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| She loves her friends |
I am needing inspiration to keep a whipper-snapper of a child engaged, challenged and happy. We have done "school" in the afternoons for about 10 months now, but I sense that she is getting bored with the predictability of what we do (and I am a little too, if I am being honest). I sense that this may be an issue we will face when she enters school as well. She has inherited my sense of order and perfectionism, which makes for frustration and giving up when she feels she "can't do" something the right way the first time and blocks most avenues to any real creativity. I need some new tricks up my sleeve for a kiddo who has started calling dark blue, "indigo"...for real (thank you, PBS and ROY G. BIV...why am I 35 and just now learning this?).
Ideas to add to my repertoire?
Ideas to add to my repertoire?
We've also regressed a little. 2-3 accidents a day nearly everyday, IN THE BATHROOM.
Something is going on here.
2 comments:
I think that type of personality is common with oldest kids...Travis is the same way, though he has really taken to heart what his teacher frequently says: "It doesn't have to be perfect, just do your best".
I'll think more about this, but off the top of my head....
-My kids love the little white boards w/ dry erase pens. Practicing letters/numbers, and just plain old drawing is always tons of fun for them when they have a few different colored pens and eraser.
-My kids like "nature walks". We go outside and just see what things in nature we can find/talk about seasons and God's creation. Or you could make a specific list of things to find. If the weather is bad, I make a list and they can do this inside (not nature related, just random stuff)
-If you get a new camera, keep the old one! Jayna especially loves to take pictures on ours, and I love it because the pictures can just be erased when she's done. Or you could do some kind of project with it....have her take pictures of her favorite things, etc. Or favorite people, then you can print the pictures out and let her make a collage for her bedroom.
-I don't know how structured your school time is, but maybe do it only 1-2 times a week for awhile? Honestly, I didn't really formally work with Travis on letters/numbers/reading until the 6-8 months or so before kindergarten, and school so far has been a breeze for him, and he's an amazing reader. I'm just starting with Jayna, and I think if I had started much earlier she just wouldn't have had much interest. Anyway - this is not to say you're pushing her too hard or anything - simply encouraging you that if you do think it would help to back off, don't worry that she'll be behind or anything. Especially with her personality, I have no doubt that she'll do really well in school.
-I am not a creative person at all, and I think for the same reason...I was always afraid it wouldn't turn out "right". So I've had to consciously think about how to encourage creativity with my kids. I'm trying to think of other creative activities you could do....my kids really love play-dough. And crayola has some really fun products out that might be fun to look at for Christmas. Jayna loves watercolor painting. And oriental trading is wonderfully cheap (especially if you split what you get with a couple other moms, since they usually come in large packs). Though those dont' always lend themselves to creativity (just putting together what has already been created). Craft stores have tons of great kids projects/activities. Oh, and my kids love making cards/pictures for family. This would helpful, too, for helping her know/remember her far-away family. You can use anything - leftover yarn, ribbon, feathers, sequins, etc. for this. Sometimes I forget that there's more to art than just crayons :)
I'll let you know if anything else pops into my head. And also - I just recently learned about roy g. biv, too! How helpful that would have been!
Weird about the accidents?? Good luck with that one :)
Hey Michele,
Just reading this. A couple of thoughts from my creative arts preschool brain here....
Have you tried geography with her or other languages? I bet she would love to learn the colors in spanish or french! We do a country a week which allows for so many fun crafts, songs, dance etc... Some kids really love maps!
I know she loves to color in the lines. For creative painting or coloring, give her a big blank paper and turn on some slow music and have her color with slow lines and swirls. Then turn on fast music and color with a fast body!
Have her transition from room to room or activity to activity acting like different animals!
Puppets are amazingly captivating for kids- you just have to be willing to be goofy with them! Bust one out to read a book or sing a song in their personality!
Have you ever heard of Brain Dance? It's kinesthetic activity using nursery rhymes and kids love it! You may be able to YouTube some examples....I will look for you.
My boss talks a lot about how kids regress in different ways if their younger siblings are developing new habits like becoming more mobile or something. Maybe the potty thing is a control thing for her? Maybe not, but it's a thought.
Those are off the top of my head...I'll let you know when I think of more!
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