Homeschooling a Toddler: What 3 Learning Sessions Look Like

Have you ever attempted to homeschool a toddler? If you have, you have probably realized how they are extremely tactile, how they love to explore new and exciting things and how they have a short attention span. To maximize this precious one-on-one time with them, it is important to focus on one thing and one thing only: flexibility.

With toddlers, as with infants and newborns, it doesn't matter how prepared you are or how much you have planned for this time. It will happen in their time and in their way. As stressful as that may sound, in the end, it is best to follow the child because that is how she learns best.

Here, I present to you three easy review lessons to keep things short, fun and moving along. This is not to tell you what to teach or how to teach it, but rather how it works for our family in hopes that this will inspire you to get ideas and come up with your own fun and easy activities that your toddler will simply love and enjoy revisiting when you invite her again to join in. 

These lessons are geared for toddlers that are 2-3 years old, but you can start some of these activities sooner and make them more complex as they get older and/or master the skills. 
The amount of time each session takes varies. I follow her and keep an eye on her attention span for that day. I usually have more material than what we use, just to be ready. Usually, our lessons are about 30 minutes long, but sometimes as little as 15 minutes, so we break up our lesson into two parts and come back later for the other half.

French Lessons for Preschoolers and Kindergartners (Basics: Greetings, Colors, Numbers)

This is our window. I made it into functional space, where I

have a high bulletin board and a low bulletin board. The middle

part has a mesh (sun screen) fabric that lets good light in. We

used up the two walls we had and this was a good way of making

good use of the third wall. On the top, I put the colors in 7

languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, French, Portuguese,

German, and Italian) and on the bottom, I posted the

numbers (0-10) in 7 languages as well. We read these about 3

times a week and yes, we do them all. I tried to do one language

a day (colors and numbers), but K always wanted to keep going,

so ok, we keep going. :)

Here, you will see lessons on Greetings, Colors, and Numbers (1-10)

I am currently teaching Spanish and French in our homeschool co-op (ages 1-5) and additionally Mandarin Chinese to my children.
The only thing I stress is that I make sure they notice and know which language we are working on at the time. They switch gears rather easily and do very well. Even those who do both French and Spanish with me (on different days) haven't had a problem. I haven't thought of a strategy on how to teach languages to youngsters because I haven't really encountered the need to have one. 

My 2 year old was mixing letters. She knew all the letters in the alphabet in both English and Spanish, but she'd say some in English and some in Spanish. She is now getting better at differentiating them a bit more.  I hope this helps.

Spanish Lessons for Preschoolers and Kindergartners (Part 1)

Here, you will see lessons on: 
THE VOWELS, NUMBERS (1-10), ZERO, GREETINGS and THE ALPHABET.

I am currently teaching Spanish and French in our homeschool co-op (ages 1-5) and additionally Mandarin Chinese to my children. 
The only thing I stress is that I make sure they notice and know which language we are working on at the time. They switch gears rather easily and do very well. Even those who do both French and Spanish with me (on different days) haven't had a problem. I haven't thought of a strategy on how to teach languages to youngsters because I haven't really encountered the need to have one. 
My 2 year old was mixing letters. She knew all the letters in the alphabet in both English and Spanish, but she'd say some in English and some in Spanish. She is now getting better at differentiating them a bit more. 
Hope this helps.

Week 11: Different and more relaxed

K has always been enjoying boyish stuff, but especially lately. He loves superheroes, tractors, dinosaurs, cars, and muscles. He cracks me up when he's showing off his "muscles" or when he's pretending to be a dinosaur, stomping all over the place.

Another thing: As soon as we get home, K loves to take al of his clothes off, except for his big boy underwear. Must be a boy thing, too! By the way, he is almost completely potty trained! It was incredible! One day, he's not "with it," and the next, he's holding it and going at the right times like he's been doing it for years!
In the past two weeks, he has had no accidents during the day, he has stayed dry during naps and has peed in his pull up at night only twice! I couldn't be more proud! And I am so glad that the worst is behind us. After all, he's a big boy...he'll be 3 in December. Sigh. Bittersweet...

About our homeschool, well, I am in awe that we've been at it for 12 weeks already. Incredible. We took it easy this week and didn't fret with schedules. There was a lot to do that wasn't related to homeschooling, that I was like "Oh well..." <shrug>
He still learned a lot; we just didn't, per se, do Calendar / Circle Time every single day.

For Chinese and Spanish, I made a poster of K's favorite animals.
He really likes it and tries to read them often.
I still have to help him with the correct pronunciation,
since he wants to read them with an English accent.

This is a chart of the colors in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

"It is my deepest conviction that the children should be seen and heard as our most treasured assets.  They are not ours to be used or abused but to be loved and nurtured and encouraged to engage in life to the full extent of their being, free from fear."   ~Nelson Mandela

Week 10: Went by fast!

Last week (Week 10 of homeschooling) went great. I am reaching the 8th month post-partum, so the hormonal imbalances should be subsiding soon and I feel more energetic, even though I am not 100% yet. Giving birth can really take a toll on one's body, even though you are eating right and staying fit, especially so if you let a little something called STRESS sneak into your life on a daily basis.

It is normal to feel stressed when big changes come to our lives. One of our biggest changes was the birth of our daughter. All of a sudden, we had a toddler and a newborn and things felt like they were spinning out of control some days. On top of all that, she turned out to be very high maintenance (at least compared to our son). So we all had to adjust to their individual needs. It has been stressful the last few months, yes, but it has been wonderful at the same time and, if I had the chance, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

I love my children beyond words and being a mother is the most challenging, humbling, and growing experience I have ever gone through. It has truly made me a better person. I have understood God's love for me better. I have realized that two pairs of little eyes are always watching and absorbing everything. They have taught me to laugh so much more than before and to capture and enjoy the simple things in life.

If it were for my daughter, she'd be the happiest baby on earth if I were to hold her on my lap and we stare and smile at each other for hours on end. It is the sweetest thing to feel so needed and loved. Breastfeeding has definitely made our bond stronger. I feel so blessed to be able to breastfeed. It is so rewarding! All in all, being a parent makes one feel "lost" at times, but we find ourselves again in our little ones' eyes. Sigh...lovely!

Homeschooling

This week, K worked with the number spindles. He enjoyed it and caught on quickly. After half a demonstration, he was doing the activity all by himself. He liked it so much that he kept doing it over and over.

Basically, you have a wooden box cut in half and divided into 5 slots
with numbers from 0 to 9. The two halves are placed side by side. The
child then puts the corresponding number of spindles in the slots.
For example, the 0 gets no spindles, the 1 gets one spindle, etc.

In Chinese class, K learned to say "slippers."

Since he already knew how to say "dinosaur,"

he put them together to say "dinosaur slippers."

Kong long tuo xie!!!!!

This is a work of art that consists of cut up construction paper, glue, and flower petals.

For science/art, K went around the backyard looking for stuff in nature.

He collected leaves, flowers, rocks, dirt, dried grass, and some seeds.

He glued all of the items on black construction paper.

This is what it looked like in the end. Beautiful! 

More art!

This is another Montessori Sensorial activity. It is Color Box #1.
It is quite simple, just matching the three primary colors as he manes them.
I made it a bit more interesting. First, he named the colors (super easy).
Then he matched the colors (like you see in the picture above).
Finally, I made patterns and he had to copy them. This was a bit more challenging,
but he caught on quickly and was successful at replicating every pattern.

This is the Bolts and Nuts Set 2. Basically, there are 5 screws
ranging from thin to thick. The holes match with each thickness
in that same order. Put the screw in and twist, twist, twist until
it doesn't twist anymore.

 Food

This week, I did try a couple of new recipes, including baked eggrolls that were a big hit. They did have a little bit of ground beef, but they were about 80% veggies. They were delicious.

I am collecting some egg cartons to start to plant my seeds for our fruit and veggie garden. I went to a meeting a couple of weeks ago where a horticulturist taught us how to plant and when to plant a garden. I am excited to get started again and I am hoping that it'll be a successful project, especially now that I have learned some important tips. I'll update on this project every week or two.

On a different note, I ordered some grapeseed oil to try because its flavor is neutral and it can substitute butter in baking recipes. I really like it! You should research it's nutritional and healing properties; it's truly incredible. I am now going to alternate using it and coconut oil, which is also an awesome product.

Other

Homemade toothpaste: I made my second batch last week with a few changes and I must say, wow!

Here are the two recipes I like:

Recipe #1

Aluminum free baking soda

Coconut oil

5-10 drops of Peppermint essential oil (therapeutic grade, 100% pure)

2 drops of Clove essential oil (therapeutic grade, 100% pure)

Make a paste with all of the ingredients above until desired consistency. It will thicken up if it is cold and it will be more oily if it is warmer (properties of coconut oil).

Recipe #2

Aluminum free baking soda

Grapeseed oil

5-10 drops of Wintergreen essential oil (therapeutic grade, 100% pure)

2 drops of Clove essential oil (therapeutic grade, 100% pure)

pulverized egg shell (1 egg shell) - I used a mortar and pestle

Same thing as above. Make a paste until desired consistency. I made this one last week and I am loving it.  The egg shell has calcium, which helps strengthen teeth, but the fact that it is a powder, it helps to remove plaque and other impurities on the surface of the teeth. I don't want to overdo it, so I will alternate between the two.

Oil Pulling: All I can say is whoa!

I had hear about it, but after talking about it with my neighbor, I became even more curious and decided to try it. I am in shock at how well it works.

Visit this Oil Pulling Website and learn all about it.

In my experience, I used sesame oil and have done it a couple of times. I have felt more energetic and I can see that my teeth are whiter (already, yes, already). It is so simple and so natural that I can see myself using this as a remedy to many ailments, not just to whiten and strengthen teeth. Check it out!

Week 9: A little bit of old, a little bit of new

I wanted to start today's post with a sweet thought (see quote below). I think that sometimes we get caught up in the "bad parts" of the stage we are in, that we don't realize how quickly time goes by and we might be missing out on the "good parts." 
Being a mother is not only the greatest gift (after having Jesus as my Savior and finding the love of my life), but it has been a great teacher to me.

"You will never have this day with your children again. 
Tomorrow, they'll be a little older than they were today. 
This day is a gift. Breathe and notice. 
Smell and touch them; study their faces and little feet and pay attention. 
Relish the charms of the present. 
Enjoy today, mama, it will be over before you know it." 
                                                                                ~ Jen Hatmaker

Homeschooling

~ Circle Time: It was great, although, I confess, we didn't do every single day this week.  We either got busy, went to town, or took longer naps.  But when we did have Circle Time, we had lots of fun and K is definitely thriving.
~ Potty Training: K has been wearing BIG BOY underwear daily and had maybe 3 accidents all week! He is doing so much better at letting us know when he needs to go.  We have a timer to remind us to encourage him to go if he hasn't gone by then.  It used to be set to go off every 30 minutes, then we changed it to every 40 minutes, but now, it's set to every hour.  He's even going both to pee and poop in bathrooms at stores and restaurants!  He's doing awesome! He still wears a pul up at night, just in case, but this morning, his pull up was dry!  I am beyond proud of him.
~ Scripture Memory: K is doing excellent in memorizing the Word of God.  He really enjoys it, too.  We were at Kohl's the other day and I found a small picture album (see picture below) on Clearance for $1.49, so I put in each page the Scripture verses that he has learned so far and I will keep adding more as we learn/memorize more.  We still have the verses on the wall at home, but this is a great idea because he can take them anywhere, even in the car when we go to town.

~ Chinese and Spanish: I have made small posters with the numbers (0-10) in Chinese (pinyin and characters) and Spanish to put on the wall so K can look at them often and not forget them. Plus, it makes it easier to practice (repeat out loud) during Circle Time.

~ Number Train (Families): I have explained how we work on it in another post, but I have not added the names of the families (zero, ten, twenty, ... one hundred) to help K recognize the number words, too.  It is actually helping a lot.  He can count up to 70 now!

~ Bible Reading: K is starting to want to read the Bible himself every night before bed, instead of us reading it to him.  I never thought that he'd be doing this so early (he's only 2.5 years old!). Precious.  Thought I'd share.  Sigh.  Sniff.

This is one of our new activities (from Pinterest, of course). He loved it!
I wonder if it'd work if I used the letters of the alphabet....

I made these for Bible Study this week and they turned out great! It is one of Pampered Chef's Fall recipes. The only three changes I made to the recipe are: 1) I used vanilla extract instead of almond, 2) I used real cherries instead of maraschino cherries, and 3) I used coconut oil instead of canola.  I got great reviews from this recipe, so I am definitely making these for my Fall Pampered Chef show in a couple of months.

This is the artisan parmesan bread I made for the first time. According to my husband, it is the most delicious bread I've ever made (and I've made lots of different kinds of bread). Let me know if you are interested in the recipe.

K was here. Hahaha!

I tried making sushi last night for the first time ever! We found a cheap sushi kit at Barnes & Noble and have been collecting all of the ingredients little by little. Finally, all we had left to buy was the shrimp. It was pretty good for the first time. I'm sure it was a lot cheaper than at a restaurant and it wasn't that hard to do.  Next time, I'll marinate the shrimp and buy smoked salmon and cream cheese.  I need to order a Julienne peeler from Pampered Chef, too! It'd make peeling carrots and cucumbers a breeze.

Homemade Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (YUMMM)

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

3 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

1 cup raisin

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Prep Time: 20 min       Cook Time Time: 08 min

Variations

Bar Cookies: Press dough onto bottom of ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered. 24 BARS. VARIATIONS: Stir in 1 cup chopped nuts. Substitute 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolate pieces for raisins; omit cinnamon. Substitute 1 cup diced dried mixed fruit. HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Increase flour to 1-3/4 cups and bake as directed.

Yield 4 DOZEN

MY VARIATION

Follow the instructions above, but I made 5 changes.

Change #1: Instead of using 1 stick and 6 tablespoons of butter, I used 1 stick of butter and 6 tablespoons of coconut oil.

Change #2: I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free rolled oats.

Change #3: I used white wheat four instead of all purpose flour. Next time, I'll use unbleached, organic all purpose flour.

Change #4: I used aluminum free baking soda.

Change #5: When the recipe instructs you to mix the flour, baking soda, etc (all dry ingredients), I mixed in 1/4 cup of raw unsweetened cacao powder.

You can always add stuff like chocolate chunks, chocolate chips, shredded coconut, pecans, almonds, flaxseeds (ground or whole), or even M&Ms!  Whatever strikes your fancy.

And you can always substitute the 2 eggs for 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds and 6 tablespoons of water.  Mix them in a bowl and let them sit for a few minutes to "gel", then use in the recipe instead of 2 eggs. The ratio is 1tbsp ground flaxseed in 3 tbsp of water to replace ONE EGG.

The following videos are of Baby Girl sitting up tall, playing with her ball.  She is using her brain so well as she passes the ball from one hand to the other, how she handles it, and how she problem solves.  This is actually one video, but it was too long, so I had to breaking into two parts.  Enjoy!

THINGS I WANT TO TRY SOON

I am a Pampered Chef Consultant, so I am always coming across and
trying new recipes (and purchasing great kitchen products).
Fall is upon us (thank God!), so many recipes involving apples, nuts, pumpkin,
and sweet potatoes are surfacing yet again and that is wonderful!
Fall is my favorite season of all!

APPLE NACHOS!!! Who would've thought?! Yumm!!!

Baby wearing while dancing flamenco! What an incredible picture! Gotta try this for sure!

Baby/Child Development by Age (Month 1 to 6 Years old)

Click here to see the link that lists developmental milestones by age (Months 1-3). Definitely helpful and worth reading.
Months 4-6
Months 7-9
Months 10-12
Months 13-15
Months 16-18
Months 19-21
Months 22-24

Age 2-3
Age 3-4
Age 5-6


Below is an example of what you can read in the links:

Month 1

Most babies should be able to . . .

• Lift head briefly when on stomach
• Respond to sound
• Blink at bright lights
• Stare and focus at faces

Some babies will probably be able to . . .

• Follow objects moved about 6 to 10 inches from face
• Ooohs and aahhs
• Turn towards familiar voices and sounds
• Look and see black and white patterns

Some babies could possibly be able to . . .

• Smile in response to your smile
• Laugh
• Hold up head at 45 degree angle
• Hold head steady when upright

•  wants with gestures other than crying
• Stand alone momentarily

Some babies could possibly be able to . . .

• Drink from a cup independently
• Stand alone well
• Play ball and patty cake
• Walk for a step or two
• Say one word other than mama or dada
• Put toys or object into a container

Week 5: Reviewing and reinforcing the basics

This week went well.  As I suspected, K's "no more naps" initiative didn't last long.  Obviously, right after I plan a schedule (including a few minutes of "quiet time", but not long enough for a nap), he decides to start taking naps again. That's perfectly fine with me.  I think that if he's still taking them, then he must still need them.  But now, I have to revisit my schedule and work it all out with a nap right in the middle of the day.  I personally love it when both kids nap at the same time.  I love the sound of silence for a change, haha.

So, our week didn't go 100% as planned, but it went really, really well.  I'm so excited to be doing this and both kids love it, too!

Since K started napping again, we couldn't go into any subjects in depth, but I found that it was wonderful reviewing and reinforcing the basics, like Circle Time.

During Circle Time, we
- sing 3-5 songs
- say the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag, the Christian Flag, and the Bible
- repeat a Scripture memory verse (we repeat the same one until it's fully memorized, so we don't go by time, amount, or schedules yet)
- read from the Christian Mother Goose book
- do calendar (days of the week, months of the year, weather, left-right, north-south-east-west, etc)
- carry and unroll the activity rug ($4 at Walmart, in a neutral color to keep him focused on his work, see pictures below)
- have Bible story time (K especially loves this one)
- do a few pages of a preschool activity book using pencils, colored pencils, or markers (I use a different book each day, so he gets to practice different subjects and do different activities every time)
- roll and put away the activity rug
- read 2 easy reader books
- read a Library book
- read through the Dolch List flash cards (we are currently reading words from Pre-K up to 2nd grade)
- pray to thank God for our day and for our snack
- have a yummy snack like fruit and homemade limeade (this takes place in the kitchen, of course)

Singing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Pledge of Allegiance posters

Bible lesson with felt figures

Preschool activity book on the activity rug (he know to never walk on it or over it, but always around it)

He's definitely right-handed :)

Sister watches him intently

This is an activity that I found on Pinterest.

I wrote his name on the top, then put stickers in boxes underneath each letter.

Then I used regular post-it notes and traced each individual letter in his name on a separate note.

He puts them on top of each sticker to match the letters above.

This is great for letter recognition and also to learn the order of the letters in his name.

Sometimes, I even scramble the letters around. He enjoys this because it's a bit more complicated.

I just had to show you how well he reads his Dolch List sight words!

These are about a 2nd grade level. Pretty incredible! :)

And yes, both kids were sitting on my lap. Haha

So even if we only had time to do Circle Time on some day, I'd be pretty pleased because we cover a whole lot.

Homeschooling Week 4: The Nitty Gritty

My sister-in-law was visiting us last week and left this Wednesday. Since then, I have been rearranging some stuff in K's playroom, especially on the walls. It's looking more and more like a classroom (pictures to come).
I have also made decisions about the subjects that will be taught, the schedule, and the activities we will participate in. I feel pretty pleased, but we will know if it's going to work once I put it all into practice next week. I'll be sure and post my assessment on all this at the end of next week.
For one, toddlers love and need repetition, so I will try to schedule the same subjects and activities 2 days in a row. 
This gives me the advantage for 3 reasons: 
1) it gives K the repetition to not only learn, but to practice and master the skills, 
2) I won't have to plan a different activity every single day (any teacher knows how exhausting and time-consuming it can be), and 
3) I won't have to change my entire schedule when something unexpected comes up and we can't have a lesson that day (there's always tomorrow, right?). So I'll test it out for a week or two and I can change it to teaching the same lessons 3 days in a row if needed.
I personally think that doing, for example, the same 2 subjects on Monday and Tuesday, 2 new subjects on Wednesday and Thursday, and reviewing the week's activities, lessons, etc on Fridays, it'll work out perfectly. We'll see.
As of now, I am super excited to be getting my lessons and activities planned. I love organization, lists, schedules, routines, you get the point. Hopefully, you'll see more frequent and explicit posts on the lessons I'm teaching K.
Please let me know if you need/want more details and I'd also love to get some feedback. Thank you for reading.

Homeschooling Week 3: Fun & Potty

Last week (end of July & beginning of Aug) was an interesting week. We put education on the back burner and put potty training and interpersonal relationships up front and center.

My friend and sister-in-law came to visit us for 10 days. K loved it! She was very excited to meet A, since she's already 6 months old. We had a wonderful time.

We tried to have Circle Time and a short activity every day, but it didn't always happen. 

That's totally fine because we made progress in the potty training department. Now, K tells us when he feels the urge to go and he's a lot more comfortable going on the potty or on the toilet. We are very proud. He is also going at day care daily, which is a big step, too.

(Home)schooling: Week 2

Things are going very well.  As much as I'd like to focus on academics, something else (but even more important at the moment) is stealing the spotlight: POTTY TRAINING! Yes, I am so happy that we are making a lot of progress and hopefully, he'll be out of diapers (during the day) in a few weeks or months.  I'm not holding my breath, just hoping, haha.

We have two potties, one in each of the rooms mostly used during the day. For some reason, whoever designed this house has never had a pregnant wife or has a kid because it was a pain being pregnant and having to run to the back of the house to pee every five minutes (almost) and this house isn't potty training-friendly either.  I wish we had a half bathroom by the laundry room at the front of the house. 

Anyway, to make a long story short, we had to put him on every 15 minutes and we'd have a pee here and there, but now, he is actually letting us know when he needs to go (most of the time, but not always). I don't feel confident enough to put him in briefs yet, maybe in a few weeks.  He'd be having numerous accidents still, so we won't push it.

He also started swimming lessons. He fought it for a few minutes during the first lesson, but after that, he absolutely loved it! He went every day last week for half an hour and we decided to enroll him for another week.

Going into the academics part of this blog, here are some of the activities we did. I can't take pictures or recount every single thing we did, but these descriptions and images will give you an idea about what we are studying.

Studying colors. He loves stickers!

Hot or Cold? He got every single on right! Impressive.

For part the Montessori training this week (Sensorial), he had the Pink Tower Presentation and a couple of Extensions.

First, we sorted the blocks from smallest to biggest (and vice versa).

Then we made a tower.

Then we went on to the Brown Stair Presentation and a couple of extensions.

First, we sorted the boards from smallest to biggest.

Then, we started building the tower.

 

He kept building it over and over! He loved these activities so much that
I left these in his room for him to play with them anytime he wants.

We also had Bible class every day (reviewed the Creation story, The Fall, and introduced the story of Noah and the Ark), Circle Time (including Calendar and other activities like singing), Snack Time, Outdoor Time, and Art (he played with play dough).  

In Math, we traced numbers in a sand tray. 
In Language Arts, we traced letters in the sand tray (upper case and lower case).  
In Science, I introduced magnetism. 
In Culture, we talked about globes and how the world is round like a ball. 
In Music, we explored vibration and used a tuning fork. He absolutely loved this lesson. 
In Chinese, we learned the numbers from 0-10 and in Spanish we reviewed 0-5 and introduced 6-10.
In Practical Life, we practiced how to walk in a circle, walk along a line, walk around a mat, walk around a vase, walk with a vase, walk with a tray, walk with a cup, walk with a book, and walk to music.  He also practiced how to carry, unroll, and roll up a mat (used a lot for Montessori activities).

All in all, we have this kind of fun for 2-2.5 hours daily.  He loves channeling his energy into purposeful activities and he loves the attention and he enjoys learning, too.

Please let me know if you are interested in knowing more about any of these activities.  As you can see, we do so much that it's hard to post every single detail, but I don't mind going in depth if someone asks. :)