Olders Love to Teach Youngers Little Hands to Heaven!
Do you run out of time to teach your preschool child like you used to teach your older children at that age? Little ones ages 2 to 5 years old can’t wait to start homeschooling! They watch their older siblings and want in on the fun! However, busy homeschool mamas need to teach many kiddos, and I often found I ran out of time for my littlest son.
The guilt set in, and that’s when I saw my oldest son laughing as he showed my 3 year-old how to build a tower. As it fell over, my little one clapped and giggled and shouted, “Do it again!” An idea popped into my head – why not have my oldest son teach my little one some of Little Hands to Heaven?
Fun Playtime with a Purpose
My oldest son had a daily scheduled playtime with my 3 year-old anyway. He sometimes ran out of new things to do. The perfect answer was to have my oldest choose some boxes to teach of Little Hands to Heaven. Now playtime had a purpose!
We decided I’d read the Bible Story first and do the Fingerplay first thing in the morning. Later for his playtime, he did the Bible Activity, Corresponding Music, and Rotating Box (Dramatic Play, Active Exploration, Devotional, Art Activity, Math Activity each once a week) with him. Then, before naptime/quiet time in room, I did the Letter Activity. For our nightly bedtime wind-down, the new Storytime Read-Alouds would work great!
Thirty Minutes Worked Wonders
Fifteen minutes of teaching Little Hands to Heaven and fifteen minutes of active play (i.e. puzzles, throwing a ball, building toys, etc.), and time flew by! My PreK kiddo LOVED it, and my oldest enjoyed the break. Often times, they’d just keep “playing” whatever the LHTH activity of the day was for their active play time anyway. Building a tower and knocking it down for the Tower of Babel went on and on! Seeing what objects would sink or float in the bathtub for Noah’s Ark took the whole last 15 minutes!
Thirty minutes worked wonders!
Training for Future Homeschool Parents
Hopefully, my sons will someday be homeschool parents themselves! This precious time my oldest had with my youngest was so much more than just a playtime. It was training for him being a parent later in life himself!
My oldest is now 26 years old and just happily married! My youngest is now 19 years old and in college. The two remain closer than ever, and they look back on that time together fondly. If you are a busy mama with a PreK kiddo – olders love to teach youngers Little Hands to Heaven! Give it a try!
In Christ,
Julie
