Game time.

I’m trying a new school-day schedule this month.  Instead of doing lessons with Oscar in the morning, and giving him independent work (worksheets, in other words) in the afternoon, I’m having his independent work ready for him in the morning, right after I read aloud to the boys, and putting the lessons later.

With this change, right after we finish our read-aloud couch cuddle, I can sit down at the table with 3-year-old Milo for ten or twenty minutes of some kind of work or play. 

It’s practice for school.

What we’re doing right now is playing board games.  The favorite is Go Away Monster.  We play a couple of rounds while Oscar gets started on his schoolwork.  Oscar wasn’t happy to begin with —"Milo’s having more fun than me!" he complained —but I explained what I was trying to do, and once he grasped that I was (sort of) tricking Milo into doing schoolwork, he seemed satisfied.   He still spends more time interrupting us than doing his math sheet, but with time I think he’ll settle down.

I’m hoping that if I do this for a year, not only will Milo and I have had the chance to play some great games together (yes, I do hope to expand beyond Go Away Monster), but he’ll be used to sitting down at the table with me and doing something together.  Then maybe I can start introducing some preschool type stuff.  My plan, it is working.