t get a hold of a frame of chicken wire, but one of my older daughters suggested we simply weave the strips of cloth in and out of a laundry basket! It was perfect!
There were also some building projects suggested in the book that I knew wouldn’t be happening here. My husband was deployed, and we just aren’t a handy-with-wood kind of family. So, instead of scrapping those projects, we found a different way to do those projects. A storefront was created with a bookshelf, a pendulum was a ball hung from a stick, and a flower shop game became a flower arranging game instead!
That said, there were definitely some projects we just didn’t do. I’m ok with that. I don’t feel any shame or regret because we did SO MUCH that there’s no way I could feel bad about what I didn’t get in. It was 110% more than I had been doing!
What Surprised Me About A Year of Playing Skillfully
The first thing that surprised me about A Year of Playing Skillfully was just how gorgeous and well-done this curriculum is. I love pretty things, so this was a huge win in my book!
However, the real surprise was how much fun my entire family would have with this book! Just about every single project in the book became a family event! From trimming a miniature Christmas tree to creating our own wrapping paper to nature hikes and water beads, we ALL played this year!
And here’s where I get a little teary-eyed…
I spent a lot of years just surviving. I love homeschooling, but there have been a string of years that just haven’t been fun. I often felt like my middle kids got the short end of the homeschooling stick (even though they were super good natured about it). And for many years, I felt like I was growing up with my big kids, and forgetting to do all the fun stuff I used to do with them with my younger kids. This year of doing A Year of Playing Skillfully redeemed the years the locust had eaten. ALL of my children played. ALL of my children joined in the projects. ALL of my children laughed and made memories together. That, my friends, is so much more than I ever expected from a preschool curriculum!
Jodie says
Yes! I totally agree. With homeschooling our other children, I was struggling to fit in some intentional play to help the gross/fine motor, language, life skills of our youngest who is three and has Down syndrome. Following your lead, I looked at AYOPS and then contacted Kathy who was wonderfully encouraging. We have been using it for a few months now and it is great. It helps me come up with fun things to do that also teach or exercise a skill. I know that if I do at least a couple of things from each skill group in a month, we will make progress in an balanced and organised way. The only thing I have tweaked is the months to fit New Zealand seasons/school – so, for instance, I am currently planning May using November’s section. Overall, the curriculum has included our three year old into homeschooling with some fun intentional things (that I don’t have to stress out thinking of) and, like yours, our other kids find it fun too.
Angela Schaefer says
I have the summer version but. I also had kids that were preschool age as well as school age who really enjoyed it. Because my niece is 11 years old and my nephew is 8. It is difficult for me to find activities. That work for both of them we made elephant toothpaste. It didn’t go as planned so I will do it on my own we will try again. But it met science objective for my niece who is in 6th grade. In the public school system also my nephew is in 2nd grade. Enjoyed it as well. My granddaughter Everly who is three years old. Loved making playdough with Mimi. Which is what she calls me. Nickname for Grandma.
Nicole says
Can you link any blogs you have to help with my situation. I adopted my first three older kids (5, 6, and 7), then we did fertility treatments for my 14 month old after several miscarriages, then I just found out I’m unexpectly pregnant (and we’ve seen a hb). I’m really happy about the baby, but not about being pregnant. My husband and I have only been married 5 years and I feel like we’ve just lived from one crisis to the next. I was super sick for the whole pregnancy with my youngest and was looking forward to a break physically and a normal school year. Now I’m back to barely able to get off the couch and feeling like I’m failing my older kids (again).
Jodie says
Commented above on how much I like this preschool curriculum, but I noticed some comments on Amy’s Instagram and Facebook wondering about the value of A Year of Playing Skillfully.
True, it doesn’t seem like a curriculum as such – no lesson plans, things to work through – that’s why I call it “doing preschool homeschooling when you’re not doing preschool homeschooling.”
It effectively puts together a month at a time’s worth of activities and learning opportunities, bound only by a monthly theme. You pick and choose how many you want to complete, depending on your circumstances.
I find it really useful to have the great ideas set out for me (so I don’t have to cast about looking for activities) and I like that each month has a theme to work around. But the biggest benefit for me is the breakdown of skill areas which means I can choose a well balanced set of activities each month for my little one with Down syndrome. So many areas need that little bit more attention and now I plan monthly activities for him that I know are giving him practice in all areas. Before I was stressing out about, say, concentrating on his speech/language and forgetting life skills. Just now, although we may be concentrating specifically on his speech with a therapist, I know that if I’ve planned to teach him to make his bed and brush his teeth this month, we are still making progress in this area too.
That gives me so much more peace of mind.
Having said all of that, if my youngest did not have some developmental delays, I would still find it useful for keeping an active preschooler busy in a meaningful and relaxed way – I know that because my active six year old also loves the activities.
Hard earned money well spent for our family.
Amy says
Thank you for sharing all of that, Jodie!
Stephanie says
Thank you so much for sharing! We’re delaying entry into 4K for our son who will be 4 this summer, and I was looking for a way to keep him engaged and still let him play. Our youngest turns 3 in the fall, so this could be perfect for both of them!
NAncy says
Interesting! I bought Before five in a row for my preschooler. I’m curious to know if it would be better with AYOSP? Have you already tried BFIAR and found it wasn’t a good fit for your preschoolers?
Thanks!
Amy says
I did FIAR with my middle kids about 5 years ago, but have never done BFIAR. They are totally different curricula…at least FIAR is…can’t really speak to BFIAR. AYOPS is all play-based projects with only the month as a theme. There are books included in the reading suggestions, but the projects are not based on the books. So, you could do both if you were interested in going that route.
Amanda says
Question…I downloaded the sample. Is there more in the curriculum? I love the idea of this but I really need a step by step how to on these activities. For example….are there instructions on the hot air ballon activity?
Amy says
There are step-by-step instructions. I don’t have my book handy right now, but I’m pretty sure it suggested you tie helium balloons to a laundry basket. I have a post on how we did it here – https://raisingarrows.net/starting-preschool-with-a-year-of-playing-skillfully/
Melissa says
I came across this post and identified with the longing to treasure the short time our kids have to laugh, grow, and learn through play. Hands-on fun always seems to get gradually eclipsed by more academic pressures and priorities and I regret seeing that happen! After reading your post, I purchased ASOPS to make sure that our summer break really was fun and hands – on and I have to say that it is a beautifully laid-out plan to get back to the wonder of childhood. I cannot wait to get started in June. My ONE caveat as of right now is that I can’t seem to get ahold of their customer service , as my ebook never arrived. I’ve emailed multiple times and still have not received a response, even checking my spam folders. In addition, I tried joining the Facebook community and am still pending approval, even though it has been a few days. Strange. I hope they reach out soon! Anyhow, other than that, I really appreciated the recommendation!
Amy says
Oh dear! I’m so sorry about that! I know recently they have had some pretty big life events going on, so it might be they just aren’t checking emails as often. I hope you enjoy it!
Angela says
Hi Amy,
My granddaughter is 3 years old. I just ordered Summer Of Playing Skillfully. She does go to daycare but I want have fun educational activities to do with her. Your homeschooling blog helps me be able to do that. Thank you so much
Amy says
Ooo! Fun! Enjoy!
Angela Schaefer says
Hi Amy I bought Summer Of Playing Skillfully. I have 3 year old granddaughter. Plus part time Nanny for my 8 year old nephew and 11 year old niece. They all enjoyed the activities we did. It is true that it is not full academic curriculum. I was blessed with having just one child who is 27 years old now. So not has experienced as all you moms who have more children. In my experience they all grow up become successful and responsible adults. They become not just your children. Adults who you love and enjoy. Eventually they become the people God and you always wanted them to be. My advice is enjoy every single moment you have with them. I am glad I did.