Revelation about my non school loving 7yo dd and question about my 4yo ds...

[thundersweet]

I have posted many times about my dd's attitude towards school. Well, after both kids decided to smear gum (I have no idea what got into them) on our flat screen tv, I grounded them both for the first time. I took everything away, including the TV to prevent dh from possibly killing them. This in turn forced me to find something for ds (4) to do at the homeschool table since he had nothing else to do. Don't get me wrong, he was still playing but way more involved than he normally is. He usually will watch an educational show and play in the living room.

Having the tv off and having ds sitting with us at the table (or in the same room) proved to be a good thing. He loves being included and dd feels like she is not missing out. I had no idea she had felt this way. She was jealous of her brothers free time. That coupled with no tv, has been a miracle in this house. Dd just walked in the room. When I told her we were about to get started, she said "ok". What? She usually rolls her eyes and starts telling me how much she hates school etc. I am a happy camper. I hope this lasts.

I need some ideas as to what to do with ds though. I noticed yesterday that I was spending a lot of time trying help him with his puzzle where he would match up numbers and pictures etc. This in turn caused school to last a lot longer. It was no big deal, nobody complained :lol: but I was thinking I need to find some more educational type things for ds to do that don't need too much parent envolvement. Maybe some self corrected actvities. We have done absolutely nothing in terms of school related activities with him other than reading and I am fine with that. We are doing SL with both kids. Dd core 1 and ds core A (which is just reading). I'm really just looking for some fun stuff for him to do by himself with little help from me. We do have Singapore K math and those Rod and Staff preschool workbooks that we will start with him but he'll need constant guidence on those. I am looking for things he can do at the table that won't distract dd. So maybe fun stuff for a 4yo and not so fun for a 7yo. lol

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Sandy

[inashoe]

Just about anything educational at that age will require your constant attention.
Keeping my 3yo stimulated so that she doesn't get bored and disrupt the others is a real challenge.
I find I get much more for her in the way of arts and crafts than I did for my first three.
I keep them out of reach, and then bring them down one at a time to the table.
Let her play with them, and then when she is done, pack them away again.
I also have stories on tape for her, she can put them in her little radio and follow along in a book - these she has to listen to in another room.
I also have stories and music on the ipod , these she needs me to turn on for her, but at least she can plug in the headphones and listen while in the same room as us.
Stories and music have been a great success. You can get free stories to download at librivox.org
She can also play with lego, or do threading, etc on the floor in the same room.
When I can I do a puzzle with her, she is probably learning to do puzzles sooner than the others, becuase I am constantly being pulled away to help the others ;)

[Garga]

I'm in the same boat. I alternate between boys (ds6 and ds3). If I don't alternate and give each boy my full attention, resentment builds from both of them.

In between the official homeschooling that I do with ds6, I do the following with ds3.

1. He paints with this special paint that only shows up on the special paper.
2. He cuts out pictures from a special "I can cut" workbook from WalMart.
3. He puts stickers in a book and I write down the stories he dictates about the stickers.
4. While ds6 does a few math worksheets, I read library books to ds 3. (This causes ds6 to do his worksheets without dawdling, as if he's done in time, he can hear a few books, too.)

We do these same activities at the same time every day.

But at these ages, they both need my full attention when it's their time to do their activities. As they get older, they'll be more independent. They already are much more independent than they were last year, so it'll be ok.

[ma23peas]

My two daughters were 3 and 4 when I started schooling my 6 year old...so I had to get creative...I came up with their own 'stations' of sort...I used tupperware bins and made a rule they could have one open at a time (per child)...this way they took the time to put up the other one before getting out the next one (I didn't do this for pickupitis but to give them another 'task' without them needing me) Here are some of the bins that were hits....

Wood beads and string...make sure you get lots of colored ones...big enough for him to easily thread on....you'd be amazed how many 'patterns and designs' they can come up with when you give them a mission! :) "Wow, you were able to put THAT many on one string?" Make sure one end of the string has a knot in it or you'll get some pretty frustrated 4 year olds.

LARGE puzzle pieces...forget those 50-60 piece puzzles...stick with the easy ones, it builds confidence and they don't need your help.

Large magnet Fractiles...they can sit for a long time and make up designs, just don't get the smaller ones...

Paper and dots...get those dot blotters (like what they use for bingo) and get large art paper..you start the morning writing or drawing a picture with a pen then he uses the blotters to fill in the word (I'd draw their names in flowing patterns or cool animal designs and they'd spend time blotting them out then coloring them in..)

Counting bears and cups...for some reason those little plastic bears were a hit..they were all colors and I had cups for them to "hide" in...and later on I used them for their intended use of math! :)

String sewing..those hard cards where you take string back and forth through the holes...

Okay, I know I had about 8 but I can't recall the rest...those were the ones that stood out in my mind! :)

They also appreciate their special 'stations' in the school room! :) They think they're doing school!

Tara

[Tonia]

What about some activity bags (http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dg365m3k_5fnh25xg7)? You could have your dd help you put them together so they won't look intriguing to her when it's time to pull one out for you ds. I think most of them would be easy enough for a 4 yo to do on their own.

[Jill, OK]

...usually sits at the table with me and my younger two (7 and 8yos). I have a "School Box" for him that includes the following...

Counting Bears with plastic cups

Poker chips

Pattern blocks and pattern block pages

Homemade Handwriting Without Tears wood pieces

I also have MUS blocks, an alphabet puzzle and a Lauri number puzzle (semi- self-correcting) he's been working with, and a little magazine holder (like his sisters') with workbooks in it. (This is a relatively new thing; he wants to learn to play piano and I told him he had to know how to read, first...so he wants to do school now, and learn to read.) Get Ready for the Code, the first Handwriting Without Tears book, and some coloring pages.

He does a variety of this stuff, and draws while I sit and monitor the two middle girls.

I've never really liked relying on the TV to keep him busy; I prefer that it stay off, altogether, until everyone's finished. As you've discovered (wink), it can breed a little resentment, and I just don't think it's conducive to a quiet, thoughtful atmosphere.

And truthfully, he generally wants to be doing what we're doing.

I'd make a big deal out of giving him his own stuff, and just count on the fact that you'll need to divide your attention between them a little.

ETA: If you have interesting, fun, educational stuff for him to do, be prepared for your 7yo to be interested. It never fails, lol...my 7 and 8yos are always intrigued by the Math-U-See blocks, pattern blocks, etc., when they come out for him. :-) I just tell them that they can use whatever they're interested in, too...after they finish their lessons.

[Karen in CO]

We have the Melissa and DOug spelling puzzle - it is pretty self-correcting. We have several of the Luari Perception Puzzles (http://www.liveandlearn.com/lauri/puzzles.html). We also have some wooden puzzles with about 40-60 pieces that fit in a tray that can be done at the table.

I also print out things from some of the free worksheet sites for tracing or dot-to-dots or scissor practice. I have an ETC book and a Singapore EB book for when she wants to actually join and wants to work without just scribbling in her books. I will write words she is interested in on her little white board for her to copy as long she copies neatly (for her age) and isn't silly with it.

Our rule that I started when I was homeschooling my oldest and the middle was this age, was that you can play, but you cannot distract. If you want my attention, you can join us at the table and take turns working on things. There is not tv, computer or video ames until after school time - ever


Its good that you learned so early what the problem was.

[attachedto4]

What about some Kumon books? Maybe the First Steps (http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1231518603-1063509&subject=3&category=562) series. Could he do those on his own sitting next to you with some safety scissors and a glue stick? Or you could draw or print off any picture that has basic shapes and outlines and have him cut those out. There were times I let my ds have tape because it didn't make the mess of glue and he would stay busy for a long time cutting things out and taping them to construction paper.

Or what about setting him up with sorting stuff? Cheerios, goldfish crackers, and little pretzels together in a bowl and 3 little cups and tell him to put the cheerios in one cup, crackers in another, etc. Then he can eat them too, might prolong it. Or just buttons and other objects to sort.

What about pattern blocks with cards that have outlines for him to try to fill with the blocks?

Or just stickers kept my ds occupied, he would spend a long time sticking them to construction paper.

That's about all I can think of atm that might not be so interesting to your dd. We have some educational toys my ds likes that are self-correcting, but that might seem interesting to your dd. Melissa & Doug puzzle cards and alphabet cards are self-correcting, and so are the It's a Match! match board and Counting Bugs from Discovery toys. Lauri stacking pegs and other Lauri toys are nice for free play also, but again, I don't know if that would be distracting for your dd.

Oh, what about stringing beads or pasta? On second thought, I know my dd would want to do that- she'd want to make jewerly. But maybe that would be a motivator to your dd to finish her work so she could do it too?

What about letting him color and write on a dry-erase board with a variety of colored dry-erase markers only at school time so it stays special? He could even use stencils and color them in with the markers.

[thundersweet]

Thanks for the suggestions! These are great ideas. Today was a little crazy trying to coordinate the two at the same time but we made it work.

Thanks,
Sandy

[Amber in AUS]

We never have the TV on in our house on school days, at all. It is amazing what your kids will do all by themselves when there is no TV.

As far as your DS goes we do playdough, drawing, colouring, cutting, puzzels, draw on white board, anything that he can't really get 'wrong'. We also have a variety of the Kumon workbooks which he loves because he can do work like his sister. He also joins in for reading. He is free to come and go as he pleases and will sometimes just go start a game on his own in the lounge and thats fine too.

[Lovedtodeath]

Anything that requires matching or manipulating small objects (light brite, peg board, cuisinare rods, sticker books) is building PreK skills, and many of these can be done independently. I am sure you could find some "babyish" or "boyish" enough that your DD won't want them. Or you can make them his for school time and hers when she is done. (Let her have them first, the day before they come out for him, so they aren't so exciting to her.) http://www.sonlight.com/toys.html http://mfwbooks.com/preschool.htm