EmmaNZ Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 I hs my ds5.5, and also have dd3 and ds2 at home with me. Number 4 is expected in 5 weeks........... I'm TIRED!! My ds is happy to do his schoolwork (an hour or two per day of maths, reading, writing etc), but he is REALLY bad at finding things for himself to do outside of these times! He has always been quite dependent, and likes to have company, but I need him to be able to entertain himself a bit more than he does at the moment. Usually things are 'too hard', or 'boring' or some other similar excuse, so he ends up flopping about and getting up to mischief. My younger 2 are already significantly better at keeping themselves busy for small amounts of time. Ds is reading, but not fluently. He likes maths, but struggles to build things like lego etc without my sitting with him because he says it's too hard. He likes to write, but wants me to sit next to him. He likes to ride his bike. Most of all he likes to be with people! He's perfectly happy to go outside and chat to the neighbour (a lady in her 80s!) for hours if she'd let him. Anything that requires a small amount of brainpower - jigsaws, pattern blocks etc - he gives up almost instantly unless he's trying to outdo his little sister! At the moment I am managing (just!); but I'm concerned that when the baby arrives, and I have even less time and energy for puzzles and games and baking, that we will have a difficult few weeks. I was thinking of making him a visual list of things that he could do so that he can see what's available, and then HOPEFULLY go and do it for a bit more than 2 minutes!! So, what I'd like to know from those who've been-there-done-that is: can you suggest any activities that might be suitable for him, and how can I get him to be a bit more independent and not give up so easily? Sorry, turned into a long post. Thanks so much for reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in Austin Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 This is going to sound crazy, but hear me out: I think you should arrange more playdates for him. Invite his little buddies over. Some kids just crave a lot of social time and, if that is the case here, another 5yo boy in the house will make your life easier--because he can be the entertainer instead of you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 I love Julie's idea! I always get more done when dd has company. You could make him a "busy box" like Trivium Academy did (Jessica). There's something about it on her old blog on the right side. It's http://www.triviumacademy.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 At that age my son assembled Zoobs like mad. He would really outclass the 3 year olds in that. Same with tinker toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 play centre? Play Centre would give all 3 of your dc a bit of play time with other kids & as there are other mums around you would get a bit of a break. You ds would probably be one of the oldest, but Play Centre are for kids 0-6 & where I live many play centres let older homeschooled siblings come along with the younger siblings. Do you have a homeschool group in your area? Our local group has weekly activities & informal play groups. Another idea is scouts. Your ds would be just about old enough for KeaScouts. This would give him an hour a week to look forward to being with friends & learning all sorts of fun things. I was a Kea Scout leader for 5+ years. We had many homeschoolers in our scout group over the years. JMHO, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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