Homeschooling mom to be.

I've been tagged....and need advice.

Ok, so the rules were that I was supposed to link to people, but I don't know how to do that.  They were also that I was supposed to tag six other people, but I don't have six friends to tag.  So I'm just going to fill out my answers, and leave it at that.  I'm just supposed to state six unspectacular facts about myself.

1.  I am one of six children, the second oldest child and the oldest daughter.

2.  My two brothers, the only two boys, are twenty years apart in age.

3.  I used to jump hurdles in junior high.

4.  Before marriage, I lived in the same house for 18 years.  Since marriage, we've lived in five places in four years.

5.  I like eating lemons.

6.  I love the East Coast of Canada.

Ok, now that that is finished, I need some advice.  My daughters, aged two and three, are bored.  Is this a normal thing for kids their ages?  I put playdough in front of them, I colour with them, I let them play in the water "doing dishes".  I get them to help me with laundry, vacuuming and sweeping.  They will do these activities for about three minutes before claiming they're done.  I don't know if I should allow them to move from one activity to another so quickly, or make them stick with one thing, if only for ten minutes.  They get whiny because they're bored.  I'm inclined to make them stick with something.  But I've been informed that they're too young for that.  Any thoughts?

Mama J.

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10:35 AM, Jul. 23, 2008 .. Posted by Arby

Mama J, if you can get a two-year-old and a three-year-old to keep their attention on one task for ten minutes, you're doing wonderfully! That is about the limit for their attention spans. You might find that they discover an activity that keeps their attention for a longer period of time, but you probably won't be able to reproduce that two days in a row. The Boss is very good at going through toy boxes, removing toys that aren't played with very often, and storing them for a month or two. Then she rotates toys out of the toy box and into storage, and toys out of storage and into the toy box, and the kids "discover" amazing toys that they forgot they had. That helps keep things fresh. Yes, complaints of boredom abound. It's natural. And yes, keeping them going is hard work. I might add that a little boredom is a good thing. It forces them to get creative.

I agree with Arby

9:22 PM, Jul. 24, 2008 .. Posted by brownie

boredom isn't necessarily a bad thing - it does force them to use their little minds.

I have a 3 yr old boy - I put him in his room (he has a half door so I can easily see him) and tell him to play with his toys because mommy has some work to do. He might yell or cry for a bit - but I don't give in. He figures it out and has done some very creative things.... which has resulted in me putting tarp straps on his dresser drawers... but that's another story.

Anyway - kids have to learn how to play and use their minds - don't work so hard at entertaining them and just provide them with the tools they need to learn to play.

On the other hand... I could be considered a very lazy mother.......

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7:42 PM, Jul. 27, 2008 .. Posted by SandBetweenMyToes

I agree with both of these comments, although, I find it a little hard to remember what exactly we did when they were 3! I know we did rotate toys with the last 2, as someone mentioned. It's funny to watch them pull out things they haven't seen in a few weeks. I also agree to be careful about always entertaining them. They need to learn to play alone (or together alone). Perhaps you could set a timer for 20 min. or something, then tell them they are to play and entertain themselves until the timer goes off, then you will do an activity with them. Try to set it for longer periods of time as they learn to play. It will come with age, too. My girls seem to play longer and happier when music is playing. We choose either classical, children's songs, praise music, or children's worship.
James and Ashley got back from Guatemala on the 11th. They were already back when she wrote her update. They were "only" gone 11 days. That's a long time without my hubby! : )
Letitia