Aubry's tea party with all of her best girlfriends!
Keeping little ones busy during homeschooling can be a challenge. This year I put together a "school box" for my 3 year-old daughter to use while her older brothers and sisters are doing their schoolwork. This helps me to keep her busy where I can see what she is up to and it also makes her a part of our schooling. Here is what I packed into a large Rubbermaid container:
construction paper
glue sticks
color books
crayons
markers
alphabet magnets
foam cut-out shapes
beads and long pipe cleaners
25-piece puzzles
Each day she can pick 2 activities from this box during school time. Keeping it down to 2 items helps her to be excited about getting the box out each day.
I also made her a "rice box". I bought 10 pounds of uncooked rice and poured it into a large Rubbermaid container and added plastic funnels, spoons, bowls and cups. She also likes to use cars and blocks in the rice. The cost for the rice box is under $10.00 and she loves it. I have to pay attention to her because after about 15 minutes she generally starts throwing the rice around, which, of course, is a huge mess!
I have found that planning ahead for her helps our day go smoothly. After about 30 to 45 minutes she usually decides to go play in her room for a while and then she sits with us while we read books together.
Do you have any ideas to share for keeping little ones busy during school?
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And here is an encouraging post from Mental Multivitamin's homeschool blog: Advice to a New Homeschooling Mother. It contains good advice for homeschooling mothers, old and new!
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