3 Tips for Successfully Homeschooling a 2-yr-old boy!

On the first day of K-5, I pulled out my 5-yr old's worksheets and expected my 2 yr-old to go play in his room by himself.

Not so much!  He sat at the table, right across from big brother, and watched, dying to be just like him!  That first day I gave him a coloring book or two, and begged him to go play.  He wouldn't comply!  

Like every good mom, I burned the midnight oil with my sleeves rolled up . . .

 pinning away on my beloved Pinterest account.

The next day, I was prepared.  And now, I am so thankful that my little guy didn't go play!  He is so unlike my older son who never even sat still long enough to listen to a story until recently!  My youngest can sit for hours, (and quite often does!), as long as his mind is engaged.  

3 Tips for Successfully Homeschooling a 2-yr-old boy:

1) Follow their lead.  Let them decide if they're interested in school activities or not.  Remember, they are 2, and just five minutes of education a day will have your child learning by leaps and bounds!  And believe me, they are learning every second of the day, no matter where they are or what they're doing!  Once their mood starts to turn sour, quickly switch to something that will perk their spirits back up!

And if your child is like mine and won't go play because he is dying to do school and worksheets . . .

2) Be very, very, very prepared!  I can Pin 100 activities on Pinterest, make 20, and he will reject 15 of them!  When I've run out of colored ink, printer paper, cardstock, lamination, and page protectors because I've made him so many activities, he's already bored with them!



3) Keep a snack and a drink within reach.  This might sound so simple, but it makes the world of a difference, and goes right along with number 2, being prepared!  My little guy doesn't eat much for breakfast, so right in the middle of school his face starts twitching and the ugly starts coming out.  I hand him a banana, some chocolate milk, and Oscar the Grouch is gone!

My 2-yr old can count very well (above 20), is reading blends, has great one-to-one correspondance, can make patterns, has known his colors and shapes for a few years, and so much more!  You can homeschool a 2-yr old!

I hope this little list helps, and I will be adding to it as I learn more and more about my temperamental boy!  What tips would you add?

Boo Boo Blends- Ouch!

Like this idea?  Find this bear for free in my TpT store HERE!  Want the whole set?  27 pages (that took a long time to make!) HERE! 

This was a fun way to get my picky 2-year old to work on his blends.  First, I found this cute Band-Aid Letter Matching game on Pinterest.  But seeing as I'm not teaching letters to anyone, I didn't need this exact version.  Still, it was a cute game I tucked away on my Pinterest board that stuck in my mind.

Then when I found these free textured bears on Teacher's Pay Teachers, I knew exactly what I was going to do!

The bears were cute, but needed a little tweaking for my activity.  After freeing up some room on the bear's forehead, I printed the white bear, colored it blue to match my son's favorite teddy, and laminated it.  I found some random bandage clipart online (that is used with permission), and printed and laminated them.  Afterwards, I wrote la, le, li, lo, and lu blends on the bear- a blend ladder that my son is having a little trouble with.  I told him the bear fell off his bike and got a few boo boo's. The bear needed some help, and my son was happy (although quite serious) to help!

After he read each blend and matched the bandages to the boo boos, I told my son that the bear was all better and the bandages needed to come off.  I told him which boo boo (blend) was all better, and my son took the corresponding blend off the bear, reading it as he gave it back to me.  

Because the activity went so fast, and because of the little bit of dramatic play- my son happily played along twice, and has since asked to play it again!  This game is a winner in my book!  And what I like about it is that we can switch up the animal to keep it interesting. But next time, I'm printing on colored paper.  I don't have time for all that coloring!

Reading "lo".

"I did it, Mama!"

Like this idea?  Find this bear for free in my TpT store HERE!  Want the whole set?  27 pages (that took a long time to make!) HERE! 

"Yuckies, Yuckies in my Tummy . . ."

Watch this post in action in my YouTube video!

My boys and I had a blast with this rhyme we made up!  I threw a little dramatic play in with it as well, and it kept my boys playing (and ultimately reviewing their phonetic blends) even longer!

My oldest found this "fish bowl" gorilla toy at 5 Below for his 5th birthday.

I wrote phonetic blends on the bottom of recycled K-cups and bottle caps.  The gorilla has an opening in his back and in his mouth for kids to keep toys (or a Beta fish, as per directions, but we won't go into all the reasons that sounds like a very, very bad thing to do).  I slipped the blends into the gorilla's "tummy" ahead of time, and we were ready to play!

The rhyme is as follows:

"Yuckies, yuckies, in my tummy,

I ate some blends, and I feel funny,

BLEH!"

Note: The "bleh" was what did it for my 2 boys who love all things gross.  I made the rhyme up in the car on the way home from church, and the boys were in stitches, making me repeat it over, and over, and over again.  I was giggling right along with them, for sure!

While playing the game, I added in a bit of dramatic play- asking the boys what a gorilla should have eaten (bananas), and we told them we need to do surgery to get the yucky blends out!  They each reached into the gorilla's tummy, pulled out a blend, and had to read it to me.  

At the end of the game, we re-read the blends and put them back in the gorilla. 

You can easily change the words to fit other toys that would accommodate this game.  If you have puppets, they would work too!  Just slip a bottle cap blend in the puppets mouth and make the kids pull it out!  Maybe you have a stuffed animal back pack?  I know we have a couple of those laying around here too! Just switching up the toy will keep this game fresh and exciting for those little ones who tire of the same activity.  

We also played around with the words- instead of "funny" we used "crummy". You can say "yucky" instead of "yuckies", or change "some" to "a", if that suits you better!  

And if you aren't teaching phonics, who says you can't replace blends with something else?  Like letters?  Or what about words?  

Be creative!  Your kids are sure to love this one!

Monster, Monster, down by the lake . . .

Watch my Youtube video of this post in action!

I found this cute little rhyme on Pinterest:

Monster, Monster, down by the lake,

I'm going to reach in and see what you ate!

I grabbed an empty tissue box and covered it in green construction paper.  I made teeth and big beady eyes.  I knew the monster wouldn't last long, but that doesn't bother me!  Kids generally like to play an educational game once or twice and then they never want to touch it again.

That has not been the case with this one!  I have 2 boys who love it when I try to eat their arms!  

Inside of the monster are recycled K-Cups and bottle caps I've been collecting. I wrote one blend on each bottle cap/K-cup from several different blend ladders. This is a good game for a little one who still needs to practice their blends, but can handle a little bit of a challenge, as they are faced with multiple blend ladders in the same session.  

This is a wonderful game for boys or girls who aren't afraid of reaching into a monster's mouth.  My boys play this when it isn't school time.  Watch the video for some tips, and to see a homeschooling mom of 2 antsy boys in action.  

In addition to the game, here are 3 tips for a successful circle time at home:

• Have a mat or a pillow for each child to sit on.  Otherwise, their little legs will crawl, kick, jump, or walk wherever they see fit.  This was the first time I implemented this tip, and there are at least a hundred fewer interruptions.
• Always praise a child- even if you had to prompt the correct answer!
• You can control a child by the inflection of your voice.  Most people think getting louder will quiet a noisy child or group.  The exact opposite is true! Whisper instead, and they will quiet themselves just to hear you.

Dot a Blend

Do-a-Dot markers are all the rage on Pinterest.  But do you think that my boys have any interest in them?  Not particularly.  I bought the paint dabbers as a Christmas gift last year, and they have barely been touched.  My boys don't do anything tedious, and these paint dabbers are included.

So I had to get creative. 

I found a blank Do-a-Dot printable and cut it into smaller sections that my son could finish.  I filled in the circles with blends- this particular time he had the ca, ke, ki, co, cu ladder repeated throughout.  I asked him to pick a color, and asked him to find whatever blend I called out. We went row by row, with him dotting each blend, searching for the first blend.  When the first blend was painted, he switched colors, and dotted the next blend that I called out. 

Looking excited here . . .

Yet totally done here, two seconds later!

Even with such a small piece of paper, my 2-yr-old was done before the page was. But I didn't mind!  He got plenty of practice, and I have several other blend charts for him to dot another time- cut from the same sheet of paper! Now that's frugal homeschooling at its finest!

Swat the Blends!

Thankfully when I scoured Pinterest for beginning blends something popped

up. Okay, two things, one of which I already shared in my previous post, Paw Print Blend Matching, and these phonetic blend charts from Blessed Beyond a Doubt. 

I printed two copies of selected phonetic blend charts in black and white.  Why not all of the charts?  Children are unpredictable, especially my two-year-old son.  If I print 10 copies of a game and he won't play it, then what?  I just wasted all that time, energy, ink, paper, and lamination!  (Can you tell I'm speaking from experience here?)

I left the first copy as is, placing it inside of a sheet protector.  The second copy was laminated and cut up into separate squares.  The first few times I used the charts, my youngest read each blend to me and placed them on top of their match. Then when I collected the 5 blend cards to put away in their Ziploc baggy, I named a blend for him to put away.  Doing it this way, he is hearing the blend, saying the blend, and reading the blend at least two times- although I repeat each blend several times as he plays.  Each ladder goes

quickly, but is highly effective.

Matching the cards to the chart.

After a few days of independently working the matching games, my 2-year-old had had enough!  I then put the charts on the ground during our circle time, including his older brother (who has been reading for over 2 years) to play for a bit of competition.  However, this time I added a flyswatter- my personal favorite manipulative!

I flipped the cards over, and they picked which one to swat and read.  My oldest read right through the cards, and loved to tell his brother which blend to pick. To avoid this, just print on the white side of scrapbook paper.  But no matter, the game gives lots of practice!  After they picked a blend and read it, they put it on the phonetic chart.  When the entire chart was complete, I called out blends and they brought them to me to put away.  They read and heard each blend at least three times, although I repeated each blend too.

Here's a breakdown of how to play Swat the Blends:

1. Print two copies of the phonetic charts.
2. Laminate one copy.  Insert the other into a page protector.  Cut laminated chart into squares.
3. Flip cards over.  Child swats blend of choice, reads blend, and places on top of its match on phonetic chart. 
4. After all cards have been placed on chart, call out a blend for your child to bring to you, having them read it as they put it away.  

Don't have a flyswatter?  I have also used a "magic wand" (a dowel rod), and had my child say, "Bippity, Boppity, Boo!" before continuing play the same way.

Paw Print Blend Matching

It's no secret: phonics is not taught in the every day classroom.  I didn't even learn phonics until I started teaching it to my son.  

And it was no picnic teaching him those first blend ladders.  I didn't have curriculum, so I wasn't sure how fast he should learn them.  All I knew is that I wanted him reading, and I wanted him reading yesterday.  That meant a lot of drilling for that little guy.  I put the blends on diecuts I purchased from the dollar store and drilled him.  If he got it right, I gave him a piece of candy.  As he started learning the blends, I started teaching him word families.  

Was my effort successful?  Yes!  He was reading books in 3 months.  But I breezed through those early skills.  I stressed more on the word families than the blends.  That has been a huge hindrance to him now.  Thankfully, with me teaching his younger brother properly, he is filling in those learning gaps I created for him.  (Aren't you glad for second chances?)

So what are beginning blend ladders, and why the importance? 

This is a blend ladder.

You can visit Confessions of a Homeschooler to download your own copy.  

I personally teach blend ladders before words or word families.  For instance ma, me, mi, mo, and mu.  If a child can learn to read the beginning blends, then they can add on any consonant and read it.  

If you teach ONLY memorizing words, the child has to memorize every single word individually and doesn't make connections between words- at least not right away.  In my opinion, that makes for a very long road to learning to read!  

And if you teach word families- for instance the -at family, you can teach your child eye regression.  In other words, you could be teaching your child to read backwards!  The first day I started teaching my son to read, I started to teach him exactly that.  I read Phonics for Dummies and found I was doing it backwards.  Sure enough, when I watched his eyes read cat, fat, and mat- he was reading the END of the word FIRST!  After asking a fellow teacher for some help, I backed up and started teaching blends first.  

If you teach phonics, then this is the blog for you!  I have scoured the internet looking for fun ways to teach my 2-year-old son his blends.  

I quit looking.

Because I can't find any!

And so Training Treasures was born.

Enough back story, on with the fun!

First up: a matching game using a FREE ten frame and some cute puppy paw prints from Teachers Pay Teachers.  

Ten Frame, you say?  Yes, a ten frame.  There are 5 blends after all, and one ten frame makes 2 ladders.  I printed a ten frame, laminated it, cut it down the middle, and programmed it to have the blends my son needs to work on.  I printed and laminated the paw prints, and wrote the matching blends on the backs.  My son absolutely loves math.  If I can make reading math related, he is sold . . . 

And he was!

Second: Another matching game from the same download.  I laminated the puppy rectangles and wrote a different set of blends on the back.  Although the games last but a minute or two, they get the point across . . .

Reading the matching blends.

He's TWO, folks.  Not a genius.  Not a child prodigy.  Just a child who is presented with fun ways to learn.  And those fun educational games bring him back to me, begging (morning, noon, and night!) for more!  What more does a home educator want??

Ashley Moore

Why I homeschool

My reasons behind why I homeschool revolves around my Christian faith.  I have wanted to raise my children in a godly environment since I started serving the Lord as a teenager.  When I was 16 my Sunday school teacher told me if I wanted to homeschool, then I needed to go to college to be a teacher.

My heart sank.  

A teacher?  ME?  That was the last thing I wanted to do!  Even after BEGINNING college I avoided taking those education classes.  After I caved in, my professor said, "Oh good, Ashley!  You'll LOVE it!"  

And I haven't looked back since.  

I DO love teaching.  It is my gift!  After graduating I taught 6th grade for 4 years.  I absolutely loved it-

But not more than I loved being a mom.  

You see, the last year I worked, I took my newborn to school with me every day.  I would nurse him and leave him behind in the nursery.  I absolutely hated leaving him under someone else's care, especially when I KNEW he needed ME to take care of him!  But, I didn't have much of a choice.  My husband had said I had to work for one more year before I could quit.  He had to get a little farther in his career, we had to pay off his new car (which we did in 13 months).  After that I began staying home with my son.  

Education begins in the womb.  They hear your voice, feel your emotions.  But I didn't start educating him 24/7 until he was 11 months old.  He's 5 now, and I have never wanted to leave him again.

Okay, that was a total lie.  

I missed teaching.  I almost went back to teaching that next fall!  I felt like my job was so small- leaving a classroom of students to raise ONE child.  How was I making a difference in the world?  But whether I believed it or not, I was making a difference. 

Reasons Why I Homeschool:

1. I love spending time with my family.

2. I'm a little bit of a control freak and can't stand the thought of someone else raising my child!

3. I want to shelter my children.  Despite what the world thinks, sheltering a child IS a GOOD thing!  It offers peace, comfort, protection, security!  I want my children to stay as innocent as long as possible.  They'll learn all about hurt, pain, and sin soon enough! 

4. I want my children to be comfortable.

5. I can afford to.

6. Stronger sibling bond.

7. It is fun!

8. I can cater to my child's educational, social, spiritual, health, and personal needs.  

9. My children have FREEDOM!

10. It is flexible.

If you don't homeschool, that's okay!  These are the reasons why I absolutely LOVE homeschool!  I think it is a lot of fun.  I have been down the road where it was a nightmare, but thanks to some wonderful education blogs, we have turned a new leaf!  My kids love the things I create and literally do them morning, noon, and night most days of the week!