anti school phase

[onyxravnos]

argh.... we were doing so good! we would get up, eat, watch baby signing time, do a school 'project' free play, lunch nap, another project, more free play.... but now for some reason we are anti projects!

wont even use glue and glitter which has always been a favorite! I know it's a phase, the new baby, and the fact hat for this winter we are in a VERY small space but it's really frustrating me. I feel like we aren't 'doing anything'

So okay. *big breath* I'm going to pretend that maybe we just need something more 'hands on' for a while... something not art based but more ... montissori-ish style. Give me some preschool ideas for hand on multiplicatives... (something they DO.... like tie dye, matching cards, puzzels, mixing colored water etc)

[theretohere]

How old is the child in question?

[chaoticzenmom]

It sounds like you may be putting too much effort into the project. ARe you telling them EXACTLY how to do it? Are you letting them have some say in how these projects look and feel? Are these projects interesting or fun? If they start out interesting and fun, are you pushing for perfection? Are you being overly critical or overly praising on the projects? Are they for you or for the kids?

Maybe take some time to remember what's so great about homeschooling. You're not doing "school" work, you're doing work, or learning, or something. You've got lots of time to teach everything you want to teach.

We can really ruin kids learning by taking it over. I see this with my MIL. She loves to do stuff with the kids, but if they try to make it their own, she can't allow it. She's got a picture of how it looks in her head, so there's no room for the kids to make it their own. So, they do half projects with her and then walk off leaving her to do it herself. She thinks they have no attention span

When I do projects with my kids, I try to not impose my image of how it's supposed to look onto the project. All minds are different and so I know that it'll look how my kids think, not how I think.

[chaoticzenmom]

and my kids love our sensory table. I put different things in it, like rice (you can make it rainbow colored), measuring cups and funnels, or homemade playdough with garlic press, butter knives, rollers, etc. Or mix a big box of cornstarch, some color and just enough water to make it like mud...it's awesome. If you don't have sensory table, a large shallowish (5 or so " deep) under- the- bed storage box will do.

For manipulatives, wooden shapes to make patterns and designs, base ten blocks, triominos, dominos, blokus, beads and thread, etc.

[skueppers]

Take a deep breath.

I assume you are talking about the child in your signature who was born in 2007? Making him at most just barely 3?

My advice is, don't worry about it. You don't need to be "doing anything" in order for him to be learning. Free play IS a valuable educational experience at his age.

If you focus on things that he likes to do and give him the freedom to explore, he will learn everything he needs to learn right now. Read books. Use play-doh. Build wooden train tracks. Let him help you chop vegetables. Explore the outdoors. Borrow books from the library about things that interest him. Let him help you scrub the bathroom. Play memory. Build with blocks and legos. Sing songs. Paint.

It'll be fine!

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by skueppers

Take a deep breath.

I assume you are talking about the child in your signature who was born in 2007? Making him at most just barely 3?

My advice is, don't worry about it. You don't need to be "doing anything" in order for him to be learning. Free play IS a valuable educational experience at his age.

If you focus on things that he likes to do and give him the freedom to explore, he will learn everything he needs to learn right now. Read books. Use play-doh. Build wooden train tracks. Let him help you chop vegetables. Explore the outdoors. Borrow books from the library about things that interest him. Let him help you scrub the bathroom. Play memory. Build with blocks and legos. Sing songs. Paint.

It'll be fine!