Girl Time

As I began this school year with 5 children instead of 4....AND....as I thought about the craziness of teaching school with 4 children I knew I needed to do something different.  I couldn't do things the same way that I did last year.  I've read enough about homeschooling to know that my older children should eventually be able to do some things by themselves.  Going with that idea I decided to give my 7 year old a little challenge.  As I spend time with each of my children I need to have the other children distracted in some way or another.  So, Nia is in charge of what we call Girl Time each day while I work with Hoyt.  During Girl Time Nia and the two younger girls do an activity or craft that Nia facilitates and cleans up.

The activities they do include:

Play dough
Cherrio necklaces
Sticker picutres
Painting (finger and other kinds)
Make a special snack
Call grandma and take turns talking
Puzzles
Games
etc.

The girls love Girl Time.  It kind of makes Hoyt a little jealous.  He wants to do Girl Time too.  He's not even afraid of the name.  My little 4 year old will come up to me at random times during the day and say, "Is it Girl Time?!"

When I first explained Girl Time to Nia I told her that while Girl Time was fun, the main purpose of Girl Time is teach the younger two kids how to clean up their messes.  I encouraged her to keep the mess to a minimum and at 10:25 the timer goes off and they clean up the mess all together.  Nia has taken it all very seriously, and she loves the responsibility...and I love the quiet it brings for me and Hoyt.

I think it's a success!