toawh Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I'm stumped about what to do with my toddler while I teach. He just turned two. As soon as he notices we're doing school (about 2 mintues into it) he wants to join us. This usually involves his opening markers and drawing all over the table, spilling our books, making silly faces, and constantly interrupting. I've tried letting him "quietly" do "school" on the side, but it doesn't work. He constantly wants my attention for something. If all else fails he asks to go potty knowing I'll stop. What do you do with little ones? I'm expecting a baby soon too so it can only get worse. :001_smile: I know there are little education things you can do at this age. My mind turns blank when I'm caught in the middle of this each morning and coloring gets old real quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 We like to use a barrel. Tried to make it sound-proof, but, you know, you have to cut the air holes, so that doesn't work. :D Seriously though, at that age, from what I've read here, you just have to do the best you can and struggle on through. And schedule the hard stuff during naptime. I only have one, so it's not really so much of an issue here, but I've found that playdough and some biscuit cutters at the table works for awhile. A mountainous pile of wooden blocks in differnet sizes is good, but if you have hardwood, put down a blanket so the huge crashes don't jangle your nerves. I also let my dd play with a dull butter knife and a hard-boiled egg. Cutting it up just like mommy does :001_smile: can keep her busy for a good half an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Fortunately I'm only doing "school," so it is not such a problem for me, but to be honest, I put a dvd on, go into dd's room and close the door. The lad will watch it for a bit, then wander outside or to play with his blocks. I check on him occasionally, and very quietly so I don't disturb him! If it wasn't that my dear boy is giving up his naps, we'd do "school" during his nap. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Here are some websites with some ideas. http://www.homeschool.com/advisors/dobson/#3 http://www.hsclassroom.net/2010/05/infants-toddlers-while-homeschooling/ http://chfweb.net/articles/week29.htm http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/homeschool-hubbub-what-to-do-with-little-ones-during-school-time http://www.whattoexpect.com/blogs/mylittlemonkeys/homeschooling-teaching-toddlers http://www.childfun.com/index.php/parenting/homeschooling/943-how-to-keep-your-toddler-entertained-while-you-are-homeschooling.html http://www.examiner.com/homeschooling-in-louisville/occupying-activities-for-toddlers-during-homeschool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesa Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 My 2 "littles" are now 5 and 3. (Last year it was 4, and 2... and yeah it's challenging but not too bad) I had some crayons and paper handy... small toys. They had bubbles outside when the weather was nice. When that got old we went to the school supply store and bought new things to entertain them. They had these paint marker things.. that made painting really mess free. I used those for a good month to keep the little ones entertained! I eventually gave in and encouraged them to watch TV or play Starfall.com I'm not proud of that fact, but we need to get school done. With having 2 little ones not in school, it makes it easier. They play together... or fight together. LOL They do entertain each other though. I start my school day with my 5 yr old first. He does math, phonics and handwriting.. all in about 30 minutes. Then his day is done, besides his reading which is either done at lunch, or bedtime. The rest of the school day revolves around the older boys while my 2 littles play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v-girl Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I give my kid my iPhone. Or laptop. Or get my girls to get him set up with netflix on the Wii and let the TV babysit for a bit. I know, I know. TV = bad, blah blah blah. The kid learned his ABCs off Leapfrog videos and can spell Thomas (as in Thomas the Train). Or I let him watch 4 hours of PBS -- Sesame Street taught him to count to 10. :D If he is truly clingy, I have the girls do work they don't need me for until their brother goes to preschool. He only goes from noon-2:40 so it isn't a long time, but it's enough to get science and history done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Ds told me I'd get banned if I posted my advice. It began "preheat the oven to 250 degrees..." Can you tell that my toddler has an ear infection and is driving me crazy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toawh Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Some good suggestions there. I'm not so keen on video/TV viewing for little ones for their eyes' sake. I've tried the really fun things like playdough and other nice messy, kiddie things. The problem is that if the toddler project is too fun my 5 year old does sloppy work asking if we're almost finished the whole time. Oh, maybe I'm just expecting too much at this time. They're both boys and not too calm. Nap is really relative. It lasts about 1 hour at most and I try to use it for dishes and exercise and planning dinner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Amanda~ Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I use the TV as well. also like this website for ideas http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/ForTots.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollie010 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 No advice. Just:grouphug: I could go on and on about try this...try that. But, in the end it will only by you 3 to 5 minutes and is therefore, not really worth the effort. My best bet was to work with the older kids to help them block out the distraction. Then we work hard during nap time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Year Round Mom Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I made a list of 30 or so activities my kids could do while I was sitting one-on-one with, um, one :D I put each activity into a ziplock bag and keep them in a plastic tote, bringing out 4-5 per week. I keep the ones we're using for the week in a basket, so when it's a DC's turn to "have activity time", I can just put the basket on the coffee table in the sitting area (near the kitchen table where I'm doing one-on-one time). They can choose which activities to do and for how long. Some of the activities I have (off the top of my head) are: Counting bears Wikki Stix File folder games Lace cards Pony beads and pipe cleaners Magnet with small objects A deck of cards etc. You can search the boards for ideas; that's what I did! Okay, so I just remembered your LO is only barely 2? You would have to choose activities, then, that are age-appropriate. Many of the ones I suggested would be choking hazards! Sorry :tongue_smilie: As long as you keep the LO near you, though, during activity time, and as long as you teach LO how to use each carefully chosen activity, you'll be fine...oh, and I'd probably only put one activity out at a time for a DC that young... The key to success is to actually buy and have all the activities in some sort of order before you start! That's so obvious, it's painful, but for some reason, I thought having the ideas and having "most" of the materials "around here somewhere" was enough to get me through the school day :lol: To help keep your 5yo focused, I'd include a daily "activity time" for him (her?), too. That way, you can say, "Let's look at the routine. Oh, you get to play with the activities right after you do your phonics. Let's keep truckin'!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Velcro suits and toys. That way you can either stick the kid to the wall, or stick the toys to the kid. Keeps them busy. You may want to think about duct tape. It's cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Some good suggestions there. I'm not so keen on video/TV viewing for little ones for their eyes' sake. Does yours actually watch it? Mine only watches a little bit, but the noise keeps him company while he's doing whatever it is he does when I'm not looking. Sometimes music will do the same job if I play it on the dvd player. The telly is on for company, but there isn't anything to watch, so he doesn't. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Year Round Mom Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Just found this on the old boards someone provided the link for! Hope it works: http://web.archive.org/web/20010720183439/welltrainedmind.com/wtmboard/messages/1587.html I think this poster offers great perspective! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arghmatey Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I make an extra copy of anything consumable so she feels included. It's a riot! She asks to do "hanwryin" (handwriting), so I give her a lined dry erase board and some markers. We put a magnetic board on the table and give her magnetic letters and magnetic tamgrams to play with. I give her a pile of newspaper to shred for our composter. I give her a snack and then have my student eat her own snack right after the lesson. She wipes the baseboards with a cleaning cloth. She uses a toothbrush to clean the tile grout (why does she like this?). Tomorrow I plan to let her play with my old stereo. I think she will love playing with the buttons. The next day I'll arm her with a stud finder and let her find all the studs in the house. Beep beep! I also bounce her on my lap a lot and move supplies out of her reach. No TV for us, but that is a good idea. My toddler doesn't nap. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 We like to use a barrel. Tried to make it sound-proof, but, you know, you have to cut the air holes, so that doesn't work. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessReplanted Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I give my kid my iPhone. Or laptop. Or get my girls to get him set up with netflix on the Wii and let the TV babysit for a bit. I know, I know. TV = bad, blah blah blah. The kid learned his ABCs off Leapfrog videos and can spell Thomas (as in Thomas the Train). Or I let him watch 4 hours of PBS -- Sesame Street taught him to count to 10. :lol: I can So relate to this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 We've ended up doing the TV thing, too. Yes, both my 3 year old and 18 month old will watch it. In fact, most of my 18 month old's first words are Dora words: map, backpack, that/there, Boots. My attempts to keep them entertained means I spend more time in set up and clean up than they do in being entertained, and more time cleaning up than doing school. It just didn't work. I like the ziploc activities but that requires a lot of money to accumulate all of the supplies for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Ours is younger, but I've found that she likes to help the older kids with their chores. So, when I'm working with one, she's reaching into the dishwasher and handing silverware to her older brother. Or, she's grabbing clothes from the dryer with her older sister. She likes to look through books (or rather, pull them off the shelves and toss them all over the floor), play with my kitchen stuff (pots and pans, sealed ziploc bags, box of sponges, trivets, potholders, and a whisk), and try to copy whatever her older sibs are doing. If all else fails I assign them to play with her while I grab 10 minutes with another sibling -- then we rotate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susesmiles Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Some things I've done: let him play play dough on a different table give him stickers and a sheet of paper give him a wooden shape or letter puzzle to play with have him take a bath...I put him in the bath tub, keep the bathroom door open, then sit in the hall right outside the door, with a direct view of him playing, set the schooling child beside me, but without a view of sibling in tub and do school in the hallway. This way I'm watching him in the tub the entire time and getting school done. Give him those simple 2 or 3 card puzzles to put together. They sell them at the $1 store with pictures of Winnie the Pooh. Give him cards with shapes, colors or numbers on them for him to sort. Teach the older child during his nap time I've also heard about the book "Preschool activities in a Bag", I've never tried it, but check it out, it does sound like it would help :) http://www.activitybags.com/ And remember, he will grow, it will get easier, this too shall pass :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Rotating toyboxes! They make all the difference around here. We have school in the play room and my toddler will play most of our school day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaners Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 My middle child will be two next month. I use baby gates and special toys, but that only guarantees me 20 minutes at a time. It's enough for those few times when we must concentrate. Everything we do is incredibly low key, so it's easy for me to strap the toddler into a chair with some playdoh or something at other times. I'll give a choice of two special options. I have a script. I'll say that I need to work on something for a little while. You are going to play in the living room until I'm done, and when I'm done we will (usually) go outside. You can play with a special toy while I am busy. Do you want lacing beads or puzzle cards to play with while I am busy? Conveniently for us, we have a training potty in the living room most of the time. I can usually get about 10 minutes straight without actual interruption, then I might need to nod my head when my daughter says that we are going to go outside when we were done. Very rarely I'll need to make a reminder that we are going to be busy for a couple more minutes, but we will be going outside when we are done. We didn't spend a lot of money on the "special" toys. They're mostly things that we've gotten at the thrift store or as presents that I store in my room instead of with the other toys. We have lacing cards and beads, puzzle cards, puzzles that I usually keep hidden away, poker chips, chalk and chalkboards, items from the $1 bins at Target (they have TONS of neat school-ish stuff at ours right now), tangram blocks, alphabet magnets, that sort of thing. We watch a movie about once a week as a family. I have a six month old right now. It can be done. I'd probably be a lot saner if we watched a couple more movies though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toawh Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Okay, I guess I get the idea that schooling with a two year old is a crazy, hectic time. I'll try all the suggestions anyway. My son also has his own ideas of what to do; they usually aren't things I agree with, like unmaking my bed and putting all my blankets, pillows and cushions on the floor of the living room and jumping off the sofas missing the corner of the coffee table with his head by an inch each time or feeding the cat bananas or other thing I "have" to jump up for. Maybe he thinks I need a workout. No sooner do I sit down again that I jump up again. My older son thinks it's very amusing. I'll have to get that barrel or some duct tape or maybe just a better sense of humor. I found him yesterday throwing all our crisp and perfect bell peppers down to the bottom floor of the house from the railing. Watching me run down and get them did keep him busy for five minutes! Oh, I used to have my life so "together". I think maybe I'll miss these moments when all the kiddies are grown out of them. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachmejoy Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I make an extra copy of anything consumable so she feels included. It's a riot! No TV for us, but that is a good idea. My toddler doesn't nap. :( My daughter just turned 3 and it's gotten better. I also make copies of extra work, or give her work that has already been done. That keeps her busy for 2-3 min. Actually, what has worked best for us is allowing her to go ahead and "do school." I work with her first for about 30 min. She has her own "school box" of work and we sit down and work together. Then I say, "Ok, Good job! You did all your work today!!! " :hurray: I tell her it's Bubba's turn and she's happy playing with toys, or whatever else. I have to remind her sometimes that she finished her work and that it's Bubba's turn, but that's worked well for us. She doesn't nap, but I do allow a short video when I'm really trying to get something done with ds. Good luck! BTW, I have a program out for 2-3 year olds, called Animal Play, in my siggy if you're interested in having something academic that you don't have to prepare for. It's super cheap! It's what I'm using with my dd right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellydon Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I hired a homeschool teenager to watch my toddler two mornings a week for 2 hours each time. We get a ton of school done then. Otherwise, nap time. Schooling with a toddler is a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Year Round Mom Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I think maybe I'll miss these moments when all the kiddies are grown out of them. :) :D That's what I keep telling myself, too!!! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I've been working on creating activity bags. So far I have: Alphabet Lacing Cards - I have letters A through E in both capital and lower case letters so far. Patterns - I put pony beads on half of a pipe cleaner in a pattern. On the other half, I put a clear bead to stop the beads that child strings onto the pipe cleaner. I put together several sets. Pom Pom Sort - I hot glued a pom pom into the bottom of the paper bowl and wrote the color of the pom pom next to it. There are six bowls. The idea is to use a plastic spoon to scoop up a pom pom and put it in the proper bowl. My 3 year old has shown zero interest in them even when I tried to show him and encouraged him to try. :glare: I also made homemade playdough for the first time. He liked it last night. Tonight, he chose to play with the old, stiff store-bought stuff instead. I can't win. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Year Round Mom Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I've been working on creating activity bags. So far I have: Alphabet Lacing Cards - I have letters A through E in both capital and lower case letters so far. Patterns - I put pony beads on half of a pipe cleaner in a pattern. On the other half, I put a clear bead to stop the beads that child strings onto the pipe cleaner. I put together several sets. Pom Pom Sort - I hot glued a pom pom into the bottom of the paper bowl and wrote the color of the pom pom next to it. There are six bowls. The idea is to use a plastic spoon to scoop up a pom pom and put it in the proper bowl. My 3 year old has shown zero interest in them even when I tried to show him and encouraged him to try. :glare: I also made homemade playdough for the first time. He liked it last night. Tonight, he chose to play with the old, stiff store-bought stuff instead. I can't win. :glare: :grouphug: I like the colored pom-poms in the bowls idea! I'm going to try that (as soon as I buy pom-poms...hehe). DD3 also doesn't really get the whole sorting thing. We have those counting bears...She just plays with them however she wants. Does that defeat the purpose of them, I wonder? She tried the lacing cards, but it was "too hard"...so I put those away. I don't think she would get patterns, yet, either...so I just let her put the pony beads on the pipe cleaner in any way she wants...ummm, I guess now that I write it out, my purpose is just to keep the wee gal busy, not so much to teach her anything...I hope that's okay :001_huh: :D I haven't tried the play doh yet (store-bought). Good for you for making your own! I'm trying to psych myself up for the mess I'll have to clean up afterwards...but I think she would have fun with it. She likes to "cut the cheese" (no, real cheese!) with a butter knife. (Yes, passing gas jokes are funny in our house!) DD3 has liked the dry-erase markers and board; stringing beads; cutting paper (huge mess, but keeps her occupied); those foam stickers; small foam blocks; and magnets (she played with them for 2 seconds only, though). I think she will like the spray bottle with water and rag (I can see the kids from the kitchen table when they're outside), the matching cards from an old Memory Game, water color paints (another one I have to steel myself for), and nuts and bolts. Is it bad to create these activities just to keep the kids busy??? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I put my ds in a hair chair and strap him in. Sit beside him and hand him toys that he looks at for a few moments and then throws. Repeat. Lots. Just keep going. It's a stage. Mine is 2 1/2 now, and he's a lot easier than before. He has his own interests and self-entertains a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I put my ds in a hair chair and strap him in. Sit beside him and hand him toys that he looks at for a few moments and then throws. Repeat. Lots. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I tell myself that DVD's are just digital stories. And stories are good right? RIGHT? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.