Hello, conpro. With summer upon us, this is usually the time homeschool mothers everywhere start planning for their upcoming school year.
I have been happily and gratefully homeschooling since the beginning with my children, and it's something I thoroughly enjoy and highly recommend! It's a beautiful way to live life alongside your children. It's also something that fathers can and should be heavily invested in, as they are the rocks of their families and so important!
I am just humbly offering my help to any new, seasoned, or interested families who want advice or just to share an ear. I'm happy to discuss curriculum, educational philosophies, setting reasonable goals, how to get started, the logistics of teaching multiple students, or simply pray for you as your family decides what to do this year.
I treasure this group and am praying for you all. God bless you!
>You have a good idea to get them all napping together. We used a "wake me up clock" that turned green when it was time for them to get out of bed. We taught them that they can wake up whenever, but had to stay in their rooms quietly until the clock turned green.
Do you think 26 months is too young to learn this? Our son still doesn't seem to understand *how* to be quiet.
>We read aloud before bed and spend a good chunk of time "winding down."
How long? We do around 45 minutes and a lot of the time it doesn't seem to help.
I have a child about that age too, and yes, it's a little too early for them to really understand the wake me up clock.
For toddlers, I get them up every day at the same time. I've always kept them in their cribs until 7:30ish, and they usually don't cry in their crib if they get up earlier. There was some training involved there. I'd notice them get up early and just keep extending the time between them waking up and getting them out of bed. They are... Not quiet though lol. They talk to themselves, sing songs, yell "mama I up!" occasionally lol. But I just stand firm and get them out of bed when I'm ready.
For winding down, quiet toys can help extend reading aloud! Things like puzzles, blocks, magnatiles, water pens (Melissa and Doug), wikki stix, play dough etc. Do you have better success if they're sitting on your lap looking at the pictures?