I couldn't wait to do Letter of the Week, colors, and shapes. I started a weekly group with a couple of moms so we could do playdates with a little school mixed in. I was amped up on curriculum catalogs pitching resources for the 3 and under crowd. Nevermind that the child could barely speak, she was going to participate in my lessons whether she liked it or not.
We trudged forward and she did learn. But most of her expanding mind was in spite of me, not because of me.
I learned quickly that preschoolers really are little sponges. The lessons that I spent hours printing out and stressing over, were a part of her brain in 10 minutes flat. Totally not worth the time. She learned her ABCs and all the letter sounds from watching Leap Frog DVDs. Colors, counting, shapes? All picked up from a couple minutes of just telling her what they each were.
I'm taking a much more relaxed route with Gabriel.
He will be in a class at co-op simply because he has to come with us and they offer it for his age.
I gave Josie the job of teaching him his colors, shapes, and counting. She has already jumped in with both feet and takes her job of Teacher very seriously. Poor Gabe.
Josie's school will take a bit more time now that she is doing real lessons. The first half of last year, Gabe did great in the room with us. He'd sit at the table for awhile, get down and play, and come back if he was interested in what we were doing. Now he's a bit more vocal and becoming a distraction.
I heard about Morning Room Time from HodgePodge and think it's the perfect solution.
While Josie does her reading and math work, Gabe will sit in his room with some toys and listen to a recording that Andrew and I have been working on. We sang songs, read Bible verses, said our address, and read a couple short stories on the recording for him. Kind of cool that we can be teaching him and Josie at the same time!
Our school year goes from January to January so after Christmas, when Gabe turns three, we will start including him in more of our school day. For now, this relaxed approach seems to fit in with our day and Gabe's personality perfectly.
What do you do with your toddlers while you're teaching older ones?
2 comments:
Isn't it amazing what a little perspective does to us momma's? I feel the same. We only do school with our toddler because she asks to. It is always tricky to keep her entertained while teaching the others...
She must be close to the same age as Gabe. I think she may be ready after Christmas for more "school" too.
That sounds great! I would love to have a room for room time. Maybe our bedroom (the kid's traveling mattress is currently stationed on the floor by our bed)? I'm going to have to look into this!
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