Toddlers

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spidermansmum
Posts: 611
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:10 am
Location: UK

Toddlers

Post by spidermansmum » Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:33 pm

What do you do with yours whilst you do school.My toddler loves to join in the rhyming time and the art/science .My real problem is when its time for The Reading Lesson.It needs to be really quiet because my son gets easily distracted.Any got some quiet ideas for my toddler?
- Delighted to have used LHTH,LHFHG and Beyond, Bigger , Preparing and DITHOR
currently Using
LHTH slowly with my 2 year old
Starting Bigger with my 8 y/o About to add on DITHOR
Finishing Preparing with my 12year with ASD/LD

pollo_la
Posts: 201
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:21 am
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Re: Toddlers

Post by pollo_la » Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:35 pm

Oh yes, toddlers!!! :D Well, I have a 2 year old and a soon to be 1 year old, so I know a little something about it. For the most part I am able to include my 2 year old. If we are doing math, then I give my 2 year old "counters" of some kind too, as well as paper to scribble on. If we do some kind of art project, then she can participate "at her level" to some degree. My "baby" usually is just content to play in an area nearby. I'm blessed in that she is a very easy going baby! If she does require more, often times just putting her next to us in her high chair with some cheerios or a few toys does the trick. Of course for things like "Rhymes in Motion," we all do that together. :D

I will say though that for reading lessons I pretty much only do that while the "babies" are sleeping. Our afternoon routine is pretty much always the same. I put my 3 girls all down for "quiet time." The two younger ones always fall asleep. My older dd who is doing school RARELY sleeps. So, for 45 minutes she lays down quietly and looks at books while I also get "quiet time." After those 45 minutes are up, then it is time to "do school." We always start with doing her reading lesson. Because there are so many fun games and books to make (illustrate!!) and things that we do with it, sometimes we do it for a full 45 minutes (because in all honesty, it feels like game time!! :D ). Other times we just do a few simple things for about 20 minutes. If it's a short day, then we sometimes do another school type thing afterward before the babies wake up. Also, there have been times in the evening when Odessa has wanted to do school, and my husband has entertained the little ones while I work with Dessa.

I have heard from others to keep special toys that are ONLY for school time. Pick a different one each day, and rotate through them, so they always seem fresh and exciting.

HTH
Laurie:
Wife to Daniel since June 2002
Mom to: Odessa (5) using LHFHG and Emerging Readers from BLHFHG,
Sophie (3), Nadia (2), and Elliana (newborn)

Jessi
Posts: 550
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Re: Toddlers

Post by Jessi » Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:41 pm

I wish I had some great insight but truth be known I am struggling with this myself right now...only I have 3 kids between the ages of 16 months and 2.5 years of age. They are all turning into terrors. (meant in the lovingest way possible :lol: ) I second the reading during nap times. I tried doing that with Emma and it worked but I have also found that if I do the reading lesson first thing the toddlers aren't at full speed yet and we can get a good reading lesson in with her and it helps Emma and me if we keep all school time together in the morning. If it gets separated we tend to get busy doing other things. Or save your son's reading time for when your little guy is eating breakfast. It keeps him occupied. Just a thought.
Jessi
~~~~~~~~~
Wife to Brad for 10 years
Emma- 7 Beyond, DITHOR,
Logan- 4.5 LHTH, R & S workbooks
www.ourmodernmemories.blogspot.com - personal blog
www.modernmemoryfilms.com - our wedding videography site

anointedhsmom
Posts: 200
Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:04 pm
Location: Nashville, TN
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Re: Toddlers

Post by anointedhsmom » Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:45 pm

Hey ladies,

If you haven't already check out http://www.preschoolersandpeace.com. That sight is great for ideas about how to structure your day with little ones under foot. Also do a search for schedule on the board here and you will see how some of use handle our days with little ones.

I have a boy that will turn 3 April 12 and I will be starting him on LHTH. I am hoping that curbs some of the problems we have had with him while I've tried getting school done with the older son.

HTH!
Blessings,
Paige in TN
Joshua 14 & Jacob 7
http://www.anointedhsmom.blogspot.com

pollo_la
Posts: 201
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:21 am
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Re: Toddlers

Post by pollo_la » Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:52 pm

Oh yes, do school while they are eating!! That helps too. :D
Laurie:
Wife to Daniel since June 2002
Mom to: Odessa (5) using LHFHG and Emerging Readers from BLHFHG,
Sophie (3), Nadia (2), and Elliana (newborn)

funkmomma71
Posts: 373
Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2008 1:54 pm
Location: Las Vegas, NV

Re: Toddlers

Post by funkmomma71 » Fri Mar 20, 2009 11:01 pm

As soon as my ds goes down for his morning nap we break-out the schools books and get to it! Any copywork, scissorwork or anything that can be done independently is left to do after we get everything else done just in case we don't get it all done before he wakes. Hopefully he will be less destructive by neext fall and we won't have to schedule school around his naps, but for now it works for us.

Blessings,
NAncy
Nancy
Mommy and teacher to
Dd 12 and DS 8
Doing MTMM & Preparing 2016-2017

my3sons
Posts: 10698
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Toddlers

Post by my3sons » Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:03 am

Those little ones can make a lot of noise, can't they?!? I love my little toddler, but I cannot tell you how poorly my day would go if we didn't have a plan in place for him. He thrives on structure, and that makes my day so much easier. Jotting down a schedule for the toddler really helps the day go smoothly in our house. Here's a past thread where I talked about what we do, and where other moms shared some awesome ideas:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1751&p=13662&hilit=toddlers#p13662

Also, this thread has the schedule we used for our toddler, Emmett. It has changed somewhat, but mostly it is the same. Other moms shared their schedules too and included some info. about their toddlers sometimes too. Maybe something there will help too:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&p=16049&hilit= ... les#p16049

In Christ , :D
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

holyhart
Posts: 557
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:16 pm
Location: ~New Hampshire
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Re: Toddlers

Post by holyhart » Sat Mar 21, 2009 12:33 pm

How old is your toddler? My son was about 2.5 when I started LHFHG with my dd. Often I let him play with playdoh during that time or coloring a special coloring book. He liked to be with us so that worked well. And any of the craft/science/dramatic play stuff, as well as bible and sometimes the read aloud, he joined in on. What abou some puzzles? Those giant floor ones are great fun! We just used stuff that he could only use durning school time, so it kept his intrest longer than the regular toys because they were "special". Now he often just is happy to play quietly (or do the above stuff!!! :wink: ) while I finish up with my dd.

HTH! :D
~Kelly~
wife of CB since 10/99
mother to:
~Evelyn Grace 5/03
~Joshua Ryan 11/05
~Lillian Rose 8/08
~Caleb Charles 8/10

Jessi
Posts: 550
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Re: Toddlers

Post by Jessi » Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:27 pm

That's what I need to do. I have to start laying down set times for certain activities for my son and the other two toddlers. I admit that I can be lazy about that. I do limit toys so that they don't get bored with everything but bring different boxes out throughout the day. I know that works, but I need to be more intentional about what they are doing and when exactly I want them to do it. I need to find more books on tape: They LOVE being read to. i need to be more proactive in getting them settled with something before I begin school with Emma. They are actually really good about not interrupting me during school time...but that's when they begin to get too rowdy and throwing things, etc. :shock: I am looking forward to when I can start doing LHTH with Logan and the other two as it will give them some fun structured learning/fun time with me. :-)
Jessi
~~~~~~~~~
Wife to Brad for 10 years
Emma- 7 Beyond, DITHOR,
Logan- 4.5 LHTH, R & S workbooks
www.ourmodernmemories.blogspot.com - personal blog
www.modernmemoryfilms.com - our wedding videography site

6timeboymom
Posts: 417
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:59 pm
Location: Iowa

Re: Toddlers

Post by 6timeboymom » Sat Mar 21, 2009 2:08 pm

That's when we get out the Lauri toys for Gabe. I love those-the ones I try to get him to use during the times I need him really quiet are the puzzle ones. Sometimes I set the timer, get out the paint and/or crayons, and tell him that he has to wait till it dings to show me his picture. Sometimes I make an older brother play with him in another room for a little bit, and sometimes I put in a video and let him watch it. I've also had an i pod for about a year now, and I bought some of his favorite videos from itunes, and I can really bribe him with those! :lol: He thinks he's a really big guy when he gets to watch the i pod!
Darci
mom to 6 great boys-"they've got me surrounded!!"
using: as much HOD as possible! :wink:

Mom2Monkeys
Posts: 1410
Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 6:31 pm
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Re: Toddlers

Post by Mom2Monkeys » Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:32 pm

I've made some preschool activity bags. There are actually books with tons of bags to make for under a dollar. You get some independent play items and place them in a gallon ziploc bag. I've made some without the books for my 2.5 yo WILD child...never met one wilder! LOL I put him in his highchair and let him have one. I change it out every 10-15 minutes. This could buy me up 30-45 minutes at a time.

Here's some I've made (and they've been great!)
~Tan/Black construction paper with 2 large paintbrushes. Give him a sheet with a little cup of water to "paint with water"
~Army guys
~Chalk and dark construction paper
~sponge animals
~pizza pan with magnetic letters
~muffin pan, assorted colors of craft pom poms to sort by color-I put different colors of paint in the bottom of the muffin cups to give him a head start
~stiff and safety scissors...'nuf said :lol:
~color books with jumbo crayons
~small dry erase board with a few markers and the eraser...he likes the eraser part
~paper towel and toilet paper rollers and a super ball or a couple hot wheels to tunnel through them
~pizza pan with hot wheels...makes a great race track

The books can be found here: http://www.activitybags.com/
Here's another site with some links and great ideas http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/prescho ... vities.htm

Hope that helps!
~~Tamara~~
Enjoying HOD since 2008

DD15 long-time HODie finding her own new path
DS12 PHFHG {dysgraphia, APD, SID}
DS9 PHFHG
DS6 LHFHG
DD new nursling

spidermansmum
Posts: 611
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:10 am
Location: UK

Re: Toddlers

Post by spidermansmum » Wed Mar 25, 2009 5:27 am

Thanks for all the ideas. Holyhart -my toddler is 26 months.The only subject we really struggle with is reading.The toddler is getting a great education joining in on the science/art type activities.The read aloud stories are a little trickier but I have finger puppets and little knitted toys. We can entertain him well enough with sticker books and he does his own drawing etc during hand writing and Math.The Reading lesson is toughest because my older one has some adhd -he is very bright but his attention is very easily distracted by noise and activity.So it needs to be quiet.The toddler loves music so I think an Ipod would work great.I think naptimes would be the best time to do reading BUT naptimes are a little irregular and my older son really needs a firm routine -thats due to his aspergers.He really is incapable of changing his plans without causing a lot of stress to everyone.I can see the special bag or toys working though-I used those before -with other kids -for my nursing times.I am going to have a go at putting together those and i will look out for some floor puzzles too.
Thankyoy all for your help :D
- Delighted to have used LHTH,LHFHG and Beyond, Bigger , Preparing and DITHOR
currently Using
LHTH slowly with my 2 year old
Starting Bigger with my 8 y/o About to add on DITHOR
Finishing Preparing with my 12year with ASD/LD

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