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Get 'Er Done Toddler Plan (When you have older kids)


TheAttachedMama
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Hi Everyone,

 

I have a toddler (about 19-20 months old)---and I also have two older kids who will be in the 2nd and 3rd grade.   

 

Most of my time and attention is going towards the older kids right now.   My oldest (8.5 year old) is a struggling reader, so I am spending a TON of time each day trying to get him reading at grade level.   (I feel like that has to take priority now.)   Plus, since he is not the best reader, he can't do a lot of things independently.   I am ALSO teaching my 2nd grader to read.   (Plus, we are doing math, spelling, geography, history, blah, blah, blah.  Basically those older kids are taking a lot of my time and energy!) 

 

At the same time, my youngest child (the toddler) is becoming more and more needy with my time and attention.   He is no longer feeling content to just play in the room while we do school.  I am feeling really guilty because I know HE needs some type of enrichment in his day too!  Right now I feel like I am just trying to keep him out of our hair and fed!  (Which isn't good for him.)   I would love to start devoting about 20 minutes of my day to JUST him in the morning.  

 

I would love for our 'toddler time' to include some type of story time, some type of song or finger play or something, and then some EASY activity(es) that he could do while the others are working on THEIR school. 

 

I feel like a lot of this might involve me re-organizing our house so that he has some stuff to do while I am doing school with the older kids.  

 

SO--my questions are:

Is there any type of curriculum or plan that would give me some type of guidance on what I could do with him each day?   Just some easy 'get 'er done' preschool plan for a 2 year old?     Those older kids are draining a lot of my mental energy, and I am just NOT feeling creative enough to plan something on my own.  I need a no-brainer, no-excuse program.  I did ALL SORTS of awesome montessori stuff with my older kids when they were his age....but I just don't have it in me to put that type of stuff together for my toddler.  

 

And my related question is for people who have 'been there, done that' with schooling older kids with a toddler.   What types of things can I do to set up my house to make our school time work for ALL of the kids in our family?   I see all of these posts on toddler-bags and trays....and I really am wondering where do people store all of this stuff?   How do you find time to put it all together and rotate things out, etc?   I need some practical tips!

 

Thanks in advance!!

 

 

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I was going to suggest busy bag like activities. Something you can pull out for him to do or play with that is only available during school time.  As for storage, I keep mine in large ziplock bags in a drawer (one of those large sterilite 3-drawer units) and also have other manipulatives in the other drawers. I generally just have 3 things available for one week and then pick 3 other things -- I've built up a stash by doing busy bag swaps with friends which really helped too.

 

Also, filling his cup first in the morning sounds like a great plan and may really help the morning go easier for you. I'd do that with just reading some books, doing some finger plays or building blocks together. I wouldn't go as far as looking for anything curriculum like, there is lots of time for that later. It could also be a stage where he just needs more of you for now and may take creative balancing of school time for older kids when he is napping or when one is free to play with him and keep him amused - toddlers and homeschooling is hard. :)

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I have a thread going about "Tot Schoolers" so check it out, maybe an idea will jump out at you. One idea that I have that may or may not work for you is to re-arrange the schedule and school area layout and combine the 2nd and 3rd graders for all the basic subjects. If grouping them will work then you could have 1 or 2 group lessons, then assign an independent team activity for the 2nd and 3rd grader to do together and while they are working on that, you can work with the toddler. When the toddler is finished, you and the big kids have 1 or 2 more group lessons and then school is done for the day.

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I have a thread going about "Tot Schoolers" so check it out, maybe an idea will jump out at you. One idea that I have that may or may not work for you is to re-arrange the schedule and school area layout and combine the 2nd and 3rd graders for all the basic subjects. If grouping them will work then you could have 1 or 2 group lessons, then assign an independent team activity for the 2nd and 3rd grader to do together and while they are working on that, you can work with the toddler. When the toddler is finished, you and the big kids have 1 or 2 more group lessons and then school is done for the day.

 

Yes, my 2nd grade daughter is a bit advanced...and my 3rd grader is a bit of a later bloomer....so combining them works really well.   They are combined in most everything actually.   (They are even in the same math book.)   BUT, they are at the age where it takes a lot of my time to get through school with them both.   My plan is to give them about 30 minutes worth of independent work in the morning---and I can work with their baby brother while I sort of help them when needed.  

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quote:my questions are: Is there any type of curriculum or plan that would give me some type of guidance on what I could do with him each day?   Just some easy 'get 'er done' preschool plan for a 2 year old?

 

uhm..

mfw is coming out with a new preschool program for 2's.  here's a link to their preview info

http://www.mfwbooks.com/wps/portal/c/preschool-preview

 

I dont' know if that's anything of interest.  It's mfw, so there will probably be religious stuff in it.  but it sounds like it might fit with the finger plays and activities?   haven't seen it to know personally.  not even sure why I was on this subforum just now?

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We do the Letter of the Week curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler with our 2yo and he loves it. You can download most of it for free from her blog, but it takes time to find and download each thing individually. After a few weeks of that, knowing ds enjoyed the activities, I paid the $15 for everything in one download. Well worth it.

http://store.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=70_71

 

His favourite is to put stickers on a page with the letter that week. He also likes the 2-piece puzzles, bingo-dot pages, colouring pages, size sorts and spelling disks. He definitely needs one on one help doing much of this, but the stickers and colouring he can do in his highchair while his brother is doing school. This week for letter L he did a craft where he glued wings on a ladybug body and then some spots and created a cute art project. He would not have been ready for this when we started, but we just skip any activities that are beyond his level.

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A couple more ideas:

 

Joyful Heart free curriculum for 2's on Hubbard's Cupboard (.org). She has a nice plans through age 5, I believe 2's is 2 days a week, but there is enough stuff there to last 20 minutes daily. It includes songs, poems, math, literacy, art, and science, as well as Bible memory verses that go along with a biweekly theme. Although the subjects are related, they are not inextricably intertwined. There are monthly sensory table and play dough ideas as well. http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/joyful_learning.html

 

A purchased option is Timberdoodle. They have a good balance of toys and activities with their plan, that can last for a "relaxed two years or fast-paced one year. " http://www.timberdoodle.com/Complete_Homeschool_Curriculum_Packages_s/363.htm

 

I also have all the MFW toys (except the newest ones) and enjoy those as well. I understand the need to just have something already written down, even if all you do is pick and choose.

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I was about to mention the new MFW K package!

I like the looks of, but didn't use, their 3's program, lots of learning toys, so I am eager to see this 2s one.

 

My boy is 17 mo and I am also like, what do I do with you tot?????? I only have 1 older, about to turn 5. Both crazy needy atm! 

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I use the baby gate and rotate boxes of toys. My two year old isn't needing educational time with mommy as much as my rising second and third graders, or even the kindergartener, so priorities go to them. She gets entertainment and kept in a safe spot out of trouble. At that age play IS learning, so setting her down with trains, play food, a leap frog dvd, or play doh is just fine for us.

 

With my rising kindergartener he has been doing some coloring, maze pages, puzzles, play doh, and rotating one of the play boxes, too. That's great for him, as he is learning to sit down and complete tasks but he isn't taking much active teaching time yet (he isn't anywhere near ready).

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I love the "What Your Preschooler Needs to Know" book for songs and fingerplays (although the stories may be too involved for a toddler.) Their corresponding activity book works great for a two-and-a-half year old, but nineteen months might be too early. Kumon also has great early activity books (for things like simple coloring and cutting skills), but those will likely be more appropriate once your little one is two or so.

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I struggle with this as well, its like having two only children, cause there isn't anyone to guide her play.   or even be an example for her.  I lesson plan every 6 weeks, so this last time I sat down and "lesson planned" for her as well, I picked a theme, on the farm, then picked a book for each week, added a nursery rhyme, and then a craft from first-school.  I added two general art activities to each week, so the first week was the big red barn, we made red play-dough, and sang old MacDonald, and painted in red.  and then made a red barn for the wall to put all the animals in for the coming weeks.  its worked out well.  it takes about 10 minutes twice a day.  i don't really care if she learns anything, but i did try and include colors and counting.  what i really need is a 4 year old so she has someone to follow around!

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I'm guessing this is a naive question, but my oldest is only 3.5 so I'm really curious how things might change as he ages. But...why can't the toddler sit on your lap and watch or fiddle with a small toy while you teach the elders? That's what I do with my infant. Is it because you are juggling a lot of books, flipping through a teacher's guide, or...?

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I'm guessing this is a naive question, but my oldest is only 3.5 so I'm really curious how things might change as he ages. But...why can't the toddler sit on your lap and watch or fiddle with a small toy while you teach the elders? That's what I do with my infant. Is it because you are juggling a lot of books, flipping through a teacher's guide, or...?

 

well for me its because i already have an infant there, but i also know my toddler wont sit there quietly she steals the books, writes on things, and generally makes mess.

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I'm guessing this is a naive question, but my oldest is only 3.5 so I'm really curious how things might change as he ages. But...why can't the toddler sit on your lap and watch or fiddle with a small toy while you teach the elders? That's what I do with my infant. Is it because you are juggling a lot of books, flipping through a teacher's guide, or...?

 

well for me its because i already have an infant there, but i also know my toddler wont sit there quietly she steals the books, writes on things, and generally makes mess.

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I'm guessing this is a naive question, but my oldest is only 3.5 so I'm really curious how things might change as he ages. But...why can't the toddler sit on your lap and watch or fiddle with a small toy while you teach the elders? That's what I do with my infant. Is it because you are juggling a lot of books, flipping through a teacher's guide, or...?

 

Yes, I've been using that technique up until now with my toddler.  That worked well for the infant stage.  But it is not working out so well anymore for several reasons:  

1)  Once your kids get to the later elementary stage, school can take hours. (It especially takes a long time when you add a toddler tornado into the mix!  We trade a lot of 'efficiency' keeping the toddler occupied, happy, and safe!)  On our longer days, we start around 8:30AM and finish around 2:30PM.   We have lots of breaks for meals/chores/play in there, but still.....that is a long day just to hang out on mom's lap.

2)  At this point, my toddler wants and needs some fun, directed activities.   Unlike an infant, he is very cognitive of the fact that I am giving his older siblings attention when we do school.   He REALLY wants something to do too.  

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I recently purchased some new board games for DS and I to play with friends and family, including one called "Bright Buttons", which is marketed for ages 3+. I specifically got it so that we have something suitable for our toddler friends to play when they visit, and after playing it today, I think it would be perfect for some special mama-toddler time.

 

If I were to plan 20 - 30 minutes worth of git 'er done toddler time every day, here's what I'd schedule:

- Read a picture story book. Have a special box/basket of books you want to share with your little one, which you bring to every toddler time.

- Play a board game.

- Sing some nursery rhymes, including finger actions. Have a list of rhymes you can refer to and sing a few every day. Each day, just pick up where you left off the last time you got to them. Keep the list in your book basket.

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Thanks for the ideas everyone.  I really appreciate it!   That other thread on tot ideas was helpful too.  

 

I ended up looking at some of the ideas on timbledoodle for this age range.   That was really helpful!   The price seems expensive, BUT it gave me a lot of ideas on the types of things I can do with my toddler.  (the gap in ages between my kids is so great that I sometimes forget.)   

 

I decided that the BEST thing I could do was organize my house so that my toddler can more easily entertain himself.   I've been working really hard since I last posted.  (My house is completely torn apart at the moment, but sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.  Right?!)  :)

 

So, after racking my brain, I put together a 3-phase approach to keeping my toddler occupied:

1)  Montessori Inspired Shelf Rotation System:

We have some lower shelves next to our school room in our family room---and my idea was to set up some sort of toddler montessori play area for him.   (Here is my inspiration.)    I like the idea of giving him some montessori "work" to do because most of it is self-correcting and delight driven.    I'm not going to exactly follow the montessori method, I'm just stealing some ideas from that method.  

 

I knew that I needed to constantly keep things fresh and new so he would be motivated to go and check out his shelves while we did school.  BUT, I want to get a system set up so that I don't have to think too much about things once we get it going.   SO--I gathered up some empty steralite containers and completely tore apart our toy room.   (I am doing a major purge too while I am at it!  yeah!)   I now have what I am calling a Montessori toy rotation system set up.   I have 4 weeks worth of 'shelves' set up that I can cycle through.  

 

2)  Quiet Boxes

I am also going to put together 5 busy-boxes (aka quiet boxes) that I can pull out when I need too.  I feel like I need something special when the toy shelves aren't cutting it!   (My inspiration.)  These are going to be things that he needs to do supervised that I really don't want to put out on our shelves.   My hope is that each of these boxes will buy me 15 minutes of time when I need to work one-on-one with the bigger kids.  (When we do AAS for example!)   So far I have:  MONDAY:  String chunky beads on a stick, TUESDAY:  Stick pipe cleaners in a colander, WEDNESDAY: Put buttons into a container, THURSDAY:  Poke Straws into an empty Parmesan cheese container, FRIDAY:   Peg board  (I know those probably sound silly, but I think they may appeal to my toddler.)

(I would really like to come up with more of these to cycle through.) 

 

3)  MESSY, outdoor fun

I'm going to talk my husband into gating off our deck.   Then, I can have my older kids work at the kitchen table while my toddler does some messy stuff on the deck.   I will only do this when I feel like letting him get messy.   I am going to run to the thrift store and once upon a child and see if I can't find a picnic table or a water table.    So far my ideas for messy play are:  playdough, shaving foam, cool whip, give his trucks a bath, pour water from various containers, paint with water, finger paints, sensory bins, etc. etc.   I figure I can just let him go to town out on the deck while I juggle my time back and forth between the kids.

------

Then--the only OTHER thing I am going to do everyday is have some type of scheduled read aloud time.   Just so I do it everyday.   I put all of our board books on our books shelves and will just let him pick the book.  

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Does your toddler still nap?

 

Another approach would be to inverse your schedule so that your older kids compress all their mom-directed work into the block of time when the toddler is napping. Morning can be for any independent schoolwork, chores, and playing outside. Then your toddler can be your focus during those morning hours, and your big kids can be your focus during the afternoon.

 

We have done an inversed schedule twice when I had a toddler that was needing more of me (for a 6 mo period when my 3rd was a toddler & for a full year when my 5th was a toddler). It required us to be very focused during that naptime, and I didn't really get any downtime in the afternoon, but it was a great way to meet everyone's needs.

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I've preferred HOD's LHTH for my younger DC (I used a lot of FIAR/BFIAR with my older ones).  I like that LHTH is all planned out for me.  There is a bit of "busy work", but I just skip over anything I don't feel like doing.  :blush:  I also don't care for some of her activities and I either skip them or have an older child do them with my toddler.   :lol:   The pretend play activities come more naturally for the younger ones than it does for me so that works well.  We read the Bible stories/devotion, listed to the CD, fingerplays, and most of the activities/art projects.  

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