Hi Aimee..welcome!  Nice to see I am not the only one with my hands full...those
kids are work, but the sure are worth every second of it!! *smile*<br><br>See ya
'round<br><br>...Bonnie

Hi all, glad to join. My name is Aimee, SAHM to Robert who is turning 3 in June,
and Lauren who will be 1 in May. Looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Originally, I planned to stay home with my 2yo
until she was 'school-age'. I didn't plan to have any
other children with me. When I moved closer to my
siblings, I ended up watching their young ones also. I was
struggling with this same thing..I was losing time with my
own daughter, but she was loving the time with her
cousins. She doesn't have any other friends right now and
this was a good way for her to learn about interacting
and sharing. The kids also seem to draw off of each
others strenghts. They learn so much from each other. I
regret not having as much one on one time, but I think
that she is as happy as she could be. So, maybe it's a
little bit of selfishness that I want her all to myself,
in her eyes she still has me and she doesn't seem to
miss alone time with me.<br><br>michelle

Hi Maggie:<br><br>I enjoyed reading about your
deals at Sam's Club! A complete reading system? I've
been looking for a phonics program that I believe will
be helpful to my son.<br><br>I thought about
enrolling him in Kumon, but I think that I will do that
later on for challenging math topics (starting with
algebra through Calculus). It's $75.00 a
month.<br><br>Anyway, please email me whenever you get time. My address
is: cinchoscreations@...

monica,<br><br>My girls love!!!!! having the
other children around. In fact, they look forward to
it. But what I do is a little different than full
home daycare.<br><br>Monday - Friday<br>I have one
girl, the same age as my youngest, from 7:30 - 11:30,
when they get on the bus together.<br><br>After school
I have 1-2 girls, aged 9-12, from 3:30 -
6:00pm<br><br>Monday - Wednesday<br>I have the girl from above and 4
other 41/2 year olds from 8am - 12pm. The
"preschoolers" walk the Kg's to the bus stop each
day.<br><br>Snow days/vacation days<br>I have between 1-4 girls,
and/or 2-3 friends (only) come to spend the day with us.
I have a car that holds 6 people so I try to keep
our number at six if possible so we can go somewhere
fun, or out to lunch, etc.<br><br>The girls feel as
thought I'm the greatest mom in the world. (I never say
no to a friend coming and playing, I'm never too
tired, grumpy or busy for friends to play - and my house
pays for it)<br>Also - I have become friends with the
parents of most of the children who come. Therefore I
don't "charge" for daycare - they are all VERY
responsible parents, they give me the money necessary to run
our day. To pay for gas, entrance fees, snacks,
supplies, water and utilities etc. I make no "profit" from
what I do. Actually it costs me money to do some of
what we do. But the parents appreciate what I do and
make sure to cover whatever expenses they
can.<br><br>As for - do I have less one on one time with my own
kids than I'd like..... From my point of view, and
background yes and no. I was raised expecting I would go to
work even after I had children. I went to college and
have a BS degree in Early Childhood Education. I
worked full time until my second child was born, after
she was born I still didn't believe I could afford to
stay home. When the daycare I worked for part time
closed for financial reasons I was forced to make a
change. Now after 21/2 years I realize I can afford to
stay home. I miss one on one time with my 8 year old
because she is in school full time but I get to spend
time with my 5 year old. And when you have other
children around to play with, your children have a lot of
choices, they can choose to play with the others or come
and sit on your lap whenever they want.<br>Sorry my
response is so long. But I hope it helps<br><br>maryanne

We will be having an easter egg hunt on easter for about 30 kids ages 1-3.I have
never done this for a group this size! any ideas on how to make it fun and
interesting as well as fair for all?

I know this is a bit off the subject.I have been
considering starting a home daycare myself.I'm looking for
any feed back you may have conserning the issue.How
do your kids react to having all the other kids
around?do you feel that you have less one on one time with
your own kids than you would like?

Hello..I just joined and like all the sharing I
have read so far.<br><br>I have two boys, age 2.5 and
3.5 (yes, just a year apart..385 days to be exact).
My oldest is a bright as they come, picking up
everything and the youngest is right behind him, a little
smartie as well.<br><br>I plan to homeschool them for one
simple reason, we want them to have a full Christian
education and we cannot affort a Christian
school.<br><br>Right now their days are totally their own. They can
watch Sesame Street or Out of the Box if they want,
play on the computer, run around outside and play
"barefoot" or do anything their little hearts desire. I have
tried to set up formal learning time but with two it is
hard. The youngest is into everything and the oldest is
trying to stop him from doing it! HAHA And mommy is
going prematurely grey!<br><br>I have purchased a
couple of good books at Sam's Club, Learn at Home and
the Beginners Bible - Preschool and Kindergarten
Learning Series. They both are good, full of ideas and
lessons. I have also been buying educational computer
games. Got a great deal on the Reader Rabbit's Complete
Learn to Read System at Sam's Club.<br><br>Right now
the oldest is doing alphabets and the youngest is
calling everything "red, one" trying to mimic his big
brother. We know colours, counting, some French words,
most stories backward and foreward. <br><br>I still
remember the day that I noticed my oldest son's
imagination "turn on"..and it has not stopped since! They do
grow too fast.<br><br>I hope to share ideas with you
all, but I will probably end up draining your brains
instead! haha<br><br>..Bonnie

Michelle,<br>I do have a basic "plan" for my day,
but I think its because I have to. If I don't have
about 6 things planned and ready then I would
definately have 1-3 that would drive me nuts. I actually
have one little girl who will come and sit on the
couch, stare and the ceiling and say "I'm bored, there's
nothing to do" even though I have a "Preschool/daycare"
equipt house. I have just about everything you can
imagine for the children to get into. However I ALWAYS
remain flexible. There are days when the whole group,
just wants to play barbies for 3 hours, or horse, I
have a real saddle straped to a wheely office chair
with no back on it and the girls just love spinning
and sitting on it. The internet is a good place to
get "free" info. I just began using it myself. Until
now I've had to buy preschool planning books for some
ideas when I get burned out, and now I own most I know
of, I'm a collector of a sort. I just covered
alphabet letters with my kids, we spent 1 day per letter.
They are only here 3 days a week and we made sure to
practice in an inexpensive hand writing book from walmart
one letter per day. In addition we would do
activities and talk about words that start with the letters
off and on all day. I was amazed how often the kids
would come to me and say a word that began with the
letter of the day. One fun day G day, Grandpa came to
visit, just a coincidence. Whatever you do dont OVER
organize, that's when the children don't want to do it
anymore. Observe, listen and ask a lot of questions, get
your direction from your daughter. She know's what she
knows, what she's interested in and what she'd like to
know. And dad's are great teachers too. They have
different relationships with the children than we do. And
the children love to learn from them.<br>Good Luck.
MaryAnne

In Michigan we have what is called 4c's. Its
basically a child care referal agency at the county level.
See if you can find a licsensing agency for daycares
and ask if there is another agency they know of for a
referral or education component. Sometimes if you talk to
"home" providers in your area they would know of
families interested in a play group, some might even help.
Or try MOPS Mothers of Preschoolers. It is a
national organization for the support of mothers, they may
have some info. Lastly try any churches or community
groups in the neighborhood, there maybe people all
around who'd be interested in a group and not know where
to start. Good Luck.<br>MaryAnne

I am new to the area I live in. Any suggestions on where I can look to find a
playgroup? I don't even know where to start.

I love this poem! I have a cross-stitch hanging on the wall in my house.

Thank you for this great message! It sounds like
we think the same way! I have been struggling with
this structured learning or natural learning thing. In
my state they are starting to send kids to public
school for pre-k, and before pre-k there is HeadStart.
This puts our children in the public school system at
the age of 3. My daughter is qualified to start this
in the fall. I am not going to send her to the
public school system at the age of 3. I just can't do
it. She is still struggling with the whole potty
thing...we have to wear pull-ups when we go anywhere (she
will not 'go' on a strange potty), otherwise she is
well-trained (and actually gets yucked out when she has an
accident). She just seems so little to me. Of course, then
there is the pressure from all of the other moms. They
are sending their kids to pre-school and pushing the
alphabet (some in more than one or two languages). My
daughter pays attention when I don't even know that she is
looking or listening. She is always saying or doing
something new when I never told her to. She loves the
flash-cards, but we play them like a game (go-fish or
something similiar). I just feel like I should be exposing
her to more sometimes. I know that she gets bored at
home. At 2 1/2 I have a hard time deciding what types
of activities I can do with her. We color all of the
time, we read all of the time, we use the chalk outside
and on the board inside, I let her help me with some
of my cooking (like stirring a cake mix, or getting
something from the fridge or pantry). She follows me around
when I clean and mimics me. We talk about how to stay
healthy, like eating right and grooming (yes, she does
hold a conversation). Like I said, I think I do a lot
with her, but she gets bored and I need some new
ideas. I am rambling, so I will cut this off here. Do
you actually plan your days, or do you just 'wing'
it? If I am going to concentrate on a subject (like
colors,shapes,numbers,etc.) how long (in days) should I spend on this? I can
come up with a lot of activities(and if not, ideas are
all over the internet), I am just not sure how to
organize my time on a day to day basis. Any suggestions?
<br>Michelle

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til
tomorrow.<br><br>For babies grow up, we've learned to our
sorrow.<br><br>So quiet down, cobwebs.<br><br>Dust, go to
sleep.<br><br>I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

She does a lot of the things we do when I am home
with her, but she does them with her Daddy. My
daughter has NEVER and WILL NEVER be left with a
babysitter. It is my and my husband's personal choice on the
issue.<br><br>However, I also do additional learning things other that
what he does, since I am more crafty than he and am
also a more natural teacher than he. We do those
things when I have a day off from work or when I get
home from work. Its that simple. As a sub I decide
what days I will work, that is why I chose to do that
as a part-time job.---Patty

Well, I only substitute when my husband does not
work, so she spends the day with him. Sometimes they
work on the PC and learning games, play video, play
board games, card games or anything else they want to.
At this point in time, for our family, the main
thing is they get to spend time together without Mama
being there. My dh was in the Army up until last Sept.,
and often had to be away from us days, months and up
to a year at a time. Consequently Samantha and I got
extremely close--sometimes I feel closer to her than him
and vice versa. I think, that by me substituting when
he is off from work which can be 3-4 weekdays every
week, she is fostering an important relationship with
him. <br><br>If this seems like I don't really have
time to "homeschool" her much, it really is not. I
work close by 3-5 minutes, so my commute is short.
Sometimes I will only work half a day-4 hrs. Also, I rarely
come home without a new project I learned at school to
try. My subbing day ends either at 12:15 or at 3:30,
so it is still early enough in the day for us to do
things, like take walks and talk about nature, visit the
library, visit learning sites on the internet, or sit down
and work on projects. An hour or two or three a day,
I think is a good amount of time for a child to
learn something--it just depends how you use it. For
example, if I am baking or making pancakes she helps me
measure and learns about fractions in the process. I also
do not work weekends or every day of the week, so
the time is there. (I have a messy house sometimes,
but oh well, I'd rather spend time with her. If
something has to suffer for lack of time it is always the
housekeeping chores around here.)<br><br>Right now she is very
interested in the Pokemon Board Game, not the cards. They
play it together and we play it together or as a
family. The reason I like it is because she is enforcing
the addition she is learning when she uses her PC.
She has a large assortment of board games. She is
also free to work on the PC whenever she wants to. (It
is not internet connected.)<br><br>Video Games, if
you are thinking that video games are a waste of
time, let tell you how I view them. First of all she
has age appropriate games like ELMOS ABCs and
NUMBERS, and some that are just for fun like Space Jam and
Rugrats. But even Rugrats and some of the other games
teach her that she HAS TO THINK to make stategies to
win the games, so I don't see anything wrong with
non-violent video games as learning tools. Tetris, for
example, makes them manipulate shapes to fit them in a
given space. I guess it is all in how you see things.
<br><br>Samantha really loves to learn and when I am at work she
will take it upon herself to work on her letters, or a
kid's v-tech computer--it is not a PC, but rather a
card computer, or numbers or whatever she wants to.
When I get home I always ask her what she has been up
to and she shows me or tells me. It works out,
because we work at it and because we want it
to.-----Patty<br><br>I also do not run errands like grocery shopping
during the weekdays, so I always have at least 6 hrs to
be with her in a relaxed environment.

Pika,<br><br>  What does your daughter do when you have to sub?<br>MaryAnne

I like the way you think. Although I "teach"
preschool, in my home, we do it pretty much like you
describe. I decided to do it this way because the
"preschool" I was working for closed 2 1/2 years ago for
financial reasons and about 8 of the parents asked if I
could try to finish out the year. I did. Then they
asked if there was anyway we could do something for
their youngest. So we met at the house 2 days a week
for 2 hour. More like a playgroup than anything.
These children were only 2. Since then we have
continued gradually adding hours and days. The two who have
been with me since I started this are only 4 1/2 and
ready for about 1st grade stuff. But I never push. Its
there only for them to do "If they wish". I've even had
parents ask me if I'd consider "home schooling" their
children because, like you commented, the children are in
third grade and bored out of their minds. I keep saying
no, because I still have the little ones, but next
year who knows.<br>Children are Natural learners, as
long as adults don't interfer too much.<br>MaryAnne

It is my strong opinion that sometimes, we
parents are too quick to try to teach our very young
children. Lets face it they will only be that little once
and to make them spend that time in structured
learning is somewhat harsh. <br><br>When my daughter was
about 1 1/2 I started her on flash cards. She did learn
them, but then I had a revelation. I mean, come on, she
was just a baby and for me to teach her flash cards
was ludicrous, even though she learned them. I can
still remember her saying "ONE WAY" to the card with
that sign on it. (I am a lover of learning and really
wanted her to have a headstart). But at what expense? At
her not developing in a more natural way? I realized
that not only was I robbing her of her BABYHOOD, I was
robbing myself and her father as well. I backed off,
especially when I thought of myself. I was a great student
and my parents never pushed me. They did present me
with learning tools and encouragement, though. In
fact, when I went to school (1st grade) all I could do
was recite the Alphabet. (1st graders should know how
to write their names like John--not john or JOHN,
they should also know the alphabet and the sounds each
letter makes so they can learn to read and
write.<br><br>I decided that until she was older, I was just
going to play with her hand on and enjoy her. I still
read to her every night--not one, but however many
books she wanted me to. I watched cartoons and PBS with
her. I also colored with her, played with her toys
with her and basically was just her play friend.
<br><br>She started practicing writing her alphabet off and
on at 3--on her own. She recited them earlier than
that. At 4 yrs I bought her some alphabet mats and
scissors. She practiced cutting paper and her letters
whenever she wanted to. She can write them all in lower
and uppercase as well as some words. <br><br>I guess
the main thing that I am trying to say is don't try
to teach your kids too much information. Let them
learn at their own pace and they will probably learn to
LIKE TO LEARN and that is the key to further learning
in school. <br><br>Do present them with learning
tools like crayons and coloring books, reading books,
work books-though don't expect to follow them to a
"T", chalk for sidewalk art, play doh to create,
safety scissors to learn to cut--don't make them cut
certain things out at first, just let them Cut,
paper--lots of paper to cut and color, glue, fingerpaints,
color pencils, construction paper and markers. Present
them with a way to use these things and then step back
and let them go. When they are ready for a more
structured learning they will let you know one way or
another.<br><br>Kids can and do learn things from the simplest places.
My daughter learned the concept of things evolving
and growing from Pokemon, because I explained to her
why the creatures change and showed her that they are
based on real animals and plants. We also planted
several things like flowers and grew an avocado plant
from the bulb.<br><br>I have started substituting
again and I see a lot of children in 1st and 2nd grade
that are so tired of learning, because they started
too young and are in my opinion suffering from
burn-out.<br><br>The best thing a parent can do is just spend time
with your child. If you see an instance where you can
explain something to your child do it in a natural way
and they will learn. And ENCOURAGE and PRAISE EACH
and EVERY little thing they learn, even when the
apple they make looks more like a pickle SMILE and HUG
them and TELL them IT IS THE BEST APPLE YOU EVER
SAW.---pika!pika!

I made a conscious decision to not send my
daughter to pre-kinder, or kinder. I really do not want to
send her to school period, but I will have to get over
that one!! Unfortunately, homeschooling 1-12 is not
something that I want to do. I will give public schools a
chance and monitor her learning closely.<br><br>I am
really close to my daughter. She is an only child. She
is loves to learn. I used to work with her every
other day on the basics-learning the ABC, writing her
name, but I really backed off. I decided to just let
her do her own thing.<br><br>For Christmas we bought
2 computers. Santa brought her a Reader Rabbit
Program. She has a couple of those and a Math Blaster and
Jump Start 1st Grade. She works on them whenever she
wants to. She knows how to work the computer, even
installs programs and all. When she was first learning to
work the Math Blaster, all I did was explain to her
the concept of adding numbers and she has done the
rest. <br><br>This past week, I started substitute
teaching--money constraits have force me to--I quit working when
she was 4 mos old. I was subing a 1st grade class.
They were barely learning how to tell time. Samantha
knows her "o'clocks," already and can tell time
digitally. She writes upper and lowercase letters, and does
basic math. She is learning to read better every day.
They were also learning about seeds. Samantha learned
about seeds and flowers from Grandpa. I am really into
hands-on and relaxed learning. I think it is the best
kind. <br><br>Right now, Samantha really loves "Who
wants to be a Millionare," so I quiz her learning in
that form. She actually started quizzing me and even
asked me if that was my final answer--it is cute.<br>If
she learns, then I like it.---pika!pika!

I started a "home" preschool when my youngest
daughter was 21/2. Our group has varied from 3 children to
6, within the 3 years we've been at home. I expect
your group probably will do very well. The main thing
I've tried to keep in mind is: It's important for
children to be children. I try to encourage all the
children to challenge themselves and offer plans to anyone
interested in other areas. This is probably my last 2
months, being everyone in our group is going to
elementary school in the fall, or already there part time
now. I'm looking for something else to do, to interest
me. I have a degree in Early Childhood Development,
but choose not to work in the "outside" world so that
I may spend as much time as possible watching and
influencing my childrens growth. I hope this group will help
with my new search, and I can offer whatever
information I have to you as well. Thank you. MaryAnne

LOL....Just wondering where everybody went! It's lonely in here! (sorry if this
seems too corny! I'm in one of those moods tonight!)<br><br>Michelle

I have been searching the internet for
curriculums and boy! are they expensive. And of course there
is the doubt about buying something from somebody I
don't know..how do I know it isn't a 'rip-off'...I have
talked to some friends that are homeschooling their
older children and they suggested just using the books
that you can buy at Wal Mart. So, I did. We have used
these books before, but mostly just coloring. My
daughter didn't seem to care too much for this study.
Yesterday we used the flash cards, and she loved it. Then
we went for a walk pointing out all of the different
colors and shapes we could find. I think she enjoyed
this more than sitting at a table with a book. We have
also been using sidewalk chalk to write letters and
draw shapes, she loves this too! Does anybody have an
idea about what the children are actually required to
know by the time they start Kindergarten? Things have
changed so much that it wouldn't suprise me if they
wanted the kids to know calculus (lol). <br><br>michelle

I've noticed that we have some new members that
haven't posted yet.We would love to hear from you!Tell us
a little about your selves and your family and your
schooling technics!We are all here because we want to learn
new ideas to keep our kids from being bored and so
they may learn to the best of their ability!

I also thought about putting my daughter into a
preschool. But then i realized anything learned in a
preschool, she can learn here at her pace.we've already
begun a play group although she is not to interested,
for free play. in the beginning of the summer we are
starting a more structured group where the kids will start
cooperative learning in areas such as science, math, phonics
etc. as i said we are starting this group in june,
another mother and i, so i don't know how successful it
will be but we have high expectations.

I have a 2yo daughter that will be 3 in October.
I feel like she is ready for me to start a
structured course of study. I have thought about putting her
in preschool, but I stayed home from work for a
reason. I have been searching the internet and asking
friends and family for ideas. I know that she is still
young, but I think she is bored. I have been watching my
two nephews (2yo and 1yo). The older nephew is
signing up for preschool towards the end of this month.
So, I am going to start looking around for a SAHM's
club with a play group. I was glad to see this club on
the yahoo list and hope that we can exchange ideas.
<br>Michelle

Home schooling is new to us my oldest is not
quite 3 , she will be the beginning of april. We do a
lot of art and games andthings on the computer. today
she told me she is bored.she is in a play group with
about 4 others her age and a few months older and does
not seem to be to interested. things that they are
just starting to do and questions they may have she
has already asked and wondered about like 3 months
ago.I'm having a hard time triing to find out where she
is so we can do things more geered for her.now that
spring is here i'm hoping we can get outside for
something more interesting to her.( we live in CT and the
snow has just melted)

Hi!<br><br>My name is Tammy and I have a 4 yo
girl and a 19 mo boy. I am homeschooling using
Sonlight Preschool until fall when I will begin Sonlight
Kindergarten. I have made up some lessons (before I started
with the curriculum). I look forward to sharing ideas.

This is a club for homeschooling families of
toddlers to exchange ideas thoughts and concerns of home
schooling.Also to raise questions you may have and to get advice
from other members.I have just started my venture of
home schooling with my 3 year old.I am running out of
ideas to make her learning experiences different each
day...

Welcome to the Yahoo! Message Board for homeschooling preschoolers