Sandra, you do such creative activities and directed play with your kids. How much of your day is independent, undirected playtime? How do you find a balance with those two types of teaching in your home?
These questions are similar so I'm answering them together!
We use the Kumon "My First Book of Uppercase Letters" and "My Book of Numbers 1-30." At the beginning of September, I sat down and broke up the books into units to do each month (you can see that on our family blog here). I use the themes his preschool class is doing for each month and add our Bible lessons. Sunday afternoons, while my boys and hubby are usually napping, I plan our week. David is at preschool MWF from 8 to noon. On days he's home, here's our schedule- we watch Sid the Science Kid at 7:30. After that the boys play independently until 9:30 when we watch Imagination Movers and have a snack. Then 10-11 we do our "school" type activities. 11:30 is lunch, followed by quiet times for both boys. By 2:30 they are up and have their afternoon snack. At 3:00 we watch The Fresh Beat Band. From 3:30-5:00 we do our afternoon activities. After dinner, the boys play independently until bath time at 7ish.
I try to be sensitive to David's moods. If he doesn't want to sit and trace his letters, we'll move that to later in the day or even the next day. And during the times he has independent play time I can easily tell when he's getting bored. That's when we get out the Play-Doh or a puzzle.
As far as balance, I just try to keep flexible. At this age, something may work for a month and then not work the next month. For example, for the last two weeks David has been napping every afternoon. When this stops I'll use that time (while James is sleeping) for one on one activity time.
What do you have coming up ministry-wise right now?
(For those who may not know, I have a Master of Divinity degree in Women's Studies and do a little work on the side as a women's ministry consultant and event speaker.)
This weekend I'll be doing a workshop for churches in the area (central PA) on Strengthening Your Women's Ministry. We will talk about setting the theology before focusing on programs. We'll also go over how to evaluate the effectiveness of their current ministries and brainstorm ideas to reach more women.
Next month I'll be speaking at a women's retreat a few hours away. Their theme is "Woman of Worth." I'm going to focus on the stories of Sarah, Abigail, and Mary the mother of Jesus in my three teaching sessions. I want to communicate to the women that just like God had a plan for those women, He has a plan for each of them. They can rise above their circumstances (Sarah struggled with discouragement, Abigail- frustration, and Mary- confusion), and live out their passion!
Questions for all of us!
What are you having for dinner tonight?
Well, we have a family coming over at 4:30 because their oldest son is going to talk to Lee about salvation and baptism! So, we'll be having left-over baked spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. I need to be available to entertain my kids and the younger kids in the family so I don't want to plan a big time-consuming meal!
What book are you reading right now? Yesterday I finished The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I'm trying to read about five "classics" this year. This week I am starting Sacred Friendships by Robert W. Kellemen and Susan M. Ellis. It's a new book about "Celebrating the legacy of women heroes of the faith." I'm reviewing it on my ministry blog Oct. 1st.
What are your future family plans?
Such a fun, timely question. First, I realize my plans are not always God's plans. So read the following knowing that these are my plans, and are of course, subject to change!
We hope to have baby #3 sometime next year. Right now my husband is reading Adpoted for Life by Russell Moore, and it is really a life-changing book. We hope to adopt internationally in the next few years. We've always planned/hoped to have four kids. I tell the joke if my next baby isn't a girl, I may go to China and bring home a daughter!
I need help on independent play - Nathan hates to play by himself. Any tips on getting him to play more by himself?
ReplyDeleteShannon
Thanks for being honest and realistic about what your day with the boys looks like! :)
ReplyDeleteShannon- That's a good question. I don't know the secret. I usually start the boys on something then give them space (after I snap a few pictures for the blog of course!).
ReplyDeleteWith David I just tell him it's time to play by himself for a little while. He doesn't always do it without whining, but usually he does ok. James seems to prefer playing by himself. His Sunday School teachers say he's like that at church too.
When we're upstairs they know it's time for independent play because that's my "work" time (in the kitchen, cleaning or folding laundry). David plays on the back porch or in his room and James plays in the living room.
Those are great tips, it's so important to have constructive activities for the little ones. I haven't tried play-doh with my little one yet, but I will soon :)
ReplyDeletehttp://crispy-not-crunchy.blogspot.com/2009/09/wfmw-cleaning-stainless-steel.html