One of things that I find challenging DAILY, is how to manage teaching kids at four different levels. Some things we do can include all the kids. For example, we made a "tornado" by filling up a two liter soda bottle with water and then taping/gluing another bottle to it. When you flip the thing upside down and swish it around it makes a funnel...a tornado! That was something all the kids (even the baby) enjoyed.
Yet, more often than not, I can't include all the kids everything that my oldest has to learn. Starfall.com (Click the title of this blog to go there!) is a great website for 3K and up. It is easy for the little ones to use and requires minimal help from me. It is an interactive website that teaches kids all the letters and sounds all the way up to reading for real. I highly recommend it. It is one of the best things for my preschoolers to do while I work with something more complicated with my older child. That way I know they are sufficiently occupied, entertained, and still learning.
Another thing that works good for younger kids is yet another simple thing. My kids love it when I put glue in little dots all on a piece of paper and then hand them things to stick on the glue dots. (Hint: the more glue dots you put on the paper, the longer it takes them to get it done!) The love little things like sequins, buttons, noodles, beans, bits of torn fabric, fuzz...if it's little enough to glue it is good!
A cautionary tale: My mother in law is a school teacher and once had a her kids decorate a dog that was drawn on paper. One of her kids proudly displayed his dog to which he had glued on real hair. Real. Hair. His hair. He had cut a nice wad of his hair off and glued it to the dog. Hair is fair game too. Lucy has had fun cutting her hair and some of her baby brother's hair too.
About Me
- Kat
- I am a wife and home schooling mother to four kiddos. It's not always easy, but I am blessed to have the opportunity to be there each step of the way as my kids grow and learn.
My kids love sheppardsoftware.com. Garrett will sit for the longest time doing coloring pages and puzzles.
ReplyDeleteSamuel's favorite school time activity is fussing at me:)
And real hair on the dog! Really, though, what a great idea! The child is clearly innovative and practical:) Hmm... dogs have hair... I need hair... hey, I have hair!
Do your bigger kids get all sad when the younger ones get to do "fun" things when they have to do awful things like READING?
In the past the older kids whined if Lucy got to play Starfall while they were doing *gag* handwriting or drilling math problems. They don't anymore. Lane doesn't play on starfall anymore because it is "for little kids" (says he). I usually appease Harrison by assuring him that he will have a turn when he has completed his assignment...with a good attitude. Both the boys are allowed to play video games 30 minutes a day. They know that Lucy is too little for that, so they don't really mind her getting to do something fun while they do something not quite so fun.
ReplyDeleteAudrey learned to read from that site!! now she's obsessed with Webkins, which is for fun but she does have to read to understand the games and such. I make her complete school and then she gets like an hour. Is that too much? Some times i dont even keep up with the time. Confession. Any how, she is so quiet and good I forget to :)
ReplyDeleteNah, anytime the kids have been too quiet I tend to forget too! It can be their reward for being nice and quiet. Peace is a hot commodity in our homes!
ReplyDelete