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Babysitting the Right Way

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    Babysitting the Right Way

    I have recently started CASUALLY babysitting my friend's amazing 5-year-old girl. We already knew each other and liked one another so I don't need to spend much time trying to "figure her out" or anything. I know what she likes and we do math and reading together, snuggle on the couch, I gave her a bath the other day, that kind of thing.

    I need to know more about 5-year-olds! I need more ideas of things to do with her that will challenge her mind! I love snuggling on the couch with her and watching stuff but I'd rather she do that while I'm cleaning or something.

    I guess I'm just asking for more experienced people to lemme know what their experiences have been! I taught her "carry-overs" yesterday in math so now we can practice adding big numbers together, and we already read together, but maybe some good stories I could read aloud to her that wouldn't be over her head? Chronicles of Narnia? I wanna feed her hungry mind!
    No one tells the wind which way to blow.

    #2
    Re: Babysitting the Right Way

    Depends on the kid -- but maybe art projects, crafts, drawings. Or if she's interested in something, learning about that something -- like bugs, animals, making cupcakes, whatever. Best thing I remind myself, is that this kid is just a little person with poor decision making skills. She'll have her own likes and dislikes and you just get to push her towards the right way to do stuff.

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      #3
      Re: Babysitting the Right Way

      This can be a lot of fun for both of you. Its kinda funny how sometimes an adult meets a kid and you just kinda click. I had an opportunity once to meet a very gifted child,talking way advanced for his age. It was interesting because several people said wow you are really good with him,most people bore him. I think it was because I talked to him adult to adult. This was in a shrinks office,the kid was there for "Social" problems. I think what his problem was adults trying to relate to him as a child not understanding his mental age. He responded very well when addressed as the mental giant that lived in his child's body. Have fun with your little friend Bjorn,I think both of you will find a lot of things to do.
      MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

      all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
      NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
      don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




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        #4
        Re: Babysitting the Right Way

        This is probable one of my favorite sites for things to do ideas: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/

        Another good activity is pudding painting. All you need is vanilla pudding and yellow, red, and blue food coloring, six cups, and paper plates (and probably an apron). You make pudding, put it into three of the cups and add in the yellow, red, and blue. Its finger painting (hence the apron), so no brushes needed (or you could use brushes), and the three extra cups are for mixing orange, purple, and green. Its a great way to talk about colors and the color wheel, which is a kindergarten subject.

        Also, consider printing out a map of the continents and oceans to color. You can look up different continents and read stories from them, watch videos (when I do stuff like this, I try to prescreen which youtube videos to view) on the countries, etc, maybe even cook a native dish or snack, etc. We also do what homeschoolers call "copywork and recitation"...with both kids in school, we do it less, but we still manage to do one quote every week or so...its penmanship and memory practice with a side of learning about famous people, building vocabulary, and being exposed to new ideas and thoughts (or ideas and thoughts expressed in new ways).

        A really good set of books for what a child should be learning for their grade level is the "What your _______ should know" books by Ed Hirsch (this is the link for the K book). But really, for 5--lots of tactile stuff is good (playdough, toys in sand or rice or beans, water play, etc)...partly because its fun (and messy), but also because it teaches manual dexterity (which is still something this age is working on), playing simpler games (like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders), with as much reading as you can cram in there.
        Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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          #5
          Re: Babysitting the Right Way

          There was also that blog post of your's Thal, about reading them books at a higher level than they can currently read at? What was that about again?
          ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

          RIP

          I have never been across the way
          Seen the desert and the birds
          You cut your hair short
          Like a shush to an insult
          The world had been yelling
          Since the day you were born
          Revolting with anger
          While it smiled like it was cute
          That everything was shit.

          - J. Wylder

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            #6
            Re: Babysitting the Right Way

            Originally posted by Heka View Post
            There was also that blog post of your's Thal, about reading them books at a higher level than they can currently read at? What was that about again?
            Oh yeah...a kids listening "level" (the type of material they are capable of understanding verbally) is usually WAY above a kids reading level. So, if they are in kindergarten, reading at a first grade level, read them a third or fourth grade level book...etc
            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
            sigpic

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              #7
              Re: Babysitting the Right Way

              Originally posted by thalassa View Post
              Oh yeah...a kids listening "level" (the type of material they are capable of understanding verbally) is usually WAY above a kids reading level. So, if they are in kindergarten, reading at a first grade level, read them a third or fourth grade level book...etc
              Yeah, that!
              ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

              RIP

              I have never been across the way
              Seen the desert and the birds
              You cut your hair short
              Like a shush to an insult
              The world had been yelling
              Since the day you were born
              Revolting with anger
              While it smiled like it was cute
              That everything was shit.

              - J. Wylder

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