CM, Preschoolers, and Toddlers

The Google search engine has spoken.

My blog gets hits everyday for searches related to "Charlotte Mason preschool" and "Charlotte Mason toddler". As I browse through my past posts and look at the promise of "CM for children 6 and younger" in my header, though, I feel a little sheepish for how little I've actually posted about what to do with the youngest guys.

Punkin just turned four this past October. Literally everday she asks me when she's going to learn how to read. With two older sisters doing lessons, she also frequently asks me to "do preschool" with her. I've tried to bide my time, pointing out when real life could technically count as preschool. She made biscuits with me last night, for instance, and as we counted out the cups of flour and teaspoons of baking powder, I smiled a wide smile and encouraged her with, "See? We're counting! This is preschool, honey!"

She looked at me as if to say, "Yeah, right, Mom. Nice try."

If I were really going 100% whole hog CM with Punkin, we wouldn't plan anything out for her to learn before age 6. She would still be learning, mind you, but it wouldn't be planned out or scheduled at all. That's my first choice. But, everyday... "Mama, when will I start learning how to read?" and "Mama, can I write my letters on the dry erase board?". I know, every mother should have such horrible problems, right? ;) I mean, gracious! How dare she actually ask to read and write! :)

And then there's Little Man. He'll be 2 years old in the middle of February and he's great fun. Just from reading a few books a day he's beginning to pick up on colors and his vocabulary is sky rocketing. His main curriculum right now, though, is in the school of Obey Mama. Habits, habits, habits. With this recent move, he's been getting away with a whole lot. It's been Baby Boot Camp for him all week.

These are things I could definitely blog more about. Little Man learning obedience and colors, Punkin learning to read (maybe), books we're enjoying with both of them. In short, what we do with our littlest children when we're not outside. So, hopefully, you can look for more of that sort of thing around here. And the Google searchers will all be happier, too :)

Scribbling, Doodling, and Pre-Writing

Before we even begin trying to form letters, we spend a huge amount of time in what some would call "pre-writing". Mainly, this has been nearly accidental in our home and more a part of playtime, although I now see how beneficial it has been. It's simply scribbling at first, gradually developing into drawing and doodling. I keep a drawer accessible for the "older" children with paper, various pencils, erasers, Ferbies, and such for them to use whenever they want (except right before a meal - we need to set the table!). Magna-Doodles have been invaluable for this purpose, too, especially for toddlers that don't necessarily get free Ferby access! :) We have large Magna-Doodles in several rooms of the house and one or two small ones in the van.


I gently encourage making circles and tracing simple lines as a game of sorts fairly early on (about 2 and 1/2). As the children get older, I keep on the lookout for attempts at letter formation. I do not want them forming letters incorrectly - even for playtime. An attempt to make an "H" turns into an impromptu two minute lesson in handwriting :) I really think this kind of daily "play" has been instrumental in preparing the children to write... it hasn't hurt at least. Beginning at around age 4, we have also used Ready Writer and have enjoyed it very much. Although, I'm not sure it has been any more beneficial than the stylus practice we've had through doodling and drawing. Shug, in particular, seems to be beyond it already and it hasn't been as helpful for her. Others have recommended inexpensive activity books with mazes for pre-writing. I haven't found these to be as profitable as good old-fashioned scribbling and tracing, though.

With a little encouragement and some materials, doodling and pre-writing can be a natural part of the day - one the children may even ask you for! :)

Coping Strategies (When All Your Children Are Little!)

My dear baby boy is now 3 weeks old :) Can you believe it? Time is flying by! Well, at least it feels that way if it's not between the hours of 3:30 and 6:30 pm on a weekday. Then, time draaaaags by until another adult face shows up in the doorway, lol. The children have been wonderful, though. I truly praise God for the smooth transition He has so graciously given to our little family. I also thank Him for little tips and hints friends have given along the way that have provided an arsenal of "coping techniques" for trying hours (or days). Three practical helps from friends top the list for me.


The first, far and away, is to occupy the other children with something purposeful and productive while I nurse or rock the baby. I've been trying to make the most of the time by having Punkin brush up on her Dostoyevsky. Sorry, I just couldn't resist posting this photo ;)

The real #1 help for me has been the advice to have a plan for the day at the beginning of the day. This "daily plan" has taken on various forms through the last six years. My "schedules" have ranged from highly detailed and neatly written out when SweetP was an infant to, now, mentally thrown together just upon rising in the morning and somewhat subject to last minute changes throughout the day. But, I have a plan! ;) Often, I lie in bed just long enough in the morning to pray and get some idea of what I'm doing that day. I may have a basic idea several days in advance, but not always. Somethings are given and fairly consistent. Lunch always begins around 12 or 12:30pm. Dinner is nearly always between 6:15 and 6:45pm. Punkin's naptime falls nearly always around 1 or 1:30pm, etc. Then, the rest of what I hope to fit into the day falls in the spaces between these set times. I have a friend who literally manages her home on a schedule broken down into 15 minute increments. She has a large, homeschooling family and this seems to work well for them. I might get there someday, by necessity, but - right now - I think I'd be a nutcase. I all too easily become a slave to the schedule, stressing out over getting "behind" 20 minutes here or there. I have a horrible time keeping priorities when I'm so distracted by the next "to do" item on my list. I really, really need a general plan of action, though. A direction for me and for each of the children. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop", and idle little minds are worse! Thank you, Lord, for friends who have encouraged and modeled the importance of a plan for the day :)

The #2 fantastic tip that has saved me more than once from sinking into a sobbing heap in the middle of the kitchen, is cribtime... 30-45 minutes for the older baby or young toddler to play, quietly in her crib. To those who haven't done it, this sounds like a far fetched idea, but - trust me - it works! Around the time that the girls dropped their morning naps, I started them out with "cribtime". Personally, I begin at 10 to 15 minutes and work my way up. I decide when it's over. I'm careful to not reward fussing by ending cribtime with a whiny or crying child. Instead, I wait for a quiet moment (they fuss at first when cribtime is new) then go and get them, praising them for playing quietly). It hasn't taken long to get to 30-45 minutes of quiet play on a consistent basis. It is really, really important to make certain the crib is completely safe. All toys must be chosen very carefully. No small parts, long cords, broken pieces. Larger toys are major dangers for the toddler that may use them as steps to climb up on the crib rail. Safety first. I leave the door to the room cracked an inch or two, set up a baby monitor, and we both enjoy cribtime! I can take a shower, lie down, nurse without distraction, teach phonics, or whatever else I may need to do. Baby benefits from increased attention span (she can't wander all over from this to that), skills in entertaining herself, and a period of restful quiet, too.


Once the girls have gotten too old for the crib, I've moved them to "quiet roomtime" in a well baby-proofed bedroom with a baby gate in the doorway. Even now, at 4 and a half, Shug loves roomtime. Sometimes children, just like adults, need a little time alone with relative peace and quiet. It can be a really positive thing for everyone :) SweetP and Shug don't nap anymore, but nearly every afternoon they have quiet roomtime with a few well-chosen toys, activities, and books. This is SweetP's time to read alone without interruption. I nearly always take a little nap ;)

Last but not least, the third little strategy is Book Time. Forgive the "schedule titles", lol, but the girls really like officially naming different parts of the day :) When I need ten to fifteen minutes of quiet, or uninterrupted time - book time is a blessing! Ten to fifteen minutes of quiet time with each child in a specific seat with a few books. All I need to do is say, "Quiet book time, girls!" and they're off to the bookshelves and then to their respective places in the family room until I'm finished.

Sometimes I may tell the older girls to choose specific books, like "science" books or "history" books, but usually I let them choose 3-4 of their own preferences. I choose Punkin's books for her. Anyone who's waited on a 2-year-old to decide anything knows why ;) And that's it. I try to save booktime for when I'm nursing Little Dude mid-morning, but it's also a great resource when I'm trying to make dinner in a hurry. They aren't allowed, generally speaking, to run back and forth from the bookcase getting new books. Part of the point is that they pay attention, real attention, to the books they chose first. Again, this is a wonderful attention skill builder, too :)

So, there you go! Those are my big secrets of staying sane each day :) None of them are my original ideas - well, booktime is sort of an original spin-off of another idea - but are ideas that were lovingly passed down to me from older, wiser moms. So, I lovingly do the same, although I'm not much older than many of you and definitely lacking in the "wiser" category. Hope something can be a blessing to one of you ;)

Favorite Books for the Littlest Ones

Marguerite De Angeli's Mother Goose (or Sylvia Long's)

Poems to Read to the Very Young

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Chicka Chicka ABC

The Big Red Barn

Pat the Bunny

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Curious George

Cecily G. and the 9 Monkeys (prequel to Curious George)

Courduroy

Blueberries for Sal

Katy No Pocket

What Do People Do All Day?

Cars, Trucks, and Things That Go

Goodnight Moon

Harold & the Purple Crayon

If You Give a Pig a Pancake

Owl Moon

Hush Little Baby

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Pooh's 123

My First Little House series

Tomie's Baa Baa Black Sheep

Tomie's Three Bears

The Napping House

Winnie the Pooh's A to Z

The Big Hungry Bear

Jamberry

The Mitten

"Teaching" Punkin

I remember when SweetP was 25 months old. I am not at all exaggerating when I say that I easily read fifteen books a day to her, all cuddly on the couch. With Shug only nine months old at the time and napping two long naps each day, SweetP had so much of my undivided attention. Sometimes the idea of a large family intimidates me - if only for the weight of wanting to give each of my dear children that precious one on one time with Mama. It won't be like it was with SweetP, though. Each new little one will have a completely 'different' family than the one before. Punkin has two big sisters to love on her all day, teach her wonderful little games, read to her, hug her, dress her up. My oldest never had that. And, of course, Punkin still has time with me. Admittedly, it's far less individual time than SweetP had as a toddler. Necessarily so. I have to be purposeful about making those sweet moments happen with Punkin.


Every weekday morning, sometime around 10:30 or 11am, Punkin goes up to her crib for "cribtime". She sleeps in a toddler bed in a room with the older girls, but her crib is still useful for this planned playtime. She has a few board books, puzzles, a babydoll, a Leap Frog ABC ball, etc. All safe and not too much to crowd her. I do reading lessons with SweetP and Shug downstairs during this time. Before Punkin heads upstairs, though, I make a point of sitting down with just her (the older two know not to interrupt us) and I take my time reading two or three little books with her. Sometimes I read each one more than once. Mornings can be busy with chores and teaching the older two, even though it's just Pre-K and Kindergarten. It's a sweet time with just my 'baby' and me.

I had noticed a few months ago that Punkin didn't seem to be developing relationships with particular books like her sisters had at her age. I came to the conclusion that there was simply too much variety in what I read to her. All you mothers of toddlers know how much they adore repetition. She wasn't hearing any single book read often enough, even though she heard me reading aloud to all of them often each day. So, I put just a few - five or six - board books in a basket in the living room. These select books have been the only thing we've read during our alone time for almost three weeks now. Now, with the same books each day, I'm hearing familiar talk from her like "Baa Baa Back Seep - pees, Mama?" She's filling in missing words, pointing out details in pictures, even quoting short lines. She's not only having an intimate moment with me, these are now books she is really getting to know. I love that.

Here's a little confession: I rocked Punkin to sleep for the first ten months of her life :) I've always been fond of a routine, a flexible schedule, and babies learning to sleep on their own. But, I wanted to rock my baby. So I did. A lot. I have nothing but the fondest memories of those times - she made it so easy! None of that waking as soon as she was in the crib business. She'd fall asleep after about ten minutes of rocking, then I'd rock her for as long as I wanted. I laid her down and she was peacefully sleeping til morning. I know the next baby may not be like that - but I'm glad she was :)

She has learned her shapes by doing puzzles with me, and her colors are coming along from reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear together each morning. Her vocabulary and language ability are growing by leaps and bounds just from talking to me and the girls so much. I try to have a ready, patient ear for her. It can take a while to get things out sometimes ;) Today we made pretend muffins together, counted to twelve as we walked up the stairs (what an easy way to help them learn to recite their numbers!), read books, sang 'I'm a Little Teapot', and basically just shared time. She enjoys being with me, whether she has me all to herself or not ;) I enjoy being with her more than I can say.

My little Punkin may not be my youngest child for much longer, but each of my children will always be my baby.