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How do you balance between children? With 5, 6 and under…
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Ok, I seem for some reason to be at a stand still with getting all of our subjects going. I can’t seem to decide the best way to schedule our schooling (daily) so that it isn’t as crazy as it was. Maybe I am dreaming and it will just be this crazy for awhile with the ages of kids I have??
My kids are 6 1/2 1st grader, 5 K, 3 1/2 year old, 1 1/2 year old, baby due at the end of October.
I have toys and educational things for the youngers but my problem is actually with my older. He fights me a lot and so we were only getting phonics, math, and maybe some copywork and then I was sooooo ready to be done! So I am trying to figure out when the best time is to do these subjects with him and then with my next dd and still manage everyone else without losing it. Can anyone relate?
Some options I have come up with:
-A somewhat strict schedule that lays out what each child is doing at every moment. (Then how do you get them to do that at these ages, right?)
-Try to do a round table with the subjects, get them started, then help the next one, then go back, and so on.
-Do my sons phonics and math at rest time (not ideal because I would like a rest too).
Any other ideas of what has worked with your family when you have many little ones who are unable to do independent work?
TIA!
I’m going to tell you to relax a bit. 6 1/2 is still so little. I stressed out on my first and we had the same scenario you did with lots of littles. He is now 24; and has managed college quite nicely. I will say that the next seven children got less and less heavy structure as time went on and they all seem to be doing as well academically as he did. It seems to me that the Lord has special grace for us moms of many littles. I have been amazed again and again how the children just seem to ‘get’ it even during those times when I could not give them my undivided attention.
Having said that, you are right to have, if not a schedule, then a routine. It is helpful to routinize wherever possible. That and habit training (I think of that scripturally as ‘doing everything as unto the Lord’), are the two biggies, I believe. What a wonderful opportunity you have to teach your children that we do these things because we want to honor the Lord in all that we do.
Blessings,
Cindy
Yes, I have to have set times (30 minutes) with each child or someone gets left out, gets way behind on studies (thinking of my older ones here who sometimes need some *encouragement* with certain subjects they work on independently) or just needs help but can’t seem to ask b/c I am always busy.
One thing I’ve added this year is a daily schedule for myself with those times in there. I purposefully spread them out over the course of the day, because I can’t do it all in a row. Yeah, I need a break too!
I also do have to work with DD, 6 1/2, during our 2YO’s naptime, on phonics and reading or it just doesn’t get done. I try to do math with our 7YO and 6YO in the AM but I keep it short and not more than 15 minutes. Ideally I do this right after we read together as a family and have prayer and Bible time. Hardest struggle here is keeping 2YO DD occupied. She is not taking to her tot trays too well LOL, but instead wants to be learning right alongside them. So I just have a notebook for her and manipulatives and try to teach her too before I work with them and then hope she will just play with her math work. And she usually does long enough for me to do their lesson with them.
As far as getting math, copywork and reading/phonics done I say that is a successful day for a 6 1/2 and 5YO.
The other stuff is icing right?You’ve gotten good ideas. I’ll add in my 2 cents for variety…LOL.
I have 7 children ages 6 mos, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11. We do family work where we can and try making it cozy for any read alouds (history, science, literature, scriptures). We do table time and I rotate around the table helping those old enough to be doings school and interacting with the little ones. All little ones sit in booster seats with seatbelts. They begin very young with 10 minutes of table time and 1 toy/activity to play with for that time. If it goes on the floor they sit without it. Most quickly learn to keep the activity. Once 10 minutes is easy we up the time until the little ones can cheerfully do an hour of table time with a change of activity item every 15 minutes. It works wonderfully, but takes time to get trained. It’s worth it.
I also second the thoughts that your oldest is still young! Focus on the basics (learning to read, to write with copywork, to do basic math, and scriptures). This should take not even an hour (10-15 min for reading, math, and scriptures, no more than 5 minutes for copywork). Those are very easy to break up during the morning with active play. Then allow anything else (history, science, art, etc) to be done through stories, nature exploration, and play. Not formal at all. You do not want your child to lose their love of learning because they’ve been pushed to do too much academic sit down work too early. Then you’ll have to fight them to work for the next 12 years. Yuck! Cut back and find the joy again.
My kids are DD(almost 7), DS(5), and DD(almost 3). I also take care of a 4yo girl and twin 15 month old girls. So we are a busy place too!
Last year I didn’t have the twins, but of course, everyone else was younger. We did anything that we could do together (devotional, year 0 stories, poetry, science, nature studies, etc.) in the mornings. My DD did everything, of course, but the younger kids were free to go when their attention waned. We have plenty of table activities (puzzles, drawing, perler beads, stringing pony beads, peg boards, stamp pads, etc.) that they do while we read. My rule is that if they cannot play quietly, they have to go to the playroom next door. Fortunately with lots of little ones, they entertain each other fairly well. All of the morning ‘subjects’ are only 5 – 10 minutes (except our nature walk), so we were free to take plenty of breaks to deal with changing activities or any issues.
Then during naptime (both my 2yo and the 3 yo napped last year) I did read alouds, copywork, and math with my DD. DS did some computer time and then played with things the young girls weren’t ready for, like Lego.
This year (starting just 4 weeks ago) I’ve discovered that we get much less done with the twins around, as we have many more interruptions (diaper changes, snacks, keeping the toddlers from tearing up the place, etc.) So more of our subjects have been moved to nap time. I’ve also added in some math and read alouds for DS, and longer read alouds for DD, so our afternoon work takes longer. They take turns working with me and working on the computer (Rosetta Stone, Typing Instructor, ClicknKids, and some Jumpstart games.) or playing with the younger girls, who no longer nap. I have to have some specific new and interesting activities ready for them every few days, so that they stay engaged long enough to give us time to get everything done. I rotate the toys and craft materials to keep things fresh. I find I spend almost as much time planning for the preschoolers as for the grade 2 and kindergartener. The rule still applies though: Play quietly at the table, or go to the playroom. They generally move back and forth between the table and the playroom.
I’d love to have naptime be a rest time for everyone, including me, but it just doesn’t work for us. I take some down time for myself when the kids are playing outside. I can sit on the grass or the patio and supervise, keeping the toddlers from eating rocks and such, but basically just relaxing. Outside time is great for the kids, and gives me a bit of a break. I highly recommend plenty of it!
I don’t think there is a perfect way of dealing with lots of ‘littles’ but hopefully that give you some more ideas to help you find your groove.
Joanne
The other stuff is icing right?
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