DS is bored, wants to learn!

[BarnMomma]

DH and I pretty much decided against preschool for various reasons but now I"m having second thoughts, or at least I want to enroll DS in something.

He's 2.5. He's a very shy kid and very cautious. Until he warms up to you and then he's kind of demanding. But in a nice way..."Please play with me again, yes sit right here, no not there, here!" that type of thing. Knows colors, shapes, animals, all the usual suspects.

He's known his ABC's since 9 months, learned lower case in two weeks, knows to count to 20 and seems to get the concept of adding numbers 1-9 after to get bigger numbers. 31, 32, 41, 42 etc.

He's just gotten into the concept of opposites and now needs to know every opposite there is I"m OUT of opposites to teach. I got him a kindergarten workbook mainly to color in and instyead we ended up doing exercise, like circling what doesn't belong, pointing out pictures that begin with a certin letter etc. Loved it, got them all.

Ands now he's bored. He just wants to KNOW everything and I'm not sure how to proceed. I don't want our days to be like a classroom, but I think he's totally ready and wants to learn things.

If you don't do preschool, what suggestions do you have for classes, or groups, or things of the like? We're in NY

Thanks.

[jenfl]

You might try over in the Learning at Home group -- there's a whole thread of us doing preschool homeschooling! There's tons of ideas out there for non-classroom preschool stuff to do.

[BarnMomma]

Ok great I will check that out.

[RoadBuddy]

I'm going to start doing weekly themes with my DS, who's that age and also likes to learn things. Basically, I'm going to make a list of things he may be interested in and then find activities for that week relating to the theme. So if the week's theme is tigers, we could read books about tigers (fiction and also look at pictures and find facts on real tigers), find crafts to make a tiger, go to the zoo and see a real tiger or look at internet videos of tigers in the wild, etc etc etc. He knows letters, numbers, and shapes pretty well so we're going to just keep working that as it comes up.

The theme idea is to get him learning about the world, things that are interesting and not the traditional pre-school academics, which he's picking up well.

[Fullmoon]

Originally Posted by RoadBuddy

I'm going to start doing weekly themes with my DS, who's that age and also likes to learn things. Basically, I'm going to make a list of things he may be interested in and then find activities for that week relating to the theme. So if the week's theme is tigers, we could read books about tigers (fiction and also look at pictures and find facts on real tigers), find crafts to make a tiger, go to the zoo and see a real tiger or look at internet videos of tigers in the wild, etc etc etc. He knows letters, numbers, and shapes pretty well so we're going to just keep working that as it comes up.

The theme idea is to get him learning about the world, things that are interesting and not the traditional pre-school academics, which he's picking up well.

Had to comment after reading this.

That is a really good idea, sounds like a lot of fun for both parties.

[angelandmisha]

Hi, it sounds like your ds is super motivated and inquisitive! I totally understand not sending to preschool and then feeling like there needs to be more. I'm kind of in the same boat. Is there a Music Together school/class near you? We absolutely love it. It's a once a week music class that is designed to teach basic music competence by completion of the series. It was created by a composer and a researcher and in my opinion is exceptionally well done and worth every cent. My ds(28 months) is also very shy, he likes to observe, be close to mama and then at home experiment with all he's seen/learned. I like the environment of Music Together for my ds because he has the comfort of me being right there and is not forced to interact or participate in any way, but can do so if he chooses. I can't say enough good things about their program, we've been really impressed.

Are you in an area where there are many museums? I find around here there aren't really many programs for the under three set, but I've been surprised at how much he's enjoyed going to museums and he will mention artwork he
remembers months later. So maybe getting out a little more to interesting places you may not have considered before.

We also planted some seeds and plants a few weeks ago and have been trying to spend more time outside and he has been really interested in that. He really liked going to the garden store and looking at all their stuff- they have a donkey, chickens, roosters and goats.

I found a recipe I wanted to make for Christmas- a gingerbread house. So we went to the bookstore and found a book (Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett)
telling a story featuring gingerbread and we have been reading that at bedtime and talking about our gingerbread house and how we'll decorate it, etc.

So I guess what I'm saying is, in addition to checking out the homeschooling area for ideas, find ways to involve him in all the neat stuff you do and want to do- they're great lessons and exposure to the real, interesting world.

My ds seems to get bored if we're cooped up inside too much. He's loving playing outside in the cooler weather.

You might also look into some Montessori and Waldorf literature for some ideas of stimulation for his age.

Good luck, it always feels like a challenge to me to expose ds to interesting things without making it school-like and academic in focus.

[BarnMomma]

Originally Posted by angelandmisha

Hi, it sounds like your ds is super motivated and inquisitive! I totally understand not sending to preschool and then feeling like there needs to be more. I'm kind of in the same boat. Is there a Music Together school/class near you? We absolutely love it. It's a once a week music class that is designed to teach basic music competence by completion of the series. It was created by a composer and a researcher and in my opinion is exceptionally well done and worth every cent. My ds(28 months) is also very shy, he likes to observe, be close to mama and then at home experiment with all he's seen/learned. I like the environment of Music Together for my ds because he has the comfort of me being right there and is not forced to interact or participate in any way, but can do so if he chooses. I can't say enough good things about their program, we've been really impressed.

Are you in an area where there are many museums? I find around here there aren't really many programs for the under three set, but I've been surprised at how much he's enjoyed going to museums and he will mention artwork he
remembers months later. So maybe getting out a little more to interesting places you may not have considered before.

We also planted some seeds and plants a few weeks ago and have been trying to spend more time outside and he has been really interested in that. He really liked going to the garden store and looking at all their stuff- they have a donkey, chickens, roosters and goats.

I found a recipe I wanted to make for Christmas- a gingerbread house. So we went to the bookstore and found a book (Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett)
telling a story featuring gingerbread and we have been reading that at bedtime and talking about our gingerbread house and how we'll decorate it, etc.

So I guess what I'm saying is, in addition to checking out the homeschooling area for ideas, find ways to involve him in all the neat stuff you do and want to do- they're great lessons and exposure to the real, interesting world.

My ds seems to get bored if we're cooped up inside too much. He's loving playing outside in the cooler weather.

You might also look into some Montessori and Waldorf literature for some ideas of stimulation for his age.

Good luck, it always feels like a challenge to me to expose ds to interesting things without making it school-like and academic in focus.

YES, DS LOVES LOVES Music together. He's finally willing to participate and he sings along now at home. He's getting instruments for christmas.

In the summer we garden quite a bit and grow things and he gets his own seedlings to do what he wants with...usually this is drowning them with the hose. We spend a lot of time at my barn. He is learning about horses and safety and grooming and getting lots of fresh air.

I might try an art museum. He does like to look at paintings.

We paint and I'm considering clay.

I just feel like he wants MORE...like he'd be great in a language class or something. Do they even do mommy/me language classes? I'm looking into farm camp when he's 4, but I'm not sure what to do now?

[angelandmisha]

We're getting some more instruments for Christmas too- a drum and a wooden clatterpillar type thing. For his birthday I gave him a wooden ukulele and he just loves it and goes around singing the hello song. He also got a Melissa and Doug piano for his birthdaywhich he is just starting to enjoy. We love instruments around here!

I think language exposure would be great. You might check for a mommy and me class at your Music Together school. They just started offering a Spanish class last session. We signed up for it and loved it, but it didn't work out because it was only offered at a really bad time of day for us. Anyway, I'm not sure if this class was designed by this teacher or if it is something that other Music Together schools offer. You're welcome to contact this school and see if they could give the one near you any info if yours doesn't offer it (www.heartsongmusictogether.com).

Does your ds use the computer yet? Mine doesn't but I was looking at Rosetta Stone the other day to see if they had anything for kids and they actually said that anyone who can use a mouse and a keyboard can use their program- generally around age 4 they said. It's pricey, but if you think he'd be interested it could be a good way to learn a language and you could learn too! My mother lives in France part time and we've been trying to find some way to get my ds into some language but it's been tough. There are some Spanish or French immersion preschools, but like you, I am not planning on sending ds to preschool and prefer activities we can do together. My mother is also considering hiring a student from France to come to our house and spend time talking to my son- sort of a mother's helper type setup but in a foreign language.

I don't know how you feel about tv, but I've found Little Einsteins to be really nice. Very engaging to ds and dovetails really well, I think, with what we're learning in Music Together. He has learned a surprising amount of various stuff from the DVDs. I'm sure there are probably other good programs in subjects he might be interested in.

Those are the ideas I have. I think it's really tough to feel like you're giving your child enough stimulation and opportunities while not going overboard and feeling like you're too scheduled or pushing too hard- at least I feel like it's hard to strike that balance. Good luck and I'm happy there are more Music Together devotees out there, we just love it.

[physmom]

DD is pretty similar in that she just seems to want to know everything and I don't have the energy for it all!!! Anyways, what about doing science experiments for kids. I've googled a few and DD loves them. Maybe if he's interested you could even talk a little bit about scientific methods, etc.

One thing we're doing is we've hired an Italian Mother's helper. I'm writing my thesis and need the extra help and I figure it would keep DD entertained. We haven't started yet but DD loved the girl so I'm hoping that it works out well.

Also, do you have an active playgroup? That might but maybe he'd enjoy that since it would be a regular group of kids that he could warm up to.

BTW, where in NY are you? We're NYers too and I couldn't imagine trying to deal with all the chaos in find a preschool here so I definitely understand your sentiments!!!

[RoadBuddy]

I agree with the idea of getting out to more places. Museums can be really fun at this age, and a lot have free days if it's expensive. My DS doesn't get a ton from art museums (art hasn't yet been a huge interest), but loves natural history. Dinosaur skeletons! Giant whales! Animal scenes! All sorts of things to talk about. Science museums often have kids play areas. Children's museums, of course. Zoos and aquariums, of course.

We also love Music Together!

I have seen pre-school mom and me Spanish classes at community centers around here (Ohio). I also know of specific language programs for little kids in Chicago that my friends kids go to. I think it has several languages to choose from, not just Spanish. They seem to like it, but I have no personal experience with this.