My older kids are off at school all day, as most of you know, leaving me with my three youngest for seven wonderful hours each day. I definitely miss Ethan, Zach, Julia, and Josh all day, but I am really enjoying the time I have with only my younger kiddos at home.
Each morning I work with Ben and Noah, plugging away in all things kindergarten and 1st grade, until lunch time. Timmy sits with us for a while, but grows antsy pretty easily. As is to be expected, his two-year old little body just wants to run and jump and play.
Actually, Ben and Noah’s little bodies can’t sit still for long either. They can only handle “book work” in short spurts. Which is why we incorporate quite a few different ways of learning.
- We get up and move. With the warm weather deciding to stick around, we like to “move it, move it” around here in the house. We dance and sing to The Music Machine and Bullfrogs and Butterflies. We also play The Skip Count Kids and have made up fun little dances to each song. These songs teach Bible stories and multiplication facts (respectively) and make learning about the world around us lots of fun.
- We watch LeapFrog episodes often. When my twins were little, we would play The Letter Factory every single day. They loved that video! (Yes, this was way back when we played the good old-fashioned VHS tapes!) Now, there are five different episodes from which to choose – all available on Netflix – The Amazing Alphabet Amusement Park, Numbers Ahoy, Numberland, and Phonics Farm.
- There is always something to be learned from George, the curious little monkey. In fact, Timmy is obsessed with Curious George episodes, which can be quite educational at times. Cultural diversity, creativity, love of adventure, and how things work are only some of the lessons learned through George’s escapades.
- We love to play games and search for information using apps on our Samsung Smart TV. With access to loads of ebooks, and the ability to browse the internet, I’ve made our Smart TV a virtual white board. But more than that, we keep learning fun with all of the educational games available. I am very pleased that I can include my kiddos screen time as school time.
How do you incorporate modern technology and social platforms into the education of your kids, whether you teach at home or not?
This is post 3 of 8 Samsung Smart TV with Motion Control sponsored posts. All opinions are mine
I would love to get some websites from you about phonics for preschooler. Aivah has been in preschool since August and only knows the letter A. Her teacher and I are a little concerned that she may not be making a connection with what goes on in class. It would be great to help her learn her letters and numbers at her own pace, so she doesn’t get bored or frustrated. Also, if there are any sites that are focused on practicing fine motor skills; ones that show parents different ways to practice the motor skills. I’m supposed to take 10 minutes each day having her use tongs to pick up cotton balls. I would like to find more ways to help her in these areas. Thanks 🙂