Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Togetherness Secret ???
Sorry, if you thought this might be some insightful post about the Secret to Togetherness. Instead, it is really a question for all you homeschoolers out there. If you are the type of homeschooler that tries to teach your kiddos altogether for the most part, how do you keep the little ones together? What are your strategies or tips to keeping a watch on them? I really do not like my littles wandering all over the house where I can't see them. For Sahara I block her off and she is not old enough to open the doors or move my barriers. For Caden this is a bit more of a challenge and he would be content to watch videos all day in the next room, but I don't want that at all. I have this picture in my head that all you happy homeschoolers out there are busy little bees with your perfect little darlings gathered around craving more and more of the next schooling moment! :) So, where is YOUR two year old?! Are they happily playing about your heels or are they wandering from room to room playing? Do you have a Togetherness Secret to share? (Feel free to answer in the comments or write a post and put the link in the comments.)
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Hi Shannon-
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I must say that there is NO perfect homeschooler out there! We all fall and we all start somewhere. My little ones are not allowed to wander. They stay at my feet, but this was and still at times is a training process. Each morning before we start our school day I set the timer for 10 minutes and tell each child that we are going to sit before the Lord with a quiet heart, I tell them that this is an opportunity for them to teach their bodies to be still . Tp hear what the Lord may want to tell them and to learn to be quiet when we are places that require them to be quiet. Everyday we do this and the consistency has really been a gift to us.
I include our little ones in all we do. While we are doing our MFW binders, Ethan is doing his too. I made him exactly what I made the other children. This way he feels like he is a part of the group. When we do scripture memory, he does too. I pair him up with a buddy to help him learn the memory verse. This gives pleasure to both older child and the little one. When they do handwriting, Ethan does his "writing". He really enjoys praises from us on this. And it is teaching him fine motor skills by learning how to hold a pencil. When we do math and english then I allow the little ones to chose activities from their activity boxes. The ones I made and posted about on my blog.
You have to be ready to switch things up for them about every 10-15 minutes. it may make you feel like a chicken with your head cut off for a few days, but you will adjust and it will seem more normal after that.
I will write a post about this tonight or after the kids are napping.
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/How_To_Homeschool/articles/homeschooling_with_toddlers.php
ReplyDeleteI found a few ideas for you at this link. Hope it helps some :)
I FIRST give my attention to the little ones. give them something to do to keep busy then start with the older ones. Plan pens, crafts,etc...The older ones do a lot of seat work too...and naps time is best. save the important stuff for naptime!
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