Last year, about this time of the year, I was talking with a friend about the struggles that I was having with my little sparkler daughter. She was really dramatic (so I thought) and I was looking forward to her turning 3 yrs old because, somehow, I thought things would get better. My friend commented that it only gets worse. I began to cry.
In a sense, my friend was correct. Some of the drama got worse. However, a LOT of maturity took place as well. There was more reasoning to be understood. So the dramatic meltdowns didn't happen quite as often as they had previously.
What does this have to do with homeschooling?
My daughter turned four years old yesterday. One of the things I hear parents complain about with four-year-olds is that they are constantly talking and asking questions. I can say that this began a few months ago at our house. I haven't grown tired of it yet. Actually, I'm pretty excited about it. I LOVE to learn new things. I'm constantly researching topics that I find interesting. [Last night's topic was the American Mafia.] I'm enjoying the challenge of helping her find the answers to her life's questions. Tonight we talked about tree sap. I have a feeling tomorrow's breakfast will be pancakes with real maple syrup... how's that for sap?
Anyways... I'm really excited about this next phase of childhood. What are some of your favorite phases of childhood? Either your own, or your children's phases... or both??
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
First math lesson
I'm not a huge fan of my daughter watching T.V. or movies or whatever. I'd prefer that she does "something productive". That said, she is allowed the maximum "healthy" limit set by some government organization of two hours per day. It does seem like a LOT of T.V. for a four year old... however, allowing her to have that time allows me some quiet time while my two year old has his naps a couple times a day. So... that's how we roll.
I'm allowing Lil to choose whatever shows she wants to watch (mostly PBS, always pre-approved by me) for her time. Some shows are longer, some are shorter. I want her to get the idea that watching four long movies is not the same amount of time as watching four short PBS shows. Here's where the math comes in.
T.V. Bucks. Each "buck" is worth 30 minutes of T.V. time. She can choose what she wants to watch and I tell her how many T.V. bucks she needs to pay me to watch that show. Pretty simple. The more advanced she becomes in math, the more complex we'll make it.
As of right now, I'm rounding out the minutes of the show to the nearest 30. Ex: 23 minute show --> 1 T.V. buck + 45 min. show --> 2 T.V. Bucks + 40 min. show --> 1 T.V. Buck = 1 hr. 48 min of T.V. time --> 4 T.V. bucks.
Every morning, she receives her four T.V. bucks... unless she does something to lose one. T.V. still a privilege , not a right. When she's out of T.V. bucks, that's it. She has to wait until tomorrow. She's learning a little bit about math, and a LOT about budgeting.
It's not exact as of right now... but when she's older, I'm sure she'll be counting whether or not she should have change coming back to her ;). Hopefully, by then, we'll be so consumed with other activities that she won't be thinking of the T.V. as much as she does now.
P.S. The funny part is... yesterday, she only had 1 T.V. buck left, but she wanted to watch a long movie. I told her that she didn't have enough T.V. bucks left to watch a long movie. A few minutes later, she asked if she could do a craft. My brain says, "YIPPEE!! She's moving on to something else other than T.V." After sitting at her desk for about 5 minutes, she comes back to me and presents me with a handmade T.V. buck. She decided that since she didn't have enough T.V. bucks to purchase her movie, that she'd make herself some more. It was very creative. She was a little embarrassed. She knew. It was pretty cool that I was able to talk to her a little about government and how you can't just print money when you run out. Not a bad result for wanting to watch some T.V. We had a lesson in math, budgeting, and government. I'm happy.
I'm allowing Lil to choose whatever shows she wants to watch (mostly PBS, always pre-approved by me) for her time. Some shows are longer, some are shorter. I want her to get the idea that watching four long movies is not the same amount of time as watching four short PBS shows. Here's where the math comes in.
T.V. Bucks. Each "buck" is worth 30 minutes of T.V. time. She can choose what she wants to watch and I tell her how many T.V. bucks she needs to pay me to watch that show. Pretty simple. The more advanced she becomes in math, the more complex we'll make it.
As of right now, I'm rounding out the minutes of the show to the nearest 30. Ex: 23 minute show --> 1 T.V. buck + 45 min. show --> 2 T.V. Bucks + 40 min. show --> 1 T.V. Buck = 1 hr. 48 min of T.V. time --> 4 T.V. bucks.
Every morning, she receives her four T.V. bucks... unless she does something to lose one. T.V. still a privilege , not a right. When she's out of T.V. bucks, that's it. She has to wait until tomorrow. She's learning a little bit about math, and a LOT about budgeting.
It's not exact as of right now... but when she's older, I'm sure she'll be counting whether or not she should have change coming back to her ;). Hopefully, by then, we'll be so consumed with other activities that she won't be thinking of the T.V. as much as she does now.
P.S. The funny part is... yesterday, she only had 1 T.V. buck left, but she wanted to watch a long movie. I told her that she didn't have enough T.V. bucks left to watch a long movie. A few minutes later, she asked if she could do a craft. My brain says, "YIPPEE!! She's moving on to something else other than T.V." After sitting at her desk for about 5 minutes, she comes back to me and presents me with a handmade T.V. buck. She decided that since she didn't have enough T.V. bucks to purchase her movie, that she'd make herself some more. It was very creative. She was a little embarrassed. She knew. It was pretty cool that I was able to talk to her a little about government and how you can't just print money when you run out. Not a bad result for wanting to watch some T.V. We had a lesson in math, budgeting, and government. I'm happy.
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