A Simple Sanity Saver Before Dinner

In our house, we begin dinner between 6:00 pm and 6:15 pm most nights, unless Drew's work day has been hectic and I've adjusted times accordingly. Generally, this means I start cooking around 5:00 pm and the girls are asked to play in the Play Room while I do so. Although they have matured a little in the last few months, leaving them to their own devices in the playroom for 45 minutes or more results in hurricane like forces turning the room upside down. This has forced me to rethink the way I cook dinner and the resources and activities avaliable to them during "the witching hour."

Sometimes it is play dough, tools, and cookie cutters. They both enjoy the tactile experice of playdough and often are cooking just like I am at the time. Sometimes, we pull out the magnetic paper dolls. Miss Moo can sit and play with those for hours- switching outfits back and forth among the dolls, creating stories around their outfits, and creating dialog among the dolls themselves.  Miss Roo isn't as entertained with these dolls for as long as Moo tends to be, so I usually supplement the magnet dolls for her with a few books to "read", some blocks or legos to build with the dolls, or some small animals from our felt farm.

But my best tool is the art station. We have a little organizer from Ikea that hold all our paper, crayons, stickers, markers, and other various creative goodies. Some nights they get stickers, crayons,  and construction paper. Others, they washable markers and activity placemats. Sometimes they get huge pieces of paper and they make their placemats for dinner.*

Art is a great outlet for most people, but especially for little children. Allowing them to explore without instruction and expectation yield a great learning experience of creation for process sake rather than forced product. Moo has moved from scribbles to creating snowmen, animals, people, and forming letters on her own. Roo now repeats the way to make letters, such as "up down up down" for a M, even if she doesn't make the letter at the time. Her scribbles are starting to be more controlled and she's interested in using more than one color of crayon, marker, etc.

Giving them this freedom, and often sitting to color and create while I can if something is boiling or roasting, has made our dinner transition much easier. The girls look forward to our art nights and I look forward to the gentle time I see them spending together. They are learning to share without an adult sitting right with them. They color and create on one another's papers and occasionally together.

I am learning how to allow them to explore without feeling the need to interrupt in order to teach or direct. I'm also using their creations as a way to foster their love of art by asking questions in a supportive way - "That's beautiful! Would you tell me about your picture?" rather than "What is this a picture of?" 

So give it a try- grab the kids, some big paper, and set them at the table. Ask them to make a placemat for themselves for dinner. Let them create. Ask them about their picture. Start a pre-dinner tradition.

What simple solutions do you use for your "witching hour?" Do you ever participate with your children?

Sticker Activity

Miss Moo loves doing activities with me as well as on her own. She loves to play school and do worksheets with me. We have learned that while some Kindergarten-age sheets are too advanced, the Preschool age sheets bore her immensely. We have been using all the Kindergarten sheets we can as she requests them and she's thriving.

It has been a challenge to get back into a routine from the holidays and the wave of illness that knocked down everyone in the house. With everyone starting to return to normal, so am I.  I have TONS to do to catch up on all the time the funk sucked away from all of us. Moo has been asking for school time again, so we're slowly doing sheets and activities once again in conjunction in the non-traditional lessons and unschooling that takes place in our home.

One day a few months ago, I was cruising around Pinterest looking for some homeschooling ideas. I ran across a pin to this link from Rockabye Butterfly.  I loved that the activities featured in this post were so versatile and focused as much on following the directions as they did basic academic skills. I made a poster for Moo to do that day and she happily completed it after nap time.

Sticker Activity

• Take a sheet of paper, turn it lengthwise and draw a line near the bottom of the page. I used a few scribbled on pieces of large drawing pads the first few time to be sure she would be able to see everything clearly.
• Write a few numbers, I usually use 4, under the line. 
• Assign a sticker to each number. 
• Write each of the numbers randomly around the paper over the line. I am sure there are at least 4 of each number at the top.
• Give the child(ren) the sheet of numbers and the sheet containing the stickers.
• Give very clear instructions on what they are to do: "Match the color of the stick of the number at the bottom to the same number when it appears at the top. Place that color sticker on that number only. " 
• Have them tell you what color sticker is with each number and have them identify/help them identify the numbers they are matching.
• Let them do the activity on their own.
• Look at their sheet when they are done to be sure they have matched all the numbers to a stick and have done so correctly.
• If there are any mistakes, work with them at their lead to find the mistakes and correct them. You can do this by prompting in a manner like "Let's point out all the green stickers and see what numbers they are on."
• Be sure to tell them they followed the instructions well.   Positive reinforcement doesn't always need to be based in academics. Hearing that they did a job despite any mistakes they may have made will give them desire and momentum to try again.

Moo's completed sheet.

This activity is simple and can be modified easily. We have used various types of stickers (shapes, colors, characters) to make the instructions more complicated and to be sure that she IS actually doing what is asked of her. We have also substituted numbers for letters and shapes to break up the monotony of the number she was doing often. My next idea is to begin using this activity for sight words and post the results of that adaptation.

I am always looking for independent ways to reinforce our "structured" learning time together. What do you do to foster independence in your homeschooling adventures?