hisleading Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 We started school in august. i thought i was prepared to school a first grader and third grader with my 20 month old. i am beginning to think it is impossible. I have read blog post after blog post and tons of websites on how others do it but nothing is working fir this child. it is 10:30 AM and i have had the big girls doing learning games while i give the toddler attention. if i leave her she screams and eventually comes in to where we are and wrecks the place, draws on herself ...etc....what am i doing wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) I rotate out my kids to entertain my toddler. I do school with one while the other plays with the toddler, then switch. For things we do together that happens immediately when the toddler goes down for his nap. This blog post goes into more detail, but it works really well here. :grouphug: Edited October 23, 2012 by pw23kids togetherness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 School has been VERY challenging here this year also though the main issue is me being sick so much. The toddlers definitely are part of the issue though! One of them may be leaving this week; but Monkey is SO challenging. She carries on ALL DAY LONG (multiple posts about her screaming have already been posted). And then she is typical in that she is into EVERYTHING. I think I say her name no less than 20 times per hour. And some hours, it is probably closer to 100. Seriously. We are fighting to keep her so hopefully she is an ongoing "issue," but we are going to have to learn to school around her. (in other news, unless the new sibling of the three comes into care, we are not taking any more babies...of course, I've said that before!) I wish I had the answer. It is just so much harder now (than even when I had a home daycare while homeschooling!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Chelli has a great idea. I'd also suggest that you don't have the toddler in another room while you're somewhere else and expect her to stay there. MOST of all, I want to encourage you! I remember that stage, and the insanity I felt, well! SO MANY times I wished I could hire a nanny! So I get it. Do what you can to have "only school time activities" that you bring out for HER, that she can do while she's WITH you and the other two during school time. Save the intensive stuff that your girls really need help with (math, etc) for when the little one takes a nap. And STOP WORRYING! This is the hardest part because you feel like you're failing your other two in teaching them and wonder if you'll ever catch up and maybe you shouldputtheminschoolcausethey'llbebetteroff, etc. Relax, mama. Toddler years ARE a short time, even though they don't feel like it when you're in them! I promise you will survive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Do you have a pack n play or a baby gated area? You could put stuff in there so baby can see you all and not feel alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Do you have a pack n play or a baby gated area? You could put stuff in there so baby can see you all and not feel alone. Wow, if you ever had 20-month-old who wouldn't climb straight out or knock it over from the inside I'm almost jealous. :lol: Containment was never an option with any of my toddlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Wow, if you ever had 20-month-old who wouldn't climb straight out or knock it over from the inside I'm almost jealous. :lol: Containment was never an option with any of my toddlers. Same here. I have the same daily struggles as the OP. I've had to learn to let go and accept that this will not be our most academic year. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Wow, if you ever had 20-month-old who wouldn't climb straight out or knock it over from the inside I'm almost jealous. :lol: Containment was never an option with any of my toddlers. Yeah! I can't even let her play in the garden, because she climbs over our fence. The fence is taller than I am (5'8"). :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) Same here. I have the same daily struggles as the OP. I've had to learn to let go and accept that this will not be our most academic year. :(Yeah, this. My youngest will turn three in two months, and she is FINALLY getting to where she will watch TV for a while. So I put on LeapFrog or something similar right before we do math. It wasn't ideal, but my best solution for the last year or two was to put my school kids at "personal" tables (larger and sturdier than TV trays) at the edge of the living room while I sat on the floor below them. I had my teacher manuals, etc. propped open beside me on the blocked side, and the little one had her toys on the other side of me. We'd read History or whatever while I built train tracks or colored or whatever with the little one. We didn't get a lot of "hands-on" activities done, except when Daddy had time to help on an occasional weekend, but we didn't get too far behind. I also relied on things like "Mythbusters" and "Beakman's World" on Netflix a lot. Oh, and if we are only drawing on ourself (as opposed to the walls, the furniture, the floors, the big kids' school books), we count it as a great day! Daddy has come home to find the baby has turned into a Smurf on numerous ocassions! :lol: Edited October 23, 2012 by Maus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I also either switch kids while the other plays with the toddler, or let him use the iPad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I am just thankful that we are doing kindergarten and it's not too serious. I put my little two in our playroom together with toys and work at the kitchen table with Asher for math and handwriting. They are still in sight, but have each other. My 19 month old loves to color, so I put her in the high chair with colored pencils or crayons if I need to do something with both the boys. Another thing I do is work with Asher in a blanket or at the patio table and let the other two play in the sand box/on the swing set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyGirl Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I have one of those toddlers, with a 14mo old following him around :glare: Sometimes when I am ready to lose it, I strap ds (almost 3) into the baby's high chair and give him some Legos or something. Being strapped in seems to calm him down a little bit and after he gets mad about being stuck in the seat he will calm down and play for a little while. I also made busy bags over the summer. They only come out during school, and some of them got old pretty quickly, but some of them he still likes. I have one bag with a big blob of playdough that has little toys hidden in it. He loves that one. I have my 7 and 8 year old do stuff that doesn't need much teacher interaction in the morning, and when one needs my attention the other one watches the little ones. The teacher intensive stuff (SOTW, WWE) gets done during nap time. That makes it sound like we have it all together, which we don't. We are a couple of weeks behind in WWE, and I almost never read aloud to my kids anymore:( And sometimes I lock myself in the bathroom just to be alone for a second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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