How long is your school day?

 

Our first year of preschool was only 30 minutes a day. Our second time through, with all the extras was about an hour to an hour and a half. Usually this was split into 2 segments, one before lunch and one after nap. The amount of time we spent depended greatly upon the interest of my child that day.

 

What if my child won't sit still during readings?

 

Don't worry -- you aren't alone. Neither did mine. Actually he had to be busy or else he retained nothing just sat there bored to death. Give him some Legos, a coloring book, let him play at the train table, anything that is quiet enough to still hear you read, and my son would stop every few pages to recap or ask questions or ask to see the pictures from the last few pages. Surprisingly, the stories he remembers the best are the ones I thought he wasn't listening to at all. Experiment and see what method works best for your child. Who knows -- in a few years you little gotta-be-on-the-go when I learn maybe the one cuddled up next to you pointing at the pictures and wanting you to wait before you change the page.

 

What do I do with younger siblings?

 

Ahhh ... the most often asked and hardest question of all.

 

For me, it depended upon my child and how many other children there was in the house at the time. For Zac, he listened in on the stories with Kris or played alone in the playroom while we did school at the table. I also have special "school things" just for him. These are toys, books, etc... that are for his use only during school time only. My Father's World has a great preschool program for this. (I use preschool program very very loosely here as it is their terminology not mine.) The 2-3s program is what I used for my 18 month old. It consists of 4 Lauri toys. No books, no instructors guide, just the toys. The 3-4s program is similar but contains different toys than the 2-3s program. You can get the deluxe version which includes 2 books and a CD. The books however are part of Core PK so I wouldn't get them just yet besides I think for this age range the child maybe too young any how but I did get the CD when I purchased the 2-3 program to give my child something special to listen to when brother was doing AudioMemory in another room. I plan on ordering the 3-4s program for my 2 1/2 yr old. I think this would be great!! And then will begin Core PK with him at 3 1/2 but very loosely and then do the second time through at 4 1/2 just like I did with Kris. I believe this will be my plan with Ben as well.

 

There are also many other things you can do to satisfy your younger one. During writing time, I let my little guy draw with the magna doodle. During reading I hand him a special board book. I try to make the little one feel like they are doing "school" too without them actually doing anything more than structured play.

I quickly learnt that Ben would be a whole new ball game. What worked with Zac had no effect what so ever with Ben. He is the baby in every since of the word. He thinks he should get all the attention all the time. If I am starting at the walls alone he is happy and will play on his own. However, think about doing something without him or with someone else and he is in tears. This "attitude" has caused us to make a lot of changes in our routine. We do thinks in bits and pieces now through out the day rather than in larger chunks. We try to keep things short so he can be involved to but when all else fails and he is just not being compliant -- off he goes to another room behind a baby gate. There he is safe and able to play unsupervised without me having to worry about anything other than the mess left behind. He may cry and claim that the world is ending but truly it is not -- I am off teaching spelling to another child.