ideas for 3.5 year old and on
zurro
My husband and I both work from home. We are currently living in Asheville, NC in an area that has a few unschool families and quite a few homeschools (lots of religious ones). We are a bit of a drive from town and although I try to get there as much as possible for playgrounds and playdates sometimes it hard. Plus many of the parents we meet are not on the same page with how we respond to our
dd. (for instance one little girl that DD really likes has nice parents but they do things like when she falls down and cries they simply tell her to pick herself up which doesn't fit with how we parent :()
We recently went through a huge shift in our mindset regarding our plan to unschool. We had already pretty much been there but occasionally I would feel bad that I wasn't "doing" enough things at home with our three and half year old and would go through this thinking that maybe some classes or a couple of days at a free school with me there to watch out for her would be helpful. Well recently I heard about someone making a free range kids school and thought it
sounded good. I went and met with the woman who was putting it together and her kids and it felt interesting because dd would have free access to some things that we don't "do" and the chance to play with other kids and I'd be there with her watching out over her and making sure she was okay and also if she wanted to nurse.
Well, I decided to take DH to the open house which turned out to be more planning than anything else and I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for us to cement what really felt right to us. After watching DD play with other kids and realizing that there was so much happening that was unsupervised among young influential kids, and realizing that there were issues that we brought up that were just brushed off we realized that maybe we really don't need to be involved in something like that after all.
I also spoke to a friend who has her daughter in a small coop of five children but they have a teacher and although they have free play they call it a school which just already feels too schoolish to us. At
this same time period we had gone to a May Faire that was full of Waldorf schools and preschools and that just finally clicked that it DID NOT resonate with us AT ALL! I guess we're getting more secure in our choices which I suppose is part of what happens as time passes and we get exposed to things that allow us to feel right about our choices. We also realized that "nature based" activities which were what we liked about Waldorf are already everywhere!
DH also reminded me that getting DD to DO things often consisted of me doing the things I thought we should and he was right LOL. I don't really think it's about deschooling my brain, I'd say it's more about feeling like no one ever did fun creative artsy things with me as a kid and I don't want the same thing to happen now.
So really I'm looking for ideas, resources, reading, blogs etc that would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in preschool. I have a lot of reading resources but so many are focused around older kids.
Wow! Sorry for the long post :( guess a lot of this has been sitting with me for awhile..but thanks for any help :)
Laura Z
dd. (for instance one little girl that DD really likes has nice parents but they do things like when she falls down and cries they simply tell her to pick herself up which doesn't fit with how we parent :()
We recently went through a huge shift in our mindset regarding our plan to unschool. We had already pretty much been there but occasionally I would feel bad that I wasn't "doing" enough things at home with our three and half year old and would go through this thinking that maybe some classes or a couple of days at a free school with me there to watch out for her would be helpful. Well recently I heard about someone making a free range kids school and thought it
sounded good. I went and met with the woman who was putting it together and her kids and it felt interesting because dd would have free access to some things that we don't "do" and the chance to play with other kids and I'd be there with her watching out over her and making sure she was okay and also if she wanted to nurse.
Well, I decided to take DH to the open house which turned out to be more planning than anything else and I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for us to cement what really felt right to us. After watching DD play with other kids and realizing that there was so much happening that was unsupervised among young influential kids, and realizing that there were issues that we brought up that were just brushed off we realized that maybe we really don't need to be involved in something like that after all.
I also spoke to a friend who has her daughter in a small coop of five children but they have a teacher and although they have free play they call it a school which just already feels too schoolish to us. At
this same time period we had gone to a May Faire that was full of Waldorf schools and preschools and that just finally clicked that it DID NOT resonate with us AT ALL! I guess we're getting more secure in our choices which I suppose is part of what happens as time passes and we get exposed to things that allow us to feel right about our choices. We also realized that "nature based" activities which were what we liked about Waldorf are already everywhere!
DH also reminded me that getting DD to DO things often consisted of me doing the things I thought we should and he was right LOL. I don't really think it's about deschooling my brain, I'd say it's more about feeling like no one ever did fun creative artsy things with me as a kid and I don't want the same thing to happen now.
So really I'm looking for ideas, resources, reading, blogs etc that would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in preschool. I have a lot of reading resources but so many are focused around older kids.
Wow! Sorry for the long post :( guess a lot of this has been sitting with me for awhile..but thanks for any help :)
Laura Z
Robin Bentley
On Jun 4, 2010, at 1:28 PM, zurro wrote:
Here's few pages to start with from Sandra's site:
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
http://sandradodd.com/strew/deblist
Some ideas on rainy days with toddlers from the La Leche League
International site (you don't need rainy days, though <g>):
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug98p122.html
Cool art stuff here:
http://sandradodd.com/art/
I can think of a few things we did when Senna was around that age. We
did a lot of bath play with foam shapes that stuck to the bath and
shower walls; we went on beach walks or park walks; went to children's
hands-on museums; browsed neighborhood stores; we cut up a lot of
paper <g> just for fun; messed with playdough and paint; went for ice
cream; and I read to her every day, especially before bed. But you can
involve her in what *you* do every day, too - cleaning, laundry, food
prep, looking after animals.
Can't think of any toddler-focussed blogs off-hand at the moment (and
I'm sure I'll embarrass myself when I realize how many unschooling
blogs I know of that will fill the bill, but, hey...)
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>And this will be a long reply :-)
> So really I'm looking for ideas, resources, reading, blogs etc that
> would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in
> preschool. I have a lot of reading resources but so many are focused
> around older kids.
Here's few pages to start with from Sandra's site:
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
http://sandradodd.com/strew/deblist
Some ideas on rainy days with toddlers from the La Leche League
International site (you don't need rainy days, though <g>):
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug98p122.html
Cool art stuff here:
http://sandradodd.com/art/
I can think of a few things we did when Senna was around that age. We
did a lot of bath play with foam shapes that stuck to the bath and
shower walls; we went on beach walks or park walks; went to children's
hands-on museums; browsed neighborhood stores; we cut up a lot of
paper <g> just for fun; messed with playdough and paint; went for ice
cream; and I read to her every day, especially before bed. But you can
involve her in what *you* do every day, too - cleaning, laundry, food
prep, looking after animals.
Can't think of any toddler-focussed blogs off-hand at the moment (and
I'm sure I'll embarrass myself when I realize how many unschooling
blogs I know of that will fill the bill, but, hey...)
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robin Bentley
It strikes me, from the searching-for-what-resonates that you've been
doing, that you are looking for a way to provide extraordinary
"enrichment." That can certainly add to your days, but it doesn't
have to be chock full *every day*. Try not to think of "typically in
preschool" because that can set up a re-creation of "what preschoolers
do" in your home. Think of doing things that are fun for her and you.
Find fun projects or games to do together. Go on outings for
enjoyment, not for what you think she might "need." Might you have
goals for her other than enjoying being a happy learning-all-the-time
3 1/2 year old? :-)
Which brings me to this:
"that getting DD to DO things often consisted of me doing the things I
thought we should"
Can you clarify what you mean? The "should" worries me a bit. And the
"getting DD to do things." There is a difference between "getting kids
to do things" and offering opportunities that kids might enjoy.
And lastly, are you looking for outside classes and such because of
your at-home jobs? If you could find an unschooling teen or mom who
would be willing to either come over or have your daughter at their
place for a few hours, would that help?
Robin B.
doing, that you are looking for a way to provide extraordinary
"enrichment." That can certainly add to your days, but it doesn't
have to be chock full *every day*. Try not to think of "typically in
preschool" because that can set up a re-creation of "what preschoolers
do" in your home. Think of doing things that are fun for her and you.
Find fun projects or games to do together. Go on outings for
enjoyment, not for what you think she might "need." Might you have
goals for her other than enjoying being a happy learning-all-the-time
3 1/2 year old? :-)
Which brings me to this:
"that getting DD to DO things often consisted of me doing the things I
thought we should"
Can you clarify what you mean? The "should" worries me a bit. And the
"getting DD to do things." There is a difference between "getting kids
to do things" and offering opportunities that kids might enjoy.
And lastly, are you looking for outside classes and such because of
your at-home jobs? If you could find an unschooling teen or mom who
would be willing to either come over or have your daughter at their
place for a few hours, would that help?
Robin B.
undermom
***So really I'm looking for ideas, resources, reading, blogs etc that would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in preschool. I have a lot of reading resources but so many are focused around older kids.***
http://besthomeschooling.org/articles/lillian_jones_ps_kdgtn.html
It's titled "A Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten" but don't let that scare you away. In addition to literally hundreds of ideas for interesting and fun things to do with the little people in your life, this page and the links from it build the case for unschooling.
Follow the links. It should keep you busy reading for quite a while. :)
Deborah in IL
http://besthomeschooling.org/articles/lillian_jones_ps_kdgtn.html
It's titled "A Homeschool Curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten" but don't let that scare you away. In addition to literally hundreds of ideas for interesting and fun things to do with the little people in your life, this page and the links from it build the case for unschooling.
Follow the links. It should keep you busy reading for quite a while. :)
Deborah in IL
Sandra Dodd
-=- I don't really think it's about deschooling my brain, I'd say it's
more about feeling like no one ever did fun creative artsy things with
me as a kid and I don't want the same thing to happen now.-=-
If you want to bypass deschooling, the "fun creative artsy things" you
choose will very likely end up being schoolish.
No shortcuts.
Taking a shortcut at this point, assuming you went to school for ten
to twenty years, would take you in the wrong direction. Doing things
for your children that you wish people had done for you is wonderful,
but it doesn't replace deschooling.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
more about feeling like no one ever did fun creative artsy things with
me as a kid and I don't want the same thing to happen now.-=-
If you want to bypass deschooling, the "fun creative artsy things" you
choose will very likely end up being schoolish.
No shortcuts.
Taking a shortcut at this point, assuming you went to school for ten
to twenty years, would take you in the wrong direction. Doing things
for your children that you wish people had done for you is wonderful,
but it doesn't replace deschooling.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
zurro
Robin, yes I guess the enrichment would be a great way to express it - best word I've found away from "exposing". I think that is the worry I have that if we have days that aren't full (and lots of days are just full of her watching her favorite TV shows because we're both busy on the computer) then the time is passing quickly. I know she is learning every day and recently she has decided to start watching her favorite shows in French which may lead her to actually speaking to DH in French rather than just listening - either way is okay :)
On the "should" I realized I didn't finish that sentence LOL. An example is that we did a thing at the May Faire with flowers and ink printing. I was thinking it would be fun to do at home until DH commented that I was the one who was doing them and not really her. So my should was more about feeling like I should find things for her to do that she might like. I feel like if I don't push myself a bit then we'll just spend our days reading, watching TV, and playdates rather than me thinking outside of the box for some other things I might not normally think to offer. Hence one of the reasons I asked for ideas.
I might add that DD is fabulous at puzzles and loves to do them over an over repeatedly so I'm always looking for new puzzles and we create all kinds of games around them.
Maybe I should have simply asked for ideas of what people do/have done in daily life with their younger kids. I remember there was a post in one of the forums awhile back about what an unschooling day might look like well.
Oh and I wish I had someone close that I could have over. I'm still working on making connections. We're not close enough to many other unschoolers, and not quite close enough to Ren ;)
Thanks for all the input!
Laura Z
On the "should" I realized I didn't finish that sentence LOL. An example is that we did a thing at the May Faire with flowers and ink printing. I was thinking it would be fun to do at home until DH commented that I was the one who was doing them and not really her. So my should was more about feeling like I should find things for her to do that she might like. I feel like if I don't push myself a bit then we'll just spend our days reading, watching TV, and playdates rather than me thinking outside of the box for some other things I might not normally think to offer. Hence one of the reasons I asked for ideas.
I might add that DD is fabulous at puzzles and loves to do them over an over repeatedly so I'm always looking for new puzzles and we create all kinds of games around them.
Maybe I should have simply asked for ideas of what people do/have done in daily life with their younger kids. I remember there was a post in one of the forums awhile back about what an unschooling day might look like well.
Oh and I wish I had someone close that I could have over. I'm still working on making connections. We're not close enough to many other unschoolers, and not quite close enough to Ren ;)
Thanks for all the input!
Laura Z
--- In [email protected], Robin Bentley <robin.bentley@...> wrote:
>
> It strikes me, from the searching-for-what-resonates that you've been
> doing, that you are looking for a way to provide extraordinary
> "enrichment." That can certainly add to your days, but it doesn't
> have to be chock full *every day*. Try not to think of "typically in
> preschool" because that can set up a re-creation of "what preschoolers
> do" in your home. Think of doing things that are fun for her and you.
> Find fun projects or games to do together. Go on outings for
> enjoyment, not for what you think she might "need." Might you have
> goals for her other than enjoying being a happy learning-all-the-time
> 3 1/2 year old? :-)
>
> Which brings me to this:
>
> "that getting DD to DO things often consisted of me doing the things I
> thought we should"
>
> Can you clarify what you mean? The "should" worries me a bit. And the
> "getting DD to do things." There is a difference between "getting kids
> to do things" and offering opportunities that kids might enjoy.
>
> And lastly, are you looking for outside classes and such because of
> your at-home jobs? If you could find an unschooling teen or mom who
> would be willing to either come over or have your daughter at their
> place for a few hours, would that help?
>
> Robin B.
>
earthstarschool
Hi Laura,
If you would like, you can email me offlist at radiantearthfarm@.... We live outside Asheville (in Madison County) on 3 acres. Our boys are 9 and 5 yrs old. We love getting together with other unschoolers. We have several families here that get together for hikes, etc.
Blessings,
Jenny
If you would like, you can email me offlist at radiantearthfarm@.... We live outside Asheville (in Madison County) on 3 acres. Our boys are 9 and 5 yrs old. We love getting together with other unschoolers. We have several families here that get together for hikes, etc.
Blessings,
Jenny
missalexmissalex
> So really I'm looking for ideas, resources, reading, blogs etc that would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in preschool. I have a lot of reading resources but so many are focused around older kids.My daughter is 3. Here are some blogs I follow from families with at least one kid in that range. They're not all unschoolers or even homeschoolers, but creative, interesting families but with lots of good ideas you can do at home.
http://www.filthwizardry.com/
http://unprocessedfamily.blogspot.com/
http://momandkiddo.blogspot.com/
http://artfulparent.typepad.com/artfulparent/
http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/ (art/crafts from all over the web)
http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/
I hesitated before adding this one--hope it doesn't rub anyone the wrong way--but this is the blog of the director of a play-based, parent participation preschool. There are tons of cool things you can do at home, like make a painting pendulum or drawing robot. I went to a developmental play/university research preschool myself, and LOVED it, so I like looking at this sort of thing to see which good parts I can reproduce outside an institutional setting.
http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/real-robots.html
Alex
mama to Katya
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
<<<So really I'm looking for ideas, resources, reading, blogs etc that
would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in
preschool>>>>
Getting ideas from blogs and articles is great.
Sandra has a chat she saved that talked about things to do with younger kids.
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
But don't limit yourself with things that kids are normally doing at that age or at preschool.
My younger daughter Gigi is 4 and one of her favorite things to do is chores with dad.
We are dairy Farmers and she loves helping her dad do chores.
She was even helping deliver calves at 3 years old!
That is not your normal activity for kids 3y.o. to 5y.o.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in
preschool>>>>
Getting ideas from blogs and articles is great.
Sandra has a chat she saved that talked about things to do with younger kids.
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
But don't limit yourself with things that kids are normally doing at that age or at preschool.
My younger daughter Gigi is 4 and one of her favorite things to do is chores with dad.
We are dairy Farmers and she loves helping her dad do chores.
She was even helping deliver calves at 3 years old!
That is not your normal activity for kids 3y.o. to 5y.o.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robin Bentley
Okay, gotcha!
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>Are you close to Katherine Anderson and Karl?
> Oh and I wish I had someone close that I could have over. I'm still
> working on making connections. We're not close enough to many other
> unschoolers, and not quite close enough to Ren ;)
Robin B.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
keetry
==So my should was more about feeling like I should find things for her to do that she might like.==
I think that feeling is correct. You should always be on the lookout for things she might like. Don't push them on her. Don't try to make her do them. Don't tell her that she'll like if she just tries it after she's said 5 times that she doesn't want to do it. Just offer them very matter-of-factly, the same way people on this list have been talking about food. Set them out where she can find them herself. Do them yourself because you find them enjoyable without any expection of or pressure for her doing it with you.
There's nothing wrong with you doing those flower and ink printing things for yourself. If she sees you enjoying it, she may want to try it. Or not. If you are only doing it to try to get her to do it, then stop. She's not interested. You're not interested. Find something else that you are interested in doing.
Alysia
I think that feeling is correct. You should always be on the lookout for things she might like. Don't push them on her. Don't try to make her do them. Don't tell her that she'll like if she just tries it after she's said 5 times that she doesn't want to do it. Just offer them very matter-of-factly, the same way people on this list have been talking about food. Set them out where she can find them herself. Do them yourself because you find them enjoyable without any expection of or pressure for her doing it with you.
There's nothing wrong with you doing those flower and ink printing things for yourself. If she sees you enjoying it, she may want to try it. Or not. If you are only doing it to try to get her to do it, then stop. She's not interested. You're not interested. Find something else that you are interested in doing.
Alysia
zurro
thanks for all the great ideas and feedback. I've certainly gotten lots of food for thought and some new ways to look at things. The resources were super helpful and I found some others via the links provided. Gave me a great new outlook on things to have fun with :)
Laura Z
Laura Z
--- In [email protected], "zurro" <zurrolaur@...> wrote:
>
> My husband and I both work from home. We are currently living in Asheville, NC in an area that has a few unschool families and quite a few homeschools (lots of religious ones). We are a bit of a drive from town and although I try to get there as much as possible for playgrounds and playdates sometimes it hard. Plus many of the parents we meet are not on the same page with how we respond to our
> dd. (for instance one little girl that DD really likes has nice parents but they do things like when she falls down and cries they simply tell her to pick herself up which doesn't fit with how we parent :()
>
> We recently went through a huge shift in our mindset regarding our plan to unschool. We had already pretty much been there but occasionally I would feel bad that I wasn't "doing" enough things at home with our three and half year old and would go through this thinking that maybe some classes or a couple of days at a free school with me there to watch out for her would be helpful. Well recently I heard about someone making a free range kids school and thought it
> sounded good. I went and met with the woman who was putting it together and her kids and it felt interesting because dd would have free access to some things that we don't "do" and the chance to play with other kids and I'd be there with her watching out over her and making sure she was okay and also if she wanted to nurse.
>
> Well, I decided to take DH to the open house which turned out to be more planning than anything else and I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for us to cement what really felt right to us. After watching DD play with other kids and realizing that there was so much happening that was unsupervised among young influential kids, and realizing that there were issues that we brought up that were just brushed off we realized that maybe we really don't need to be involved in something like that after all.
>
> I also spoke to a friend who has her daughter in a small coop of five children but they have a teacher and although they have free play they call it a school which just already feels too schoolish to us. At
> this same time period we had gone to a May Faire that was full of Waldorf schools and preschools and that just finally clicked that it DID NOT resonate with us AT ALL! I guess we're getting more secure in our choices which I suppose is part of what happens as time passes and we get exposed to things that allow us to feel right about our choices. We also realized that "nature based" activities which were what we liked about Waldorf are already everywhere!
>
> DH also reminded me that getting DD to DO things often consisted of me doing the things I thought we should and he was right LOL. I don't really think it's about deschooling my brain, I'd say it's more about feeling like no one ever did fun creative artsy things with me as a kid and I don't want the same thing to happen now.
>
> So really I'm looking for ideas, resources, reading, blogs etc that would focus more on kids from 3-5 who would typically be in preschool. I have a lot of reading resources but so many are focused around older kids.
>
> Wow! Sorry for the long post :( guess a lot of this has been sitting with me for awhile..but thanks for any help :)
>
> Laura Z
>
Sandra Dodd
-=-Maybe I should have simply asked for ideas of what people do/have
done in daily life with their younger kids. I remember there was a
post in one of the forums awhile back about what an unschooling day
might look like well. -=-
http://sandradodd.com/typical
(typical days)
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
LOTS of ideas for things to do with children.
http://sandradodd.com/deblewis
also has lists of cool things to do (linked from there)
Other things you might enjoy:
http://sandradodd.com/art
http://sandradodd.com/music
http://sandradodd.com/games
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
done in daily life with their younger kids. I remember there was a
post in one of the forums awhile back about what an unschooling day
might look like well. -=-
http://sandradodd.com/typical
(typical days)
http://sandradodd.com/youngchildren
LOTS of ideas for things to do with children.
http://sandradodd.com/deblewis
also has lists of cool things to do (linked from there)
Other things you might enjoy:
http://sandradodd.com/art
http://sandradodd.com/music
http://sandradodd.com/games
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]