Because we have two little ones, one officially starting preschool this fall, I have been thinking about ways to incorporate them in our homeschool day. It is a task that plagues me regularly. I can’t seem to find enough activities to fill their days. As a result, they are into everything…all the time.
Now, we have also started a practice our family calls Gathering. It is basically morning time for our whole family. It tends to be directed towards our school age kids with some things that delight all of us. My son (my current 3 year old) is obsessed with Gathering. And just this morning my youngest (N, just turned 2) started hearing the requests for Gathering her brother was making and looked at our Google Home device and said, “Google.”
This may indeed seem strange for my youngest to be talking to Google during our Gathering time, but I create a playlist (on Spotify) for each month’s Gathering and we listen to it every morning of each month. She is very used to hearing about Gathering and then hearing Mama say, “Hey Google, please play Gathering (month and year) playlist on Spotify.”
Once our Gathering is going, we listen to a hymn (usually a vocal and instrumental version), and Scripture songs. Those devotional selections are followed by folksongs and/or classical music, depending on the month.
Gathering Placemats
What makes our Gathering something all my kids ask for is our Gathering placemats. I first introduced them to my family in May of 2019. Months of preparation and reworking went into creating that first set for them. And they LOVED them! Our Gathering went from something we may or may not get to, to front and center of our days!
I made sure to include things on our Gathering placemats to delight my little ones. And they love them, but as my little ones are reaching the preschool ages, I wanted to start creating something just for them. And I wanted to turn the Gathering placemats into something of a preschool curriculum booster.
In the coming months, I will be creating and presenting Preschool placemats centered on themes preschoolers and preschool teachers love. I have A TON of ideas!! Many of the ideas will expand on previous themes we have done from our One Year Old Preschool to our Tot School and Preschool days. And for those of you who have little brothers and sisters to Classical Conversations students, I will have Scribblers resources, too!
Free Preschool Gathering Placemats for You!
In the meantime, I have created a special Preschool Gathering placemat set for you! They are beautiful!
I chose an artist, Elizabeth Shippen Green, who was known for her children’s book and magazine illustrations. I knew kids and parents would LOVE them! There is so much to notice in her artwork. They form the spine of the this set.
The idea is for each set to be four separate placemats. Each placemat has the same front. But the back of each placemat is unique. This provides the opportunity for multiple kids to trade them throughout the month (or whatever period of time you want to display them). Or, if you have only one preschool age kid, you can switch up the placemats when you like for variation.
The Preschool Gathering placemats feature a hymn, poetry, songs, memory work, nursery rhymes and MORE! I also created a playlist on Spotify for you just to round out your Gathering with your little learners. It is mercifully short and I really like the selections on the list.
It is not necessary to get to all the things on the placemats every day. These are meant to be savored and enjoyed over a period of time. Your kids will discover favorites and have special requests. It is just a super-fun and simple way to connect with your kids.
This Preschool Gathering placemat set is exclusively for my subscribers, so make sure to sign-up in the form below.
I pray these placemats are a blessing to your family! For more information about how we use these in our home every day, check out our Gathering FAQ.
