Warning: long post but written especially for other moms or preschool teachers to read and give advice 

 

 EB is almost 20 months old, and I am trying to figure out how to structure her day better.  I have found some great resources online, but would love some input from some of you about what you did/are doing with your toddlers.  For those of you who are thinking that EB is just a baby and too young to learn anything, this is my answer to that:

 

 1.              Without guidance, EB wanders around the house and gets into trouble.  She is aimless, and not quite capable of deciding for herself what she wants to do.  She just gets into stuff!

 

2.              She is a little sponge – she repeats everything we say, she copies our actions, and she is learning learning learning!

3.              And, if the first two are not enough, remember that we live in a third world country behind a wall – EB is not exposed to a lot of the things that other children are exposed to, and does not have the interaction with other children or adults that most children have at this age.  I need to be more intentional than the average mom to make sure my child learns things and doesn’t fall behind developmentally, socially, and intellectually.

 I have found some great websites, like my friend Christie who does a Bible Story each week and builds lessons around that, and a preschool homeschool website with lesson plans, printouts, and fun activities.  (This is what we are currently doing, and it is going fairly well, just a bit above EB – maybe in a few months it will be more appropriate.  Plus, the books they recommend for each theme we don’t have, or access to some of the things to see in person, we don’t have the videos to show, the interenet to download videos to show.)  Also, another of my favorite blogs has a great example schedule to keep a toddler on.  (I am not providing links for security, but if you are interested in them, please let me know – I would love to share). 

 

 SO, in conclusion, I need to structure my child’s day and help her to develop (I am not talking long division here – age appropriate activities), and I still have two hours a day of language school, plus studying.  Any ideas?  Links to website that have helped you?  Books I could order to help?