June 28, 2006 3:15 PM
Parenting Q&A - keeping 3 year old busy
A reader writes:I am a homeschooling mother of 4: 17yods [for newbies, this means 17 year olds dear son], 11yods, 9yodd and 3yods. My 3yo just transitioned to one nap a day, so I need to figure out what to do with him during our school time. He is very active and loud! And he wants interaction constantly...I really need to spend some time with the middle two, and with my high schooler, and I just can't seem to get it done with any peace!
I am new to your blog, and am not sure if you have any ideas on your site. I can't really find any, so I didn't know if it was me, or if they just weren't there...
Thank you so much for any ideas/encouragement you can share.
My reply: Hi and thanks for writing!
There is information here - look under Barbara's Picks under early education to see some manipulatives and how to use them. Also click on Categories and look under Montessori and preschoolers. You might try getting a used copy of my book Small Beginnings . It is out of print and I only have a couple left - I am working on a newer bigger edition, but it won't be out 'til next summer.
You can also turn some responsibility over to your older kids by making part of each one's school day to spend 1/2 hour working with your youngest on puzzles. lacing beads, coloring, etc - while you work with the other two.
Try starting the day with some singing and active songs where you use a lot of body movement, and give him breaks. Does he have a table and chair his own size to sit and do his work? That would help.
But the most important thing is to develop his concentration so that he can stick with a task - of his own choosing for longer and longer periods of time. In one of those "random" synchronous events, I got a tip today from Janet [who just launched her own blog The Fun We Have - Hi Janet!] to check out Chickadee's Works for Me idea at Three in a Nest . This is a simple example of setting up an activity for a preschooler that brings out the concentration. See, it doesn't matter so much what the activity is as much as the end result that it important - and that is capturing the child's attention. Chickadee's son may want to do this every day, and though it may seem to an adult rather pointless, as long as he is focused and purposeful, it is exactly the kind of activity you want to encourage. [Remember, I'm looking for pictures of preschoolers concentrating on activities to use for my next book]
[Big important interruption here: Apparently, while I've been too busy to visit, the inimitable Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer has started a wonderful weekly resource, called Works for me Wednesday. Y'all really need to check it out :)]
I hope this gets you started. I can only write a little right now as I'm trying to meet a deadline, but I will post this at my blog and you will hear more from some of my readers, I'm sure.
Posted in Homeschooling, Montessori, Preschoolers | Permalink
