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I know there is a limit on the number of [2008-05-27]
letters in the name so you could run it all together.
TrevorsDiamondShark
TrevorsSharkDiamond
DiamondStreetTrevor
I know there is a limit on the number of [2008-05-27]
letters in the name so you could run it all together.
TrevorsDiamondShark
TrevorsSharkDiamond
DiamondStreetTrevor
I was so sad when my daughter went from 2 naps to 1 nap at about that age. .sm [2008-02-20]
I think I needed it worse than she did! I am glad your situation has improved!
It wasnt the NUMBER of naps I commented on,was [2008-02-19]
x
Both my daughters stopped taking naps [2008-02-19]
At one and a half, and even now at 4 she doesn't need a lot of sleep. On the other hand my neighbor's children took naps until they were almost 5. Everyone is different.
3-4 naps!!!! [2008-02-04]
How do you do it??? My 30-month-old is trying to cut out his one and only nap and the 1-year-old is down to one nap most days as well.
But they are pretty long naps 2-3 hours.
Thanks for feelin my pain. I was just venting cause when you are use to finally being able to sleep a full night and they turn so quickly like that it really makes you feel like a walking zombie. Can't remember how I did the every 2 hour wake up when his was 1st born.
Jenn
taking naps [2007-12-21]
I guess I am lucky. I have a 2 1/2-year-old that takes a 1 hour nap in the morning and a 10-month-old that takes a 1-hour nap in the morning and a 1-hour nap in the afternoon. They both go to bed at 6:00 p.m. and wake up at 5:00-5:30 a.m. They are very good sleepers, just like me. I work very hard to keep this schedule for them because I need to have my evenings free to type and catch up on whatever else I need to do.
I have never had a babysitter because I have scheduled them so strictly regarding naps that I have from 6:30 p.m. on free. I I am home at nap times and I don I don It restricts my time to do things during the day, but it is what works best for me in order to have my evenings.
Even if my toddler doesn Sometimes she doesn't sleep, but it's good for her to have that time to settle down.
I'm sure this is not the ideal situation for many, but it is what works for me!!
Two questions: My 19-month old son has stopped taking naps but goes to bed around 9:00, anyone else [2007-12-18]
have one that stopped napping that early? Also, part 2, was thinking about getting an in-house babysitter, but wondered if anyone had experience with that, since he seems to want to be where I am at all times, even if hubby is watching him, before I go through all the screening, etc. TIA!
Both of my daughters stopped taking naps [2007-12-18]
at a very early age, about 18 months, so I can symphasize. I always envied my friend. Her children napped until they were 4. My daughter is now 4 and goes to bed around 9:00-9:30. If she happens to fall asleep in the car or if she's particularly tired and falls asleep, she'll be up until almost midnight (no kidding). I never had a live-in sitter, so I can't help you there.
I did as you are doing , work while naps and - sm [2007-09-27]
at night. No I did not get a lot of sleep and was pretty tired most of the time. I would basically work 9pm-2am; and during naps (unless I napped too due to exhaustion). I did not make much then; still don that is about all I did then. I was a newbie and doing acute care, though some days I did more than 500 lines, just those were rare. If you czn do that then that should be an extra $800 or so a month which should be helpful....but don't forget about taxes. Good luck.
I am going to urge you to get counseling soon. [2008-03-30]
Please don't take this the wrong way, but there are a number of things you have said in your posts that indicate you would benefit from speaking with a counselor. Especially, where you say that you have improved and then speak about not complaining ever and being very forgiving. You need to take care of yourself. There should be services that are either free or prorated in your area.
Also, you cannot make any relationship better by being the only one willing to change, especially when those changes are superficial.
Both my daughters stopped taking naps [2008-02-19]
At one and a half, and even now at 4 she doesn't need a lot of sleep. On the other hand my neighbor's children took naps until they were almost 5. Everyone is different.
3-4 naps!!!! [2008-02-04]
How do you do it??? My 30-month-old is trying to cut out his one and only nap and the 1-year-old is down to one nap most days as well.
But they are pretty long naps 2-3 hours.
Thanks for feelin my pain. I was just venting cause when you are use to finally being able to sleep a full night and they turn so quickly like that it really makes you feel like a walking zombie. Can't remember how I did the every 2 hour wake up when his was 1st born.
Jenn
In the same boat [2008-02-01]
My 18mo daughter has a problem with waking up at 3 in the morning to play, too. Not sure what is going on. Most days she is a super sleeper, even still taking three or four hour naps in the day, while still sleeping all through the night. But about once a week, she wakes up in the middle of the night, playing with her dollie in her crib. We just let her go and she usually falls back to sleep.
2 and 4, and it hasn't gotten any easier [2008-01-28]
And I hear you about that sleeping in part. The youngest one has to wake up between 6:15-6:30 NO MATTER WHAT! Yeah, he'll be cranky and crying, but there's no getting him back to sleep before his 10:30 naptime. And the 4-year-old won't take any naps and won't go to sleep at night for anything. In fact, I'm not really sure when I AM getting my work done. Maybe it was that laptop I had set up in the bathroom right next to the toilet...
Overwhelmed! [2008-01-18]
I am a self-employed WAHM-MT. I do not have a degreeMT, was trained 10 years ago by the same client I am contracted with now. They had 4 phys. when I started and it was myself and an in-house MT. I had 1 child then, who napped 3-4 hours a day, so I worked before she woke up, during her naps, and after she went to bed. 10 years later andseveral children later, they now have 6 drs. and 3 np They no longer have an in-house MT, just myself and another WAH MT. There is more than double the work, and less workers, but unfortunately they canmath and figure that out. They refuse to let me subcontract someone to help me. They refuse to hire someone else. They used to demand 24 hr turnaround, but now thank goodness they have at least realized that they can However, after 2-3 days they are complaining and calling me on the phone wanting notes typed and faxed. They refuse to telecommute, so I am still picking up tapes every day. I have a set amount of hoursI work a day, because I have a family to care for and there is only so much work I can do in a day. That is why I work at home. However, they don I have been working my normal M-F hrs, but I am so backed up that I still have 2-3 days worth of typing left on my desk by the end of the day. It is a vicious cycle, because for every 2-3 tapes I get done in a day, they give me 3-4 the next day. If I am still backed up on Fridays, they expect me to work on Sat and Sun, or on holidays, to get caught up. If I did this, I would be working 7 days a week. I told them I would like to avoid working on my days off. I don Apparently the other at-home MT does this for them, or at least they think she does, because they used that bit of information to try to manipulate me into working this weekend. I really am at a loss of what to do. I need the job, but at the same time, I have children who need me. I dona week. Does anyone else out there have this problem or feel this way? They will call me and want me to stop fixing my children It is like they want me to neglect my children, which I cannot and will not do. In the past, I have looked at finding another client, but most in my area want someone with a degree. If I don My husband is looking for a better job making more $ so I can either quit and find another line of work, but nothing has turned up so far. Does anybody out there charge extra for working over a certain amount of hours, or a certain amount of lines? Any advice? Well, I don Thanks for letting me vent.
taking naps [2007-12-21]
I guess I am lucky. I have a 2 1/2-year-old that takes a 1 hour nap in the morning and a 10-month-old that takes a 1-hour nap in the morning and a 1-hour nap in the afternoon. They both go to bed at 6:00 p.m. and wake up at 5:00-5:30 a.m. They are very good sleepers, just like me. I work very hard to keep this schedule for them because I need to have my evenings free to type and catch up on whatever else I need to do.
I have never had a babysitter because I have scheduled them so strictly regarding naps that I have from 6:30 p.m. on free. I I am home at nap times and I don I don It restricts my time to do things during the day, but it is what works best for me in order to have my evenings.
Even if my toddler doesn Sometimes she doesn't sleep, but it's good for her to have that time to settle down.
I'm sure this is not the ideal situation for many, but it is what works for me!!
There is NOTHING wrong with sm [2007-12-21]
Having daily quiet time in the crib with some toys, whether a child sleeps or not. There is nothing wrong with setting a daily bedtime that is written in stone no matter whether or what time naps took place. It is setting limits, something you are going to be doing until your children are raised. Limits are seldom popular with kids, but they still need them.
Whether you are working at home or not, you, as their mom, are entitled to a quiet time of your own each and every day. If you doncharge may come with listening to an adult tell you about what strangers are complaining about today, but it is still a break from your kids and something that feeds you as a person.
I can only tell you that mine are grown now. I had rules like 8:30 bedtime until they were 12, and they got to 10:30 by the time they were in high school. It was 10:30 LIGHTS OUT and quiet. They could read or have headphones and music, that was fine, but it was about being quiet so I could sleep as I worked the end of the third shift. After a lifetime of firm rules (although very few rules) and consistent reinforcement of said rules, I got what I asked by the time they were 12 or 13 with little or no grief ever.
The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. My daughter is studying premed on a 3/4 scholarship, my younger son is in college for a degree in software engineering and my oldest is married. They all excel with keeping a job and are popular with their supervisors because they have a work ethic and oh my, they follow the rules and don't push the limits! Okay, so I am a proud mom.
income? [2007-11-06]
If you want to email me in response to this, please do so. I have 2 kids home during the day, and my 5-year-old comes home at 2:50 in the afternoon. I try to type during naps and when they go to bedat night. I started out in-house a few years ago and was doing quite well. Ibut I still can Starting next week, I Am I dreaming? Do those of you with small kids at home actually make a living at this?
Kids [2007-10-18]
It It seems like only yesterday I tried to work with my son in a baby carrier on my chest. Now he is 3! My kids are into educationalcomputer games. My 5-year-old daughter does great by herself (she started on a computer when she was about 2.) My son can run the games, but still needs help. He does fine if I am hovering over him, the minute I put my headphones on he needs help! Mama It helps when you can give them something educational to keep their attention for a while.
As far as naps, my daughter does not nap. My son does in the afternoon for about 3 hours. I know that kids thrive on schedules, so if I were you I would go with a schedule that works best for you and doesn Oh, and remember, it is good to let them play by themselves a bit every day. It builds independence and confidence. My son is wonderful playing alone. My daughter was spoiled as the first born and she is very high maintenance! She requires our attention ALL THE TIME! So, if your kids are quite they are probably just enjoying some alone time!
Good luck!
As long as she is isn't crying, I would say she is fine.... [2007-10-17]
I have a 8-1/2-year-old son and a 14-month-old daughter and my son stopped taking naps completely at 2 years old...and I am sure I will be in the same situation as you with my baby because she is getting to the point where she is tired but fights her naps...if she doesn't get her afternoon nap she is one cranky baby for the rest of the evening...good luck and it sounds like you are doing everything just fine....
nap [2007-10-17]
I have 4 children ages 8, 5, 3, and 1. MIne all stopped taking naps when they were 2. HOnestly, if you want her to still take a nap during the day you will most likely have to keep her up later and wake her up the same time or waker her up earlier so she is tired enough to take a nap. Is your hubby home in the evening so he can watch the kids and do not feel guilty byletting her playi n her crib. I have let my kids in there as long as they are not screaming. Actually one of my kids had colic real bad and by putting him in his crib was my only break I got from screaming and crying myself.
I have 2 children of my own, [2007-10-17]
One is 4 and one is 5. They both still take naps. If they aren This is my sanity time and they do always behave better afterward. I plan to keep this up at least until they are 6. Will take it from there after that. :)
Is this bad??? (long msg) [2007-10-16]
My daughter will be 2 1/2 in 2 months. She has always been a really awesome sleeper. Since she was 8 months old, she has been going down at 6:00 p.m. and sleeps until 5:30 or 6:00 the next morning. My 8-month-old daughter is following the same pattern. Nowmy 2-year-oldis getting to the point where she either will not take naps at all or not be tired when I used to put her down (11:00) but then gets very tired around 2:00. I really don
I don She is a very good girl, but very demanding. She is going through her terrible two Not to mention I have my baby.
Anyway, for the last 2 weeks or so, my oldest will go down at 6:00 if she does not take a nap, but by that time she is very tired. If she does take a nap, I only let her sleep for about an hour and then put her down at her regular time, and sometimes she will sit in her crib for an hour just talking...
I feel so horrible about leaving her in there when she isn Not to mention, I feel like I Should I be fearful of that?
I realize this board is for people towrite their opinions, but please refrain from being nasty...I already feel guilty enough.
working from home is hard but I wouldn't change it for the world... [2007-10-12]
my daugther is 14 months old and in a few months I am going to put her in daycare 2-3 days a week, just to interact with other kids, but it sure will give me a break from time to time...I work now when the baby naps or before the kids get up in the morning but some days no one is quiet and I have no idea how I do it either...but you take the good with the bad right??? and I love being here for my children...it is nice knowing that there are other moms out there in the same boat!!!
I did as you are doing , work while naps and - sm [2007-09-27]
at night. No I did not get a lot of sleep and was pretty tired most of the time. I would basically work 9pm-2am; and during naps (unless I napped too due to exhaustion). I did not make much then; still don that is about all I did then. I was a newbie and doing acute care, though some days I did more than 500 lines, just those were rare. If you czn do that then that should be an extra $800 or so a month which should be helpful....but don't forget about taxes. Good luck.
Oh thank you thank you thank you!! [2007-09-23]
For starting this thread!! I have an almost 4 year old and a 9 month old. Connor (the 4 year old) is in preschool two days a week and also stays at my mom's one night a week so I only have to entertain Sophie when Connor is at school or gramma's. I am finding it really hard to get in my lines that they want me to do. I am supposed to work Sunday-Thursday but right now I am working everyday, which seems all day to get in my 5000 lines a pay period.
Sophie goes to bed at 6:30-7 pm and doesn't get up until around 5 or 6...I love to work mornings but evenings my brain is mush and cannot even type my own name without messing it up (like right now LOL)
My husband is a paramedic and works all the time, on-call or at the station. I can't schedule anything really unless I just ex him out of the schedule. I might have to do that to actually get some work done.
Writing the schedule down is a great idea. My oldest can read the clock so I am sure that he will tell me when it's his time. Sophie has two naps during the day so I would probably take one of those for just Connor and momma time.
I am soooo thankful that someone is going through this! I am not alone!! :-D
Sorry it's so long..I'm tired and can't think straight.
How do you all do it? [2007-09-10]
I have a 2 year old and a 7 month old - both girls. I have a transcription job, but find I am barely making enough lines to make a difference in our financial situation. My husband has a very good job, but we are struggling after putting an addition on our house (due to our littlest angel,) and we are living a bit beyond our means to say the least, but with the housing market the way it is, we will never be able to sell our home for the price we would ask.
Anyway, I read on this forum that people working full time at this type around 1,600 lines a day. I don Is that sad? And, how do other mothers with little ones do it? I have really good girls, but my oldest is going through her terrible twos and she requires a lot of my attention. On the rare occasions that they do give me time to type, I feel guilty that I I think, oh, they I have a great play room set up, my oldest has a little desk next to mine with a little keyboard and little earphones (she likes to do work like I do), books, paints, crayons, videos, cushion forts, etc...etc...etc...
I type during naps (when they My littlest wakes up at 5:00 a.m. and my older one, shortly after that.
Does anyone have any advice? How does everyone else do it? AND how many lines do you all working part time get in per day? I feel like my productivity is pathetic. Thanks and sorry so long.
Thank you s/m [2007-09-10]
I think I have set up a schedule for when to work when the kids are home. My youngest has two naps during the day so I will work during one nap and put my son down with a movie for some quiet time. He does very well with quiet at daycare so I think it will work at home. I will work those 2 hours then when they go to bed work another 4-5 hours. I will have some down time when my youngest has her second nap with my oldest.
I sure hope this works! I canHe is a paramedic and is on-call all the time so I rather schedule my time around the kids and when he is off then take that as a bonus.
Thank you very much every one for you input!
Anyone have this problem? [2007-05-10]
My 23-month-old is very attached to her pacifier and she has begun chewing on them to the point where they split and get holes in them. I am, of course, worried about pieces breaking off and her choking...I am very careful to make sure the holy ones are thrown out.
Now, she chews on them for 10 minutes until they get the slightest hair-line crack in them and then she will not put them in her mouth, but asks for another one. I am going through bookies like crazy!! I am trying to wean her from them during the day, to no avail, so far. She won Does anyone have any advice? I'm pulling my hair out!!
Career Step from what I hear is another great online school as well... [2007-05-07]
I also agree with the other poster about babies sleeping so much the first few months that you could definitely get some studying done then, too, but remember to take care of yourself as well and try to fit in some rest. As you know, having a baby can really take a toll on the ole' body! I also found working around a baby's schedule was much easier than working around a preschooler which I am currently doing at the moment, thank God for preschool and naps! LOL!
On another note, I went to a community college to become medical Transcriptionist (have been doing this for about 15 years now), this was before they had such great online schools, but I have heard Career Step is right up there with the others you mentioned. Just research to find a good fit.
Good luck!
Having a senior moment, please help! [2007-05-07]
Do you call into a docs number via your C-phone and transcribe? or Does doc call into your C-phone and dictate, which would mean I am missing equipment? I have been in transcription for six years now but never had to worry about these things so never asked. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
schedule with 2-1/2 yo twins [2007-02-19]
I was reading some of these postings trying to get schedule ideas. My day changes daily. That is the only thing I can say. I am grateful that they do entertain each other, but that only goes so far. As my GYN said to me, the only thing predictable about children is that they are unpredictable. It is just refreshing to know that I My hubby does all he can to help me before he goes to work every day and does breakfast and the morning routine, so that does help.
Here is what I did.... [2006-12-11]
Sometimes, naps aren BUT, she was at my house while I was working. They were usually in the livingroom doing their own thing. After awhile, I let her take my daughter places with her and it worked out great forall involved. Plus my husband was a big help when I had to work in the afternoon or if I was really slammed.My daughter is school-age now, but back then it helped a lot. We are tryingfor a baby and if that happens, I would do the same thing all over. It takes the stress away from me while working, and they are in the same house with you which helps ease a mother
60 independent ideas for preschoolers [2006-10-30]
This is from the cathswap yahoo group, Gwen one of the mods wrote it:HTH :) For what it's worth, I've compiled my list of 60 activities for my
preschooler to do independently while I'm doing lessons with Heather and/or
Jared. (If you're not homeschooling but still have a preschooler at home,
this may help you get some just for you time...)
Rachel will be encouraged to participate with our lessons as she wants to
or is capable (like listening to stories during Language Arts or History;
she can certainly do art but I'm not going to force it and hopefully these
activities will keep her occupied and out of trouble.
Feel free to pass this on to anyone else whom you think may find this
helpful.
Preschooler Ideas for Younger PAVCS Siblings - 3 and up
Since I'm using all the provided curriculum boxes for the kids (from K12), I
decided to take the biggest box --the one that the art clay, plaster of
Paris, etc. came in, and designate it my three year old's school box. This
way her school box is just like her siblings'. This box will ONLY be used at
school time, and will only be used at the table. You can take any box and
decorate it and make it the special box...brought out only at certain
times and each time having something different in it.
Inside will be her own pencil box that will have a set of markers, (crayola
washable, naturally) a pair of Fiskars kid scissors, a box of crayons, a
pencil, a pen, and a glue stick. Each day I will put some papers in there
for her to either color, cut up, paste things on, or practice writing
(simple mazes and such for her to follow, etc.)
Each week I'll put one or two interesting books that she will enjoy looking
at. There will also be one or two special activities that will change from
day to day, made up of (mostly) educational toys and stuff that I currently
have on hand but has been put away for a while.... Each day there'll be
something different to do, either loose in the box or in a zipper top Ziploc
bag (the kind with the slider zipper is easier for the kids to manipulate
than the traditional ones).
The idea of this box is for her to entertain herself with little or no
guidance from me while I work with her older siblings. She will more than
likely be participating with us during some lessons (she likes to play
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom with the phonics tiles, LOL) .
Here are some ideas for the activities. Some will be in a zippered bag, some
won't. I have 60 activities, so that I'll have enough for 2 per day per
month. At the end of the month I'll start over again. The key to the success
of these is to keep them a surprise and limit access to them so that the
novelty does NOT wear off. Some seemingly obvious things, like legos and
matchbox cars are missing from this list because they play with them almost
every day. I got the ideas for many of these activities from various
websites with preschoolers in mind. I do not have these in any particular
order. Obviously they need to be mixed up so there aren't a whole slew of
similar activities piggy backing day in and day out......Also, I'm not going
to insult your intelligence by reminding you about choking hazards, which
some of these activities may contain...use your common sense based upon your
child, and you'll be fine!...
1. sock match...several pairs of colorful infant socks that she's outgrown
in the bag to match up or just play with. If I know her she'll have them on
her hands and feet for half an hour.
2. dominoes...to build with and do who knows what with...
3. Discovery Toys Tinyville Magnets (these are magnets in shapes like
people, vehicles, animals, buildings, cloud, stars, moon, etc...) and the
magnetic white board
4. Play Doh, with geometric shaped cookie cutters
5. Play Doh with farm animal cookie cutters
6. Paint in a bag...put two colors of paint in a doubled Ziploc bag, seal it
with clear tape, and let her squish them to mix the colors. There will be a
couple of different color combinations
7. More magnets --from a magnet kit...lots of different plane figures and a
magnetic base to build upon
8. Blues Clues Cards there are nine sets of four cards, three clues that
go with one card. Got these at a dollar store that was going out of
business...got them for 50 cents! :-)
9. Mixies cards (11 sets of three different cards that form a
picture...these came from somebody's birthday party favor bag)
10. Puzzle Pairs (Discovery Toys two piece puzzles of things that go
together, like a sock and foot, sink and soap, etc)
11. Memory...for Rachel I'll probably only give her 24 cards at a time as
opposed to the full set of 72; this way I can get 3 activities from one
memory game and she won't be overwhelmed!
12. Animal Lotto..she can match up all the animals on the boards...
13. Spirit jigsaw puzzle...I printed out a horse picture colored to look
like Spirit and am gluing it to felt, then cutting it out in simple shapes
for her to put together. I will probably put a couple more like this in
there too.
14. Pattern blocks (mine are from K12; easily obtained from curriculum
suppliers for a few bucks)
15. Wooden Geometric Solids...these will keep her occupied for at least a
half hour; as with above, easily obtained from suppliers, often for under
$10 for a nice set of 12 hardwood blocks
16. Math linking cubes- these are the multi link cubes, not unifix cubes.
The multi link cubes are connectable all the way around, unlike unifix cubes
that only connect one way.
17. Lincoln Logs
18. dry rice with a funnel, measuring cup, measuring spoon, and containers
19. Lacing beads with shoe laces (the long heavy duty ones from Glenn's old
workboots work really well)
20. Giant pegboard and rubber bands
21.Rubber stamps with farm animals
22. Rubber stamps with numbers
23. Discovery Toys Playful Patterns
24. Discover Toys AB Seas alphabet fishing game
25. Discovery Toys Itsy Bitsy Spider Game
26 Discovery Toys Bright Builders (being a former consultant has its
advantages!)
27. Stickers! Lots of STICKERS. Draw shapes on a piece of paper and give
lots of tiny stickers to fill in the shapes with. You could also write the
child's name on there to put stickers on each letter...so the name shows up
in stickers. the smaller the sticker the better as it takes more time to
fill them in.
28. Animal cards...you know those clubs where you get wildlife cards? Well
I picked up half a set at a yardsale and the kids love looking at the
pictures...that should keep her busy for 20 minutes
29. Mr and Mrs Potato Head Not sure if it's educational, but it should keep
her busy for a half hour, hopefully. LOL
30. Bucket of Goop (three parts cornstarch to one part water) in a small
empty oxyclean bucket with a scoop, funnel, graduated cylinder from K12, and
another container to pour the goop into. Messy and fun but easy to clean up.
31. Watercolor paints I miss those old Paint with water books where all
you had to do was have a paintbrush and water. The new ones come with a set
of watercolors attached, but in this case, I'd really like the books with
the pictures already colored and you just swipe it with a wet brush to
paint. Maybe lacking in creativity, but hey. After painting one picture
Rachel will probably have the paint set ruined by not rinsing out the
brush...my idea here is for her do to something WITHOUT guidance from
me...oh well...
32. Lacing cards. Using the shoe laces from the lacing beads. I'll cut out
shapes from light weight cardboard and cover with contact paper before
punching holes in it. Someone else suggested using old bleach bottles but
I'm afraid that cutting them up will ruin my scissors. LOL
33. Felt shapes and felt board...using cookie cutters and other things as
patterns, I'll make some little people and geometric shapes for her to play
with. I'll cover a piece of sturdy cardboard with felt.
Bananas for the Monkeys Original Author Unknown: Cut five monkey shapes out
of brown felt and fifteen banana shapes out of yellow felt. Number the
monkeys from 1 to 5 and place them on flannel board. Have the children
identify the number on each monkey and place that many bananas in front of
it.
34. Puppets in a Bag --yarn, facial features already cut out, a brown lunch
sack, and some glue...a puppet kit!
35. Glue, Yarn, and shapes...sorry, no creative name for this. I'll draw
some shapes on construction paper and give her a small (the tiny size)
bottle of Elmer's glue to squeeze onto the lines I drew (helps build small
motor coordination) and then she can put the yarn on the shapes. Other
times, do this with her name, or a house, or something similar. I buy the
tiny bottles once, then get the more economical bigger bottles to refill
with later as needed. I don't even buy Elmer's half the time.
36. Collage in a bag...rip out some magazine pages with interesting pictures
for her to cut out and paste on a piece of paper...maybe following a certain
theme...like one time have it all healthy foods...another time, families and
kids, animals, flowers, etc.
37. Bean Sort - Since she's pretty much beyond sticking a bean up her nose
and requiring Glenn to remove it with needle nose pliers, I figure this is
now a safe activity for her to do with only moderate supervision. (yes
that's what happened and I got rid of our Don't Spill The Beans Game after
Heather and I were traumatized by this. Rachel, interestingly, didn't care
too much one way or the other. Heather was much more mortified by the sight
of her daddy heading toward Rachel's nose with those pliers...I didn't look.
:) ) Lots of different beans in a bucket for her to measure, pour, sort, and
throw on the floor for me to vacuum up.
38. Eyedropper, small container of water, and a mini ice cube tray or
Styrofoam egg carton. If you're feeling adventurous, use colored water to
make it interesting. Demonstrate how to use the eyedropper both to fill and
empty the cups... Would also work well with mini muffin tins, I suppose...
39. Colored Pasta - color your own pasta, using wheels or any other pasta
that has large openings (easy to lace.) Use small amount of rubbing alcohol
and several drops of food coloring in an airtight container or Ziploc. Leave
the pasta in for a few minutes ; shaking it up or stirring a few times. Take
it out to dry in a single layer. . then provide laces to string them up. You
could provide some color or shape patterns on cards to duplicate.
40. Penny Count (source:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/3446/keeplittleones.html) I will make
a more compact version on a single sheet of paper, and use circles the same
size as the counting tokens (bingo chips) that came from PAVCS...match the
colors and number amounts! But I thought the whole idea was pretty neat:
Make a poster board showing cells of numbers. Example: Draw a square,
write 1 in it. Draw or tape down 1 penny in the square. Do the same with
each square...up to ten or twenty...your choice. I'd start with 10 first and
then draw two more squares at a time up to twenty as child gets better at
this skill.
2) Give your child a basket or plastic container of pennies and have him
match up pennies that you have put down with the picture in each square.
(Ex. In the 2 cell, he would put below your example 1, 2 pennies in a
one-to-one correspondence. Check him when he is done by having him count
each cell with you. Repetition is what teaches counting!
3) Eventually test your child by showing him only a number 3 printed on
a index card and have him lay down 3 pennies and say 3. You might even
write the word three along with the number 3 back in step one so that
the child is learning a sight vocabulary word along with the printed 3.
You would only do this if your child already knows the alphabet though. Then
you could hold up a card that says three and see if he can lay the correct
pennies down when seeing the word too.
41. Super ball or small car and a paper towel or Christmas paper tube. If
you feel creative you could make a marble run of sorts with a couple tubes
(see www.familyfun.com) I probably won't...she'll be happy enough with this.
Why get more complicated than you need to? I could also let her color it
with markers if she wanted.
42. Magnet and paperclips, washers, a nail, etc.
43. A large (big enough to climb in) box. 'Nuff said.
44. A giant piece of paper (or PAVCS posterboard) to color on...whatever
desired...just give the paper and markers and you're set.
45. Lots of colored pom poms and tweezers to sort them out...look for
tweezers that will be easy for little hands to manipulate, like the ones
that come with the game Bed Bugs...heck, look for the Bed Bugs game. LOL
46. Treasure Hunt: large pot or box filled with corn meal, oat meal, rice,
etc, with small treasures hidden inside...individually wrapped candy,
coins, Barbie shoes, game pieces, etc. Make a picture checklist with all the
items to find!
47. Colored Straws and scissors: nothing more to say. LOL straws are good
for scissor practice because one snip and you have instant results. Provide
Elmer's glue and paper and it's time to make a mosaic!
48. Discovery Toys Busy Bugs This can be duplicated with any manipulative,
but I just got the game off ebay for $10. Might be able to find something
similar in a homeschool catalog... kind of like the penny poster above, just
using something different to play with and put the problems on index cards
instead of the poster. You could use stuff around the house like coins,
counters, buttons, pasta...make up index cards with patterns to
duplicate/put simple problems on there: show items with number and number
word under it, or do a simple problem like 2+2= etc...... This activity will
be accompanied by a couple bug books and hopefully a neat bug video from the
library!
49. Sticks, chunks of moss, rocks, leaves...with small rubber animals or
dinosaurs...add some sand in a 9x13 baking pan...don't worry about sand on
the floor...that's what vacuum cleaners are for!!!!! On a nice day do all
your school work outside...heck, let the older kid SKIP schoolwork to do
this outside... :-)
50. Magnetic Treasure Hunt: like the treasure hunt (#46) above, only this
time use metal items and a magnet to attract them! Be sure your magnet isn't
too strong or your kid will get several treasures at once!
51. Memory 2 see activity 11
53 Memory 3 see activity 11
54. Checkers and a small purse/canvas bag.... Checkers are cool cause they
stack. If you can get more than two dozen, that's even better. Dollar stores
often have checker games.
55. Chess pieces. Get a cheap chess/checkers game or two at the dollar
store. Rachel likes to play with the pieces like they're alive. :-)
56. Magnetic Marbles I picked these up at a dollar store. Amazing the things
you find at these places! I know that they'll be interesting for at least
fifteen to twenty minutes...maybe more.
57. Popsicle sticks and Elmer's glue. Bob the builder at your service! Real
cool if you have colored sticks...or just color them with markers when done.
This is great for eye hand coordination and small motor building. You could
put the glue in a small plastic cup or on a paper plate and have child apply
it with a cotton swab to avoid excessive glue....
58. Rubber Stamps with letters
59. Viewmaster and reels --I'm trying to collect educational rather than
twaddle reels (cartoon characters = twaddle). I want to find reels of
animals and places that are real.
60. Farm Animals and Barn. Our barn was being abused (read: animals left all
over the house) plus we really don't have shelf space for the barn to be out
all the time. So I'll bring it out from time to time...maybe when nothing
else is working and Rachel is being a real pill.
I had one other activity but I forgot what it was. :-P I thought of it after
I shut the computer down for the night and made a note to add it here when I
got up in the morning. HA!
Hopefully we won't need two of these every day, making them last even
longer. Having them all ready in their bags will be handy too...
Other suggested ideas: set up a play store with empty food boxes; book and
tapes; educational videos, painting with water and a paintbrush, cleaning
windows, kitchen chair tunnels, puppet theater,
One thing I am going to try not to worry about is THE MESS with some of
these activities. Messes happen. Elmer's, crayola markers, and watercolors
wash off. Sand and rice vacuums up. (You'll note I didn't put finger paints
or tempera paint activities here...#1, that's not recommended without
supervision...because tempera stains...and #2...well, tempera stains. LOL
I've chosen things that will have a moderate clean up factor, if any. I may
even let Rachel use the vacuum hose to clean up any spills...the other two
will probably fight her for the privilege. LOL And when they're old enough
to actually handle the vacuum, it's no longer fun for them and they don't
want to do it!
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