Tackle it Tuesday: Three Year Olds Can Put Away Laundry!   

March 11, 2008 | 6 Comments

First off, I apologize - I meant to have photos to post of this project, but my camera up and died yesterday! Hopefully it’s just the battery and I’ll be able to post photos later this week.

Ok, now on to today’s Tackle. I have a family of 5 - soon to be 6 (if you haven’t already, check out the nursery blogging project!), and with our 3-year old potty training, let’s just say we generate a LOT of laundry! One of the biggest challenges to all this laundry hasn’t been getting it put through the washer and dryer, but getting it all put away. I can get through about 4-5 loads of laundry in a day if I stay on top of it, and it’s easier for me to put it all away at the end of the day, rather than put each load away individually. I usually sort and fold laundry while the kids are in their bath.

Here’s the problem with my existing system: by the time I have the clothes sorted and folded, the boys are ready for bed. I can’t really get the clothes into their dressers and closet while they’re trying to go to sleep, so their clothes end up being stored in laundry baskets.

That’s gotta end - it’s driving me nuts!

There are two reasons that the boys couldn’t put their own clothes away: First, they would have to accurately figure out which clothes belonged to which person, and second, they would have to remember which drawer each item of clothing belonged in.

On the first point - figuring out which person each item belonged to - I bought 3 smallish laundry baskets. They’re just big enough to hold one boy’s clothes, and small enough for them to carry or push them down the hall to their room. I labeled them with each boy’s name in their favorite color. As I’m folding, I sort the clothes into each boy’s basket.

On the second point - helping them remember which drawers are theirs and which holds shirts, pants, etc. - I’m turning that problem into a homeschooling opportunity! Our oldest is starting to read independently, our middle son is starting to sound out words, and our youngest is learning to recognize his name and his brothers’ names.

I found index cards with manuscript lines printed on them, and some clip art showing shirts, pants, and pajamas. I made three cards for each boy, and wrote a label for each drawer in the boy’s favorite color, then taped a picture of the clothing item to the card.

Now, each boy has a color-coded laundry basket with his name on it, and three drawers with color-coordinated labels with his name, the word for the appropriate clothing item, and a picture of the clothing that belongs in that drawer.

To test the theory, I lined up the full baskets in the hallway outside their room, and sent them each in to put their laundry away. It worked - even my 3 year old got all of his clothes put away in the correct drawers!

I’ll try to get pictures posted later this week, once my camera is working again.

Homeschool Revelations - Boys learn differently than girls.   

March 10, 2008 | Comments

Ok, so maybe this is one of those “Duh…” moments, but this weekend I had a revelation. I’m homeschooling my two youngest boys for preschool, and last week was a struggle. I couldn’t get either of them to pay attention to me or complete the simplest task. Instead, the Spaz Twins were bent on destroying every last one of their Mama’s nerves!

So we took Thursday and Friday off, figuring maybe they just needed a break. Well, the good news is, they both survived. I did not beat them senseless. But clearly, less structure in the day was not the answer! In fact, when I set them down on Friday afternoon and announced “Ok boys, we’re making brownies” their behavior improved instantly - they paid attention to my instructions, they concentrated on counting and measuring…suddenly I had my boys back!

It was then that it hit me - half the point of homeschooling is that we can give the boys an education that’s perfectly tailored to their learning styles, rather than a one-size-fits-all educational plan!

So I’ve been brainstorming this weekend for ways to teach them that will hold their interest and work with their natural energy, rather than fighting it. Coloring pages and phonics worksheets just aren’t right for these individual boys - so how do I teach them the same concepts? Here’s what I’ve come up with so far - please, leave a comment and throw out your ideas too!

• Find ways to teach them physically. Science and Art are 100% hands-on, and they often spend more time than I expect working on those projects. Find a way to apply what works in Science and Art to Phonics and Math.
  • Letter and number hopscotch (jump on the letters in your name, jump on the numbers in order, etc.)
  • Letter and number beanbags (use them for sorting, patterns, spelling their names, doing simple addition)
  • Practice making letters and shapes in flour and/or sand
• Maybe concentrate on just one subject per day? Math Mondays, Art Tuesdays, Science Wednesdays, Phonics Thursdays, etc.?
• Mix up activities - don’t do patterns three days in a row, or they’ll get bored.
• Add in some really active gross motor skills activities to burn off some energy.