Decided, Now What?

[glperky]

Well, thanks to the help and input from many of you I have decided to put my 4 yr. in LHTH and my 6 yr. in LHFHG. Thanks for all your help.

Now, I need your help again. Tell me what your children that aren't independent yet do while you are doing HOD with the other child! My 4yo I am not to concerned with, he is already use to playing by himself while 6 yo and I do school, and he could play all day by himself, if I would let him. It's my 6yo that I am concerned about. He is VERY social and likes to be right smack in the middle, so...?

[mommybelle]

I would recommend enforcing a quiet time for the non-schooling child while you are working with the schooling child. So while you work on LHTH with your 4 yo, the 6 yo could have some quiet time in his room. He could also join in if you think he would be quiet during the lessons (though my 5 yo wouldn't be quiet for her little sister, I am sure). But, he could certainly join in on the fingerplays in LHTH if he is interested. I think I would even allow him to do the artwork if it wouldn't be too upsetting to the 4 yo.

Another option is to read the Bible from LHTH to both children while they eat breakfast, and then expand on the activities during the 4 yo's school time.

I agree with the other pp on the placement for your children. I think you made the right choice! I think LHTH is perfect for a 4 yo.

[Robbi]

Depending on how you feel about such things of course, you could let your 6 yr old play educational computer games like Star fall or PBS.
LHTH doesn't take much time at all, maybe hype up to your older that it was his"break" or "recess"time. You could also do LHTH while your older is doing the rod& staff books or some other workbooks . . . Maybe have puzzle or other activities set up for him. Set up some sort of routine for him, saying he has to do these certain activities before he disturbs you. Let him know the younger needs momma time too. He'll come around. Good luck!

[my3sons]

I have 2 really social little guys in the mix of my 3sons, and they love informally talking about/sharing/showing their work to each other over lunch. It's neat they are doing different guides, as each child gets to shine as they share. I just hang their work on the fridge, and they often comment on each others' work to encourage one another. Sometimes it's just 'Can you make this Egyptian pastry again - wow, it's good?!?", or "Did you write your work in cursive today? Man, that looks about as good as mine already!", or "Did you do some finger painting today? Bet that was fun!", etc. LHTH only takes about 20-30 minutes to do, so your 6 yo will only have to fly solo for that amount of time, and that's probably healthy to encourage. During these independent times, each child kind of does what they are interested in. Some of the things for our kiddos have been color by number pages, erector sets, gardening, baking/cooking, origami, folding paper airplanes, exercise - calisthenics or running an obstacle course of their own making outside, latch-hook, paint by number, reading, flight simulator computer program, making smoothies, circuits sets, lego or Knex creations, RC vehicles and designing a mini-course for them to drive through, kick back in a bubble bath and read, write a cousin a letter, organize an area that needs organizing, hydraulic set, or just play with toys! My 5 yo last year enjoyed working through stations...

My post about learning stations for Emmett:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10565&p=76777

Hope something here helps out, but one of my very favorite things about homeschooling in general is finishing earlier and having our dc have time to foster hobbies and interests of their own! It's not always easy - sometimes they just want to be told what to do - but it's in the choosing that they find what they love, though it may be sometimes just for a season. It's also in the choosing that they realize getting to free time is golden, because they actually have found some things of their own they want to do - very motivating! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[glperky]

Thanks for the encouragement Julie and all the ideas!