The Opportune Moment...

When The Cub was a baby, Bear and I fell into a really good routine where we would do our official, sit-down learning during nap time, when The Cub slept for at least an hour before lunch. I found that Bear was receptive, and was happy to sit for twenty to thirty minutes doing short activities that centered around letters and numbers, often with some topic-style work thrown in, usually related to the seasons. He was patient, enjoyed the activities and was happy to follow my lead.

Now, at just over two years old, The Cub has dropped his nap, completely, meaning he is now around, and at first, we tried to keep to that same time slot and sat down with The Cub in tow, to do our learning. Bear was still receptive, and The Cub was happy to either sit and colour beside us, do a small activity, or play with some of the resources that we were using, I think, making him feel involved. He is quickly picking up some of the things we discuss, like counting, and some shapes, and he loves listening to stories, so when Bear and I do his The Bear Can Read pack, The Cub always gets involved to listen to the stories that are included. 

However, it quickly became apparent, that The Cub was getting hungry on the run up to lunch time, and therefore getting unsettled quicker, and then just causing havoc, upsetting Bear and making 'learning' virtually impossible. So, we ditched the pre-lunch time slot, and started doing it in an afternoon. This has proved to have it's own set of issues, as where as The Cub is happier, Bear has clearly passed his opportune moment, as he gets frustrated much more easily, and has very little patience. He gets upset the moment he doesn't understand something, or gets something wrong, and then we get a meltdown that often leads to us packing away as I don't want to push him. Learning shouldn't be stressful, especially not at four years old.

So, I am now looking at shifting the pattern again, and am wondering whether we can fit it in first thing in the morning, straight after breakfast, unless we are going out for the day, in which case, we usually have a pretty quick turn around in a morning.

I am interested to know, if you do 'official, sit down learning' of any kind, what time you do it, and how receptive your children are to the activities you present them... Have you found a pattern depending on their hunger/tiredness levels? Do you have younger siblings around, and how do you manage them?

All advice is more than welcome right now, as I'd really like to get this right for Bear!

Mama Bear x