There is usually one day a week when I have my 3 year old home at the same time as my kindergartener, and we do school together. I look forward to this day, but I also struggle to keep the boy entertained and get the girl's school work done...sound familiar?
Confused by why my son isn't here all the time?
Long story short:
Very small house (that we are very thankful for) + work at home dad + 3 year old
rambunctiousboy + homeschooling mom + kindergartner = 3 year old that goes to daycare three days a week! But I digress...
So today since we had a successful morning, I thought I'd list what Joshua did this morning while Abigail completed Reading and Bible.
Yep, that's about an hour - and we did 5 different things - but I think that's fairly normal for his age. How long are you able to keep your little one focused on one activity?
After this we packed it up and headed to the park to play and have lunch.
Then it was nap time so little girl and I were able to finish up the rest of her schoolwork.
How do you keep your little ones busy while your older ones work?
I linked up:
Five in a Row? I know, sounds a little strange. But, if you are considering homeschooling in the early years, you will want to take a look at the Five in a Row curriculum (also referred to as FIAR).
When I first came across this curriculum in my early research I was very intrigued. The more I read about it the more I liked it. It was actually the curriculum that got me really excited about homeschooling.
I know a couple of friends who have preschool children or younger that are considering homeschool for the first time, if that is you, I highly recommend researching this curriculum...I think it would actually be the perfect place to start even before Kindergarten.
So what is FIAR? I would like to share a summary (found here) that I think explains it well:
HomeschoolShare.com - FAQ - What is Five in a Row?
...It's a wonderful curriculum that pulls lessons from classic children's literature. In the original FIAR curriculum (ages 4-8), you will read a book for 5 days "in a row" and each day you will do different lessons and learning activities related to the story. FIAR also offers curriculum for preschool (Before Five in a Row) and for upper elementary grades (Beyond FIAR and Above and Beyond FIAR). We strongly encourage you to check out Five in a Row and to use it with your children before jumping in to the units at Homeschool Share.
A note from Celia:
FIAR changed our whole homeschooling journey. My public-schooled mind thought that my children had to be sitting at their little school desks to do all their work from workbooks; FIAR taught me that we could all snuggle together on the couch and read a great children's story and learn far more! It taught me that school could (and should!) be enjoyable and exciting. FIAR feeds the natural interests of a young mind...causing students to want to learn more about God's great big world.
I completely agree with Celia. The school that we work with uses FIAR (which was one of the selling points for me) and it is actually the main work that K-girl does when she is on campus two days a week. At home we work on the core subjects but at school they teach using FIAR. I think this curriculum is so effective because it allows the child to learn reading, math, science, history, geography, art, etc. in a fun way and allows the parent to impart a love for reading and literature.
K-girl just recently finished the first unit study at school using FIAR. They studied the book "Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans. They studied it over the course of a couple of months, spreading out the lessons, but it would normally be compressed into one week of study. They were able to study Geography by learning about the France; Math by discussing symmetry; Science through studying the parts of the body (Madeline gets her appendix removed), as well as balanced eating and hygiene; and English through vocabulary, rhyming words and even a little French!
I would recommend looking at what Homeschool Share has to offer, they so many great lapbooks and unit study resources. I was giddy when I found this site!!
I am planning to work with Before Five in a Row (for preschoolers) with Josh this coming year. I look forward to sharing that journey as well!
Super Boy is 37 months.
When Super Boy is home with us, he gets to join in the school fun. This morning I quickly cut out some paper shapes he could use to form his letters.
He did very well for his first time! He likes putting puzzles together, so this was a familiar exercise for him.
He has asked me lately to help him “write letter A”, which is where I hold his hand and help him to draw “down, down and across”. He isn’t comfortable trying it out on his own yet, so I think this activity will help him feel more comfortable forming his letters.
