homework time with landon

we spend most of our days in underwear.
i could blame it on the heat but no,
it's bc we like to be naked.

i've had a few friends ask how i specifically work with landon when it comes to school type learning. back in the old days, kids didn't go to preschool until the year before they went to kindergarten. so maybe when they are 4/5. now, kids go as early as 2! since i am considering putting landon in a year late [his birthday is the very last day to go for that school year. so he would be the youngest, smallest and most immature boy in school], i thought i would save formal schooling until he's a bit older but now i like to work with him and get him in school-like environments so you can start to love learning and learn how to learn. i think a lot of people take for granted some basic skills needed to go to school- how to communicate, how to sit still, how to listen, how to take direction. i think the best teacher is the parent and even parents need to learn how to teach. i am no expert- that's my mom's specialty but she's quickly helping me learn. here are some things i've implemented and most of it are things i've had around my house or bought from the target dollar section. and i always have a fruit snack incentive- seems to make him cooperate more.

the counting bears are my best friend! you can buy them on amazon for less then $10! they helped landon with his colors, helped him to sort, counting, and now we're working on patterns of two and three. as he gets older they will help with him with adding and subtraction and lots of other things! we love them! to also help with patterns, i'm going to start having him do more physical things so he can get those wiggles out. like jump-hop-skip. or wiggle-turn-wiggle-turn. just something to help him more.

opposite puzzle [target dollar section] - we will often talk about opposites while we're driving so these pictures and puzzles make it more fun to learn. learning the different between 'over', 'under', 'next to', 'on top of', etc.

lacing board [target dollar section]- string with pipe cleaners and string. learning to follow the lines.

memory game [target dollar section]

shape blocks [target dollar section] - landon likes to string these together based on color or shape. we started with pipe cleaners and then moved to string.

pretend money [gifted from my mom but i've seen them at target] - landon likes to pretend to play store with me and i'll 'buy' things from him. we'll count the money out and we talk about the different types of coins. he knows the names, not quite the distinction between them. again, something he can grow with.

shape treasure hunt [garage website] - we start by identifying the different shapes [i usually put in some random toy for rectangle because i don't have one] and then we will find toys that are shaped similarly. putting them in a box or special bag helps them to feel different and new.

coloring shapes with chalk on the sidewalk then filling them in with water and a paintbrush.

number eggs [*busy bag exchange]- he still can't identify numbers or even count those tiny dots but i will tell him how many need to be in the egg and then he'll fill the egg with that many of pom-poms.

*i did a busy bag exchange with some friends and it was the greatest! there was a $5 limit per bag [most were well under it]. everyone brought a complete busy bag in a ziplock [had to be complete with nothing needed. something you could give your kid and they could have fun with it]. there are tons of ideas on pinterest! some did fishing with magnetic fish made of felt [a fun FHE activity we've used a couple times], using clothes pins to attach felt laundry to a line, colored pasta that you sort by color and shape [my bag], a mr. potato head made of felt, an ispy bag, just to name a few. it was a great idea but you need a bunch of friends to make it worth it. and they need to be in a similar age range- all of ours were preschool and under.

letter beads and string/pipe cleaner [joanns]- i wanted to use chunky beads but they didn't have what i wanted for a good price and i found these letter ones for under $3. they are great for letter recognition [which i need to work more on]. right now we do colors.

i store all of these bagged items in a diaper sized box and we do them about 3-4x a week. landon loves homework time and it's a great way to work on his skills and have fun [and a treat]. you seriously can do anything! i think the trick is being creative with what you already have and finding time to do it [i do it while my baby sleeps so landon gets one on one attention]. the thing is just making learning fun!