Lindsay asks:
How to do it when all of the kids are so little and nobody wants to nap! Beginning Kindergarten this Fall and a little nervous
My Answer:
You may have to take the one room schoolhouse approach. Get a “school box” for each child. Fill it up with things that keep little hands busy.
- crayons
- play dough
- stickers
- paper
- Wikki Stix
- pipe cleaners
- little books
- simple puzzles
- building blocks.
The important part is only allowing the children to have the box during school. Have the children open the school box or busy box while you teach your Kindergarten student. Keep in mind that kindergarten is not time consuming and mostly hands on so all can be involved. Have all the children play a game of hopscotch but replace the regular numbers with letters. Instruct the children hop on the letter and announce what letter it is while the older child can announce the sound it makes. Read a lot of stories aloud and ask your kindergarten student more comprehension questions and possibly have her point out words or beginning sounds in the book. Allow your kindergarten student put on a puppet show to “narrate” her favorite story and allow the little ones to participate. Bring out two sets of counting bears or other math manipulatives and let the little ones sort while you teach concepts to your older student. Just go with the flow always adjusting to your children’s different levels of understanding. Let the little ones help make cookies while you have your older child count chocolate chips or add in ingredients. Learning is living and living is learning. They all will learn more that way then through a constant juggle of children and frustration. Bring out the sidewalk chalk to teach some writing and spelling while the little ones draw. Just think of activities and make it more challenging for your older student or think of a way the little ones can participate on their level.