Last night...
Me: Josiah, tomorrow is your first day of school. Do you know who your teacher is?
Josiah: Wahoo! Keeping my eyes on Youuuuu... (a song he recently learned at Sunday school)
Me: Um, no. Me. I'm your teacher.
Josiah: Me. I'm your teacher.
Me: No, ME. MOMMY.
This morning...
Me: Josiah, we're starting school in an hour. Do you remember who your teacher is?
Josiah: Keeping my eyes on Youuuuuu!
Me: *sigh* No...
Josiah: Oh yeah, you! Momma, when I get older, I'm gonna teach YOU.
Sure, kid. Whatever it takes to get through day 1.
So, day 1 of homeschool. Albeit pre-school, but still. I've semi-dreaded this day for years. Had you asked me 10 years ago if this would ever happen in my home, I would've laughed at you. I would've laughed even harder had you told me I'd be living in China.
We made it, but it wasn't pretty. It started with tears when I told Josiah he had to color more than 2 lines on his paper. I mean, coloring is the easy part, right? This boy hates it. Doesn't coloring make up for most of pre-school? I could be in for something....interesting.
Malachi, on the other hand, wanted to color. Color everything in sight. I had a few activities lined up for him to keep him busy. I mean, it couldn't be that hard for him to entertain himself for one hour, right?! I forgot who I was dealing with.
I gave him pipe cleaners and a strainer. 30 seconds. (Later, I found the strainer in the sink. How thoughtful!)
A coloring book and 5 crayons. 1 minute. Then he started throwing the crayons into the living room.
A whiteboard and a marker. 20 seconds. Then he started coloring on the floor.
Cheerios from Josiah's craft. Sheer distraction.
Stickers. 2-3 minutes. But he needed my help getting every one off the page. His pant leg was very decorative by the end of it.
And then I gave up. Josiah about had it with all the coloring and his type-A-ness was coming on strong when he tried to place Cheerios on a paper in the shape of an "A" and they kept sticking to his fingers, making them slightly off-center. Oh boy.
So we ended with some ABC videos and called it a day.
So, who has advice for me? All ears.
Ashley, you are off to a great start even if it doesn't feel like it! Training Malachi is just as important as teaching Josiah, so don't look at his interruptions as interruptions. Just another opportunity to train! Now,about Josiah. Since you asked, here is a little humble advice: In my experience, crafts are usually not productive unless they are just for fun(not "school"), and they are child-led, not parent-led. So don't feel you need to do that stuff unless you are both enjoying it. Also, Josiah probably needs only 20-30 minutes of structured learning time. 10 min. of letters/phonics, and 10 min. of numbers/math. And if he is ready, 10 min. of handwriting or fine motor skill training. I have two words for you: NAP TIME. If Malachi is not napping, he can have quiet time in his room/bed while you work with Josiah, and then you can spend some on-on-one time with Malachi afterwards. The best and most important thing to do at this age is lots and lots of reading together. Snuggling on the couch with a good book is a good reward for 30 min. of structured learning. Enjoy your boys...you are a great mom...keep up the good work!
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