Need ideas for 6 year old who wants to "do school" after we've done school for the day.

[extendedforecast]

I wish I could indulge her all the time, but I have many other responsibilities to juggle. When I can't physically be there with her, I'd like to have some ideas lined up for her to work on her own. She isn't reading well yet, which makes it a bit more tricky. What kinds of school type activities can I assign?

[EKS]

I'm going to be honest here.  I wouldn't do it.

 

Here's why.  I always felt it was important to have school be non-negotiable.  If you give your daughter "schoolwork" that she doesn't have to do, once she becomes less enamored with school, she may think that she can choose not to do any schoolwork.  And then you'll have to deal with any crankiness that ensues from that.

 

Maybe I'm just overthinking it--but I was very careful to do everything I could to maintain the sanctity of the homeschooling part of our day.

[HomeAgain]

I agree. with EKS.

 

I would help her develop a plan of things she *wants* to do after you are done working with her.  If she expresses an interest in something, you can always look up Montessori-like ways of independent work that she can but doesn't have to do.  Leave out trays or boxes of activities she can grab anytime.  Right now my 6yo's activities are
Snap Circuits

Think Fun games

Play dough

Chess

Yahtzee

Shut The Box

Spirograph

Kinetic Sand

Golf

Blocks

Dress Up

A telescope, binoculars, microscope, stethoscope....

and so on and so on.  Once we're done working together he can do whatever he likes and create his own goals independently of school work.

[ReadingMama1214]

I agree. with EKS.

 

I would help her develop a plan of things she *wants* to do after you are done working with her. If she expresses an interest in something, you can always look up Montessori-like ways of independent work that she can but doesn't have to do. Leave out trays or boxes of activities she can grab anytime. Right now my 6yo's activities are

Snap Circuits

Think Fun games

Play dough

Chess

Yahtzee

Shut The Box

Spirograph

Kinetic Sand

Golf

Blocks

Dress Up

A telescope, binoculars, microscope, stethoscope....

and so on and so on. Once we're done working together he can do whatever he likes and create his own goals independently of school work.

I agree with these. I wouldn't let her do school work, but would provide meaningful learning activities such as these.

 

My daughter also has a science box. It has a microscope and slides and other science tools. She can use these whenever.

 

We also have a craft bin that she has free access to.

 

My kids do have access to learning apps on their iPads that they can use during iPad time. Some are:

Archimedes roost (Montessori math)

Teach Your Monster to Read (a favorite)

Writing Wizard

Leo's Pad

Moose Math

Bugs &a Buttons (and bugs and numbers)

Reading Raven

Toca Lab

[KristaJ]

Last year, when I had a 6 and 7 year old who wanted to “do school†after lessons, I printed out a bunch of coloring pages that were related to what we were learning.  They also practiced math skills on Khan Academy and Prodigy.  Often, they would use those things to “play school.† Our K’nex simple machines kit still gets a lot of after school use too.  They could do those activities with minimal parental involvement, so I could take care of my own chores.

[fralala]

I have made the mistake of being so excited that the kids are enjoying schoolwork that I forgot the important adage, "Always leave them wanting more." And then they would get inevitably get sick of stuff on their own terms, which was not so much fun. So consider yourself lucky that you don't have the time to spoil her love of school!

 

However, activity books and Kumon/Evan Moor/Scholastic-type workbooks are a hit around here for younger kids who want to continue to occupy themselves at the table, but I make it clear that these are for them to occupy themselves, not part of our schoolwork. I understand. I used to run home from school because I was so excited to start my homework.

[Coco_Clark]

I feel for you, been there done that. Some kids just looove having a list of things to do.

 

There are always Kumon books. Buy 1-2 on subjects she is working on (math?) and 1-2 fun ones (dot to dot? Cutting?). Give her a page from each every day.

 

You could "assign" audio books. Librivox is a gold mine. Start with the Fivd Children and It ;). She can even report to you via narration or drawing after each session if she needs a "product". Or simply keep a list of books she's listened to.

 

Or, similarly, look into podcasts. I have a Sciencey son around that age that adores "Brains On".

 

There are a million kid exercise videos online- yoga etc. Add some PE to your day.

 

My biggest suggestion is get her used to the idea of self learning. There are lots of crafts/subjects she could self-teach online or with books. Interested in drawing? Check out Art hub for kids (YouTube) or a few how to draw books at the library. Building? Get a good lego book or work through the knex website. Rainbow loom has dozens of bracelets/ring patters on their website. Embroidery has always been achievable for my kids at that age. I have two that take free online piano courses on the Hoffman website. Several languages can be learned through library cds/ DVDs. Help her pick a subject, give her the materials, and encourage her to go it on her own.

[Julie of KY]

Might not call it school, but learning activities are always good.

 

Pattern Blocks

Cuisenaire rods

Box of popsicle sticks and glue

legos

clay

Pearler beads

books on cd

[KristaJ]

There are a million kid exercise videos online- yoga etc. Add some PE to your day.

 

This is something I've added to our days that run a little short.  The younger kids get so excited and run to their rooms to put on their "workout clothes."  There are also some fun dance videos.  These are good for the winter months when you're stuck inside and the kids have an excess of energy to burn.

[YsgolYGair]

Meh, all kids are going to fall out of love with school at some point, to some degree. Eventually, it becomes work! I suggest some Kumon books, and along with that, something that goes along with her particular talents - art, music, building, whatever.

[MomatHWTK]

I like the first HWT workbook and reading Rebus books at that age. Also, all my kids loved Starfall.com when they were younger. 

[Guest]

You can take or leave this read aloud recommendation depending on your educational philosophy and/or negative experiences with a certain person who has the initials "SD", but just in case you didn't already know, this exists:

 

https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Learning-All-Time/dp/0982113706

 

and gives examples of how a child (actually an anthropmorphized puppy) about your daughter's age learns independently, with siblings, with peers, or while helping rather than distracting a parent who has other responsibilities.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Guest

[stutterfish]

Some ideas...

 

Print off nets for 3D shapes to cut and stick together (loads of online Printables)

Print off tangrams and make different designs

 

Documentary DVDs/you tube videos

 

Origami paper and instruction book - most instructions tend to be visual, so literacy not essential.

 

Wordsearch puzzles and mazes. (Suduko and crossword puzzles when numeracy and literacy are good enough.)

 

Patience card games

 

"Design a poster" (for whatever you choose)

 

Audio books

 

Weaving/sewing/french knitting - something that doesn't need too much supervision

 

Match/coin/number puzzles. We had a book rather like this, although not this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fabulous-Fun-Puzzles-Numbers-Matches/dp/1603200347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1484330319&sr=1-1&keywords=Puzzles+matches+coins

 

Make a map - of the garden/bedroom/route to the park etc

 

Design a board game

 

Make country flags and pin them on a map.

 

Map jigsaw puzzles

[extendedforecast]

I hear you all loud and clear. Thanks for the advice and ideas. I'm going to implement as many of these as I can. I have no idea who SD is. I need a clue.

[ReadingMama1214]

I second sewing. My 5 year old can sew pretty independently. Not making anything amazing, but more stitching shapes onto felt or fabric and making doll shirts. We use felt and fabric scraps, embroidery floss, and large eyed needles (with a regular tip). I tried blunt tip needles and they didn't work.

[Farrar]

I really don't think there's any harm in giving a kid a cheap Brainquest workbook to play school with if they really want it. I'd just be sure the "extra school" stuff is different from the "non-negotiable school" stuff.

[MerryAtHope]

How would she respond to teaching her dolls or stuffed animals things like their letters and sounds, counting, numbers, simple math facts etc...? Let her play school :-).

[lily123456]

 My child used to use Kumon. It was a fair program. However, he found it repetitive and boring after a while. Since my 2^nd grade child is gifted in math but has a short attention span, we always want to find a fun math program to keep his curious interests. His teacher recommended Beestar to us. We found its GT program (gifted and talented) suits my child better. He enjoys the interesting and challenging problems, especially those visual graphic problems. Beestar has a weekly honor roll that motivates him to work hard and get ahead. It brings a lot of fun to learning. Beestar is online so he can practice anytime at home or even at a hotel while we travel. His exercises are graded instantly. We enjoy the convenience and flexibility.

 

[Jackie]

My daughter goes through phases where she wants more school stuff. We’venever had a problem with refusal on the required school stuff when she decides to give up the optional school stuff.

 

Some optional school options:

- workbooks from BrainQuest, Kumon, Prufrock Press, Critical Thinking Company

- one-person logic games such as Rush Hour, Hoppers, Pirate Hide and Seek, Laser Maze (ThinkFun and Smart Games are good companies for this)

- BrainPop. Totally saved my sanity and has given DD a wide knowledge base. If she wanted it to be more schools, she could take the quizzes after the videos, though that does require reading.

- Adult coloring books. I explained this as fine motor practice, like extra handwriting but without the letters.

- edicational appssuch as Dragonbox Numbers, Dragonbox Big Numbers, Tinybop’s Human Body

[...................]

Neither of my kids for one second ever expressed this desire - but -

 

I suspect your daughter enjoys using her mind for a challenge and perhaps doesn’t always want to play with siblings -

 

So I wouldn’t call it “schoolâ€

But I’d suggest looking at Timberdoodle- they have neat mind - challenging toys and games - the MiniLuk are very interesting and there are many kinds other than what Timberdooodle sells.

 

Kumon books of various kinds

 

I wouldn’t necessarily encourage more Workbooks otherwise she will get sick of the ones she hAS TO do (as mentioned above)

 

But there are many schooly-type learning things :)

[MerryAtHope]

Ask her to teach letters and numbers to her dolls and stuffed animals. 

Edited November 28, 2017 by MerryAtHope

[ElizabethB]

Read, write, type, some online phonics videos. I will add links.

 

http://www.talkingfingers.com/read-write-type/

 

 

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCHnIVm9OG9zIdtOtUHAtoUw

Edited November 28, 2017 by ElizabethB

[Elizabeth86]

Do you think your child is doing it for attention? My ds does. He knows I ignore his siblings while we are doing school and he tries to draw it out by doing extra work so I stay and focus only on him. My ds does like to do more work genuinely too, but sometimes I think it is to keep the focus only on him.

[4KookieKids]

My 6 yo is really enjoying the pre-reader express course on code.org. She can learn coding, and it reads the instructions to her (if she presses the "play" button on the instructions instead of just trying to guess what they are...). She's been doing it for a month and is almost finished, so maybe I let her do it too much... lol.

[4KookieKids]

My 6 yo is really enjoying the pre-reader express course on code.org. She can learn coding, and it reads the instructions to her (if she presses the "play" button on the instructions instead of just trying to guess what they are...). She's been doing it for a month and is almost finished, so maybe I let her do it too much... lol.

[Homeschoolmom3]

You have a lot of good ideas other people have already mentioned so I'll add a few ideas to the mix. I have a 6 yr. old as well and since we are done with school by lunch this is what we do in the afternoons. 

 

handicrafts (I teach in the beginning and then can do on own:  weaving, sewing, woodworking, housework, painting, sculpting, etc.)

getting outside and playing exploring/ nature hunts, scavenger hunts, (give them their own nature notebook and let them draw, write, paint whatever)

playing/practicing an instrument

audio books in the afternoon (my son loves to listen to them and can do it while working puzzles, playing legos, k'nex etc.)

 

Maybe your child thrives on routine and a sort of schedule like mine so I just tell him he will do such and such for the times in the afternoon even though most of the time he is doing things by himself or with me just by working on my own things.  :)

 

HTH

 

[goldenecho]

Sticker workbooks, connect the dots (teaches counting), copywork/letter tracing, online learning games and videos.

[goldenecho]

I might not do too much for another reason.  She needs time to freeplay and needs the boredom to do it. 

 

But, I don't think a little extra actually make  the non-negotianable stuff less so.  It treats work as something fun and increases intrinsic motivation.   If you're worried about that I'd make it extra work that isn't usually part of school though, like maybe an iphone educational app (with a limit on how long she can play), or coloring pages related to what you are learning.  

 

I'm going to be honest here.  I wouldn't do it.

 

Here's why.  I always felt it was important to have school be non-negotiable.  If you give your daughter "schoolwork" that she doesn't have to do, once she becomes less enamored with school, she may think that she can choose not to do any schoolwork.  And then you'll have to deal with any crankiness that ensues from that.

 

Maybe I'm just overthinking it--but I was very careful to do everything I could to maintain the sanctity of the homeschooling part of our day.

 

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

So we have center rotations for my kids. Basically, I have all the extra, fun stuff, such as board games, math manipulative fun, art books, etc. in bins. They rotate which bin they are doing each day. So when I'm working with another kid and they are done, they can do a rotation until we are all done with school. This way, we fit in all that extra fun stuff I would often forget too.