I'm currently homeschooling two children, my daughter is 6 doing a 2nd grade curriculum and my son is 5 doing Kindergarten. However, I also have a 3 year old son who's not officially being taught yet. He's very bright and wants to be involved, but I usually have my hands full with the other two and he tends to distract them frequently. I have letter/phonics flash cards that I do with him sometimes, but does anyone have any advice for little things I can give him to keep him occupied and learning at the same time? Thanks in advance.
Here's just a couple: 1. Record some stories as you read them to all of your children(or buy tapes/cds of some) so he can listen again later. 2. Give him access to lots of 'making' stuff- playdough; plasticene; paper/card/ribbon/cotton wool/etc etc- great for creativity, fine motor coordination, spatial ability.. 3. Acquire (borrow even?) Playmobile or Duplo or Lego - all excellent for developing thinking skills, spatial ability... Cheers JEAN
I agree with the audio books Librivox.org has some great ones for FREE you can download and have him listen to while he colors. He'll get a lot out of that (more than you probably realize). Also - I am learning that with audiobooks you are teaching them to LISTEN better instead of LOOKING AT/WATCHING to understand. If you look at Amblesideonline.org (I love that place) - take a look at YEAR 0 for some great book suggestions. I also used to have a box of magnetic letters. I would print out a sentence and then my son or daughter would have to "write" the sentence on the board with the correct letters. Or get letter stamps and do the same thing.
Another magnetic idea is shapes. You know, I can't remember what they're called, where you have a picture made of shapes and the kid has to put the magnets together to make the picture? I would copy the pages, and put one on the refridge, and the kids would put the shapes directly onto the picture. Also, keep extra worksheets of whatever your others are doing. That way when the 3yo decides he wants to "do school, too!" you can give him the same paper. And if it's just being scribbled on, that's OK!
"Preschool Activities in a Bag" I believe you can download volume 1 and volume 2 from Currclick. Each book have activities that are appropriate for preschoolers, but can be done when the others are doing school - and they "feel" like school but are fun. We have a 4 year old. I pull out a few of these each day for her to play with but she's ONLY allowed to use them during school time which makes them special. I also am working with her on learning to read, and write, etc. So she has some dedicated school time each day - I usually catch this on interest more than scheduling...when I find teachable moments... YOU CAN DO IT!!!
When I had to work with one child and not the other, I let the other one play on the computer [fun educational games]. I'd let him do starfall.com for free and/or grab some preschool learning game CDs to do.
Oh yea....my 4 year old uses starfall, and her leapster, too. Actually, right now my 3rd grader is doing an activity in his math that's requiring him to count beans in different ways - and I gave a pile of beans to my 4 year old, too....she's having a BLAST!!! I might even get out a nice piece of card board and glue and let her glue the beans down!
The best idea I used was to have a box in the schoolroom with special "school time only" toys. It made it fun and exciting for the toddler/child to occupy them. Another idea is while you're working with one child (say math where you are having to give alot of undivided attention) ... have the other child work on their reading by picking a book they can comfortably read to the 3 yr old. Or, work on patterns and shapes with the 3 yr old. Reinforcing concepts they are learning while teaching it to another.
I have the playdough, crafts, and etc ready for my 4 year old to use and when that isn't enough I get out our Read with Me DVD program. Her favorite disc is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. She watches and listens as it reads the story to her and now that she has gotten used to the controller she now answers the questions at the end of each story.
Well, let's see...I have 5 kids, aged 14, 10, 7, 5 & 2. When my older ones are doing written school work, I have my 2 year old do various things: 1.) Watch TV (Nick JR ONLY! She has learned SO MUCH!!) 2.) Practice "writing" or coloring 3.) Sing the ABC's with me 4.) "Read" books with her Tag Jr. 5.) Play her Preschool Program on the computer My 5 year old is like me...I can't focus on a topic unless my hands are active...I can't watch TV without my laptop or crochet in my lap, and I concentrate better when my brain is occupied already...weird, I know...but anyway, he's the same way so I can't sit and read to him or work with him on his letters. He learns better with puzzles, or vinyl letters, or felt board sets. He will sit there for hours! I think it's important to learn your children's learning styles...that way, you can find out how to best keep them interested AND learning! HTH, Jennifer
