Make Learning Fun with Disney Jr., Preschool Superhero Sounds & Counting Free Printables!

My four-year-old son will be starting preschool for a second year this fall.  Except this time, I’ve decided to homeschool him rather than send him out. I know I’ll need to get really creative with my teaching methods in order to make learning fun and to successfully prepare him for kindergarten.  Disney Jr. has some great learning tools, so I picked up a fun kit at Walmart and then put together some additional sound and counting activities of my own, which you’ll see free printables for at the end of this post.

I love seeing how different each of my three kids’ personalities are.  For example, my oldest daughter learned the alphabet at age 3 and then begged me to teach her to read after just turning 4.  She is a book worm through-and-through, and I’m so glad.

My four-year-old son’s disposition is night and day from her in that he would much rather play superheroes than practice letters and sounds.  Learning to read before kindergarten would, I’m sure, be seen as pure torture to him.  I’m not going to force anything, because I want him to enjoy learning, but I’m determined to provide him with fun activities at our mommy/son preschool in the coming year that will teach him important concepts and help him enjoy the ride along the way.

To help make learning fun for him this year in preschool, I picked up a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Learning Schoolhouse Activity Kit at Walmart the other day. My son couldn’t wait to get home and open it!

We got home and he immediately opened it and began tracing letters on the dry-erase alphabet board.  I love that it’s so easy to wipe clean and can be used over and over for lots of practice!And see that cute little mini clock up top?  It’s the perfect way to jump start time-telling skills!  I didn’t think my son would understand it yet, but he’s catching on quick!

The kit also includes some fun star stickers to reward A+ work, which I happily did.  🙂

Then he moved to the counting and alphabet flashcards.  He’s becoming a pro counter!Next, he played the role of teacher and proceeded to quiz me on my U.S. geography and state capitals.  I’m a little rusty, but I think I passed. 🙂

…like this Superhero Counting Game (free printables below).  I simply laid out the large number sheets and allowed him to count out different amounts of each superhero logo to put underneath.

Two thumbs way up!  He’s going to be so #Ready4Preschool to start in a month!

I wanted to reinforce his letter recognition and teach sounds, so I designed a set of superhero flash cards with the beginning letters emphasized.  I quizzed him on what each letter was and asked him to say the word out loud to me, pausing on the beginning sound of each.

B is for “buh, buh” Batman, his favorite superhero of all time!  He got a kick out of this game.

Collectively, these activities really got my son excited about learning!  Sweet success! At this rate, he may be reading before kindergarten like his sister did!  I hope you find them useful too!

Thanks, #CollectiveBias, for the opportunity to help make learning fun for preschoolers like my son!