So We've Been Using Little Hands

[Momma Crystal]

for a couple of weeks now.

My son needs more. I was afraid of this.

If I follow his lead we complete one entire unit in one day. I try not to let that happen though. I want him to spend time playing and acting out the Bible stories. And he does. But he wants me to give him two or three at least so he can act out a bigger more complicated story.

At this rate we could be done with this curriculum in less then 2 months.

He is 2.... I know I know.

I am planning to add some unit studies to his day. We'll study bugs for a while, then move on to season stuff like Apples, then pumpkins, fall etc.

I just can't keep up with is thirst for knowledge.

He was actually crying to my mother this weekend that "Mommy won't teach me to read!"

I'm lost.

[amysconfections]

How about just checking out lots of books from the Library. A good size sandbox with trucks,etc to play in. I wouldn't go through this program quickly. You loose too much with going that fast. There is much more to learn in life than ABC's, etc. Cook with him, do other things together.

Is he really just asking for more entertainment from you rather than school work?

[Momma Crystal]

How about just checking out lots of books from the Library. A good size sandbox with trucks,etc to play in. I wouldn't go through this program quickly. You loose too much with going that fast. There is much more to learn in life than ABC's, etc. Cook with him, do other things together.

Is he really just asking for more entertainment from you rather than school work?

We do ALL of this and WAY more. We came back from the library yesterday with a laundry basket full of books. We read at least half of them yesterday and he is eating snack right now or else we'd STILL be reading them this morning.

He has a HUGE sandbox with TONS of trucks that we play in, often together, EVERY day unless it is raining.

We have a GIGANTIC playroom completely set up for arts and crafts, dramatic play, trucks, cars, blocks, trains. He plays in there EVERY day. I play with him much of the time.

We do cooking projects several times a week.

We go to the park, to the museums, to playdates, to the library, to church, for walks... etc.

He acts out ALL of the Bible Stories. But he isn't content with just little snippets, he wants to carry it. Like with God creating Adam and Eve, he is going, "Then what Mommy? Look in the Bible and tell me then what?" Poof, a whole weeks worth of Bible stories done in just a little while. He then acts it out over and over most of the day. The next day... "Mommy, read the Bible. What happens next?" I try to do the same stories and he tells me he "We did that, I want a new one!"

He knows his letters and letter sounds so those activities he SPEEDS through and takes no time on. He enjoys the Bible portions and acting it out, but like I said, the small snippets aren't enough.

[water2wine]

Well maybe you could do the Reading Lesson with him. It seems you have not been able to redirect him and he is not giving up. Perhaps that would be enough. If he needs more then Bob's Books might be a good addition. Your son does sound advanced but I still think he is still only two. I think LHFHG would be a waste at this point even if he wants more. Just think back to how much you remember when you were two.

On other thing, I have a now 6 year old that would do school night and day if I would let her. She is always pushing for more. I have found that setting limits for her has been really helpful. I don't let her lead the way. I let her know how much we are going to do and when. She loves to learn but she also loves to have my undivided attention. So instead of school all the time she helps me around the house and that has really been beneficial for her. It has been a really good decision to set limits for her on how much of what we do and it has not stunted her at all she is still ahead of her years yet still a kid. Reading your post my first thought is setting some clear limits and not letting him lead may go along way. Part of having school run well is to have it be fun but well defined in terms of how much when and that routine makes them secure in that if it ends today it will begin on cue tomorrow. So having a clear defined routine may help as well.

Hopefully some other moms will have more wisdom.

[Carrie]

Crystal,

I agree with water2wine in that my little ones would do as much school as I let them, when they were that age. They looked at "school time" as mommy time, and would love to go on and on.

We set definite limits on their school time and then the rest was for other things. We found that our kiddos needed anticipation for what was to come next. So, when I'd stop my lesson for the day, I would often say, in answer to their questions... "We'll find out about that tomorrow. Won't that be exciting!" Then, I would encourage repetition or play with whatever activities we'd had during the day's lesson.

We did train our kiddos to have a variety of play times each day, one of which was independent, where they played without help from myself, my hubby, or the other siblings. We discovered that learning to play alone is a skill too.

For more structured playtime, if desired, you could have a read aloud time, a play outside time, a snack time, a coloring/art time, a pretend play time, an inside toy time, a walk, a play in their room time, puzzle time, etc. We have also invested in Lakeshore games or toys from the Teacher Store at different phases in our kiddos lives. It just depends on how structured you want to be.

Children will often want more when school is exciting, but we run our school-time very differently from our free-time. During school-time, I run the show and control what we do and during free-time, my kiddos have much more say-so.

Blessings,
Carrie

[coconuts]

Someone told me they successfully used bright-beginnings between LHTH and LHFHG. So if you finish LHTH early, that might be an option- or you could combine the two.