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Aug. 19, 2009
How Do I "Entertain" My Toddler During School Time?
I was at the park and got into a friendly chat with another mom who was there. We started talking about kids (naturally) and she asked me "Where did your daughter go to preschool?"
"Chez Us," I replied.
As she stood there looking confused, I gave her the explanation she needed "I homeschool my kids and we did preschool at home."
Another time, a friend was expressing concern about the upcoming ... [read more]
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Aug. 19, 2009
What Every Preschooler's Mom Needs To Know
Preschool Curriculum is Big Business. What better way to make money than to tap into every mom's fear that their child will be academically challenged if they aren't being a-b-c'd and 1-2-3'd every moment of their life, with the latest and greatest preschool curriculums out there?
Not to say that these curriculums aren't good. There are many good things about them. But here at TEACH we are just firm believers that you don't need to spend a lot of money on programs with all ... [read more]
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Nov. 15, 2008
HomePreschool - The Metzger Method :)
"Preschool time" is also a part of our day 4 days per week. We used to all do preschool together (counting, skip counting, address, telephone numbers, alphabet, pledge, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, a song or two, etc.), but the last few years I've handed that off to my 7 & 9 year olds (they each started "teaching" when they were 7). I believe that it is important that kids learn to teach and instruct, as part of their education, so this is a must for all our "older" kiddos. Preschool time only takes 10 minutes to complete and it has worked VERY well for the "teachers" and the students.
We also include the preschoolers in "Bible time", science and history (Mystery of History), since they really enjoy learning and being a part of what the older kids are doing. We go over the books of the Bible and memory verses every day (maybe 10 minutes total), and we all have devotions and Bible time with Daddy after dinner each night. Overall, the book that we purchase takes them 15-20 minutes to complete (we only do it 4 times per week), preschool time takes 10-15 and Bible time takes 10 minutes. So, a grand total of 45 minutes with only 20-30 minutes that involves me. It's so relaxed, but what they learn amazes me!
Enjoy your time with your preschooler(s)! They learn more from life than they do from "book learning." This time will pass oh so quickly and before you know it they really will be “required” to do book work. Relax and take it easy when homeschooling your preschooler! This is the time to instill a love for learning!
Lisa Metzger
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Jun. 25, 2008
Are Parents Really Necessary? A Guide to Preschool Education
Amelia Harper, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
A couple of years ago, in my role as a local journalist I was asked to cover a luncheon. The luncheon was held to laud the efforts of preschool educators and to raise awareness for more funding for federal Head Start programs geared to instruct children aged three to four. For nearly two hours, the speeches droned on: speeches from local educators, from policy makers, and from the wife of the governor of our great state. For nearly two hours, they discussed various issues regarding the health, education, welfare, and success of our tiniest scholars. Then I noticed a remarkable thing: the word parents had barely been mentioned.
This got me to thinking, "Are parents really necessary?" If I were a disinterested observer at the meeting, I would certainly conclude that they are not.
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Jun. 9, 2008
Preschool and Primary Learning Activities - Fun!
While I could not recommend a few parts of the website (Halloween, for example) most of it is great!! The story-starters are just wonderful.
If you send in a story and it is selected for inclusion on the site (monthly winner), they send a free "Published Author" T-shirt to your child.
Click HERE To Go to the Site!
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Feb. 23, 2008
Entertaining Preschoolers and Toddlers During School Time
The preschoolers and a designated older sibling start the day by "doing preschool" together. I really like this idea because it teaches the older children HOW to teach and to enjoy their younger siblings! The older child leads the younger ones in the pledge, counting, reviewing the alphabet, going over phonics flashcards, reciting the days of the week, months of the year, and seasons. They also recite a Bible verse that they are working on memorizing. They end with singing songs! Following this time, I get out shoe box-sized Rubbermaid containers full of educational toys, games, books, etc. The preschooler can only play with these items when I'm teaching the older children. These boxes might contain: simple phonics activities, beads for sorting, puzzles, papers for cutting out shapes, pipe cleaners (they can spend hours on making shapes with these), blocks, Leap Frog games, play clocks and stackable cubes/cups. A lot of these items can be found at Wal-Mart or the dollar store for just a few dollars. I switch out the boxes every so often to make each box seem new. At times I utilize approved educational DVD's since the TV is near the kitchen where most of homeschooling takes place. When the toddler is old enough and shows interest in doing school work like his/her siblings, I buy a $4 preschool workbook from Wal-Mart for him/her to use to do their own school work. Having everyone (or nearly everyone) at the kitchen table makes it easy to play "round robin" with all the kids during their seat work time.
Lisa Metzger
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May. 31, 2007
Teaching the Alphabet
| Teaching the Alphabet
By Samuel Blumenfeld
Printed in PHS #43, 2001.
Few moments in childrearing are more enjoyable than those spent teaching a child the alphabet. I've seen the joyful look that lights up a child's face as she repeats the alphabet letters, coached by a parent or tutor. The child realizes that she is beginning to learn to make sense of printed matter.
The first step in this process is learning the letter names. Some pedagogues believe that teaching the letter sounds should precede teaching the letter names. They contend that teaching the letter names first may confuse the child when learning the letter sounds.
I disagree. The child should be taught the letter names because all objects have names, and we identify them by their names. The child has seen letters all over the place in this literate world. She has seen them in the storybooks her parents read to her. The child hasn't a clue what the letters mean until she is taught their sounds. That's when you explain what the letters mean. Learning the letter names is just the beginning of the long process of understanding.
There are many ways to teach the alphabet. The easiest way is to use the "Alphabet Song." Arrange the alphabet in the form of a rhyming poem to be recited as in the box at right. Note that w is on a line by itself, because it has three syllables: "dou-ble-you."
Children learn to sing the Alphabet Song correctly before they can identify the letters at random. Thus, after the child knows the alphabet song, get a set of alphabet flash cards or make a set of your own. Teach both lower-case and upper-case letters. Show the child the letters at random and see if she can name them. Don't worry if she has problems remembering the letters. She will learn them much better when you start teaching the letter sounds during which she will be learning to read words and simple sentences.
If you want to be creative and make your own flash cards, print out letters from your computer, or cut out letters from newspaper headlines and magazine ads.
You can ask your child to look at a magazine ad and have her cut out the letter c or m or any other letter. Your child may even help you make a set of flash cards.
Sometimes, just knowing the letter names helps a child learn to read on his or her own. There are indeed precocious children who actually teach themselves to read. Of course, there is no law that says you can't teach the letter sounds anytime you want. A good phonics program would be useful to have on hand in case your child wants to move ahead speedily. I recommend a program without pictures, so that the child understands that letters stand for sounds and will concentrate on what the letters say rather than what a picture says. Pictures delay learning and encourage guessing.
If a child has learned to read with lots of pictures, he or she will be discouraged when faced with a page of nothing but print. A fluent phonetic reader who has learned to read without pictures will not be fazed by a full page of print.
As you teach the alphabet your child may want to draw the letters. Get a large drawing pad and markers and let your child copy the letters as they appear in books or magazines. In other words, don't use ball-and-stick manuscript.
Once you begin teaching the letter sounds, then start teaching your child to write in cursive. The reason for this is simple: if a child learns cursive first he or she will always be able to learn to print very nicely later on. But if you teach manuscript - or print script - first, your child may never develop a good cursive handwriting. When children spend a year or two writing in manuscript, they develop writing habits that create obstacles to the development of a good cursive script - or, as it was once called, penmanship.
In sum, teaching your child the alphabet should be the most pleasant task you can perform. It is a milestone in your child's growth, and a wonderful time to remember. You may even want to tape your child reciting the alphabet as he or she is learning it so that the both of you can listen to it twenty years hence, and laugh - or cry.
Copyright ©1993-2007 Home Life, Inc.
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Apr. 17, 2007
Do You Have Babies or Preschoolers? Homeschool Them!
By Denise Kanter
The birth of a child as we all know is something beautiful and wonderful. It also can bring overwhelming feelings of just how we are to care for this child. We know that this precious bundle is a gift from God, as stated in Scripture. We know that his child belongs to God, and that we are to raise this child in the admonition of the Lord. We watch as the child grows tremendously in the first year, we help them learn during this time to eat solid foods, drink from a cup, crawl, and maybe even walk. All in one year! The second year brings a whole new adventure and a beginning of disciplining, training, curiosity that gets this energy filled child into just about everything, and beginning parental thoughts of how to educate this child. It is amazing, but parents tend to begin thinking of how to educate their children very early in their child’s life. This is wonderful, because it is important to God that we educate our children. He wants them to be wise.
“From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures and they have made you wise unto salvation in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:15
How then should we educate our child at this young age and beyond? God is very clear that He gave the responsibility to parents to educate His children with the Bible as the foundation to all learning. So is it wise for a parent to delegate these duties to another? We know that Scripture states that we (children included) are not to sit in the counsel of the wicked. God said we shall not be a companion of fools. The latter eliminates just about every institutional form of education from daycares/preschools to universities.
It is no surprise to anyone that public schools are a disaster academically, but more importantly spiritually. They deny the existence of Jesus Christ. Without a primary miracle, it is almost impossible for a child to overcome the 12,000 hours of secular instruction they will receive from 1st to 12th grade. Day in and day out, ungodly peers, ungodly instructors, and ungodly curriculum is imprinting on the minds of these impressionable, untrained, and unwise children that there is no God. While we are thankful that Jesus still performs miracles today, there is no place in Scripture that states we can throw our children in spiritual harms way, and wait for a miracle. In fact, if we do this, are we not tempting Jesus? As Christian parents, we are instructed not to ‘hinder our children from coming to Him’.
What about daycares and preschools? Are they not preparing a child for a love for life long learning? No! When looking closely at the studies and research used by mandatory preschool advocates and other preschool programs, their claims are absolutely wrong and untruthful.
The research does in fact have overwhelming evidence that shows children in daycares and preschools are more apt to be1:
- sick, 2
- stressed, 3
- passively withdrawn,4
- aggressive, defiant and disobedient 5
These are hardly behaviors that lead to a love for life long learning. I am not one to promote labels, and in fact I think that they are destroying a generation of children. But when children are surrounded daily by foolish and ungodly peers, we cannot be surprised when then exhibit extremely unacceptable behavior. This behavior many so often conclude is some type of brain damage your child has (correctible by psychotic brain damaging drugs) and not a result of the preschool environment. And sad as this is, we are seeing Christian families having their children as young as 2 diagnosed with some behavior and drugged.
What children need beginning in infancy is: consistent Godly leadership and instruction by their parents who care more about them than anyone (on this earth).
What children need is: to grow in the love of Jesus Christ through solid Biblical home instruction, away from those that will lead (either by omission or commission) your child away from the Lord.
To sum up what daycares and preschools mostly likely provide is this:
"An increasing number of children suffer a 'character disturbance', emotional detachment and uncontrollable inner rage, and its origins can be traced to disruptions in parent-infant bonding." 6
These origins are traced to institutionalizing young children in daycares and preschools. If your child is in preschool, take them out and homeschool them before it leads to life long problems.
- http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=7054&department=BLI&categoryid=commentary Concerned Women for America, The Symptoms of Parent Withdrawal 12/17/2004 By Rachel Mahaffey
- Bell, David M., Gleiber, Dennis W., Mercer, Alice Atkins, "Illness associated with child day care: a study of incidence and cost," American Journal of Public Health, v. 79 (April 1989), p. 479-84.
- cbsnews.com "The Negative Effects of Childcare?" July 17, 2003, as found at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/16/earlyshow/living/parenting/printable563639.shtml.
- Robertson, Brian; There is No Place Like Work (Dallas, Texas: Spence Publishing Company, 2000) p. 26.
- Kathryn Hooks, "'Hands-On' Love," Concerned Women for America, 8 July 2003, as found at www.beverlylahayeinstitute.org.
- Mack, Dana; The Assault on Parenthood (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997), p. 182.
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Apr. 3, 2007
Entertaining Preschoolers Before, During and After School!
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Those LIttle Children!
Some years they aren't trouble at all and fit right in to the school plan for the older children. Other years, there seems to be rub in the mix. Personalities, ages, and other issues all play a role in what makes for a peaceful time and what is less than peaceful. ; ) The same children that are causing a problem now, will peacefully co-exist in a few months with another problem to replace the one that they were. ; )
Keep your chin up, pray for wisdom, keep in the scriptures, and SMILE! : )
In this issue I'm including a big blog post I wrote nearly two years ago about keeping preschoolers busy. Hopefully it will help you start brainstorming about things you can do to change the atmosphere and activities for your preschool crowd.
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A couple of years ago, while looking on the internet for ideas to keep preschoolers busy, I stumbled upon Montessori schools. I fell in love with all of their activities. It really seems as though Montessori schools are schools that brought the home to school. Typically they are preschools but there are some that teach through the elementary years and there are a few that have a complete preschool through 12th grade. These are interesting in that they don't necessarily separate by grades but mix ages up in small groups, just like at home. They give the children ample opportunity to study what interests them and provides the child with resources to do that in depth study. Just like we do at home. Montessori schools have a reputation for churning out National Merit Scholars. Interesting, eh?
If you have looked at Montessori books or catalogs at all you will find a lot of Mother Earth/evolutionary/eastern religion type stuff scattered throughout. You have to be careful, especially with the children's books. Maria Montessori herself was Catholic and taught poor children. Her whole idea was to teach these children life skills using what was available in a hands on setting. I'm not going to give you an encyclopedia article about her, you can go look her up. I'll just tell you how her ideas have helped me out with my preschool crowd.
One thing that I did in the past (I'm not currently diligent about it) that was really helpful was to train the little children to take one toy/activity at a time to their mat or spot on the table. For the little one in the pack-n-play I gave one toy/activity at a time. If your toy/activity is an imaginative one, the child will play/do it for a long time. I remember a specific 15 month old playing with only a can full of blocks for close to an hour in the pack-n-play. "One toy at a time" is teaching concentration. Any good activity will keep the child occupied with it for at least 10 minutes. An older child will fill up an hour easy with a truly imaginative activity. When the child is doing the activity they are not to spread the mess all over. This is learning discipline and takes just a little encouragement from you. When the child is done with the activity, he puts it away before getting another one out. For the little one in the pack-n-play I learned to keep an eye on her and as soon as she started to tire of the activity I switched it before she became unhappy. She usually settled right into playing with the "new" thing unless she was tired or hungry.
The children are not to distract each other or mess with another person's activity. They can play together cooperatively at another time of day. This is "schooltime".
If there is a time period during the day that you and the children need to work together and the preschoolers are not napping, then this is a great way to teach the little ones at the same time. The hardest part is that you have to be there to help them learn the system of one thing at a time and returning it when they are done. Keep it peaceful by teaching them to not disturb each other. Teach your older ones to help out with it.
My biggest reasons for liking Montessori is that it is teaching the preschooler so many great skills that pay off later and it keeps them busy for hours. Now, I don't currently do the "take an activity to your mat" thing. But I do use the idea of having the child take only one activity to the table while the other children are doing school. Where I differ from Montessori is that they have the activities out for the child to choose from on the child's whim. I learned really quick that as soon as I went to change the laundry loads, chaos erupted and activities spread around and got mixed up. So, I keep the activities in a locked cupboard and I choose or ask the child what he wants to do next. A locked cupboard is like having another adult in the house. I learned that on the MOMYS digest. This is anathema to the Montessori purist and truly I like the idea of disciplined children who return their activities and keep things orderly. That is a daily goal that I aim for. However, there is one of me and I have 8 children and a home. Reality is that there is laundry, the telephone, phonics lessons, a baby to be fed, food to make, etc. Leaving activities (with lots of pieces) out for the grab is a recipe for more than a "ten minute pick up". I keep them in a cabinet that hard to open and a locked cupboard.
I also keep Montessori activities in key places in the house. In the sewing room I have sewing cards for the little ones, a little bit more complex sewing cards for the older child, and cross stitch fabric and embroidery floss for the elementary child. They will sit and do these for a long time while I sew. Another activity in the sewing room is sorting buttons into a muffin tin. You can buy bags of buttons at craft stores.
In the kitchen I keep a wash tub with measuring cups, spoons, and dry beans. The children will sit for an hour or more and play with this. I will get out a muffin tin and they will fill it and empty it. The same thing with two different sized bowls. I have a balancing scale that has a bucket at each end that the children will fill with beans trying to balance it. For a slightly different variation, give the child little tiny scoops, spoons, forks, or tongs to pick up the beans with. This teaches them hand dexterity.
When the child is done with the activity he gets to sweep the floor.
Another Montessori idea to use in the kitchen is water play. You probably do this already. The child plays at the sink "washing dishes". Try not let the toddler have a cup for this, that is too messy. But funnels, egg seperators, slotted spoons, whisks, these things are fun and keep them busy playing/learning for a long time. An older preschooler can play with little cups and pitchers and learn to carefully pour from one thing to the next. When they are done, hand them a rag and they will wipe the cupboards and mop the floor.
Yet another Montessori idea for the kitchen is a saucer full of toothpicks and a cheese shaker like they have at pizza restaurants. The child puts the toothpicks into the little holes in the jar. This might seem dull to you but the child really enjoys this. It is teaching their hands coordination and getting them ready to hold a pencil. Colored toothpicks are the most fun, they will sort them before putting them in the shaker.
Sandpaper letters is an easy thing that you and the older children can make for the preschoolers. Simply take an alphabet stencil, trace it onto 220 grit sandpaper, cut out the letters and glue them onto 3x5 cards. The preschooler traces the sand paper letters with his finger. He is getting to know the alphabet and by using his fingers on the sandpaper it is cementing into his brain. Do it with him for awhile so he learns what directions his fingers should go in tracing the letters. You can do this same thing with numbers.
Activities to do at the table are puzzles of all sorts, peg boards, pattern blocks, cuissenar rods, and bead stringing. Pull together things that help learn classifying, sequencing, and matching. When you look at a Montessori catalog you will get all sorts of ideas that you can make from things you already have. Put your activities together on a shelf or in a cupboard and get them out for "school time". Wash tubs are a great size for holding activities, fit on shelves neatly, and are inexpensive.
Take an afternoon and put some activities together, give them a place for storage. Then start teaching your little children order, self-discipline, and a lot of dexterity and brain skills!
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Enjoy your children!
Next week, Lord willing, we will have another article and recipe from Chelsy!
Sincerely,
Kim Brenneman
Large Family Logistics
P.S.
One more thing that will calm the mood of your home and quiet the children is music. Quiet, relaxing, soothing music changes the mood and tone like nothing else. : )
That's a trick I learned from my mother-in-law many years ago.
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Oct. 25, 2006
Preschool Activity Bags!
Just found these and thought that they were neat for those of you who are trying to homeschool with preschoolers! We use everyday math manipulatives and such when we have preschoolers, but these look neat too.
Lisa
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Oct. 2, 2006
Can't Juggle Students and Preschoolers?
Can't Juggle Students and Preschoolers?
The Teaching Home
The Problem
You truly believe the needs of your littlest ones are as important as the education of your older ones, but you can't be everywhere at once.
Six Solutions
1. Identify Your Children's Needs
• Identify each of your children's needs for your time and attention.
• Also identify which needs could be met by someone else (e.g., You must nurse the baby and hug the toddler frequently, but an older child could feed the toddler lunch or read him a story).
• Make sure no one is left without attention longer than he can reasonably be content. A moment with you at the right time is worth more than several minutes when it's too late.
2. Be Prepared
Provide alternative activities for each child to do when you are needed by another child.
• Make a list of alternative activities and have supplies handy (e.g., a box of toys; learning games, puzzles, or coloring books; school assignments; or chores).
3. Do More Things Together
• Your baby may be happy on your lap while you read history lessons to your older children and your toddler plays with Legos on the floor.
• Teach subjects like Bible, science, and history to all your children together. Assign extra reading and work for your older children; explain more and supplement with picture books for your younger ones. See Newsletter #44.
4. Take Advantage of Naptimes
Whether your little ones nap on schedule or not, be ready to drop everything and do phonics or math with your beginning students or needed one-on-one tutoring with your older students whenever this "prime time" occurs.
5. Let Your Students Teach Each Other
Your children can help each other. For example:
• An older child can drill flashcards with a younger child.
• A younger child can practice reading to an older child.
• An older child can help a younger child with math.
6. Multitask
Look for opportunities to teach your children concepts or discuss their studies while you are doing something else.
• Teach and practice math while cooking or cleaning.
• Practice reading signs when you go on errands.
• Talk about things on your walks or drives.
These mini-lessons can either replace or accelerate regular lessons. You will find that informal teaching at opportune moments accumulates into a respectable store of knowledge over time.
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Jun. 20, 2006
Keeping Toddlers Busy During School
We have a busy house with 3 biological children, and up to 4 foster children. The foster children and one of our own are four and under. The four year old has started doing some school, but the toddlers are still exploring. I use big toy bins with themed toys which I rotate during the day/week. For example, after breakfast, my "kid helper" (based on our job chart) will get a bin of toys out for the toddlers. They go in the living room to play. I have "trained them" to keep the toys in that part of the house during school hours. Mid-morning they either watch a PBS show (usually Barney), or get a new toy bin. In the afternoon after naptime, they get a different bin or we go outside to play. I have 5 bins in all.
Bins:
1. Dolls, purses, pretend make up, curling iron, strollers etc.
2. Little people, and I bring out the house and garage along with weebles treehouse
3. Cars, trucks, rescue heroes
4. Playschool toys- phone, pop ups, xylophone, etc.
5. Art supplies: (need some supervision for this one) playdoh, etc.
Hope this helps!
Annette Parks
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Aug. 11, 2005
Preschool Woes
Preschoolers can occasionally (well, more like frequently) get "in the way" when you're trying to teach an older sibling. Here are a few of my favorite ideas for distracting them.......
I always have boxes of educational toys, games, books, etc. in shoe box-sized Rubbermaid containers. I switch out the toys/books/games every so often to make the box seem new. The preschooler can ONLY play with these items when I'm doing "school" with the older child(ren). I also utilize educational DVD's since the TV is near the school room. Another idea is to buy one of the $4 preschool workbooks from Wal-Mart for him/her to use to do their own school work. We did this too and it worked well. I just play "round robin" at the kitchen table with all the kids during that seat work time.
There was a GREAT article about "The Pleasures of Preschoolers" in the latest issue of The Old Schoolhouse magazine. If you have a copy or can get one, it's well worth the read. The author talked about buying a few bags of dried beans and give him measuring cups, spoons, etc. to play with. This seems a lot less messy (if contained to one area on a sheet) than play dough. She also suggested a book that she wrote called "Making the Most of the Preschool Years" by Valerie Bendt (www.valeriebendt.com). It was $20 and had 176 pages.
Another family in the magazine commented on their day. They have four kids - the two youngest are preschoolers. They start their day with "doing preschool" altogether. I really liked this idea because it teaches the older children HOW to teach and to enjoy their younger siblings! This family counts, rhymes, stretches, does exercises, sits in circles and sings and reviews the alphabet. Apparently, this really isn't very time consuming. They, too, use a "school box" (like I mentioned above) and they start projects on their own. Their box contains: simple phonics activities, beads for sorting, puzzles, papers for cutting out shapes. They are organized into small sealable plastic bags. I would suggest some other things too: pipe cleaners (they can spend hours on making shapes with these), blocks, Leap Frog games, play clocks, stackable cubes/cups, etc. A lot of this can be found at Wal-Mart for just a few dollars or less.
Lisa Metzger
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