Change of Plans at my house- need ideas to keep a 3 yr. old busy

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Due to circumstances too long and awful to get into here, one of dh's sister's kids have been taken away and put in foster care. Dh's stepmother took the only girl, who just turned 3 in July. None of us were willing to take the 3 older boys because they are violent and foul-mouthed. No family member has room for all of them, nor are we in a position to deal with ALL of their major issues.

 

Anyway, Dh's stepmother asked if I could watch the 3 yr. old while she is at work- full time. She told me to say no if I thought it would interfere too much with homeschooling. She looked into daycare around her, but she really can't afford it. She already took in two older girls who are still in high school, and my other SIL and niece also live with my stepMIL. She is maxed out on supporting and caring for others.

 

I said I would do it, so now I need advice on what to do with the 3 yr. old while I'm working with the boys. My kids are only 6 & 7, so it's not like they can do a whole lot of work independently. I'm planning on getting some age appropriate books, toys and puzzles for her to play with while we are schooling, but any other ideas so that she won't get bored? I know my kids were that age only a short time ago, but I can't seem to remember exactly what the attention span was. :tongue_smilie: How do those of you with littles do it?

[TXMomof4]

Bless you for stepping up!

 

My son just turned four - here's what works with him. He has his own marker board and sits with us while we are doing work and colors, colors, colors. He LOVES playing with dd's base 10 blocks. He has his own set of magnet letters and will play with them while we do phonics. Playdough will keep him busy for hours (it's a little messy though, so we don't do it very often). If your yard is where you can supervise out the window, send her out to collect leaves, flowers, whatever collections you can think of. Ds has been collecting quartz - the owners used to have rock in the flower bed so this is very convenient for me. There's tons of shiny white rocks around!

 

It will be crazy, but I will bet you'll see blessings you never even dreamed of.

[Wheres Toto]

My youngest just turned 3 in July and my ds is only 5 so not doing much independent work. My dd is old enough that she wants to be "doing school" along with ds. Stickers are great but you may have to remove the backing to make them easier (some my dd can do, some she can't), she loves the magnet pages from Making Learning Fun but does them using dabber markers or round stickers. These keep her busy quite a while, aren't too messy and are educational (they have letters and numbers with various themes). I plan to have her doing those when I need to work closely with ds. She also likes sorting pompoms into colored bowls or cups, Fridge phonics/magnetic letters, portable white boards and dry-erase markers. Markers of any kind can be a real mess since she almost immediately starts coloring herself. Crayons are better but need to be watched closely for the sake of walls and furniture. Old workbook pages and a pencil can keep her occupied for a while as well.

[TKDmom]

I was just looking at this other thread:

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191271

 

:grouphug:

 

It sounds like your family's going through some tough times.

[mom2denj]

Oh, what a sad situation. Sounds like this baby girl needs lots of LOVE!!!!! I would probably keep her right with you and the boys, and get her some craft stuff and some of her own workbooks. At 3 my daughter would play for hours with a dry erase board and a sock to erase with. I hope that her time with you gives her a true feeling of a loving family. God bless you for stepping up!! You rock!!

[Wheres Toto]

:grouphug: I hope things get easier for your family.

 

Sorry my post seemed so scattered and ended so randomly but my darling little 3 year old woke up. :)

 

Some other ideas:

simple wood puzzles

safety scissors and pieces of paper or foam to cut

coins and a piggy bank (if she can be trusted not to eat them)

unifix cubes/building blocks (not real small ones they are too hard)

lacing cards

scrap paper and glue (dd LOVES glue)

Magnadoodles

Any kind of flashcards - my dd loves just laying them out and collecting them up again - Target had a bunch at their dollar spot recently

 

These are the things that usually keep mine occupied for the longest.

 

Shannons Tot School and 1+1+1 are blogs that have a lot of suggestions for this age.

[starwarsmomma]

For 3-- dont forget hte value of television.

 

I know-- the EVIL TV!

 

But for 3 year olds there are some great educational things on that wouldbe just fine.

 

Also, letting her make a tent to read in, or letting her go to nick hr, or pbskids.com -- lots of great online games that are very educational for preschoolers.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Excellent ideas! Thank you so much!

 

Thanks for the link, Bonnie!

[Trivium Academy]

With a 3 year old that is undergoing so many changes, the more structured a routine you can provide, the better it will go. I would create a picture schedule for him, and just like in preK little stations with a timer.

 

Make bed

Eat Breakfast

Block Time

Book Time

etc...

 

Give 15 min or so for each activity, make sure he cleans up before starting another and it will benefit you both. He will learn stability, be actively engaged (hopefully less mischievous), and responsibility (cleaning up, time management) and you will be able to focus on your boys for a block of time. It will be a juggle, and hard in the beginning but it will payoff.

 

Bless you for taking this on, it won't be easy. My mom/dad currently has my bro's 3 kids so I know. If they aren't rewarded custody back the kids will go to foster care and be split up. I know the heartache.

[Kathleen in VA]

In my experience I found it helped to give the youngest my first minutes of the school day. Put her on your lap and read a picture book aloud. Take your time with this and give her lots of attention and love. Then she will (hopefully) feel somewhat satisfied to be on her own for a while. Your children can be doing chores or perhaps playing with puzzles or whatever while you are doing this.

[Dawn in OH]

I have a newly turned 3 year old to entertain while I do lessons with the older 2 children. He often sits at the table with us and plays with playdough, eats (he seems to eat frequently), color, play with tangrams, blocks or dinos, and scribble on the dry erase board. Sometimes he plays with cars, dino's or trains right beside me on the floor. I also pop in the Letter Factory dvd for him, or put ABC video's on the computer for him. Our computer is close to where we do school but not so close that the sounds are a distraction for the other children.

 

I include him in read-a-louds, for as long as it keeps his attention anyway. When one of the other children needs extra help with something the other child counts to 10 and recites ABC's with him.