How I keep them entertained

So often I get asked the question,"How do you keep the little ones entertained while you teach the older children?"  I was just asked this over the weekend and looked back in my previous posts and found the following post that I wrote a year ago.  It is still the way I do things and with the exception of a baby being added to the mix, it is the same!  It works for us!  ~

Many people have asked me how I keep the younger children entertained while I teach the older kids. First let me tell you that my opinion of schooling may differ from some. I consider schooling more than sitting down at a table or a desk for hours learning what any school could or would teach my children. (although academics are important to function in this world!) I don't formally start my children's "school" until much later than some. My 8 year old can not read yet, not because I am lazy, because I can see he is not ready yet, although getting closer. It would only frustrate him and cause him to look at reading as a joy only a struggle. (My oldest son was the guinea pig for this!) To this day, reading is not something he enjoys! Now my 5 year old can read better than some 2 or 3 years older than him and he spells EVERYTHING out loud. I have really not formally taught him to read. He just has a passion for it and started himself. Not the norm in our family. Usually I have had to guide the previous readers through our wonderful phonics curriculum that has worked so well. The whole goal for my husband and I from the very beginning of our homeschooling journey was to teach or children to teach themselves. If they can learn that skill, they can learn anything and my guidance is all they will need. So, to continue on with the topic question, what do I do with the younger ones while I am busy with the older ones. Because we are a little more structured as far as educating our older kids, I do have to be creative with the little ones while I GUIDE the others. Here are some tips I hope you can use:


1. Monday's are the busy day because that is when I sit with the oldest 3 and give them their assignments for the week. I allow them to work at their own pace and THEY decide when they accomplish their assignments. I have one that has a hard time planning ahead but a couple times of taking away a privilege because work is not accomplished makes a BIG impact! So on Mondays, my 4th child gets the joy of planning an activity for them. (I usually help her Sunday night come up with a little lesson and simple craft.) Usually they do things lots quicker than I need them too, but then they can read books quietly until we are done.

2. The baby naps in the morning still, so the younger 3 after him, have blanket time. I have a certain activity that they do on their blankets, chosen by me, that they must stay on their blanket to do. After one half hour, they can rotate their activity with their brother if they wish. Some things I give them are a box of Legos, potato heads, blocks, wooden trains and track, play cars, Lincoln Logs. This does take a little time to train them to stay on their blankets, but it is worth the effort and it teaches them to focus. That is what their school is at this age! I have even been known to reward them with watching a movie of my choice as long as they stay on their blanket. (I do not do this often, because it really would defeat the whole purpose).

3. Play-dough, need I say more?! Not on their blankets by the way! :)

4. Creating a simple snack with the oldest that is not busy with mom.

5. Books on their blanket is set aside for Fridays. Sometimes they end up playing with them instead of reading them, but as long as they are on their blankets and quiet, let the creativity flow!

6. Wonder Markers and the books that go with them. If you are not familiar with them, they can be costly, but a good investment. They color only on the paper you buy for the special markers and are invisible on anything else. Great for toddlers! The older kids enjoy them also.

7. Old fashioned crayons and coloring books work well too. I do have some that just don't care for coloring much however.

8. I have one rubbermaid of toys that I only get out about once a month for the days when I need a little more time than normal or just a change. It is hands off unless mom says!

I don't feel real creative but these are some of things I use. Blanket time works the best and it usually allows me just enough time to complete what I need to do. Start young and work your way up and there will be less struggle. If you are starting from scratch, be patient and consistent.

~I would love to hear your ideas! Post them on my comments page if you have any good ideas!

Would not trade Mommy-thing for Any-thing!

When I was a little girl, all I wanted to be was a mom and wife!  I did not really care about the order at that time!  I naturally remember wanting to be a mommy first!  (The husband part did not come until I was a teenager! )  I would line my dolls up from oldest to youngest and play house or school with them.  I would care for my babies like they were real!  To me they were real!  When I would go to the store with my mom, I would bundle them up in a blanket and take them with me.  I set them in a high-chair beside me when I ate.  I Changed their diapers and when I went to bed at night, I would put them in their jammies and lay them in their beds.  I knew each one by name and in my eyes, they even had a personalities!  I had ones who cried all the time, and ones who never cried.  Ones, who liked to go to the park, and ones who did not!  :)  It was a dream of mine to be a mother when I got older but when I was small, I was sure I WAS a mommy!  I cared for those babies of mine!  It was real and God implanted  in my heart from a very young age the desire to love and care for children! 

So, when I had girls, I bought them dolls!  They too, played and cared for them!  To them they were real!

I look at the world today, and I wonder if we teach our girls to continue to nurture that desire to nurture!  Do we show and tell them how the fruit of the womb is a reward as it says in Psalms?  When they are little girls playing with their babies, do we tell them of the ways that God has given them a desire to take care of little ones just as their mommy is taking care of them?  Do we make sure that they know God will provide emotionally and financially for them not matter how hard it becomes? Do we cultivate that as they grow OR do we eventually push it away with things of the world?  Telling them that 1 or 2 is enough because children are expensive and that sacrifices will have to be made! Do we tell them that it will all be worth it?  Do we make sure that they know God will provide emotionally and financially for them not matter how hard it becomes because IT SAYS in His Word that children are a BLESSING and not a BURDEN?   

To see the way my daughters care for our baby of the family is simply put, a joy!  They cannot kiss him enough, and they light up when he is around as much as he does!  I pray that continues in their hearts and minds!  Children are work but they are a BLESSING!  May I always teach my children that God desires us to be fruitful and multiply!  It is HIS command!  Whether that be adoption or birthing them from their bodies, that they realize being a mother is very close to God's heart!  Being a mother means raising another genertaion for the kingdom of God!  That has eternal value! 

It is work. There are days that I want to run out the door and scream very loud!  :)  And maybe get away for long short time, but I would not trade this mommy- thing for any- thing!

When I get up in the morning and would do nothing else with my life but what I am doing right now, I know that this is not only MY dream for my life but also God's!  For that, I am truly thankful!

Take joy in being a mommy and let your little ones know how you find it a joy that they call YOU mommy!  And if you are not a mommy, make sure you show little ones in your life how precious and important they are!  Allow God to use you where you are! And let those little "mommies" know, even though they are young, that the job they do with their dolls, is important and it pleases His heart!