"Please bless Anna and mom that they won't be too lonely at home." --Sam in his prayer this morning.
Ah hem...yes, well you'll be happy to know that most days we aren't lonely.
Anna is a powerhouse in a four-year-old body. She has been from day one. It has been very helpful to have one on one time to help her understand her strong emotions and learn to control them.
We have found that staying busy helps keep strong emotions in check. There are some days that we feel pretty lazy, but most of the time we stay on task.
Anna has been eager to learn to read. Her siblings and parents love reading, so this seems natural.
I have used this book for my other children and Anna is doing well with it now:
Each lesson is about 10 minutes long. Perfect for young readers.
This is our most resent lesson in the book:
We also read lots of books together. Sometimes we spend the whole morning reading books! (I have LOVED doing this with each of my kids. I may have failed in other areas of parenting, but not reading.)
Anna likes workbooks. I've purchased lots and lots of workbooks in the past. These are our favorite. Zero frustration. Easy to follow. Fun, colorful illustrations. They even sneak in a little culture and geography:
As an incentive for doing well, she gets to do a couple of fun mazes. Anna loves mazes.
We also recently started piano lessons. So far, Anna has really enjoyed this too.
Anna also helps me with daily chores. We fold clothes together, do dishes together and run errands together. Anna comes with me to the school sometimes when I help out there. She also gets to play with friends a couple of times a week.
Twice a week Anna goes to gymnastics for an hour and a half. It has been so fun watching her develop her strength and concentration. She has been going to gymnastics for about a year and a half and it has helped this "active" child channel that energy in a very positive way.
Even with all we do, Anna anxiously awaits the return of her siblings every afternoon. She is always so happy to see them.
And so I am.
But I sure do love my time with Anna.
5 comments:
I think you are amazing. You are doing so much with her (and all your kids).
On, a side note, I just ordered Teach Your Child to Read yesterday, and now I am especially glad of my choice. If you've used it with your kids, then it MUST be great.
Wow, she's a great little gymnast!
we used that reading book too!
-Ian
Oh, I'm sure you keep busy. Anna is very lucky to be home alone with just you. It's such a wonderful time. You are smart to not wish it away like so many of us do with our little ones.
I am agonizing right now about whether or not to put my older kids in a charter school next year. I've thought of you often as I struggle with the decision. One thing that makes it appealing, though, is to have more of the kind of time with my girls that you are having with anna right now. On the other hand, I will miss homeschooling so much if the boys leave us. just hoping that there is an answer that i can feel good about in the end.
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