I will say that I don't just plop him in front of the television and let him drool for the next few hours. I watch what he watches and will explain to him the math, word and other concepts to him. Usually, the television is merely something that plays in the background. He'll play with his trains and cars, sometimes mimicking the story line. Sometimes he'll watch and participate. Cartoons like Word World, Super Why, Blue's Clues and currently Team Umizoomi really grab his attention.
I already work with Jeremy at home on his letters, numbers and other skills. But since I am currently home on bonding leave, I wanted to amp it up some. For the last few days I've been getting ideas from online sites that talk about homeschooling preschool. Of course, homeschooling requires preparation, supplies, time, preparation, time, preparation, and oh--time and preparation. Lacking in the time and preparation department, I instead tried out some things on the fly. ("On the fly" means I came up with the following ideas while taking a shower).
First, I took a cue from Blue's Clues. I took three index cards and made paw prints with Jeremy's dot paints. While they dried I came up with a puzzle of sorts. Kind of. It was hardly inspired, and it didn't take up a half hour. Also, there was no Joe or Steve acting surprised that there was a clue at every turn.
I put one clue on a piece of paper, one on a pile of mail (envelopes with stamps) and one on his toy mailbox. I had to direct him to the clues and do the actual drawing in his "handy dandy notebook", but he explained what to draw (a rectangle, another rectangle [with stamps] and a mailbox). Then, I asked him what you would do with a piece of paper, a stamped envelope and a mailbox.
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| Clue |
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| Clue |
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| Clue |
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| He finally got that you'd mail a letter, which led into our next activity. |
I grabbed five leftover envelopes from his Christmas cards. On one I placed one Thomas sticker in the upper right hand corner, then on the back wrote One and 1. I continued the sequence for the other four up to Five. I would have gone higher than Five, but I ran out of stickers. Referencing a recent episode of Team Umizoomi that he kept talking about, I explained to Jeremy that I was a mailbox. I would tell him that I needed an envelope with a certain amount of stamps. If he gave me the wrong envelope, it would go into the the dreaded "Do Not Deliver Box". He understood the concept and we played a few times, me throwing out random numbers. Each success was met with a silly mailbox dance. We then put the envelopes in sequential order, using both the written sides and the sticker sides.
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| Front of envelopes |
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| Back of envelopes |
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| I had Jeremy tell me how many "stamps" were on each envelope. He easily identified One through Four. When he got to this particular envelope he answered "Five, Four, Three, Two, One". |
Both of those activities were easy for him, but I wasn't sure really where to start. A lot of sites talk about what I refer to as the Sesame Street approach--a letter and number at a time. However, I'm thinking that we can actually do a lot more than that as long as I keep it game-ish.
Speaking of games, Jeremy then wanted to play Candy Land (he beat me without cheating), Chutes and Ladders (while I had to guide him here and there, he still beat me without any actual cheating), and some pretend games that he made up on the fly himself.
On top of all this, today was also Serious Potty Training Day.
To say that I tired Jeremy out is an understatement. A whole hour before his normal bedtime he told me that he wanted to go to bed. One book later (he chose The Night Before Christmas: "See, and Santa will bring me ALL my trains!") he was unconscious. I was too, next to him, but then again I've been surviving on Nap in a Can (AKA Lo-Carb Monsters) for several weeks now.
I think I need to look into activities that really challenge him. I will also start incorporating more science type activities, a la Curious George, another current favorite of his.
