As many of you know, I use the Mother Goose Time homeschool curriculum to teach my 3 year old daughter (Bella) from home. This month I added my youngest daughter (Trinity) who is 16 months into our program since she was showing a lot of interest!
You are probably thinking, how in the world are you teaching a 3 year old and a 16 month old the same topics? The answer is simple: flexibility! Mother Goose Time is amazing because you can adapt it to your needs and your schedule. The projects come with all the supplies which is SO helpful. I can customize each project to fit Bella's skill level and Trinity's skill level.
Here are a few examples of ways I teach both of my children with Mother Goose Time. First, both girls love the book that is included monthly in our Kit! Trinity usually wants to read the book a few times, so while I read the book again to Trinity, Bella will put together the matching Puzzle that is also included in each monthly Kit.
During this time, I will point out more basic details to Trinity like "duck" and make the noises "quack, quack" etc. Trinity loves pointing out items in the book for more information!
Whenever we create our project for the day, I customize the supplies each child will use. For this day we rolled a dice and however many numbers was on the dice, Bella would "poke" the "P" with a red marker to create a poke much like a Mosquito pokes us. Since Trinity doesn't grasp numbers yet, she simply enjoyed coloring her picture and rolling the dice!
When Trinity was done coloring her stick I created the Mayfly for her to fly around the room. This entertained her while Bella worked very hard on her Mayfly!
When Bella was done with her Mayfly they spent forever flying them around the room together! I love how they can create things and play with them throughout the day and beyond.
There are tons of ways both children enjoy learning throughout the day like the shape manipulatives, letters, stamps and games. While Bella may be using the manipulatives to count or organize colors, Trinity simply enjoys playing with them, stacking them or putting them in and out of containers. While Bella may be using a Triangle stamp to created a specific project, Trinity enjoys pressing the stamp in the ink and stamping it on the paper over and over. While it might not seem like a lot, Trinity watches her big sister and is constantly learning and adapting her motor skills.
Each day we customize in a new way so both children (and I) can enjoy the day! If Trinity is asleep, Bella and I will do a craft Trinity may not be able to do (like a project with beads). If Trinity is awake and in a great mood, we may do a couple days in one day! I love how we can do what we enjoy, when we want and how we want to. If you are intimated by homeschooling with a toddler and a younger child, don't stress! Mother Goose Time makes it hassle free and FUN!
If you are interested in teaching two children at different ages, but are a little intimated by coming up with ways of adapting the program, Mother Goose Time also offers supplements to make it easy for you! They offer the Little Goose supplement that will offer lessons plans for younger children AND Experience Baby for even younger participants! They are definitely worth checking out!
After months of being a paying customer, I was given this month's box for free in exchange for my personal experiences!
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