Tai Wrote:
My question is one I know you have answered a thousand times, but it seems to be my biggest struggle at the moment. My eldest is seven. He seems to focus and do much better on his lessons when there is NO distraction. The smallest bit of noise from his younger sisters (almost five and three years old) will have him out of sorts and distracted. Our playroom is right next to the school room (in order for me to keep a better eye on the girls). My only solution has been to let the girls go downstairs and watch a movie while we do school. But this can’t go on. I think my three year old is getting addicted…(I am only somewhat joking on that one!). Any suggestions, on how to help him focused with some distraction? Or how to keep a three year quiet without a t.v. to entertain her? – Thanks!!
And Christine wrote:
I second Tai’s problem! My boys are 7, 4 and 2. Right now the most productive/easier route is to have school during nap time. But the 4-year-old is giving up naps and this tired, pregnant girl could really use a rest!
And Jennifer wrote:
I need ideas for independent Activities for my 6yog. Her siblings are 11, 16 and 18 and they are busy with school in the afternoon when she’s been done since 10:30! She needs a simple schedule.
♥
Way back in January of 2006, I posted a really great list put together by someone else, and I love her suggestions. I'll repost it here, and then I'd love if you all would chime in with your suggestions in the comments, as well.
The following list was initially submitted on The Well Trained Mind Forums by Michelle in response to the question posed about what items might keep a 30-month-old busy during school. She then graciously elaborated in an email to me so that I could pass along her terrific ideas:
Craft Items That Aren't Very Messy
-twistable crayons (little ones can't peel the paper off and the crayons
don't break)
-foam sticker shapes or shapes with a jumbo glue stick - my boys like to make their own designs and patterns with these
-hole punch
-stickers (can decorate with them, or use blank labels and let them make their own stickers)
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-simple coloring pages (let them color the pages/book, then go back through and cut out the pictures to decorate other things or make their own scrapbook - we love the Crayola spiral bound sketch books sold at Wal Mart for this) -connect the dots - rubbing plates- these from Amazon are really great -true stencils aren't a hit here, maybe too detailed, but they love tracing shapes from the Lauri puzzles, then coloring them in and cutting them out -Perler Beads - they love the tweezers too, good for fine motor - these get pulled out daily here, my kids can't get enough of them, the Perler website has some fun ideas as well -pipe cleaners - bend into creatures or use to string bead patterns -modeling clay for the preschoolers -painting with water colors -save empty containers/boxes for back up
Other Ideas -retractable measuring tape (I think mine are broken annually. Buy cheapies!) -dress up clothes & a laundry basket -toss a king size flat sheet over the kitchen table
-pattern blocks and boards (my kids like Super Mind)
-Leap Frog DVD's -Fisher Price Little People flash cards -Leap Frog Fridge Phonics -puzzles -Kid K'nex -Primary Bucket Balance -Melissa & Doug Wooden Clock (numbers, shapes, colors/shades & telling time) -Touch & Feel cards - we have colors/shapes they are board type flashcards -music favorites that don't annoy mom (Kendra here- we love Go Fish!) -Discovery Toys
Activities With Mom -Brainquest - love the 2-3 & 3-4 year sets
-games: Sequence for Kids, Blokus, Letter of the Day Bingo, Sesame Street Bingo, Animal Upon Animal, Cranium Hullabaloo, Hi Ho Cherry O
-books, books, more books
♥
Of course, you could always just give them your camera during naptime
If you only have one book, get The Out of Sync Child Has Fun by Carol Kranowitz. It’s filled with great ideas to work into your childs sensory diet. Also, Carol Barnier is my favorite person ever. Her books, The Big What Now Book of Learning Styles and How to Get Your Child Off the Refrigerator and on to Learning are filled with great ways to encorporate learning with activity. There is also a Yahoo group called sensoryhomeschool.
I have a bookmarks page on my blog that I tried to break down into categories. You can scroll down to whichever category interests you. Chances are I have at least a half dozen links 
I really need to put together some blog posts addressing homeschooling special needs kids. Anyone want to come babysit while I type for a week?
~Kathy (mom to 3 special needs children with too many diagnoses to list, but here are a few: dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, sensory processing disorder, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, etc., etc., etc.)Shannon wrote:
I have two strong willed children–I used to think ALL of my children were strong willed (until these two showed up)- one three, the other five. The five-year-old I cannot find enough to do with. I read with him almost daily and he is doing very well, but honestly there are not enough trees to keep him occupied with worksheets.
The three-year-old is bright, but doesn’t show ANY interest in anything educational for lack of a better word.
What do I do with these two short of sitting them in front of the “box”?
And Diana wrote:
Still need help with very active Boys! My boys are now 4, 1 and 3 months….what are some good standard boy toys? What do you do to entertain ages 4 and below during the school day?
And Amy wrote:
My question is what to do with my two-year-old daughter while the rest of the children are being taught.
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Last week I was doing a history lesson with four of the kids in our schoolroom, which is right around the corner from my room where the 4-year-old and the 2-year-old were supposed to be watching Sesame Street. In walks the 4-year-old declaring, "Mom, Joey's playing with the water in your bathroom!" Off I run to survey the damage, but Joe isn't in the bathroom, he's in the playpen where I put him to begin with. Hmmmmm...
What I did find was a massive flood, caused by one naughty 4-year-old who stopped up the sink and flooded the entire bathroom, soaking the bottom of a suitcase I had packed and filling toothpaste holders in the cupboard doors. And he tried to pin it on his younger brother!
I feel your pain.
Today I sit 2500 miles away from those little boys, my head a little clearer and a plan forming in my mind. When I return, I am going to structure their mornings differently, with the operative word being "structure". So far, what they are doing to fill a few morning hours has worked, but obviously I need to give them a few more planned activities, don't you think?
I'll start by making a list of all the possibilities, and an estimate of the time they will take to accomplish:
chores with an older sibling (15 minutes) coloring at the schoolroom table (5 minutes) put away coloring (1 minutes) Sesame Street (1 hour) ride cars on back patio (15 minutes) build trains in family room (45 minutes for 4-year-old) At the same time... ...play in play yard (45 minutes for 2-year-old) reading time with mom (15 minutes) play outside on trampoline or with sand and water table (15 minutes) clean up for lunch (2 minutes) sit at table and look at books while lunch is being prepared (15 minutes) lunch and clean up (20 minutes) 3 hrs 25 mins play outside or toys inside in family room (30 minutes) Total: 3 hours and 55 minutes, which will take me from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. We generally finish breakfast, short devotions, and breakfast clean-up by 9:30 a.m., and naptime is at 1:30 p.m. On the other end of this are 5 students who need to be doing productive things during our mornings. Once I have a good flow for my little guys, I can figure out how to direct the traffic of the more independent kids during that time. I'll oversee the little ones, but I can keep a good eye on the older ones and make sure they're on track. ♥ Make your list first. What are all the possible ways you can keep those very busy guys busy? Brainstorm everything from crafts to workbooks to reading aloud to taking a walk to an exercise DVD (Tony and the Kids and Shaun T's Fit Kids Club are our favorites) to simple chores to baking to riding little cars outside, etc. Figure out how much time you need to fill, and how much time each activity will take. Be realistic. I don't know about your boys, but mine have the attention span of a gnat. Coloring truly lasts only 5 minutes. Make sure you have enough activities to fill up the time you have. If you don't, you'll find a flood in your bathroom. ♥ Speaking of floods, my young man was supposed to be doing something but wasn't. Clearly, he had disobeyed. We are working on him staying where I've put him for as long as I say he needs to be there, but he continues to push me on this. I say, "Sit down in your seat" [at the table] 157 times every day, and I know I'm not going about it the wrong way. He gets disciplined. It's not a training issue. It's the child. Some of them need maturity to get over things, some of them need time, some of them take years to get something, some of them never get it. But that's like me, and isn't it like you? I'm 4o years old and I am still working away on character issues and sin and bad habits I've carried around for all of my 40 years. What I need for this little boy is heaps of patience and grace and long suffering. Just like our patient and gracious and long-suffering God.