Homeschooling 1st grader with 4 year old

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by learningnest, Dec 1, 2009.

  1. learningnest

    learningnest New Member

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    Aaahh! Just when I think I've got this homeschool thing figured out -- I run into frustration.

    I am homeschooling my 1st grade (6 year old) son and also have my 4 year old at home. Some days things go great, but the majority of the time I feel like I am jumping through hoops to get anything done. Some days it takes all day just to make it through reading and math.
    I feel guilty spending one on one time with the oldest (schoolwork) and giving my 4 year old things to entertain himself etc.
    How do you make these ages more manageable and not burn yourself out before the kids both get older?
     
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  3. 3angelsmom

    3angelsmom New Member

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    When my oldest was 6, my son was 4...so I know how you feel!
    I would give my son alphabet letters to color at the table with us while I worked with my daughter. He would play playdough with us and I would ask him to make different shapes with it, he loved to cut so he would sit and cut out shapes and things. I basically did preschool type stuff with him while working with dd on her stuff. I also tried very hard to get as much done as possible during his nap time. It's a balancing act for sure, but in time it does get easier.
     
  4. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    A nap at 4? My goodness, I want your kids! My kids all have stopped napping by 2, the baby is already down to just one nap a day!

    When I need some time with my oldest, I have no guilty feelings for putting my younger kids in front of the tv with something of educational value on... be it PBS or a Leap Frog DVD, they stay out of my hair for 5 minutes and they learn more than you would imagine from sitting there "rotting their brains".

    They also each have workbooks htey can do at their own free will.. and they color because its like school quite often.. oh and dot to dots etc.
     
  5. learningnest

    learningnest New Member

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    So glad to hear someone knows how I feel. I've been working on preschool things at the same time, but my oldest keeps asking why he has to do work while the little one gets to do playdoh etc. Can we assume next year will be better -- its got to be?! LOL!
     
  6. learningnest

    learningnest New Member

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    One other thing -- how much work can I expect the 6 year old to do? I started trying to get every subject in...then have slowly progressed to being happy if we do math and reading and read some books (science/history) together in the evening. The pschool mentality sets in occasionally and I feel like I'm failing him because he isn't doing all subjects all day.
     
  7. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    Ok.. I have a 5th grader now.. we started when he was in 2nd. We only cover science once or twice a week, the same with social studies. Math is the only subject I require almost every day, we do read most days because he loves to read and always has. We do Writing Strands a few days a week some weeks and not at all other weeks, we do grammar 2 times a week and spelling 3 times a week (m- write the words once, w- do worksheet, f- test) if your son is a weak speller, you can have him write the words 3 times each on like t and in sentences on th, but I don't find it necessary, nor is any of it really..lol.

    At 6 I can't imagine having more than an hour or so work a day... in 2nd grade I felt that an hour and a half to two hours was more than enough, and then there was lots of time spent watching educational programs, reading freely on his own, doing crafts, etc. But all of that was usually just on his own.
     
  8. learningnest

    learningnest New Member

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    I think my problem is making myself OKAY with the fact that we aren't busy all day with school work. And that it is okay to watch tv -- they are allowed to watch pbs and some other educational cartoons etc.

    How do you get yourself out of the mindset that they should be working all day "like all the normal kids in school"....
     
  9. hmsclmommyto2

    hmsclmommyto2 New Member

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    You need to start looking for the educational value in things other than workbooks, textbooks, etc (the stuff we normal associate with school). PBS, Leap Frog DVDs, Magic School Bus episodes, etc. are great learning tools. Kids can learn so much from watchingn educational DVDs & shows, especially if you talk with them about it or have an activity or craft they can do based on it (though they'll learn plenty without those extras, too). Board games & card games can be great for learning & practicing various skills & concepts. Playing dinosaurs or building with blocks has educational value, as well.
    Getting away from the public school mindset is a lot easier if you can look at what your kids do when they aren't "doing school" and see the value in it. Something else that helps is to think about all the wasted time in public schools. There's the time spent standing in line, time between classes, time spent getting everyone to sit down & listen, etc. There's also the days that they decide to show movies instead of teach class, field trips to the mall, etc. Public schools have plenty of wasted time & all of it counts towards the number of days they have to do.
    So, if you look at all the wasted time in public school & see the educational value of what your kids do when they're not "doing school", getting past the public school mindset is much easier.
     
  10. MenifeeMom

    MenifeeMom New Member

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    I am currently teaching three ages 9, 7, and 4. The 4 year old does get jealous sometimes of the amount of time I spend with the others. I have just started to open our day with book read to her that I have activities she can do afterwards. She is more willing to color if the page went with her book. I now have an activity box that she can work out of at the table so she feels like she is doing school too. Of course she can also just go play if she wants to. I am also now planning field trips that are for her and dragging the others to them. I figure she has been dragged to their activities since she was born, so now it is their turn.
     
  11. crazymama

    crazymama Active Member

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    How to get yourself out of the mindset that you should be doing school all day?

    Go to a public school and spend the day shadowing a student. Pay attention to all the time that they are actually being "taught" something. Now, remember, this does not include busy work, sitting quiet while the "teacher" passes out, corrects and returns papers, practicing standing in line, waiting for other kids to get done with their work while you sit quietly, trips to the bathroom, lunch, recess, time spent going from one classroom to another (and settling in and packing back up), etc. Now take that "teaching" time and divide it by 3 or 4 because that same lesson will be given usually that many days if not more, just in different words.

    Do you see where I'm getting with this? Just because a child is at school does not mean they are doing school ;) Most of the day is total waste and institutionalized training that the child must endure.

    Oh and think of all the times when you were in school that you had movie days :)
     
  12. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    Personally, I think math and reading, with good books on a multitude of topics the rest of the time, is just fine for age 6. Maybe add a little handwriting and "spelling" (like cvc words as he learns to read them). That's plenty. If you add in educational tv/videos, and use the "teachiable moments" that occur during a normal day, that's more than enough to comprise a first grade curriculum!
     
  13. ediesbeads

    ediesbeads Member

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    I have a 10,7, and 4 year old. My 4 year old does a little something different all the time. She'll watch educational tv, she'll sit on my lap and help me bead (wonderful for fine motor skills and pattern making), she'll paint or color, she'll ask to do phonics with me. If she's really squirlly, I'll give one of the olders a break from school to go play with her a bit. Then have them swap. She also likes to play on the computer. I'll set her up with starfall, or nick jr, or pbs kids and she goes to town!
     
  14. DizneeTeachR

    DizneeTeachR Member

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    Couldn't you have like a game day & play games with your 4 year old as well as your 6 yr old. I'm thinking Uno (numbers, colors), candy land, chutes & ladders, yahtzee, skip bo (with help) but basically a counting up & down to 12 game. There are a lot of games you could get them both involved in. Math you could also do simple graphing. I'm thinking a handful of M&Ms.
     
  15. scottiegazelle

    scottiegazelle New Member

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    Keep in mind that I unschool my 6 year old. I'm also fortunate enough to have a 4 year old and a 2 yo for my 6 yo to play with (or, conversely, a 2 and 6 yo for my 4 yo to play with). So...my 6 yo does no seatwork. But my 8 yo does.

    At 6, we do a lot of hands on stuff and experiments. Observation. We build machines and, since my son loves to draw, he designs them (design first, then build). My kids love to read, but even before they could, I would give them books to look at. It's amazing how quickly Calvin & Hobbes inspires reading. Garfield, too. It also inspires drawing and creating comic strips. ;) If you're doing more active things as part of your schoolwork, it's easier to incorporate activities your 4 yo can participate in.

    And my kids still have rest time, including my 8 yo. It's called "mommy sanity" time - okay, we really call it "quiet time" - and it really evolved during my last pregnancy. Everyone has to lay down in their beds and read, and have quiet time. It's really the only time I get during the day, so I've held to it. But I also think that the kids need some "down" time for their bodies to relax and rest, and their minds to unwind. Incidentally, I saw it on a homeschooling forum when my oldest was 4 or 5 and thought, great idea! The person I saw posting had 12 yos.
     
  16. learningnest

    learningnest New Member

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    I am loving the idea of "mommy sanity" time and game time along with the active learning experiences. I think I get too focused on "finishing the curriculum".... and forget why I'm homeschooling to begin with!

    Which brings me to another question -- in your day, are you totally interacting/working with/playing with your child on a constant basis, or is there time periods where they are just given the option of finding something "educational" to do?
     
  17. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    Scottie's absolutely right!!! OF COURSE naps for 4yo's!!! And if they no longer need naps, they STILL go to their room for Silent Reading for a half-hour. Usually at that age, I would make them lie down for a half-hour, and if they fell asleep, I'd let them sleep. If they didn't fall asleep, I would let them get up and look at books ON THEIR BED for an additional half-hour. My kids are now 15, 13, and 9, and they STILL have to read for a half-hour in their room. When I use to babysit my neice and nephew occasionally (my neice announcing that she couldn't wait until she was old enough to go to "Aunt Jackie's School", lol!), they were expected to do Silent Reading, too. My nephew I would send in with Phillip, and he would actually read "to" him, and my little neice would go in with Rachael. Rachael would keep her on task. If you haven't read my post about "MOMMY TIME", do a search on here for it, AND READ IT!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!

    Anyway, find some educational toys/games that you use ONLY during school with your younger one. Involve him as much as possible with the older one's learning. Let him listen in to you reading science/history (you might give him coloring pages that relate to the topic he can color while you read). Give him the phonics worksheets you give the older one. (When Faythe was two, I was teaching phonics to Rachael and her friend, age 4. I would give the girls a page where they had to mark the pictures that began with the right letter. I just gave them to Faythe because she wanted to be included, and she would scribble on them. Then I realized that she was waiting to see which pictures the other girls colored, and would only scribble on THOSE pictures!!!) Also, if you tell the younger one that he has to play by himself until you finish math, and then you'll read him a story, he will learn to wait patiently. As long as you consistently follow through, that is! Be sure to spend special time with him; your older one can be given stuff to do independently for 15 to 30 minutes while you work with the younger one.
     
  18. TryingMyBest

    TryingMyBest New Member

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    I have a 4 year old and 18 months old. We do homeschool work with my 4 year old in the morning. So maybe you can start doing preschool or even kindergarten homeschool work with your 4 year old? Right now my 4 year old is doing this:
    every morning we do:
    - writing specific letter (upper case and lower case) just to practice his hand writing.
    - we do math (i show him 5 objects and hide some of them. And by how much he sees he predict how many hidden he doesnt see so it comes to 5 all together). My goal is to practice till 10. He is good with 5. BUt not good with 6 :)
    - we do reading. We do 1 book with extra activity with that (comprehantion) and then we do one book for high frequancy words AND if we have time (or if i see he needs it) we do phonics book for specific letter. NOrmally its for short or long vowel.

    FOR THE EVENING
    - we have more artsie stuff. We glue and color and cut. :)

    So i know for a fact that while your 6 years old doing 1st grade you can start your 4 year old on something too :)
    My 4 year old does better without my constant supervision. HIs letters are more streight if i am not around lol... go figure :)
     
  19. ariekannairb

    ariekannairb New Member

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    Didn't read all the way through so forgive me if this is repeating. I just wanted to list some of the things that we used to keep the younger one happy. I have a 5 year old (who just started on Monday) a 6 year old (1st) and a 17 month old.


    ETC Primers-She needed a minimal amount of help with some of these
    Play-doh- This would keep her interested for hours
    Mazes and dot-to-dot books
    Starfall.com
    shaving cream on a cookie sheet
    Safety scissor, construction paper or bits of fabric and glue-this was even more popular than play-doh
    Make some sensory boxes that can only come out during school time

    As far as time schooling, my Oldest is now in 1st grade and we do about an hour of sit down school time. We do math, phonics and some writting. If she asks me a question about science or history we would follow up on that. I dont plan on adding science in formally until around June while I am getting acustomed to having 2 in school.
     

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