How to Use the 4 Year Curriculum - Parenting to Impress

Discover more in this series on Intentional Learning with the ABCJesusLovesMe Curriculum
1. Combining the 1 and 3 Year Curricula
2. How to Use the 5 Year Curriculum
3. How to Use the 3 Year Curriculum in a Preschool
4. Intentional Learning with the 2 Year Curriculum

So far we’ve looked at ideas to be intentional with the 1, 2, 3, and 5 Year ABCJesusLovesMe Curricula in a home, in a preschool, and in combining curricula. Today I invite you into Allie’s home to view a week with ABCJesusLovesMe’s 4 Year Curriculum.

Child playing with water and sidewalk chalk.

Prep Day

Allie: We use the curriculum as a guide for our week. The curriculum isn’t a “sit down and work,” but a “let’s discover some learning we can work on this week.”

On Saturday I prep for the week by gathering the week’s books and activity sheets. In a basket, assessible to the kids all week, I gather the Book of the Week (Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes) and the Letter and Number of the Week books (My L Book and My One Book by Jane Moncure). I also move the sticky tab in The Beginners Bible to the Bible Story of the Week (Noah’s Ark). I mark the Bible story in two more Bibles so we can read from different versions. On a shelf out of reach, I place the week’s activity sheets from the 4 Year Workbook.

Sunday

Our learning week begins as a family on Sunday. While I prep lunch, my husband reads the Bible story from one or more adult Bibles. He then reads the Character Training (Obedience) portion from Big Thoughts for Little People. To tie the two together this week, he and the kids discussed how Noah obeyed God, and we need to obey God and our parents. Before eating, we took turns praying and asking God to show us ways to obey this week.

Monday

Always looking for teachable moments, I praised my daughter at breakfast for obeying God like Noah did when she willingly set the table. For added fun, we sang the Bible Song of the Week (Arky, Arky) while making pancakes.

To clean up for breakfast, I asked her to help wash the sticky spot on the table. When she responded that she would to it later, I reminded her that “Slow obedience is disobedience.” This provided a second teachable moment to discuss Noah’s immediate obedience.

I set out toy vehicles and animals for the kids to play with. To introduce, we discussed the different types of vehicles, and which vehicles would work in a flood. We then assigned one animal to one vehicle and did it again in pairs, just like Noah gathered the animals.

We headed to the table for letter work. Beginning with the sandpaper letters, we traced them hand-over-hand while singing the phonics song. Then I spelled her name the magnetic letters. She determined if the Letter “L” was in her first and last name.

Tuesday

After breakfast we headed downstairs to our play area. Taking each step down we said a Books of the Bible (New Testament). Full of energy, we practiced the Number of the Week doing one handstand, one forward roll, one table top, and one back bend.

For reading time, I read the My One Book by Jane Moncure and pointed to each word on the page for my daughter to follow along. Next was the My L Book and the children were sent on an “L” hunt just like the character in the book. My daughter grabbed a toy lion.

To begin handwriting, we traced the sandpaper letters “L” and “l” and sang the L phonics song. Then, using a golf pencil perfect of her little hand, we practiced the handwriting sheets.

Preschool brother and sister reading books.

Wednesday

Today we practiced writing her name while rainbow writing. I wrote her name in yellow highlighter and then she traced it with a pink crayon followed by a purple crayon. Before little brother’s nap time, my daughter helped me read Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes to her brother. When a color came up in a book, I paused and allowed her time to “read” the color to him.

While making supper this evening, we sang “Where is ____?” with different colors. After singing, I asked them to find specific items in the kitchen and living room based on the color in the song. This kept them learning, and busy, while I cropped vegetables for the meal.

At bedtime Daddy read Noah’s Ark from The Beginners Bible. The kids enjoyed the illustrations.

Preschool girl painting Noah's Ark craft.

Thursday

After breakfast we said the Books of the Bible while going down each stair. This is easy repetition for us as we have many stairs in our home, and frequently go up and down. To enjoy the gorgeous weather, we headed outside to play with sidewalk chalk. We do not have the suggested game of Twister, so I made different color circles with chalk and asked both of my children to help me color them in. Then we played a modified version of the game.

I then grabbed a garden hose and made some mud in our yard. The children had fun stomping in the mud and making footprints. We listened to the song “I Love My White Shoes” on my phone while they played. The descible level increased when the song covered the mud portion! After the song was over we colored the bottoms of our feet with chalk to make footprints on the driveway.

During my son’s nap, my daughter and I returned to the handwriting activities from yesterday. Today she chose green and orange to add to her rainbow-written name. Next, I placed the Noah’s Ark activity sheet on the easel for vertically painting.

Friday

Now dry, we cut apart the Noah’s Ark craft and glued each piece to a blue construction paper. We then practiced scissor skills on the Cutting Lines worksheet. Before we began I placed a sticker on her thumb to remind her to keep her elbow in and thumb upright at all times. Learn more about Teaching a Child How to Use Scissors.

Throughout the year we will be making a Letter Ice Cream Cone. Today we added L and l above the cone. Then for a yummy treat, we enjoyed some ice cream from our freezer. We placed the letter “l” in front of “ummy” to make ice cream time fun and educational at the same time.

Daily Teachable Moments

I look for learning opportunities throughout each day of the week. For example, we practice the memory verse and point out the Letter of the Week anywhere we go, including our visit to the library. My daughter asked the librarian to help us find a book with the number one and the letter L, allowing her to become more comfortable with speaking to adults and practicing respect. We also had many discussions about obedience, disobedience, and slow obedience.