kristinannie Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Today was yet another snow day so we did HS again. DD3 is so disruptive. She has her own school books to color (they have numbers and letters) and sometimes she uses the manipulatives to make pictures. Anyway, she is just so disruptive. DS4 can't concentrate at all when she is there. The baby is fine. He sits in his high chair and plays with toys (or plays in his pack and play). I don't want to plop Meredith in front of a show every time we do school, but that seems to be the only way to get DS4 to be able to get his work done. Should I have her color in a different room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trying my best Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I am in the same boat as you. My almost 3 year old is now learning that school time is a special learning time between mommy and whoever's school time it is. I give her undivided attention when its her time. And i give her brother undivided attention when its his time. It took about 6 months for her to know the "rules" of being quite and less disruptive. She knows that she cannot be loud in our school time when school is in session. Just like her brother understands its school time between me and his sister. Point out that its his sibling's special school time and her school time will come next. We had to go over this every day. And now she knows. With my oldest we do math in the morning before lunch. So DD(almost3) plays or colors, or do her own thing for 30 mins. Then we continue my oldest school time when DD goes for a nap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyniffrec Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 trying my best gave you good advice. I will only add that I keep a long list of distractions next to me and I write things on our whiteboard that Thing 4 can do if she asks. She gets up earlier than the others, too, so I try to spend school time with her before the others get up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I am planning on using her naptime as school time too (we will do history, science, art, etc during that time). I really feel like I need to do certain subjects in the morning when he is really alert (like reading, phonics and math). It sounds like you have a similar situation to mine. Maybe daily talks about it will finally sink in. This is our practice school time anyway since we aren't starting to HS for real until July. I am trying to get a routine set up for when we do and it isn't going to be as easy as I thought!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 TV and naptime. I'm such a good mom!! :D Our youngest watched a lot of Between The Lions and Reading Rainbow during older DD school time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 My 3.5dd is in another room while we do school. (We don't have a big house; I can always see or hear her.) Playing alone is something I have stressed since a young age, so I would definitely start encouraging that. Anytime she is actively doing something in our school room, it's too big of a distraction. She knows that she has her coloring/cutting/pasting school time, so she knows that she has to wait patiently for that time to come. We never have the TV on during school time, unless she is sick, then I might let her. She occasionally comes in to ask me to help put a lego together or tell me she has to go to the bathroom, but that's just part of life. :) Make a lot of toys available for your 3yo to play with, especially some that are only available during school time. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 My 3 y/o is very loud and active, and my 9 y/o can't work with any distractions. Together this is a huge problem. We do as much as we can during naptime, and I have started letting the 3 y/o watch videos on my laptop with headphones on. No, it's not ideal, and I would love to teach the 3 y/o to tone it down, but his personality is larger than life. Right now he's stacking the couch cushions and gleefully marching over them and making a lot of racket. This boy does not play quietly - even when he plays Legos he is making lots of noise. I've been calling around local preschools, trying to find one that will allow active play. I'm finding a lot of places that want 3 y/o's to just sit quietly and keep their hands to themselves. If he could do that, I'd keep him home. :glare: There is a daycare that I used for my older kids and it is as perfect as I can get and I'm trying to decide if I should spend money on daycare (the preschool room, but still ...) while I am home. Bottom line though, my older son needs more of my time and attention, and younger son needs something better to do than watch videos. Here's what my living room looks like right now. It's 10:40 AM, and all my 9 y/o has done is Music. He's singing "Living on a Prayer" on Karaoke Revolution. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aludlam Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I LOVE your pic! It's so refreshing to see something "real". I've got one that will be 4 in two weeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I think all 3-4 year olds are very similar! My playroom has all of the cusions off of it right now too! Gotta love it!:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Oh yeah, it's real. Real loud. :lol: Oh, I crack myself up! I wonder if this will scare any prospective homeschoolers? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RachelFlores Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 My ds just turned 3 and I'm doing K with dd. We are using Little Hearts for His Glory and while ds couldn't care less about readalouds (and often tries to disrupt durring them), he LOVES participating in anything hands on. We end up doing a bunch of stuff to keep him from being disruptive. 1. I try to include him in ANYTHING hands on from math (he counts, she adds), to art, science, or acting out the story we just read (he didn't read it with us, but is very good at taking direction about what he should be/do) 2. he can be sent to the playroom (not punnishment and we can see each other) for 5-10 minutes at a time and be expected to keep busy 3.We use Starfall for dd's reading right now and after she is done, ds gets to play on their ABC program while dd and I go in another room and do our readaloud lessons for english and history. So far I haven't put him in front of the tv, but that is mainly because dd would be so distracted it would be worthless in helping us get school done. It really helps that dd's lessons are very short ala Charlotte Mason, so that there are lots of places to break and redirect ds without interupting the lesson. I think it really depends on the child though as to what you can expect of them at that age. As a church nursery teacher for many years (ages 18m-almost 4) I've seen a whole range of behavior at 3. I think things even out more as they get older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonia Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 How about some activities/toys that are only taken out during school time? I made some activity bags for my dd. They worked well for those times I needed to keep her occupied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBG580 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 (edited) I am planning on setting up a work box station for my three year old for preschoolish stuff next fall. He likes to do whatever his sister is doing. Not sure this is really going to work but I'm hope, hope, hoping it helps! Got the idea here: http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/2010/09/whats-in-box-wednesday-teeny-tot.html I'm really worried about my youngest who will be 18 months old when we start this summer. I do think we are going to have to do math, reading and writing when she is sleeping in the afternoon for a nap and use the morning for hands on projects, read alouds, lap books and so on. There is no way we will be able to focus on reading and math with her getting in to everything! Edited January 21, 2011 by BBG580 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have a 3rd grader, 2nd grader, K-er and 3 yro. I am at the point where the 3 yro does "school" with the Kindergartener. In fact, I've even been copying the K-er's worksheets and giving them to the 3 yro to color, trace and cut with scissors. The 3 yro has even been listening in on the K-er's Read-Alouds. I'm also a big fan of Lauri's - you know, those pegs and puzzle thingies... Also, I subscribe to Sesame Street magazine. They send you the pdf. I print it out and I work through the magazine with the 3 yro. My Kindergartener will be finished with MFW K in March...and I'm thinking about including the 3 yro and working through a little of Five-in-a-Row...all 3 of us together. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Our youngest watched a lot of Between The Lions and Reading Rainbow during older DD school time. I miss both of these shows... no longer on PBS in our area :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Mine girls are 15, 13, and 5. Since my youngest is an international adoptee who arrived at 7 mos. old with attachment/trauma issues for several years, I understand about distractions and schooling older children. My youngest is naturally very loud, very physically active, and very strong willed, so I know this is challenging. She also stopped napping at age 2. 1. Your older children need to learn to focus with some amount of distractions going on. That's real life. Institutions buffer children from this reality. Most people have been in institutions K-12 and have come to believe this this buffering is normal. It's not. It may be an opportunity to learn how to "soldier on" in spite of the difficult circumstances. Not all of homeschooling is always easy and fun. 2. Your three year old needs to be able to play quietly in the room with you or in another room quietly for a while each school day. You can do the toy rotation thing, computer games for 3 year olds, books on tape, music, coloring, etc. I broke it up. She started out quietly in the homeschooling area with certain activities with the older siblings for a while on a mat, then I sent her into the playroom on her own for a while, then into her own room playing dolls, listening to her music, in the schooling area on the computer with her older siblings, and finally out in the back yard for a while. It was work to keep it going from place to place, but in between I could help the older two as needed. When the older two are working independently on a subject after I explained/demonstrated what they needed to know, I went and got the youngest and read to her, played with her, crafted with her, etc. Now I do school with her when the other two are humming along. NOTE* Make sure you are not helping your older children more than they really need. They can learn to do more independent work as they get older. Once they can read fluently and write with ease, they should be doing more and more assignments on their own. 3. All children that age need strict enforcement of inside voice and no running in the house. (Most American parents don't do this anymore.) She needs to wait to get your attention until you are not interacting with another person for non-emergencies. (Most American parents tolerate rude interruptions from children old enough to learn to wait.) It takes work and consistency to establish this if you haven't started it with her yet. If they need to run, jump, and yell then they need to go outside. If you are buried under snow then have an area of the house away from the schooling for this. (Do you need to move your schooling out of the public area of the house so the little ones can burn off cabin fever energy in the living room? ) If it's over 100 degrees like it is here in the PHX area, she can play with the hose under the shade trees or get a tarp/canopy out for shade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Your advice is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Older children have varying abilities to tune out distractions, and younger children have varying levels of energy. It must be nice to have all the answers and to be able to know what other parents should be expecting from their kids without ever having met them. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmacnchs Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 roomtime (time to play alone - about 1 hr) w/'special' roomtime toys (for my 3yo that is polly pockets) special 'school toys' to be taken out only for school (check out 1plus1plus1equals1 blog for ideas) joining in on non-reading, writing, math subjects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 It gets much easier with time, which doesn't help right now, I know, but it's true! :) When you first start homeschooling, it's a novel thing to the younger kids, who aren't used to it. I never shunted my younger kids off while my older kids were doing school, and instead focused on ways to try and bring them into what we were doing. I found that as a result, my older kids are good at tuning out distractions. When my oldest started kindergarten, I had a preschooler and a 2 week old baby. So she's always done school at home, from K - 10th grade, with younger siblings underfoot. For us, homeschooling is a family lifestyle, not just something we do from 8am-1pm or whatever. So it didn't really fit our lifestyle for me to put my younger kids in another room, or put off school until they napped. This is who we are, and it's what we do. As we went along, and my younger kids got used to the routine of homeschooling, they learned not to be disruptive. They spend a lot of time sitting on my lap (or jumping on the mini-trampoline, in the case of my 5yo ds). :) Eventually, the novelty wore off and it wasn't as unusual for them to see me working with a sibling. My biggest challenge is my younger daughter, who struggles mightily with ADD (and takes Concerta for it). We've had to work hard to find ways to keep her on track amidst distraction, especially because my littlest guy has special needs and doesn't understand (and often can't control his disruptions.). But I figure that she'll be dealing with distraction for the rest of her life, in college and later in the work world. It's good to develop those strategies now. Obviously what fits my family might not fit everyone else's. This is just my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My 9 y/o has ADHD and even with Concerta, attention is still an issue. Have you found tricks to help your dd? I have tried music (meditative, classical, euro lounge, etc.) and that seems to make it worse. Maybe I'll find a CD of crashing waves and put that on an MP3 player with headphones ;). I do have one of those display boards and maybe we could set it up as a workstation, although visual distraction isn't a big problem. One issue we're dealing with is that my 3 y/o (who JUST turned 3) requires a lot of intervention. It's lovely that so many ladies here have preschoolers who can be left alone for an hour or two at a time, but mine ain't one of them. My 9 y/o has significant LDs and requires a lot of 1:1 attention. I can't just send him off with his work; I have to be very involved. Every time I have to get up and help the 3 y/o, I lose him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacefully Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 My 9 y/o has ADHD and even with Concerta, attention is still an issue. Have you found tricks to help your dd? Besides sitting on her, and threatening to duct tape her pencil to her hand? ;) We make a *lot* of lists, and post them around the house, because it's not just the schoolwork that's affected... it's all the hygiene and basic life skill stuff too. I have a book that recommends using "Stubby lists" which are colorful post-it note lists of no more than five things. She really needs to know exactly what's expected and when she's done with her work. I can't just have her "do the next thing" like I can with my other two. She needs boxes to check and a schedule to follow. And she needs me to say her name like every ten minutes and remind her to get back to work! She sits right next to me, facing a wall. She's distracted by visual, auditory and sometimes apparently non-existent stimuli. We also figured out that she works better in the afternoons and early evenings. She says that late in the day she has an easier time focusing. I find that if I wait until evening, she can get done in two hours what might otherwise take her all day. It also helps that my 9yo ds is done with his work after lunch and can take my youngest off to play downstairs. I bought some Peltor noise cancelling headphones from a work safety warehouse, and she'll wear those sometimes too. One issue we're dealing with is that my 3 y/o (who JUST turned 3) requires a lot of intervention. It's lovely that so many ladies here have preschoolers who can be left alone for an hour or two at a time, but mine ain't one of them. I can relate to that! My little guy just turned 5, and still needs someone to be watching him all the time. I'm trying to do some schoolwork with him to work him into our day more. I set up a bunch of Montessori trays and baskets inspired by this blog: Counting Coconuts and this blog: My Montessori Journey. I'm not normally a big Montessori person, but for my little guy the practical life stuff is perfect. The sensory tubs have been a big hit with him, and they're easy enough for me to slap together. When he plays with them, he uses them on the floor at my feet, out of Kiera's sight so he can't distract her (as much). He has a variety of issues as a result of a cyst in his brain so he can't be left on his own (but like I said earlier, that's not my style either). He also ADORES my 12yo, and she adores him too. They're best buddies, but the result is that he constantly distracts her... constantly. I can't even put the TV on for him in another room, because the noise from the other room distracts her. And he won't watch it anyway, because he has a very limited capacity for abstract thought, and doesn't understand TV. I've debated putting her in school. I've debated putting him in school. I've debated running away to join the circus. ;) It's just a day to day thing, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Did you assume my response was based only on my personal experience with my 3 kids? It wasn't. Since we were planning to adopt (a long, difficult, expensive, process) I many several years to investigate how to deal with the large age range I would have when my youngest arrived. I also knew her attachment issues would mean her clinging to me and screaming for at least 3-6 months. (The agency was very upfront and honest.) I went to every hs convention and attended every workshop related to hsing with preschoolers, large families, different learning styles, hs graduate panels etc. Almost every speaker had more than 6 children (or more than 5 siblings) a couple had more than 10. One had 17. Most of my friends who hs have 5-7 children born every other year. I also picked their brains. Guess what common advice they shared between them? "Let your children learn to hs through the distractions of younger siblings." There is no way any of them could have possibly schooled their kids any other way. Some of them had kids with learning challenges including ADD, ADHD, and Down's Syndrome. Still, they all specifically stated each child needed to learn to focus (and they did learn to focus) with distractions going on around them. It will be that way in the workforce, in college, and in a household. My children also have had two different music teachers (one Suzuki violin and another traditional piano) who specifically worked with each of the students on learning to play and focus during deliberate distractions the teacher, mom, and siblings intentionally made at the teacher's signal. One called it "The Distraction Game" and the other called it "Concentration" where they encouraged siblings (or mom) to intentionally make disruptive sounds and movements during practice and sometimes lessons to teach the child to focus. They would steer the student's attention right back if the noise or movement disrupted them. Why? Because in real life audience members get up and head to the restrooms, younger babies and toddlers cry, squeal, and run around, cell phones ring, and some mothers insist on flash photography even when they're told not to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 DD3 is so disruptive. She has her own school books to color (they have numbers and letters) and sometimes she uses the manipulatives to make pictures. Anyway, she is just so disruptive. DS4 can't concentrate at all when she is there. Am I reading this right that your 3yo is distracting your 4yo from his work? How much time does your 4yo need for his work? Can you have both of them doing the work together? I ask b/c I group my 4yo and 2yo together for everything, but I also don't expect any seatwork from either of them. If I am drawing with one, the other joins in. If one of them wants to write his/her name, the other joins in. I read the same books to them. They both play near me while the olders do their seatwork. I often have the baby in my lap and my 2yo sitting between my legs while I'm working with my 6yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 K...some of these links are making me feel like a super loser. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twacademy2010 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 K...some of these links are making me feel like a super loser. :( You are totally not alone!!! :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Am I reading this right that your 3yo is distracting your 4yo from his work? How much time does your 4yo need for his work? Can you have both of them doing the work together? I ask b/c I group my 4yo and 2yo together for everything, but I also don't expect any seatwork from either of them. If I am drawing with one, the other joins in. If one of them wants to write his/her name, the other joins in. I read the same books to them. They both play near me while the olders do their seatwork. I often have the baby in my lap and my 2yo sitting between my legs while I'm working with my 6yo. He is almost 5. We are just doing pre-K at home on snow days to try and get an idea of how things will work when we start kindergarten in July. He is just practicing writing numbers and letters and coloring pictures! Nothing major!!!! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 He is almost 5. We are just doing pre-K at home on snow days to try and get an idea of how things will work when we start kindergarten in July. He is just practicing writing numbers and letters and coloring pictures! Nothing major!!!! :001_smile: In that case, I would give your 3yo the choice of either sitting with you and participating or playing alone. In our homeschool, K sit-down type work takes no more than 20 minutes, so it's very doable with distracting sibs. If your Ker is working on handwriting....give the youngers some paper and crayons. If your Ker is working on math...give the youngers some manips to sort. If your Ker is learning to read...sit on the couch with your Ker on one side, the 3yo on the other, and the baby in your lap. The rest of school is reading to everyone (history, science, literature, etc) and crafts, outside play, field trips, etc. I think a lot of the frustration is probably that you don't have a routine school time yet. Things will be better when everyone gets their role while schooling happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 In that case, I would give your 3yo the choice of either sitting with you and participating or playing alone. In our homeschool, K sit-down type work takes no more than 20 minutes, so it's very doable with distracting sibs. If your Ker is working on handwriting....give the youngers some paper and crayons. If your Ker is working on math...give the youngers some manips to sort. If your Ker is learning to read...sit on the couch with your Ker on one side, the 3yo on the other, and the baby in your lap. The rest of school is reading to everyone (history, science, literature, etc) and crafts, outside play, field trips, etc. I think a lot of the frustration is probably that you don't have a routine school time yet. Things will be better when everyone gets their role while schooling happens. This is some good advice. Try to include her as much as you can. If all else fails, I've found that a stack of paper and a one hole punch can occupy a kid for quite some time :D (If you have to put on a video, at least you can have her watching something educational right? Leapfrog Letter Factory maybe?) :D Oh and Andrea? I LOVE YOUR PICTURE! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbielong Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Kudos to those moms who come up with creative ways to incorporate a 3-year-old into a school day. I never could do it. I hired an awesome, young (11 at the time) homeschooled girl to engage my 3-year-old after he stopped taking naps. It was one of the best homeschooling investments we ever made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaBear Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks to the OP for this topic. I have an almost 3 year old who keeps me hopping and practicing patience daily:) It has really been an adjustment for me to juggle teaching my 11 dd and keeping ds from who knows what. We have lessons for him which include coloring, reading and learning colors, numbers and shapes. I can't wait for him to get past the putting everything in his mouth stage so we can do more crafts with him. I love the activity bag suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherryanne Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 If all else fails, I've found that a stack of paper and a one hole punch can occupy a kid for quite some time :D Why have I never thought of this?!? What a good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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