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The following is a post from contributing writer Carlie who blogs over at So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler? and Managing Your Blessings.
I don’t know about you, but one thing that has always been a challenge for me is keeping my two active sons (ages 4 and 5) occupied while schooling their big sister. And as we are embarking on another cold German winter – I need to focus more on the indoor activities that will continually foster growth as well as keep them engaged.
When we first started homeschooling, we only had our firstborn. She was an only child until the age of 6, when her first baby brother was born. Soon after he was born, he was giving us both a run for our money during school (and every other waking minute of the day – ha!). So it was then, back in 2007, that I started my quest to find educational tools that would help keep him busy while my oldest was doing her work. It was a good thing we started searching for these tools as little did we know that child #3 (baby brother #2) was on his way to join us just a short year later!
I have found several things that have worked over the last five years that I want to share with each of you. The 10 items I have listed in this post are the things that have worked consistently well for both of my boys. Regardless of the age recommendations listed by the manufacturer, we have had wonderful success with all of these toys from ages 2-5 with our sons, and are still using each and everyone of them.
The tools below cover fine motor skill development, gross motor skill development, reading readiness, reading, logic, numbers and counting, History and Geography, Physical Education, imaginative play, and much more. Not to mention they give my two younger children the stimulation they need during periods of down time to exercise both their minds and bodies, allowing for me to help their big sister with certain subjects.
Without any further ado, here are my recommendations:
Wooden Puzzle of the US
Indoor Trampoline
Classic Peg Puzzles
Children of the World Floor Puzzle
Play tent and tunnel
Wooden Lacing Shapes
Inflatable Globe
HOP Learn to Read
Lego Bricks Deluxe
Fridge Phonics
I sincerely pray that this list can give some mothers out there some inspiration and hope to hang in there! I know it can be difficult to school the older children when you have younger ones running around. However, I want to encourage you not to give up. You will find what works for your family and this season of difficulty will pass!
Carlie is a homeschooling mom by day and a blogger by night. She enjoys being married to the love of her life {Michael} while together they fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. Currently living in Germany by way of the US Army, Carlie is smitten by the beautiful scenery and captures as much of it as she can behind the lens of her camera. You can connect with her on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google +.
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I like the play tent and tunnel! It brings back memories of throwing quilts over a card table and holding court in my “castle!”
And there’s lots of math that can be done with each of those. Don’t forget to say the m-word out loud so the little ones know that math is normal (not scary!)
This is a struggle for me too. My oldest is three and the little one is 1.5. I have been thinking about that trampoline — how long does it usually occupy their attention? I hate to have one more giant toy taking up space!
Lindsey @ GrowingKidsMinistry.com
Lindsay, my boys have been using this trampoline at some point every day since we got it over a year ago. They will jump anywhere from 5-10 minutes SEVERAL times a day đŸ™‚ Often times we’ll have to put on the timer so they can take turns – otherwise they’ll fight over it…LOL.