Homeschooler Savvy

Mud Pies - what's the point?

With temperatures around the 75F mark (22C) for the middle of winter, we were not going to sit inside all day doing school.  OK, we were not going to sit inside very much at all - at least until the Severe Thunderstorm Warning (hail and 45mph winds) and the Tornado Warning went off.  At that stage, school inside looked like a good idea.  But until then, Mud Pies were the obvious activity of choice for outside.  Plenty of water from previous rains, large mud patch which the dogs had dug around a tree, and temperatures warm enough for light clothing and barefeet.

Mud Pies are a wonderful activity on many levels.  Those new to homeschooling with young kids should take note.  Mud Pie "work" strengthens the muscles in the fingers they write with and improves their dexterity. It allows for uninterupted (stay away from them!) play - this improves their ability to focus. 

Ever seen a child in "The Flow"?  Watch one (from a distance) playing with mud or sand.  "The Flow" is when you go into a time warp, your mind is on your activity and is not cluttered up with running through the "to do" lists.  (Remember how that used to be?) 

If Mud Pies are made with friends, then this often helps them role play social situations ("Would you like some tea with that mud?").

What better introduction to pottery or other three dimensional media?  The science of Mud Pies, you learn that if you add dry dirt to wet mud, your creation becomes firmer (Chemistry).  

What happens if you throw a mud pie that is sloppy?  Is it easy to catch (Physics)? 

I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  There's more benefit in letting your kid play outside in the mud than just a quiet house.  But the main reason I think Mud Pies are a must as part of a childhood is simply because it is fun.

Almost forgot!  Mud is another VERY cheap art material....

Note: The boy version of Mud Pies is Mud Bombs.

Aussie Kim

Recipes for play dough and more - cheap art materials

In the unending search for cheap art materials variations in art media, I came across an amazing public list of recipes and here they are in full my dedicated readers!

Magic Crystal Paint

Bring two cups of water and two cups of Epsom salt to a boil. Stir. Let mixture cool. Add food coloring. Use paintbrush and paint on a white sheet of construction paper. When paint dries, colored crystals appear.

Jell-O Paint

For each desired color, mix 1/4 c. water, 3/4 c. glue, and a flavor of Jell-O. (Use enough Jell-O to achieve desired color) Paint a picture on construction paper. Allow paint 2 days to dry. Your picture will also have a wonderful scent and texture!

Shiny Paint

Mix 1 part white glue with 1 part tempera paint. Apply with a paintbrush. Picture will dry with a "wet" look.

Glitter Paint

Mix corn syrup, food coloring, and glitter. Paint on construction paper. Let dry for several days. Drawing will appear glittery and transparent.

Milk Paint

For a creamy "pastel" look, pour evaporated milk into containers. Add food coloring until desired color is reached. Use paintbrush to apply.

Egg Paint

This recipe is great to use on slick surfaces, like glass, aluminum foil, or freezer paper. Mix a little egg yolk, dry detergent, and food coloring. Paint will stick easily.

Salt Paint

For an "icy" touch to wintery pictures, mix 2 t. salt, 1 t. liquid starch, and a few drops tempera paint. Apply with paint brush.

Watercolor Cakes

Mix 1T. white vinegar and 1T. baking soda. Mixture will be fuzzy. When fizzing stops, add 1T. cornstarch and 1/2 t. corn syrup. Mixture will become thick and cakelike. Fill small plastic bottle lids adding some food coloring to each lid. Make colors as dark or

light as desired. You can use the watercolors right away, if desired. If they dry, simply wet the paintbrush thoroughly and swirl it in the lid.

Peanut Butter Dough

Mix 3 1/2 c. peanut butter, 4 c. powdered sugar, 3 1/2 c. corn syrup or honey, 4 c. powdered milk. (This dough is edible, so be sure hands are washed before mixing). Mold

and shape dough on waxed paper. Sculpt your creation and decorate with raisins or chocolate chips. Then eat them up! Dough can be stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Coffee Dough

Mix 1 c. flour, 1/2 c. salt, 1 c. used coffee grounds, and 1/2 c. cold coffee. Knead mixture on floured surface. After sculpting, allow creation to air dry. Store clay in a plastic bag.

Play Dough

Mix 1 c. flour, 1/2 c. salt, and 2 t. cream of tartar. Add 1 c. water, 1 t. vegetable oil, and food coloring. Cook in heavy skillet for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Knead dough until it becomes soft and smooth. Store dough in butter or icing tubs.

Salt & Flour Dough

Mix 2 parts salt and 1 part flour. Add water until mixture becomes doughy. Food coloring may be added to dough. This is a good recipe for beads. Shape the dough into a bead, making a hole through the center with a toothpick. Allow to air dry.

Putty

Mix 2 parts white Elmer's and 1 part liquid starch. Add food coloring if desired. Let mixture air dry. This putty bounces, stretches, and lifts pictures from newsprint. Store in an airtight container.

No-Cook Dough

Mix 2 c. flour, 1 c. salt, water, food coloring, and 2 T.oil. (You may leave out the oil if you want your art to harden)

Colored Glue

Add food coloring to white glue. Mix well. Use this mixture to outline parts of your drawing or in place of some paint.

Papier-Mache'

Mix together 1 box Knox gelatin , 3 ounces white glue, and 2 ounces water until smooth. Wet tissue paper or paper towel strips thoroughly with mixture. Place strips

over your mold until you have covered it as thickly as you want. Or... Mix equal parts of liquid starch and cold water. Dip newspaper strips in mixture and apply.

Making your own curriculum on a different country

Want to teach your kids about another country?  After going through a few years of history-geography curriculums with Sonlight, and having looked through a number of plan B curriculums, I am beginning to get the hang of this.  It's not anywhere near as complex as you would initially think.

After you pick the country and time period, then you need to do a bit of background research.  I would suggest skimming through an encyclopaedia (see earlier post on using encyclopaedia's on CD); and an expedition to the library and choosing some really cool picture books.....Hang on, no need for you to expend one bead of sweat on this project.  Pass it directly on to the kids (ok, perhaps you may need to guide them through this part, a function of their age and reading ability!)  Here goes: "What are the most interesting things you can tell me about country Auszebritica*?  (*fictional name!)  Send them off into the wilderness of the library.

So, now you have relinquished yourself of the job of researcher, perhaps all that is left are the deep and meaningful questions you could pose to your children to inspire them to do this research.  Once again, this is something you could delegate to them as well....(eg: What type of questions could I ask which would reveal the most about this country/culture/time period?)

Social Studies questions: "How long has this country been an organized community?  Has it had different types of governments?  Does the population follow a particular religion or a moral code?  Do they have a particular type of art or music style?  Has there been any big population changes (diseases, wars, immigrations)?  Who are these people's heroes?  What is their food like?"  (NOTE: cook some of it - this is a major attraction within our geography lessons!)

Geography, by far the most fun we have had is with Google Earth.  Get them to fly to the country in question.  "Let's have a look here....where are most of the towns?  Does it look like a good infrastructure (roads, rail, airports...)?  Is most of the country jungle, farming or cities?  How long do the rivers look?  Is the land flat or mountainous?  How far (and in what direction) is this country from the equator?"  This last questions indicates it's climate and what season it is now.

The Sonlight curriculum for Core 5, which is about countries in the "East" (a relative term if I've ever seen one!), guides you where to look in the encyclopaedia for answers to workbook like questions.  This is to help reinforce what they have read.  But the best part about their curriculums is that they supply a number of novels (mainly written from the perspective of children, typically Award winning books) which relate to the country-time period being studied.  It is obvious to me that my kids learn WAY more from this than from listening to any dry facts.  If you can do this for a history-geography program you will help it come alive!

One thing we do on a regular basis is look through a book called Material World: A Global Family PortraitMaterial World.  I have found it really helps the kids with a reality check on how lucky they are. 

Aussie Kim

 

Preparing for the ACT - from grade 5

Simply put, the key for acceptance into colleges in the U.S., are your ACT/SAT scores, and/or a portfolio and/or your track record in high school subjects.  So, what is the ACT/SAT, and how can you prepare your child for it? 

ACT stands for The American College Testing Program.  SAT stands for the Scholastic Aptitude Test. They are tests using multiple choice answers in the areas of English, Math, Reading and Science.  Also available is the Writing Test which measures skills in planning and writing a short essay.

It was traditionally thought that once you test and get a score, you can't get any better.  WRONG!  Typically, every time a student takes the test their scores IMPROVE.  Why?  Well, now they know what it's all about, it's not some big scary mystery any more.  Students are able to realize which subject areas needed more work, and improve on them. 

You can take the ACT whenever you want, these days kids often take it the first time in 11-12th grades.  If every time you take it, you get better scores, wouldn't it make sense to start getting used to it before grade 12?  ACT now offers two other tests which are aimed at getting the kids used to taking this type of test at an earlier age - instead of leaving it till grade 12.  These are the Explore test (aimed at grade 8) and the Plan test (aimed at grade 10).  What a neat way to expand their business!  Christmas bonus to the guy who thought of that!  Bonus also, to the person that thought of naming these as .... Explore, Plan and Act.......

OK, enough sarcasm. I am not promoting getting on the treadmill of spending your school time preparing for tests.  However, I am promoting the idea that getting kids used to these tests at a young age is a good thing.  This is working under the assumption that we are not putting PRESSURE on them - aim to make the whole thing a non-event, or at the least, a day off school.  The Explore and Plan tests are NOT equivalent to the ACT.  They are aimed at grade 8 and grade 10 students.  They are meant to help the kids get used to test taking and to guide their career choices by providing an indication of your success, (using this testing method) in the core subjects.  However, you know your kid better than any test - keep that in mind when the career guidance information comes back!

But, you say, the title of this post says "grade 5", and you say the Explore test is for grade 8...?  OK, here's the deal, if you test your kids using the Stanford Achievement Test, Iowa Test (or some other National Standardized Test) and your child scores above the 90 percentile for their grade.  Then you are eligible to enroll in a range of Talent Search programs run by the US universities (one example is the Duke Talent Identification Program - or Duke TIP, check the region your state is in for its Talent Identification Program).   These people then offer the student the opportunity to take the Grade 8 test anytime from Grade 5 up to Grade 8.

Did you know, if you have a college degree and homeschool, you can enroll with Bob Jones University to qualify to test your own children with the Stanford Achievement Test or the Iowa Achievement tests?  Some of these tests require no enrollement to give them to your kids.  So check first, with the testing company.  To test with the SAT you need a certain number of other non-relative children at the same grade level to test with yours. 

Once again, the only reason I would see for doing this, is that it gives your child real world practice at testing.  Imagine what it will be like for them in grade 8 having already done this test 3 times before?  Or in grade 12 doing the ACT and having had practice at that type of test since grade 8 or 5?  There are samples available for practice (see the ACT links), and I recommend getting these, and working through the LOGIC of the questions.  Particularly with science, if the kid can read a graph or table, it is normally very simple to see the answer. 

I also recommend, stressing the fact that this is just an opportunity for them to experience this test, and that all you want them to do is their best on the day. I think it is important to minimize the time spent on studying for the tests.  Stick to the curriculum which is working for you and your child.  Think of these tests at this age/grade as bonus stuff (or fluff).  If you want them to start getting practice for the ACT, this post is just to help you realize that now you can do it from Grade 8 (and some Grade 5) onwards. 

Aussie Kim

New Homeschooler Q & A: Part 7 - Involving other family members in homeschooling

7. How can I involve my husband and my mom in the homeschooling process? I don't have to do it alone, right?

ABSOLUTELY, if it is humanly possible do not attempt to homeschool totally alone!  Remember though, that kids do like routine (even if I don’t!) so when someone else takes over, it helps if the routine stays sort of the same.

I get my husband to read as much of the read aloud books as possible, he does it in the evenings with one kid either side of him in bed.  They love it.  Every now and then, if he's home during the day (which happens with farming work), he will homeschool and I will tend to other things (run away...run away....).

To make it easier for those angels helping you, write out a list of what schooling needs to be done and, if possible, let them sit with you while you are teaching, so they can see how it works (and doesn't work).  Then book yourself a massage, facial, and shopping day – and leave him/her to teach for a day. 

WARNING: Your spouse/mother/friend is NOT you. The kids WILL be taught differently - but I think this is a good thing.  DO NOT COMPLAIN if it is not done EXACTLY as you do it, just fix it up later.  DO NOT COMPLAIN if ALL the school work you normally complete in a day is not finished, just be grateful that the kids did some of what they needed to.  A good thing to remember is how good it felt to go off by yourself for that day, without the kids.

If you are in a place where parents/spouses cannot school during the work week, why not take Mondays off from school and have those people school the kids on Saturday? 

If you are in a place where you are new to the community and your normal support group is a long way away (eg you move from Australia to the US), join a homeschool group, make friends of other homeschoolers, and offer to take their kids for one day every 6 months (or less!).

Good Luck with it all, and remember, try NOT to do this alone, there is help out there!

Aussie Kim

It's Rocket Science!!! - NASA teaching your kids.

There is a HUGE resource out there for teaching your kids science which is FREE.  It is NASA.  YES!  You can go have a look and choose from their vast array of videos, lesson plans, projects and competitions.  This year we participated in the competition called Moon Math, which very broadly involved doing some measurement of the moon, it was aimed at grade 5-7, they WANT a parent involved, they are happy to work with homeschoolers.  They have materials aimed at ALL grades.  I mean what more could you want?

For our moon math we decided to see if the moon was always the same distance from the earth, by taking photos of the moon and comparing the diameter over time.  But, you say, this is a very basic topic!  However, the goal is NOT the answer, the goal is for the kids to be exposed to the scientific process: 1. consider a question, 2. propose a hypothesis - do some background research and develop a research plan (hand this in), 3. begin your experiment, 4.write your research up in the manner of a scientific paper, (summary, introduction, materials and methods, results, conclusions) - and hand this in.  And then your child has successfully followed the same process that all great scientists have.

If you are an unschooler this will suit you down to a T.  Here is the blurb the NASA people sent out about their resources.  I highly recommend the experience of working with them.  It has been very productive from a "did the kids learn anything?" perspective, and it has been fun!

The Educational Materials section of NASA's Web site offers classroom activities, educator guides, posters and other types of resources that are available for use in the classroom. Materials are listed by type, grade level and subject. The following items are now available for downloading.

Lunar Nautics: Designing a Mission to Live and Work on the Moon Educator Guide -- Grades 6-8

This unit features 40 activities that challenge students to assume the roles of workers at Lunar Nautics Space Systems, Inc., a fictional aerospace company specializing in mission management, lunar habitat and exploration design, and scientific research.

The guide includes information to teach the basics on Newton’s Laws of Motion, rocket design, microgravity, and the moon. Students design, test and analyze a model lunar lander, a robot, and a soda bottle rocket. They also build edible models, a solar oven to cook hot dogs, and a microgravity sled while underwater.

Educators can use this guide in a variety of formats such as week- long day camps, after-school programs, a classroom unit or as supporting curriculum.

Extra-Credit Problems in Space Science -- Grades 7-9

These activities comprise a series of 20 practical math applications in space science. Students looking for additional challenges in math and physical science are encouraged to use these as potential extra credit problems. The problems are authentic glimpses of modern engineering issues that arise in designing satellites to work in space. Each word problem has background information providing insight into the basic phenomena of the sun-Earth system, specifically space weather. The one-page assignments are accompanied by one-page teachers guides with answer keys.

Additional Video Learning Clips Added

More than 50 educational video clips have been added to the Videos section of the NASA Educational Materials site.

Educational video clips are short segments about aeronautics, Earth science, space science, space exploration and other NASA-related topics. Designed for students in grades K-12, these short videos are ideal for supplementing teaching ideas in the classroom.

Use the Find Teaching Materials tool at the link below to select Video Learning Clips and the appropriate grade level.

Kids measuring the diameter of the moon.

Aussie Kim

New Homeschooler Q & A: Part 6 - Looking for a homeschooling mentor

"I really feel like I need a guidance figure of some kind, an outlined path to follow and someone to tell me when it's time to try something else or that I need to go over something again. That's why I'm attracted to the distance learning academines, but they're so expensive. We are extremely opposed to involving the public school system in our children's education in any way. Is there a homeschool "principal" or mentor out there that can guide someone like me?"

We’ll give whatever help we can.  Ask around like you have here.  Look till you find a curriculum that suits you or gets close.  And just DO it.  Plan the work, work the plan.  Kids are not the only ones that learn best by doing! 

I "observed" a Montessori classroom for a day (encouraged by the Montessori schools, the principal was unfazed that I was going to homeschool with this method.) These couple of hours helped my understanding of a young child's day and the Montessori method immensely.  Perhaps you could observe one of the academies for a day - or at least look at the books of someone who has used the system? 

Aussie Kim 

Personally, I would be a little concerned about asking someone who has a financial interest in my child sticking with their program for advice on when it is time to move on (eg a distance learning academy). There is a slight conflict of interest there.

Ask around in your community. Be sure to find someone who's philosophy on schooling fits with your own. Homeschoolers are usually happy to help others. However, be aware that a homeschooling mom is a busy, busy person. Be sure to respect that she has a lot of other demands on her time. Perhaps if you could find someone to shadow for a day. If you find someone who is willing to let you do this, be prepared to find a sitter for your kids. Having other kids in the house will blow a typical day straight out of the water.

As Kim said, we'll be glad to help all we can.

LA Sue

New Homeschooler Q & A: Part 5 - Teach kids separately?

Question: My 2-year old daughter learns by watching her brother, and I like that. Do you keep your kids together and let them bounce ideas around, or do you teach them separately?

Basically there is a 2 year gap between my two, and I have done all their stuff together except their math and grammar. 

The younger kid will bust themselves in an attempt to keep up with the older kid, and before you know it they’ll almost catch up!  The older kid will become surprised that the younger kid is catching up, and will put more effort into their work, to prevent this from happening. 

This is the ideal situation when you teach them together.  As the kids get older, it will be easier for you to teach them together.  Many curricular cater for large families so that you can teach over a range of ages.  The Sonlight curriculum I use for History and Geography (see earlier posts) has built in about a 3 year range, but you can spread it much wider, once you have got used to accommodating the differences in the kids.

Aussie Kim

Here is what we do. Histories, sciences and foreign languages, etc. are taught together. Of course, the older ones are expected to perform at a higher level and are given supplemental readings. Math and language arts are done separately.

My middle child is largely responsible for her younger brother acquiring his pre-school and kindergarten skills. A born mother, she would play school with him while I taught her older brother or did house work. She taught him colors, shapes and quite a few of his letters and numbers. I was delighted to let her do it. He was entertained and learning, two for the price of one.

The gap between my oldest and youngest is five years, but, perhaps because they are both boys, they have a lot of the same interests. This has led to a great many extracurricular (not taught my mom) learning activities.

LA Sue 

New Homeschooler Q & A: Part 4 - Kindergarten homeschooling schedules

Question: Can you give me an example of a homeschooling schedule for a kindergartener?

Answer: Sometimes it's good to know word origins. Kindergarten is a German word, kinder means children, and garten means garden.  This means the young children are out in the garden doing young children in garden stuff.  Note: They are not inside doing workbooks. 

However, my young children did do some workbook stuff.  It’s been a while, but I think we did about 15-30 minutes on the Singapore Math kindergarten books AND playing with the Montessori Math manipulates, about 15 minutes going over the letter of the week (sandpaper letters), I spy etc, and perhaps an hour of story time (reading GOOD books to them).  The books that you read to them should be about 2 grade levels above the child’s reading level.  Also maybe 15-30 minutes of doing practical life stuff.  I also gave mine unlimited access to art stuff, and we have a big yard, a veggie garden, sandpit, and containers for water play outside.  They also "helped" with household chores and looking after our cat and dogs.

As a side note, I just read through Louisiana Sue's book (see books we don't lend out, on right column) "The Well Trained Mind".  Of course, to borrow the book I had to leave my secret Anzac biscuit recipe as collateral. Despite this setback, I found the book to be one of the most comprehensive books I have ever seen on homeschooling.  Among many other things, it also gives examples of a homeschooling schedule for different grades for a typical "Classical" education method.  This book should be in the library, or if you want it for keeps see the link on the right, below.

I think the key thing about the "how long" question is that this depends very much on your child's interests - follow the child!  If you are from Louisiana you probably need to factor in time for lessons on gator fishin', Gumbo cooking, boating instructions, how to make a Roux and of course time to teach the funny accent.

Of course Australian kindergarden homeschoolers will have to break for morning and afternoon tea.  This was one of the fun things I taught my kids, how to make tea (properly) and serve it for their friends with teapot, cups, saucers, milk jug +milk, sugar bowl (limited to 1 cube each) and biscuits (OK, cookies).

Aussie Kim

I would only add that I think it is very important that children are introduced to foreign languages at a young age. Don't wait to start. You'll miss your window of opportunity!  I'll be posting about that before long.

Also, no one has ever asked Kim to translate for me! Can she say the same?

LA Sue

New Homeschooler Q & A: Part 2

Here is question #2 in our series of responses to an inquiry from a new potential homeschooler.  Link to question # 1 here.

What is the best way to start preparing a 4 year old for homeschool?

Having started 2 off (which compared to some home schooling families is quite a pitiful reproductive rate) I would suggest you make no big deal at all about it, they are already schooling themselves (didn't they just teach themselves to walk, talk, turn the television on, and hide the keys?). You are just going to guide them in the direction of learning other things.

No matter if you make a big deal or just slide into it, I would strongly suggest once you have your schoolwork chosen, that you introduce only a little at a time.  TAKE YOUR TIME to work towards the whole gamut of what you want them doing.  So this would mean, the first week you start, you can focus on just the task of learning the (short) letter sounds.  See how this goes, you may need another two or three weeks with just this as your "school", or they may be eating all this new stuff up and things might move quicker.  KEEP IT FUN.  LOTS of games at that age.  I spy (letter sounds). 

If you use the Montessori sandpaper letters to teach the short letter sounds then this doubles up as teaching them to write as well.  SHOW them how to hold a pencil correctly, then gently remind them of this as many times as possible - it is a nightmare trying to change pencil grips later on. If you want a good set of work books for teaching writing AND letter sounds try Get Ready for the Code - Book a, Get Set for the Code - Book B and Go for The Code-Book C.

Once things are comfortable doing the language arts, introduce some math - either manipulatives (in the Montessori style) or a workbook.  From my experience the Montessori method for maths was a revelation for me in simplicity and understanding.  Perfect for the way young kids learn.  However, we also had a very good experience using the Singapore Earlybird Kindergarden Math 1A,1B, 2A, 2C books (kids loved them, simple, cheap, very high quality learning). See my previous review about it here.

Once you have your reading, writing and math going, I suggest you buy no further workbooks (unless you see a big desire from the kid) and plan out doing time.  Kids learn WAY more by DOING

Art - provide the resources, let them go!  OBSERVATIONAL COMMENTS ONLY, don't turn them into praise junkies.

Social Science/Geography - map puzzles, buy a compass , buy a globe, show them where on earth they are, eat different foods, look at books from the library of different cultures....

Science - plant a garden (flowers, veges), start a terrarium, buy a bonsai, get a lizzard, lay on your back and look at clouds, put out bird seeds, look at nature books, watch a sunset, stargaze....

Practical life skills - have a look at the Montessori method for this, they have wonderful activities to help strengthen the writing fingers.  Any time spent helping you with the household chores are wonderful learning opportunities, it may take more time now, but it will make helpers out of the kids later on.

The best investment we made for the kids was a $50 dump truck load of sand for a big sandpit (sandbox).  HOURS and HOURS of sensorial learning time was spent out there - learning to love the outdoors and watching simple things like sand running through your hands.  The other thing they would play with for hours on end was two buckets of water, a hose, and as many cups as available (a wonderful summer activity).  According to Montessori - these periods of UNINTERUPTED time allow the child to develop focus, concentration, and the ability to work on something for a long period of time...

Many research reports I have read concluded that the SINGLE most important SINGLE you can do to help your child academically is to read to them for at least 20 minutes a day (everyday!).  Make this your most important goal - there are lots of lists of age appropriate books that you can get from websites or libraries.  Go once a week and get out at least 7 kids books each time, or leave with a big stack!  But don't be afraid to read the same book over and over,  young kids like repetition until they have internalized the activity, then it's on to something new!

If you are a newbie starting out with a kid that can already read you might like to try this post.

And remember to relax and smile - you kid will mirror your emotions very accuratly.  Good Luck with your exciting new adventure!

Aussie Kim

Well, that sounds very good. It would have worked beautifully with my older two. In fact, it is very much what we did with a few minor variations (I personally love Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers). However, with a child who is developmentally not ready, and who is showing absolutely NO interest in academic activities AT ALL (like child #3), I would make the following alterations to Kim's plan.

Cut out the pre-academics (letters & sounds), grab a good book to read to the child, and leave him or her in the sandbox for another year or two, or three, or four...

Four years old is very young for some children. If you find yourself looking for a brick wall to bang you head against, opt out of more structured activities for a while.

LA Sue

We would love to hear other recommendations or comments, especially if you disagree with us. Don't worry about offending. We're mothers. We have thick skins!