Brainstorming How to Best Teach Multiple Younger Guides

Dear “Ms. Brainstorming How to Handle Multiple Younger Guides,”

I’d be glad to brainstorm with you! As far as your situation goes, I would encourage you to choose one set of story time books to read aloud to the Beyond/Bigger kiddos (and follow the plans for the younger guide, so you can keep this pattern going as they head into the next guide too). I would also work toward getting the kiddos who are the most ready to read from their guide to do so as soon and as much as they are able. This doesn’t always mean this will be the older child either!

Either your Preparing Hearts student could read his/her history, or your Bigger Hearts student could read his/her science.

Brainstorming as we look further ahead, if your child eventually heading into Preparing is able to read his/her own history, I would encourage you to let that child do so. Or, perhaps your first Bigger student might be able to read the science (or possibly even the history). I did allow my second son to do this as he was ready in Bigger. My next little ones in Bigger could not do that though, so I read everything aloud to them.

Have any children reading the Emerging Reader’s Set practice their pages alone before reading them to you.

Here is another brainstorming idea for you! If you have a child in the Emerging Reader Set, it is so helpful to have that child practice their day’s pages alone first before coming to read to you! This allows the child time to peruse the pictures, figure out difficult words, and ruminate on the story. Then, by the time he/she comes to read to you the reading clips along more quickly and the follow-up questions are more easily answered. Plus, while the child is practicing on his/her own, you can work with someone else.

A Brainstorming Idea for Organized Self-Starting Students

If you have kiddos who are organized or self-starters, have them get their books out and do the things they can. When I was teaching multiple younger guides, my child in Bigger sang his own hymn in the morning (and we all loved hearing it fill the house). He also did his own copywork in the morning and got out his needed books by checking the guide. Of course, he didn’t do these things when beginning Bigger, but as he got further into the guide, he wanted to do more on his own! All of these easy brainstorming ideas are time savers and pay big dividends to the parent! Plus, the child is happy to be moving along rather than waiting on mama!

Older children can jump in and help teach one box form a little one’s guide for 5-10 minutes.

If you have an older child who is finished ahead of time and is waiting on you, have him/her jump in and help teach one box from a little one’s guide for 5-10 minutes. We did this at times with our older boys, and it kept things moving along. (It also helped me get to the older child faster).

A Few Brainstorming Ideas for Correcting Work

Here is a brainstorming idea for correcting work! If you give your kiddos a morning recess break all together, you can use that time to check the older’s work and make sure they are staying on track. This keeps you on top of how the more independent kiddos are progressing (and saves derailment later in the day). Once the kiddos’ work is checked, have them clear those books away, as clutter is a joy stealer! (At least it is for me!)

Here is another brainstorming idea for correcting work! We had our boys place their books/notebooks/completed work in their own pile on our kitchen counter next to our stove. Each child had his/own space for his pile. That way, as time allowed, we could check their work. Then, after we’d checked it, we moved it to the other side of the stove (in a pile). This way, the kiddos could see the work that had been checked and they could put it away. For anything that had been corrected but still needed attention, we didn’t move that work to the other side. (This was a visual reminder for us to go back and help the child redo or fix that subject).

For our littles in the teacher-led younger guides, we checked work and put it away as we finished checking it (not allowing them to put anything away until it had been checked).

A Few Closing Thoughts About Brainstorming

Anyway, these are just some brainstorming ideas that may help or get you thinking of things that could help. I’m sure you already have discovered many of these things, and probably more that I haven’t listed.

We have always tried to think of our family as a team, where everyone had to be willing to help one another out to get our day accomplished. If we had appointments or places to go, we warned the kiddos the night before so they could plan accordingly and were not taken by surprise. Often, our olders worked ahead that evening or got up earlier in the morning then, so they would not be behind. (Our two oldest sons still do this.) We did not, however, let our littles get up any earlier on those days, as once they were up the day was officially underway for us all.

Blessings,
Carrie