Worth It!
Bottom line: I would use it again, and I recommend it.
Today I finished our second round through Gentle + Classical Preschool with our son, who just turned five. The first year we were just getting our feet wet, so mostly we read, did handicrafts, and did the recommended morning binder pages. We did not do math (other than colors and shapes), we didn’t really do the art and music, and we halfway did the science (“All About Me”). For our second year, we did the full program.
Approached as a menu, where you can pick or choose what you want to do for the year, for the week, and for the day, this was a fabulous addition to our days. It helped us include some much-needed structure that was generally enjoyable for both of us. Although it’s not scripted, it didn’t require a lot of advanced planning. Even when we were doing the full program this year, I could usually have the week ready in about 15 minutes of formal planning and another 10 to 15 with gathering or ordering books/supplies.
Two of the program’s greatest strengths are the book lists and the handcrafts. The book lists allow you to tailor each week, either extending a particular topic of interest or subbing out books. Some of the handicrafts skew a little feminine, but they are easily adapted, and I loved the variety, with everything from baking to fine motor play. The consistency of the morning binder although it sometimes bored my four-year-old was a helpful anchor, particularly as it was easily transported outside or to a doctor’s appointment. The arts and music areas were very gentle. My little guy loves music, so we supplemented that with more books and some videos, but for littles who aren’t super interested in classical, Peter and the Wolf is likely to be a good bridge.
At least for me, the greatest weakness was math. For some families, Preschool Math at Home is probably fabulous. Not for us. Each chapter has a series of activities that teach a particular math skill. That, at least, is the idea. If the activities click with your child, then you will probably both enjoy doing them together. But if, like us, a certain skill (in our case, the subsidizing of chapter 3) doesn’t click, it is very frustrating, because there’s nothing for remediation. Either the activities work, or they don’t, and if they don’t, you may end up like me scouring the Internet, trying to figure out why they aren’t working and what you should be doing instead. So if you like math, or if you’ve never done it with your child before, PMAH is probably worth trying. If math is the only subject that ever made you cry… just be aware that you may end up needing something else. If I were repeating the program with another child, I probably would try PMAH initially, since we have the book, but I am not continuing her approach for Kinder math with this child.
I love the incorporation of music for learning the Bible verses, catechism, and character statement. Dana Dirksen’s music (what GCP used) is well worth purchasing if you don’t have Spotify (which we don’t) and is sometimes available for free download on her website.
Last, the physical version, and I am so glad I did. It made the prep so easy, and the materials are all beautiful. They look professional, and now I’m spoiled and expect that from all curriculums. I particularly appreciate that all of the materials can go back in the box for storage now that we’re done. The books that we purchased will stay up on our shelves, but the teacher’s guide, activity guide, and cards can be safely tucked out out of the way until needed it again.
Oh yes. Buy the menu cover! Definitely worth it.
