Wabi Sabi Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Every morning I give my 7 y/o a list of work I want him to do for the day. It's sort of like work boxes, I suppose, but in list form instead of physical boxes. He can do the things on his work plan in whatever order he'd like, but he knows that by the end of the day everything is expected to be done. Now my just turned 4 y/o is begging for her own daily work plan. She wants to be able to check things off of a list just like her big brother. The problem is coming up with several tasks each day that she can complete fairly independently. So far for today I have: -Do one puzzle -Play memory game with your brother -Finish coloring the picture you started yesterday -Watch Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD -Practice writing the letter A/a I'm not looking for any formal lesson plans or curricula, just simply ideas of little things that a young 4 y/o can do on her own to make her feel "big." I don't have too much trouble thinking of things for her to do, but I do seem to recycle the same ideas over and over. I'm just looking for new ideas so that what we're doing doesn't get stale and boing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth83 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Cutting practice? Draw some lines and squiggles on a sheet of paper and have her cut along them. On the days she practices writing a certain letter, you could have her walk around the house and find objects that start with that letter. You could even practice numbers that way... find 5 objects that start with the letter a. You could give her a clipboard if you have one (that makes everyone feel old) and she could put a sticker on a sheet of paper every time she finds an object. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohannaM Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 There are a lot of Montessori-type activities she could do on her own... pouring, scooping, sorting -We have a bowl of dry mixed beans and an assortment of containers and spoons my kids can scoop and pour the beans into (note: I give them a cookie sheet to go underneath and contain the mess! :lol:) - using a muffin pan and assortment of beads or buttons they sort them by color or size or shape When she is doing a letter you could have her write it in sand or shaving cream, make it from play dough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 You can add little chores to her list. Give her a carry-all with some cleaning supplies. Try a small spray bottle with vinegar and water, a sock she can dust with, some cut-down paper towels, a feather duster, some swiffer cloths. Then give her a task, like "spray the glass door with window spray (her vinegar and water) and wipe it down," "dust the dining room chairs legs with your dusting sock," "feather dust the blinds" ETC. She could fold towels, swiffer the floor, wash out the pet bowls and dry, wipe down all the door knobs in the house (or some of them), vaccuum under the couch cushions with a dust buster (hang it low so she can reach it), and so much more! Just use a couple of minutes each week to teach her the chore. First you do it and she watches, then she does it beside you, then she does it and gets "inspected." ("I'm ready for you to inspect my work, Mommy." Just like grading...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beth83 Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 You can add little chores to her list. Give her a carry-all with some cleaning supplies. Try a small spray bottle with vinegar and water, a sock she can dust with, some cut-down paper towels, a feather duster, some swiffer cloths. Then give her a task, like "spray the glass door with window spray (her vinegar and water) and wipe it down," "dust the dining room chairs legs with your dusting sock," "feather dust the blinds" ETC. She could fold towels, swiffer the floor, wash out the pet bowls and dry, wipe down all the door knobs in the house (or some of them), vaccuum under the couch cushions with a dust buster (hang it low so she can reach it), and so much more! Just use a couple of minutes each week to teach her the chore. First you do it and she watches, then she does it beside you, then she does it and gets "inspected." ("I'm ready for you to inspect my work, Mommy." Just like grading...) I have a 4 year old, as well. I love this chore idea. I have been trying to figure out more age appropriate chores. She pretend cleans a lot, so this is perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 ETA: I *really* like the chores idea! Off to add that to my cards (see below). I've been putting together "work cards" for my 3 yr old (she'll be 4 in June); items that she can do independently while I work with big sis. I printed pictures on cardstock (4 to a page), cut and laminated them. The plan is to let her chose 1 card from each category to do during school time. I'll probably keep each category on a separate key ring. I made cards for... Math/tactile/spatial skills: puzzles, magnet toys, dominoes, pattern blocks, rice box, bean box, wooden blocks, cutting practice Pre-writing skills: gel-bag writing, sand writing, water/paintbrush writing, using paint-dots to fill in ABC cards, etc... Reading/pre-reading skills: LF Letter Factory dvd, listening to LeapFrog books, Starfall, looking at a book independently, ABC letter forms, ABC magnets Free Play: one card w/ a pic of her bedroom, 1 pic of our outside sandbox. :D *now I think I'll add a CHORE stack!* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Sort buttons/beads/etc. Play-dough Play with toothpicks and marshmallows (or just toothpicks). "Read" books for 10 minutes. String beads. Lacing Cards Pattern Blocks Legos/Blocks Cuisenaire Rods Listen to an audio book. Read Aloud time with Mama/Daddy/older sibling Dot to Dot books Mazes "Water play" in tub or at sink Sidewalk chalk on driveway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I printed out simple mazes or dot to dots when my little wanted "school." There are also some pre-made workbooks available that have simple letter recognition, cut and paste or similar activities in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MouseBandit Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Subscribed! Love this thread. Had totally forgotten about lacing cards! What a great idea! Tracey in Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jpoy85 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 make a sensory box get pipe cleaners and a strainer coloring play doh sand/rice/shaving cream memory painting beading treasure hunt hangman (you could pick a picture even and have the child guess) 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.