My youngest is four and is in preschool. He goes to a church preschool program three mornings a week. On the other two days, he joins his big brother in homeschool.
When the school year started, I had purchased materials for him to use when he is home with us. Usually he wants to do whatever his big brother is doing so I assumed the same would happen when it comes to learning. I was wrong. He won’t have anything to do with the typical “workbook” like his brother uses for handwriting, spelling, etc. The only workbook he will use without complaint is his math workbook. He seems to enjoy doing simple addition and subtraction problems-so far anyway.
I’ve been trying to find alternative activities to do with him so that he will learn what he needs to learn but in a fun way. For reading, I’ve been giving him a variety of non-workbook activities. He likes a flip book I have where he has to find three of the same types of words (at, op, ig, etc.). He is also more willing to practice handwriting by tracing on dry erase cards than in his handwriting book. I also found an idea online to draw “sight words parking spaces” on poster board and have him drive his cars into the correct spaces. He has loved this. I used one side of the poster board as a neighborhood and the other side as a shopping center parking lot.
And my latest find involves reading, tracing, cutting and pasting. Ian loves cutting so he has really enjoyed these worksheets I found at this blog here. His reading has improved a lot doing these worksheets-and he hasn’t complained:)
I also have a few board games that encourage reading such as POP for Sight Words Game
He has also developed an interest in word searches. I found a site online that has simple wordsearches using easy words. He also enjoys doing math and reading games online. I guess I just have an untraditional learner:)
Do any of my homeschooling friends have any other ideas?
Linking up with:
Great ideas to make learning fun. Sometimes learning has to be disguised
. Smart little guy!
Thanks!:)
No ideas for you but thankful for this post! One of the reasons my husband and I are considering homeschooling is for this exact reason! We know children learn in a variety of ways and we want to make sure our daughter is able to learn in the way that is best for her. As a former teacher I know the struggle it is to have a classroom of children and long to teach all of them in their own special way, but it really isn’t possible to do it every day all the time. It’s always encouraging for me to read the posts about homeschooling and to know where to come back to as we consider the possibilities and look for ideas!
Merry Christmas and thanks for stopping by!
Please stop by again-I can use advice from teachers! I have to constantly remind myself that my kids are different, especially in their learning. Thanks for visiting!
You are doing a great job! A couple of ideas (not that you really need them) are puzzles and if you’re okay with him being on the computer, great websites like starfall.com.
Hopping in from HHH!
Puzzles are a great idea:) We do love starfall.com. Thanks for visiting!
Sounds like my 3 1/2yr old. I just got this for her for Christmas and I think she is going to love it. My girl loves arts and crafts and will do anything as long as she is creating something or drawing, etc.
I think this is going to be very useful when we start homeschooling her older brother in a few weeks. It has I believe 10 different templates in it and they can switch them out for different activities. Plus, the crayola website has more templates you can print off for even more learning activites.
Just an idea… It might help.
Here is the link.
https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2974906
Also, could you send me the link to the site where you got the parking space sight word board idea. That looks like something my 5 yr old would love. Thanks.
Thanks for the link! It looks like a fun way to learn:)
My youngest daughter - now six - is an out of the box thinker and tends to “buck the system” that I established at home. Relieved to hear that I’m not alone in the challenge. She resisted learning to read, and at my wit’s end, I simply stopped and allowed her to explore books on her own in the house. She eventually returned to me and now we are using some old Reader Rabbits and primer downloads from Amazon. She too doesn’t enjoy workbooks, so rather than keep her in the traditional style, I take her aside, sit with her on the floor and “play” math using MUS and Saxon manipulatives. A big hit for us is Skittles quizzes - she’s a candy lover like her little brother
I love your parking spaces for sight words! IEW has a similar game for their phonics program. Thanks for sharing all the resources!