Reading to Preschoolers

This is my Tuesday's Tip For Moms.
Tuesday’s Tip for Mom is a blog carnival hosted at Raising Olives to allow moms to share what they have learned along the path of motherhood. Join us every Tuesday as we learn and share tips and ideas for spending time with, encouraging, training or relating to our children.

Reading to Preschoolers

If you are like me, some days the time flies by, and at the end of the day you realize that you have not read one single book to your young child. In addition to reading 3 books at naptime and 3 books plus one Bible story at bedtime, I strive to read 10 or more books to my preschool aged children each day. As with all things, if I have a plan, then I am more likely to meet my goal.

My "reading to toddlers in addition to naptime and bedtime plan"---

Each morning choose 10 or more books and place them on the large ottoman in the middle of your den. You could also place these books on the hearth of your fireplace, the mantel, or any sort of flat surface in the main room of your house. The plan is to make yourself stop what you are doing several times throughout the day, sit down with your preschooler and read a couple of the displayed books. When you finish reading the books, place them back on the bookshelf or in the basket or whatever you store them in. When all of the books are returned to their home, you have met your goal of reading to your preschooler for that day. It really is that simple!

Long ago a friend advised me to stop once each hour and spend 5-10 minutes of uninterrupted time with my baby/toddler/preschooler. We sing songs, play a simple game or read a couple of the displayed books. Making a point to carve out these few minutes each hour insures that I am paying attention to my young children each day. With older children and the time it requires to homeschool them and transport them to various activities, plus housework, I would frequently unintentionally ignore my preschoolers until they "needed" me, if I did not have a plan of action.

This works for me and keeps my preschoolers happy (mostly!).

The Summer Schedule

Today I am participating in a new blog carnival hosted by my friend Kimberly from Raising Olives.
Tuesday’s Tips for Mom is a blog carnival created by Raising Olives to allow moms to share what they have learned along the path of motherhood. Join us every Tuesday as we learn and share tips and ideas for spending time with, encouraging, training or relating to our children.
Here is my Tip for Moms:

The Summer Schedule

I am by nature an organized, planning type person. So even when I have free time (not really sure what that is) or an extended break from homeschooling, I like to have a schedule. I spend time thinking about what I would like to accomplish during this time...projects, both creative and cleaning-related, that I don't have time for during the regular school year. I am currently working on The Summer List, which lists in great detail all of my goals for the summer.

When I make a schedule, I list times for the various activities, but I am not a clock-watcher. I will not automatically end an activity because the "schedule" says that it is time to, but I do list times when I am initially planning my days so that I won't try to cram too much into one day. The schedule is my guide, my goal, for the day. I am not a slave to it! Without a plan, our summer would waste away. The end of July would arrive and I would panic!

The biggest benefit to a summer schedule is the routine that it creates. The children know what to expect. For example, they know that each morning they will run, eat breakfast, do chores, work for 30 minutes on their "Productive List", then they are free until late afternoon. The older children are each making their own Summer List, so they have ideas for what to do during their free time this summer.

With a summer schedule in place, little by little, we will accomplish much! Our house will be cleaner and more organized, school will be planned and ready for the next year, creative projects will be finished, and lots of time will be devoted to old-fashioned playing!

Please visit Raising Olives for more Tuesday's Tips!