As an educator, I know the "requirements" for Kindergarten. These are the items that they want all 5-year-olds to know at Kindergarten screening time. And, because we have chosen not to send our children to a formal preschool, I knew that the responsibility for readiness would fall into my hands.
When I began looking into a preschool curriculum for our oldest child, I was very discouraged and overwhelmed. What I was looking for was a simple Biblical curriculum that incorporated phonics, math, and song. Many of the sites that I found cost money. Others were so involved that there was no way I could do them and stay sane! I felt some curriculum tried to cram too many Biblical and academic items into a 36 week period. Without the consistent review time, I feared true learning could not occur. Also, there was no way my active child was going to sit through 2-3 hours of "school" a day. Being a one-income-family, I found that I did not have the resources nor the time to prepare all of the crafts and go on the field trips suggested for a week.
I knew that I wasn’t the only mom looking for a simple curriculum that allowed a child to still be a child. With my husband's support, I felt lead to pursue a curriculum that would give our children a solid base of Bible, phonics, math, and song. So, I began creating my own curriculum using my education background, classroom experiences, and life with our children. I thought about the requirements for Kindergarten and what my child enjoyed doing. I took into consideration time available for preparation and the length of time my child could focus. I remembered that making things applicable and making sure to review was the key to true learning. Thus began the 3 and 4 Year Old Curriculum. ABCJesusLovesMe.com's first day on the world wide web was April 26, 2008.
After originally creating this website, I realized that I needed to take the website down a different path. In the fall of 2008, I added gross and motor skill activities as well as sensory and visual perception activities. It has been through speech, occupational, and visual therapy with our son that I realized that the curriculum were only geared to certain children. I wanted to expand the curriculum to encompass those children with developmental delays. You can follow our sister blog - Our Out of Sync Life - to watch how we are learning to raise a son with Sensory Processing Disorder and developmental delays, a very Strong-Willed middle child, and a Spirited Little Man. Also learn how we incorporate the ABC Jesus Loves Me curriculum into our daily lives and read honest product reviews. Daily posts include techniques on discipline, teaching, holiday suggestions, and life as a Mom, to name a few. In July 2011, the 2 Year Curriculum was added as well.
I take no credit for anything on this site. God has blessed me with a wonderful extended family who during my primary years surrounded me with song, learning opportunities, and fun. Almost all of the ideas for this curriculum have come from my childhood. In addition, I can not tell you the number of times that an idea has come to mind that was so perfect I knew it couldn’t have been from any other source than the Holy Spirit. Any ideas that I have used which are not my own have been documented as such.
The biggest compliment that you can give us concerning this site is to pass it on to a friend or loved one. Tell others about your find on social networks, your blog, and by word of mouth.
What I have created, I believe is doable for anyone who desires to prepare a child for Kindergarten and for life with a solid academic and Bible foundation. Please remember that the ABCJLM Curriculum and this website are free for the teaching of children in a individual family, home setting under the Terms of Use only. Use of any idea on this website and/or the curriculum with any child not in your individual family whether in a daycare, childcare, preschool, church or other setting requires the purchase of a License first.
I ask that you please contact me with any questions, comments, or errors (typos, grammar, and broken links) found on this site. Also, besure to check out the ABCJLM Forum and Facebook pages to give you ideas, gather encouragement, and find answers to your questions. It is only through your suggestions, ideas, and corrections that I can make this site better!
God's blessings to you and your family -
