The Cave School of Learning
http://thecaveschool.blogspot.com/
All the ups, downs and all arounds of teaching 2 pre-school aged kids at home.
About Jeneva Walton & her Blog
Jeneva's Answers
What's a great developmental toy for preschoolers?
Jeneva Snyder
I'm personally a fan of multi-use toys like blocks. My kids use traditional wood blocks for pretend play with all kinds of figurines and they use their bigger foam blocks with dolls and stuffed animals plus both kinds together for play with their cars and trains. Not to mention building towers and knocking them down. They learn to take turns and the use of teamwork plus they get lots of pretend play. We have also used them with playdoh and paint. We'll probably use the foam ones with water once it gets warmer. There are just so many uses for blocks!How do you get a fidgety or unfocused child to sit and do homework?
Jeneva Snyder
After spending most of their day sitting at a desk and thinking hard they probably need some good old fashioned play time. Let them play, offer a healthy snack and some water then revisit the homework. In addition, not all subject matter will be interesting to a child just like it isn't to adults. Parents/caregivers should engage them in the subject matter by asking questions and showing genuine interest in what they learned that day and what their homework is. Ask them to show you how to do it, offer to help if they need it. If they don't like what they have to do try making it more interesting by adding a game to it. Work with them on the way they learn best as most children need to learn and work in ways other than just reading and writing. Movement like jumping rope to spell a word, making up a song to learn history facts; cater to their learning style a bit more and they will be more willing to sit back down and finish.What's your kids' favorite backyard game?
Jeneva Snyder
My kids' favorite thing to do in the backyard is play in the mud. I set up an area just for them to add water to the dirt/soil and play with it any way they want. Sometimes it's animal play with figurines of any sort and sometimes it's food play. As long as you have any amount of outdoor space you can set this up just by providing any container filled with dirt, water and whatever they want to add for play.What are the best ways to keep kids entertained & well-behaved at a formal event or luncheon such as wedding?
Jeneva Snyder
I always make sure to bring things for them to keep them happy and well-behaved. We bring a couple of race cars for my son and my daughter usually brings a small doll or two. I also carry a pad of paper and/or a couple small coloring/activity books (they love mazes!) plus crayons for when they move on from the toys they brought. For longer events, like a wedding, we usually pick a few small books to bring as well. If we still need things to do, because sometimes their attention span is shorter than normal, we play eye-spy, we sort and count things on the table and in the room and if necessary we go exploring.|
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