If your child does not go to preschool

[Sweetum]

What does he/she do? I am looking for meaningful activities throughout the day to do with my DS who just turned 4. He doesn't go to preschool although I am looking for the right one. Meantime, he deosn't do much and I want to make sure he is doing soemthing productive. thank you.

[scriptkitten]

Last year when my twins were 3 they went to a 2 morning/wk enrichment program, which really isn't much so I also did art, music, dance/soccer classes with them throughout the week. They had somewhere to be probably 4 days a week. The rest of the time we did parks and library.

It sounds like a lot but I designed my days so some part of each day was "for them" and then in the afternoons they had to work on self direction. They got a lot out of it all, I think. Their schedule was pretty typical to our neighborhood although many kids were in full time preschool.

[brittone2]

From 2-4 yo, my kids have done a lot of Montessori type things in the home. Pinterest, Flickr, etc. have a lot of pics of Montessori activities. It helps to read up a bit on how to present Montessori materials to your DC (most libraries have books that are written for parents of children in Montessori, or have books like Montessori in the Home). Go for walks, do some nature sketching, play verbal games (my kids liked doing opposites for example..."if it isn't wet it is ___." and you can get increasingly complex from there. Maybe attend library story time. Read lots and lots of books. Keep a plant or a little garden. Visit the farmer's market and talk to the farmers, ask them about what they grow. Look for free or low cost community events like theatre, musical productions, etc. See if there are parks and rec classes, nature center classes, etc. you can do once a week. Teach them fractions when cooking and measuring. Give them little jobs (sweeping a step, scrubbing a potato, peeling a carrot using a peeler with supervision).

[redhookmom]

Story hour an the library
Local music class - something like Music Together or Kindermusik
Mommy and me yoga
If you are looking for something structured to do at home - Five in a Row http://fiveinarow.com/

[Sweetum]

Thank you all for the ideas. DS' week is actually pretty full since he has a lot of therapy going on. However, there are periods when we have a lull and he is not good at doing things by himself. For example right now, as I am typing he is just sitting next to me and doing and saying nothing. He would like it that I put the TV on but I don't want to. So, he is either waiting for it (for me to give in!) or doing his usual, nothing. It is at this time that he also engages in nail biting etc. So, I am tyring to figure out activities that other kids do with mommies or by themselves when they have this type of lull so I can encourage him to do them. He is NOT motivated to do anything and that is my biggest problem right now. He goes from meal to meal asking for more! Nothing productive happening, so, I am trying to see if there is something that I can do to change his environment so he can be more motivated. Again, I cannot 100% be involved since I need to cook, email, etc. there are times and activities that I am with him 100% (like a therapist) but then I like some downtime too :) and wish he would be more productive rahter than do nothing. Please don;t get me worng, I am not gruding him his downtime but there seems to be too much of it lately and he does nothing. sorry, turnd into a BP but please keep the ideas coming.

[acmom]

Sometimes I try to get my 4 year old started on something with me there (puzzles, Legos, open art project like watercolors) and then try to let her continue it solo once I see she is engaged. I also will just bring her a pile of books sometimes and she will spend a while looking through those (whereas if I just suggest reading, she might not go get books on her own) and then often will even pick more on her own.

I have also tried to have an informal routine at home that we might do similar types of things during certain times of day - for example, my DD (4) and I often do a more involved art project when my DS (2) naps. We often play a game or do puzzles as a family after dinner. She also knows what times of day she could watch a show (when I am prepping dinner) and therefore doesn't tend to ask at other times.

Are you looking for ideas for things that he can do on his own while you get something done, or things you can do together?

ETA: DD does go to preschool, but only 3 mornings a week. The other mornings and afternoons we have done many of the other things PPs mentioned...library (both story time and just checking out books/doing kids room activities), music together, Y sports/art classes.

[SkyrMommy]

We do a story hour at our library, an art activity at our local museum, swim & gymnastics at our gym and we're moving into homeschooling so we do informal activities at home a few days a week whenever DD shows interest.

[redhookmom]

We have "BOXES!" at our house. You have to say "BOXES!" in high squeaky voice with lots of excitement

I fill them once or week or so with fun things that my kids don't normally see.

Then when I have something to do I say it "It's time for BOXES!" Again, it is all in the delivery. My kids think it's great.

Pinterest is my go to site for ideas:
http://pinterest.com/jessicaqwhite/busy-activity-bag-ideas/

HTH

[Green22]

No good advise but wanted to say I know what you mean.

My dd is similar in that she is sometimes really engaged and active. But when she is not she is literally sitting doing nothing. Usually sucking her thumb or holding her blanker, but will be more than happy to just sit there and look at the blank tv. I used to feel bad about this but then I realized that I do this too sometimes (or did, pre-kids). Maybe it is just some people's way of decompressing.

Again my dd is younger than yours so idk if helpful, but I try and engage in conversation during these times (what color do you think t-Rex is?) or I will start singing and try and get her to chime in (sometimes works. Also word rhymes- miss art Mac, I had a little turtle). If I am kind of mindlessly doing that she will sometimes engage/start doing it as well. I would also say maybe start up something together, and then kind of trail off. We recently got mag formers which are too advanced for dd, but if I start stacking them in colors she will sometimes pick up and do it too. Also she got a bunch of books with a "me reader" as a gift, which is probably a low tech younger leap pad type thing. Maybe he would enjoy a tag reader or something? You could encourage him to read while you take a break and read yourself.

Also I try and always have pandora streaming if the tv is not on. Sometimes she will hear a song she likes or knows and it will at least peak her interest for a bit.


Good luck!

[mikala]

Sometimes I try to get my 4 year old started on something with me there (puzzles, Legos, open art project like watercolors) and then try to let her continue it solo once I see she is engaged. I also will just bring her a pile of books sometimes and she will spend a while looking through those (whereas if I just suggest reading, she might not go get books on her own) and then often will even pick more on her own.



:yeahthat: This works well with my 3 year old. I'll often pull out a certain toy and start playing with it myself or start role playing and then excuse myself to go to the restroom or do something else quick while he continues. I've gradually lengthened the duration of my escapes so he's learning to continue the game while I'm gone.

In general I've found that independent play works best at certain times of day for us and I try to plan the other things I need to accomplish around that. For example, right after breakfast is a great time for it but as the day wears on we have periods of kid crankiness when I'm better off playing with DS or involving him in what I'm doing.

One of our favorite activities is cooking together. He helps me measure ingredients, opens and closes spice jars, cracks eggs, turns on the mixer, spins washed salad, etc. It allows me to do something I need to anyway and occupies him while giving us something to talk about.