I am watching my friend's kids off and on through the summer while she works.

[conuly]

She only makes $10 an hour, so no way can I charge what I deserve for the grand total of two extra kids and a baby. But I'm chalking it up to charity.

My rule is that we keep doing some level of academic work during the summer, just to keep their heads above water, as it were.

This was fairly easy when I just planned for two kids. It is a little harder with four kids, and harder still when there is also a baby to watch. I am spending this next week regrouping and figuring out a way to, say, manage a weekly science thing without neglecting the baby. It doesn't have to be terribly educational, it just has to be a *little* educational.

More seriously, the two older ones don't have the largest vocabulary. Since I have them off and on through the summer, I thought I'd make a concerted effort to work on improving that. My normal method of vocabulary improvement is to tell a secret word story to the nieces, but the whole attraction of secret word stories is that they contain ample opportunities to attack and tickle me (every time I use the pre-defined secret word, which I inevitably define while also giving the etymology and a few tangentially related words, because honestly, why not shoot for the stars here*?) and... NO. Just NO. Not with four kids. (And a baby.) It's actually very effective, but still - nooooooooooooooooo!

There has got to be another way. Somebody, please - tell me another way!

* Actually, this is the one useful side effect of a. getting a baby name book when I was six or so and b. studying Latin. I wouldn't claim that I remember much from Latin, but even outside of word stories I am really pretty good at chunking up words into their component parts, giving a few words with a related bound morpheme like -struct, and making the nieces guess what that part means before continuing on with the point. I'm not sure if they're learning anything from these digressions other than "seriously, don't get her started!", but at least one of us is having fun.

Comments

[liannas-mom.livejournal.com]

Science- Outdoor Hour Challenge- we did that last summer when I was watching neighbors kids (leaving me with three older kids around 6-7, a two year old and a one year old). http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/
Language- sign language? Sign Time with Alex and... Rachel? I use to get them at the library and they were great! And just a great lit book for over summer, the one we've used as curriculum might be great- First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind- library as well.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

The most important thing about caring for a passle of children is, get them out of the house every day. My usual plan was, breakfast first, then do the chores (because they won't get done at all if they're not done early,) pack a lunch and get out before they have time to start messing up the house again.

The park is always a good first destination, so they can get their ya-yas out, and the park is always full of Science: plants, animals, rocks, weather, water, the laws of physics as they apply to playground equipment. I've always found it easiest just to ramble on about whatever I observe that interests me, in the same vocabulary I use with adults, and ask my young compadres what they observe, what they think about it.

Astonishing, some of the conversations one finds oneself in, such as explaining tachyons to a preschooler - it doesn't matter; if they don't understand, at least they will have heard it, so the next time they hear it, it will be familiar. Children learn vocabulary best when they hear the words in ordinary speech - unfortunately, too many people dumb their speech way down when they speak to children, and the kids don't get a chance to develop their innate language-decoding skills.

Anyway: you don't need to do anything in particular in order to enhance vocabulary. Just embrace the way of 'More Picturesque Speech', as The Reader's Digest puts it - practice your poetical powers of description on them, slip unusual words into casual conversation - they'll catch on. You can define a word if you feel it's really necessary, but that gets old fast - they'll stay more interested if you just talk about something interesting, and let them catch the new words on the fly.

After lunch is the time to wash up, settle down and read stories - you can build vocabulary by choosing exciting books just a bit over their heads to read aloud, a chapter or two every day. The library once or twice a week is always good - suggest you allow each kid to check out only one book each visit, since you'll be there a lot. A self-directed art or science project is often good for late in the afternoon, when everybody's getting tired of everybody else's company and needs something to do that doesn't require much interaction.

[conuly]

unfortunately, too many people dumb their speech way down when they speak to children, and the kids don't get a chance to develop their innate language-decoding skills.

The most ridiculous thing I ever have read is a review on "Sheep in a Jeep" bitching that she bought it for her two year old but it's HUGELY inappropriate because "what two year old knows the word heap?" Um, one whose parents don't use the word pile? LOL, this woman really resented the opportunity to increase her kid's vocabulary.

I told their mom that she has to start reading to them again. I said it VERY FIRMLY. Like so many parents, she stopped reading to them when they started reading on their own, and that's just not the way to go.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Well, there are piles and there are heaps. In general, piles seem to be higher, while heaps are broader - one might even say, heaps are what one gets after the piles topple over.

Sheesh, how are children supposed to learn new words if their books aren't supposed to contain any they don't already know?

The cool thing about reading to older children is that the books get so much more interesting. LOL, well, okay, we DID go through a rather long phase of the Redwall books, and they kinda do go Ever On and On, but Lloyd Alexander and Ursula LeGuin made up for that. It's one's reward for slogging through all that Dr. Seuss in the early years.

[conuly]

Dr. Seuss is awesome, but I always felt I shouldn't read the learn-to-read stuff too often (thus robbing them of the ltr possibilities on their own) and the really GOOD stuff was too long for little ones, but rejected as babyish by association when they grew into it! But now they've discovered my big book of Beatrix Potter and are considering picture books again.

Which is another issue, I gave away all the picture books suitable for a smaller attention span. More time at the library, I suppose.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

(Sorry; I meant that to be a new comment, not a reply to yours.)

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

Yes, I used to do roots when doing unofficial ESL tutoring of an adult who was well educated in his own language. He'd ask what a certain word meant, and I'd give examples all around it.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

Babies need plenty of 'floor time', and it's more interesting for them if other people are on the floor too. Babies also provide a lot of pretexts for conversations about how bodies grow and function, which is definitely Science, and a fascinating topic to most children. With a stroller or backpack, it's easy to haul the baby along on excursions - a backpack gives more mobility, but with a stroller, the kids can push it sometimes.

Something that makes life easier when traipsing around the city with more kids than one has hands is a 'train' - which is nothing more than a length of clothesline with loops tied in it at convenient intervals, slightly smaller than a child''s head, and with an end long enough to tie around your waist.

I can't say enough about Joy Berry's Help Me Be Good series. A very effective but non-intrusive method of discipline when kids are being butts is to sit them down and read the appropriate HMBG book at them, by way of pre-amble to a brief discussion of one's expectations regarding their conduct. Children do a lot better with living up to standards when those standards are clearly laid out from the start, and they're reminded of them in a dispassionate, non-blaming way whenever they fall short.

I don't ever use "punishments" of any sort - even time-outs for tantrums or defiance are always over "when you're ready to talk calmly about this". I don't yell or argue, because it's not necessary: I, the Grown-up, am in charge, and I'm willing to Explain that fact at whatever length it takes to convince my minions that Being Good is a lot easier than listening to more tedious Explanations. There's also a subtle but palpable little *slap* in the disingenuous assumption that the reason they're being butts is because they just don't know how to act, and have to have it Explained to them yet again like little babies, with a cutesy picture-book, no less.

On the plus side, approvingly remarking on good efforts, good judgement, and helpful, courteous, cooperative actions whenever they occur is the surest way to get a mob of kidlings to worship the ground you walk on and vie with each other in Being Good in hopes of earning your praise. It's kind of a tragic thing, really - how many children would practically walk through fire, just to have someone look at them, smile and say "I'm proud of you for what you did."

[conuly]

The baby doesn't want me to hold her, but she REALLY doesn't want me to put her down. Ever.

[elenbarathi.livejournal.com]

So, backpack or sling (http://www.heybabyshop.co.uk/5/Kari-Me-Wrap-around-baby-carrier.html). But fuss as they will about it, babies still gotta have floor time every day: too bad if her mama hasn't accustomed her to this already. How old is she? Does she sit securely yet?

[conuly]

Yeah, she's 18 months (so really not a baby) and she has a mei-tai (plus I have a wrap still), but the issue is she really wants to be with her mom and doesn't feel secure with or without me if Mom isn't there.

Actually, every day she's a little better, but the off-and-on nature of the gig probably isn't helping. When I watched her brother at that age he was much worse and cried the full six hours straight.