Description
A Year of Playing Skillfully is a wonder based, developmental school-year curriculum designed for children ages 3-7. Concrete themes and character traits have been carefully chosen for children to explore. Research based learning opportunities address the needs of the developing brain in the following areas: Language and Literacy, Math and Manipulatives, Science and Sensory, Art and Music, Gross Motor and Outdoor Play, and Social Emotional and Home Life
Beautiful monthly printables help parents track each critical developmental area. Detailed instructions, supply and resource lists save precious time in planning for families with young children. The photo rich pages will inspire a sense of curiosity and enthusiasm for both parents and children. A Year of Playing Skillfully is the perfect resource to build a firm foundation for lifelong learning. You can download a free sample month from our blog.
“This book is destined to become a treasured resource in families, the kind of book that is handed down from one generation to the next. Whether educating at home or not, the plethora of ideas herein will enrich the lives of young children and the people who love them. Weave the faith of your family into the texture of this book and then everything that is important to the education and development of a young child is here–and it’s beautiful.”
Elizabeth Fossauthor of Real Learning & Small Steps for Catholic Moms
Lindsey (verified owner) –
We purchased the printed version of “A Year of Playing Skillfully” for our preschooler and we love it! Each month has a theme, and there is a beautiful cover sheet which clearly shows the month’s activities, ideas, and concepts. Each month is such an adventure – my children are so excited to see what comes next! It combines many great ideas – we love the imagination and hands-on elements in every unit! We love the educational side: the curriculum includes math, science, reading, and writing. We also love the creative play/art side: the curriculum includes many art projects, imaginary play ideas, games, and delightful themed activities that tie each month together. We are so glad we purchased this preschool curriculum. One of our favorite parts of this entire curriculum is that it engages our WHOLE family, not just our preschooler! What a gem!
Valerie –
Thank you for creating a curriculum that doesn’t feel like one. It is very flexible. I love how the months are laid out for us to pick and choose what we want. There is also flexibility to make the activities more difficult depending on my child. The materials for each craft can be expensive month to month, but we think ahead and use hobby lobby coupons and sometimes adapt the activity and use things we already have. 3 months in, and it’s great so far! I also love the verse for the month. My five year old has been able to memorize each one. Very precious.
Jena Bachman (verified owner) –
This curriculum was exactly how I imagined our year to be! BLISSFUL! Every detail is so beautiful from the printed pages and monthly guides to the beautiful things it has you do with your children as they learn. Its just simply amazing! We didn’t do everything in every month but next year we will do our favorites again and catch what we missed. I love that the activities work so well for mixed ages making this even more worth the investment. I love the organization and ease it brought to my days. Most of all I love the JOY it brought us. I will use it for years to come and we even have established some new traditions from it. Thank you SO much for creating something so special!
Erica –
I purchased this a year and a half ago to add a hands on, enrichment to our home school. This was the perfect addition for my young and beginning learners.
The joy, giggles, and fun we all had was priceless. Even better was all the learning that happened too. This curriculum honors the seasons and rhythms of life while providing many learning opportunities as well.
The memories we made learning together was fabulous. We just love this curriculum.
Aubry –
I cannot tell you how this beautiful, well-developed and presented curriculum has impacted how I teach and how my son’s love for learning has grown! It’s so intuitively organized as well! No more internet or Pinterest searching for activities or book lists or theme ideas. This curriculum brings it all together in a way CHILDREN LOVE and NATURALLY LEARN…..through play. A wide variety of sensory activities and a balance of indoor and outdoor adventure year round. We love, love, love it!!!
Kristina Redman –
This curriculum has not only helped my children learn important skills & ideas, but it has changed the way I view childhood & parenting! The years of wonder & discovery are fleeting, I’m so very thankful for the wisdom and direction that lies within these pages. I have slowed down, taken time to explore WITH my children, and most importantly I now see the value in play. I can’t thank Kathy Lee & Leslie enough. You’ve added quality and meaning to our homeschool! All my love…
Amanda –
I absolutely cannot say enough good things about AYOPS!!! I have 4 boys under 5 and was searching, even bought a few other preschool cirriculums, for JUST THIS ONE! I quickly sold my other curriculums because this was a perfect fit for my family right away. It’s so perfect for young families with busy children. Also, my 12 yo stepdaughter loves to do our school “projects” too. I love that there’s no worksheets, all hands on learning. I greatly wish to live in Finland for their schooling but this is the next best thing! You can do as much or little as your time allows and pick up in any month. My boys are so excited for our school days, bringing me the binder I keep AYOPS in, and picking out what they want to do. Thank you for providing such a perfectly fantastic cirriculum and I really hope to find something JUST like this for upper aged schooling.
Ashlyn (verified owner) –
I was so excited to find this curriculum and get started with my son. He has a summer Birthday so when he turned four I wasn’t ready to send him to all day preschool where I knew he wouldn’t get to play as much as he does at home but I wanted to make sure he was learning. This was the perfect fix! We plan on continuing next year by doing our favorite activities again and trying some we didn’t get to this year. I also really love that most activities we can include the younger siblings. I feel like this was a great investment because we will be using it for a good 5 years if not longer! I am thankful it was all organized and put together so I could have a starting point once we got all the supplies. People always ask me where I get my fun ideas and I always point them to the homegrown preschooler page.
Erin –
We got this curriculum after using the sample month in September. My 3 and 5 year olds love it, they are always asking to do an activity and these are just what I am was looking for! I love that they are learning and don’t even know it. It is so amazing and so well put together I recommend it to everyone. I love that I can use it with my kiddos for years to come! These years are so important and I want my kids to treasure and enjoy their childhood. Play is serious learning. 🙂 Thank you for putting together such an amazing curriculum for so many ages!!
Lara O’Kelley –
Amazing guide for preschool and early school years. My children and I have all thrived using this.
Erica –
I went through a ton of preschool materials and so much stress when I started homeschooling my first. I had actually come to the point, after spending a lot of money and a lot of time and after a lot of disappointment, that the only way I would find what I wanted was to write my own curriculum. I was so discouraged. I wish I would have read the homegrown preschooler first! I was definitely overcomplicating things and not focusing on what really mattered. I now do A Year of Playing Skillfully with my preschooler and we are all loving it! It has not only freed me up to enjoy this journey, but renewed my own sense of wonder along the way! We have good days and bad, but I’m convinced I’m on the right path and we are loving the journey. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything so practical and had as many “aha!” moments! I’ve learned to step back and let my kids make mistakes and that art is about the process not the product. (How did I not know that before?!) I also love the aditional resource suggestions provided in AYOPS and have found so much encouragement and so many wonderful ideas on the AYOPS in action Facebook page. I can’t recommend it enough! If you have a preschooler, download the free sample and try it for a month.
Rebekah –
We just finished up our school year using this curriculum and it has been the best year of making memories with my children. My friends and family are always so impressed with what they see us doing and they saying I’m such a fun and creative mom. I always have to tell them that it isn’t me, it’s this amazing curriculum I’m using! ❤️ Thanks for making this such a fun year for us!