Kidlit Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 No, I don't think my 3 1/2 year old REALLY needs preschool, but he is such a cute, sweet, smart, chatty little fellow who thrives on personal attention and touch that I *think* that it might make our day go better if I could eke 15-30 minutes out of our daily schedule to work with him one-on-one on something--reading together, an art project, or just sitting in the floor playing. I already have my girls taking turns with him while one girl does math with me. I feel like I really need to give him some one-on-one time and not push him away all the time. :-( I'm just at a loss as to how to make this happen given the ages of my children and the teacher-intensive nature of most of our curricula. I *could* do it on the afternoons while the other kids have rest time, but I really, truly need that for my own sanity. I'm definitely not at my best then. Ideas, anyone? I'm all ears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I use Flowering Baby with my little one. It's easy to implement and takes only a few minutes each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartatHome Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 How about giving him your attention first thing after breakfast while your other two work on chores or some independent schoolwork. Actually schedule it in to the schedule. You could change or adjust one subject that is less teacher intensive to give you that extra 20 minutes. I think it would be worth it for you and him :-). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 I have DS8 listen to either CNN Student Edition or a Jim Weiss story on the computer (with earphones) while I do "preschool" with DS4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeontheprairie Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Your little one needs your time too. Kudos to you for recognizing that. what is work well for us is to work with him first thing in the morning. he wakes up before his sisters anyway. but working first thing with him accomplished several things. First, he's generally most attentive then. Second, it reaffirms him for the day. Spending that one-on-one time reduces power struggles and sets him in a" happy, I'm loved" place for the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 We start with school for the little lady too, but I usually try to incorporate it into my older kids schoolwork (which gives me a few minutes to scramble around gathering supplies and collecting my thoughts). It looks something like this, although it varies daily: http://www.libertyhillhouse.com/2012/07/12/homeschooling-with-preschoolers/ After reading I try to have at least toy ready to hand to her that will jump off of the ideas from the book. Here is a list of some of the pairs we use: http://www.libertyhillhouse.com/2014/02/06/keeping-toddlers-busy-matching-childrens-stories-with-toys/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 My little guy is 4 and he loves "doing school." We have a couple activities that we work on three times a week, or more if he asks. I also recently bought him the Rod and Staff Pre-K workbooks. He can do these basically on his own. They are very inexpensive and he loves them. Some days he'll do a page, other days he'll do 4 or 5. He loves having books that are just his and sitting and working along side us. My only complaint is that they are short. He can devour a workbook in a day if he's in the mood. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lots of little ducklings Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 My children are all close in age, so it's also very hard for me to give my 3.5 year-old the kind of attention her older sibs got at that age. But different isn't necessarily bad, I think? She's learning everything so much faster, because she has role models to watch. I just try to incorporate her into any school activity that appeals to her. She has her own workbooks to use when she wants to, her own "breakfast notebook" with easy activities and games in it she can play independently alongside the olders. She does chores like the biggies too (and is often better at them than anyone else!). She takes great pride in teaching "big kid" stuff to DD2. And while it's impossible to snuggle up and read to just *her* (everyone swarms like flies on bug tape around here when a book appears), she's our early riser and likes to snuggle between daddy and mommy in bed before official wake-up time. That's *her* special time right now and she seems to really be thriving in spite of my own guilty fears that she's not getting enough one-on-one with me. :-). I do worry that each of my children will lack quality, non-academic, one-on-one time with me as they get older; but I'm just going to keep my eyes open for signs that their emotional/relational needs aren't being met, and try to adjust to that. My SIL was great about having "dates" with her now-grown children; hopefully as my own dcs gain greater independence, I'll have energy to do that too. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmhearn Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 As others have mentioned, I typically start my day with the preschooler. I love FIAR and COAH's Letter of the Week. So, I will read my dd a FIAR or BFIAR book and do an activity or two from LOTW with her. I have a little workbox setup for her where she can choose any other activities she might like to do, while I move on to school with the 1st grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 We start with school for the little lady too, but I usually try to incorporate it into my older kids schoolwork (which gives me a few minutes to scramble around gathering supplies and collecting my thoughts). It looks something like this, although it varies daily: http://www.libertyhillhouse.com/2012/07/12/homeschooling-with-preschoolers/ After reading I try to have at least toy ready to hand to her that will jump off of the ideas from the book. Here is a list of some of the pairs we use: http://www.libertyhillhouse.com/2014/02/06/keeping-toddlers-busy-matching-childrens-stories-with-toys/ Thank you for sharing! I've been in an idea slump. I did FIAR with my big girls, but I haven't the energy to do it ALL myself again. I love your idea of letting your artistic child help with the art projects. When do you plan all this? I'm having a hard time getting beyond the thinking phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeartatHome Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 There is Heart of Dakota little hands to heaven. Takes 20-30 minutes. All planned out and so easy to implement. May not be your cup of tea but something to check out. I've used it and the activities are so easy and truly do use items around the house. It's also broken up into 5 minute boxes so you could even spread it out through out the day if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thank you for sharing! I've been in an idea slump. I did FIAR with my big girls, but I haven't the energy to do it ALL myself again. I love your idea of letting your artistic child help with the art projects. When do you plan all this? I'm having a hard time getting beyond the thinking phase. Sunday evenings. I'm in the habit of filling my big kids' independent work folders, choosing new lit, filling the little one's play basket, and switching FIAR books all at the same time every week. I also check to see if we are on track, scan to see if we need supplies for the next week's science & art projects, etc. Habits are a beautiful thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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