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"A baby needs not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to the world."
- G. K. Chesterton
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Hands-Free Homeschooling
I know, it's hands-on education that is the wave of the future. But my hands are going to be very full for the next year, feeding two babies. A lot of things that are simple to do with a baby on one arm can't be done at all with two.
So I greatly appreciated it when my sister suggested that I make a list of things to recite with, sing to, or otherwise practice with the older ducklings that I didn't need my hands available to do. Specifically, they have to be things I already know myself by heart, so I don't have to look them up in order to do them with the kids. It doesn't make for a grand or well-organized scheme, but the list provided plenty of things suitable for preschoolers to do during nursing sessions for the next several months.
I made a list with several categories:
Bible Passages (also books of the Bible)
Hymns
Poetry
Useful Information: full name and address, telephone numbers, etc.
Counting: 1-20 (they need a lot of work on the 'teens, but they love to count), 20-100, backwards, eventually skip counting
Folk songs
My goal is to have something going in each category and make sure we run through the list at least once a day, preferably in the morning. I may write the current selections out on a chalkboard I keep in the living room where I can see it if I forget. When they seem pretty familiar with current selections, we can move on--I don't require recitation at this age, but when they start chanting their story books after a few readings, it seems a shame not to give them a wide variety of ideas to chew on.
A lot of this is stuff I might do without having a formal plan when my brain is functioning better, but at this point I need all the help I can get. The older ducklings have really enjoyed having some special activities while the babies are eating. |
Posted: 1:52 PM, Jul. 29, 2008 |
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| I started putting stuff up on the TV cabinet opposite the couch, when Bilby joined us... she got distracted if I tried reading books, but if I have poems and song lyrics and lists of other things just across the room, it's really easy to do them with Puggle. You can see a picture <a href="http://www.genialhearth.com/2008/01/14/a-beginning/">here</a>. |
Posted by Anonymous at 11:35 PM, Jul. 31, 2008 |
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