mindygz Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 I have a 6th grader and a 3rd grader, then a preschooler and two one year old twins. I have to do the bulk of the "mom required" lessons during my twins' nap time, and when they are awake I am usually running after or supervising them. I am really missing not being able to do the fun preschool type activities I was able to do with my older two with my 4 yo. But schooling the older kids and tending to the youngers is really so demanding all day, every day. I am trying to get us into a four day school week so we can open up some "fun time" on Fridays, where we do math games and Mad libs and such, and maybe even art/craft things. I don't know that there are real solutions to my problem outside of cloning myself, but maybe I just wanted to commiserate with some folks who might understand. I'd love to hear any ideas or things that have worked for you in balancing fun with the littles and school with the big kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Yeah, that's the hardest thing for me too. My baby and 2yo get attention, because they need so much from me still. My 11 and 8yos get my attention for their schoolwork. It's my almost 5yo, who is a cheerful, happily-playing little guy, who gets lost in the shuffle sometimes. I spent a lot of time over the summer printing preschool packs of activities for him, and he likes those, but I also really try to spend a bit of time every day working with him. He adores MEP reception level math, and it doesn't take very long, and we often do some phonics work too (I honestly don't he is quite ready to read, but he is highly motivated to try). I also try to spend some time reading picture books to him and the toddler, but really, I understand, and it's honestly probably the biggest drawback to homeschooling to me. It is the right choice to have our older kids here at home, and my middle child gains the benefits of having them around all the time, but it's just plain true that I only have so much time in the day, and the kids who have portfolios to fill do come first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Aww, that's a hard place to be. I think it's lovely that you want to spend more time with your preschooler. Just some ideas off the top of my head-- Could you "divide and conquer"--ask your oldest to keep an eye on the littles for 15 minutes every day while you have special time with your son? In 15 mins you could-- Take a nature walk Read a picture book Do a "sticker story" where he picks a sticker and makes up a story that you write down for him Play playdough with him a bit Do a math activity with manipulatives, or a matching game or other game --Comb thru your activities and see which could fit 15-20 minutes Could Dad help in the morning before work? You could squirrel ds away and read then. Could you rethink some of the fun things and see if the toddlers could play/work, too, with some adaptations? Maybe strapped in high chairs with a similar but not same activity while your son works on a work rug? (So, what sorts of activities are you trying to do? Maybe the Hive can help you adapt some.) Could you pare down the academics and make some do double-duty so you can use part of the toddlers' nap time to be with your preschooler? Maybe ditch handwriting, for example, and do copywork for history instead. Any way to rearrange the academics to give you more time? Hmmm. It is a puzzle, isn't it? Maybe you could hire a homeschooling young teen for an hour 3x a week (or whatever) to come and take the littles outside or keep them busy and dedicate that hour to your son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonflyer Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Something else to put in the mix.. My friend says that she requires all of her older kids to read at least one book a day to the non-readers. This gets your older kids practice and the younger ones time that they do not get from you. I thought this was very wise, because the time she does have to spend with the younger group could be focused more on things that they want to do with mom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pollyanna Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 My 4yo gets a bit lost in the shuffle sometimes too. I signed the intense older child up for an outside class 9-3on fridays, which gives me and the littles time together. I give the 4yo some "work" in the mornings- both useful stuff, like sorting socks and preschool stuff he likes, like a math activity or a stack of printed mazes. I have nudged my 7yo to work more independently, which frees me up to interact with the younger two. I also confine our sit down work to pre-naptime as much as I can, and then I get to sit and read aloud to the older two during baby's naptime. I've also penciled in some activities that appeal to everyone- open ended art time as an example- I set out specific materials and they create. I think its important to realize that the preschooler does get something from having his older siblings around. They can read to him and engage him and so forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 I do not start official school with my middle/older dc until 9am. They start work they can do on their own at 8:30 and I spend that time with my preschoolers/toddlers. I found that if I didn't give the first part of my day to my younger ones then they often got overlooked completely. We love that time together whether it is cuddling on the couch reading, taking a walk, playing outside, etc. It's easy to lose those preschoolers in the shuffle. I also make sure I have a time for stories both before and right after naptime with my little ones. Fridays are our half days so we do something geared completely toward the little ones; older ones can tag along but whatever we do or wherever we end up, the focus is on the younger set since so much of my time/energy is on the older kids. OP, I would definitely have your 2 oldest take a "Sibling Time" every day. It might be only 30 minutes but that frees up an hour of your day for your preschooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 It is hard isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindygz Posted October 27, 2013 Author Share Posted October 27, 2013 Thank you for these great ideas. I am planning to revamp things a bit and include a few of these suggestions. I'm so grateful to have all of this collective wisdom to draw from. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Let us know how it goes--your experience can be so useful to other mamas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 I spend time with my little ones (3 and 21 months) in the mornings before schoolwork time. We read and sing and say rhymes, do puzzles etc. I also sometimes have another focussed time with them before their afternoon sleep time while my older kids clean up etc after lunch. It's a special time and I don't want to miss it. There's nothing like cuddling up in a chair with them and reading together. Are your 6th and 3rd graders able to do a part of their schoolwork independently? If so, maybe arrange to have them do that independent work at the same time so that you are free to have 'preschool' time with the others. I'm learning to do this more with my 5th and 3rd graders, which is great because it gives me extra play time with my toddler and 3yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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