Last week I experienced again what it was like trying to teach older children while caring for young ones at the same time. My grandsons, Kaden, 4 and Will, 2 aren’t ready to sit at the table quietly while we work! So, we tried several things to occupy them while I worked with my boys on their lessons.
· We had special “school time only” toys. A favorite was a box of wooden clothes pins that my grandsons like to clip together to make outlines of roads for their cars.
· We had to work for shorter periods of time, speak a little more loudly, and concentrate harder.
· We had to accept the fact that relationships are more important than anything (even academics) and we just didn’t get everything done that we might have otherwise.
There were a few times I remember Kaden standing on the same chair seat right behind Kody while he was reading. Will was sitting on top of the table while we finished up some science.
It wasn’t a perfect scenario for learning, but we still got most of our work done. And we traded what didn’t get accomplished for lots and lots of hugs!
The take away? I think my boys, 13 and almost 15 learned more by caring for their nephews this week than anything they could have learned from reading a book.
· We had special “school time only” toys. A favorite was a box of wooden clothes pins that my grandsons like to clip together to make outlines of roads for their cars.
· We had to work for shorter periods of time, speak a little more loudly, and concentrate harder.
· We had to accept the fact that relationships are more important than anything (even academics) and we just didn’t get everything done that we might have otherwise.
There were a few times I remember Kaden standing on the same chair seat right behind Kody while he was reading. Will was sitting on top of the table while we finished up some science.
It wasn’t a perfect scenario for learning, but we still got most of our work done. And we traded what didn’t get accomplished for lots and lots of hugs!
The take away? I think my boys, 13 and almost 15 learned more by caring for their nephews this week than anything they could have learned from reading a book.
How do you occupy your younger children while teaching your older ones?
For some reason, this is the first time I was able to visit your blog - shame on me!
ReplyDeleteBut I just wanted to say hi, and I love your profile picture. Just by looking at you I feel a unique connection. Like if we met in person we'd hit it off.
I swear I'm not a stalker. ;) Really.