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Education

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Original poster

HELP! Need ideas for a lesson please...

44 replies

Hotcrossbunny · 18/05/2009 10:05

Rightly or wrongly, I have agreed to tutor a 4 year old. I thought I would be doing some phonic stuff, numeracy etc, but it turns out the parent wants me to do Geography/History etc. She wants formal learning but for it to be fun????

Last week I went armed with some All about me type activities, but all he really wanted to do was to play games. We had a lovely time, but it's not really what the parent is expecting.

Do any of you lovely MNers have some lovely ideas for activities I could do with him, which are fun and exciting and he thinks he is playing? I keep thinking of things, but the costs of resources would use up what I'm being paid...

Aaaaaagh, don't know why I agreed to do this. It's making me really doubt myself.

All ideas gratefully received

OP posts:

ruddynorah · 18/05/2009 12:33

ok so put the world map on the floor under his train set then tell him to take the train to...africa..then to asia..then to europe etc etc.

Original poster

Hotcrossbunny · 18/05/2009 12:37

Oooh that's nearly it! It's a huge hornby thing fixed to a table though, but I could take some of dd's wooden track and trains instead.

Fantastic! thank you - he'll love it. I can start with the UK first - have a UK poster, so it can go on top. Yay!

OP posts:

QuintessentialShadows · 18/05/2009 12:46

Are you sure she wants you to be a tutor? Not just somebody to come and take her hands of the 4 year old for a little in the afternoon so she can get on with the 2 year old? If he is 4, surely he is going to reception, could you base your teaching around his homework?

QuintessentialShadows · 18/05/2009 12:52

I am thinking, history and geography are heavy subjects for a 4 year old.

What we do with our 3 year old to encourage him geographically is the following:

We have a huge world map on the wall, with all the flags under. Every day we memorize ONE flag, and "attach" it to a country, and then we talk about this country. We do it in very easy terms. Such as "This is Brazil. Do you remember Lucinda who is married to Tom? You know, Dylons mum? Well, she is from Brazil. Brazil is hot and sunny, and they have Rain Forest. Do you know what a rain forest is? Let us go and have a look on daddys computer, let search for Rain Forest. Let us find out what plants are in the Rain Forest, and what animals live there".
etc.
When we did Mongolia, we watched short film from Mongolia, it was a live camel birth, also, so we had lots to talk about.

This is in lieu of Bed Time story. But I am sure you could work in anything you want really, based around a map, and a person the child knows (like a poster suggested earlier). It is easier to pin the information to something.

islandofsodor · 18/05/2009 13:18

I've been into ds's school today for their class assembly and they have been doing a transport topic. They have discussed all differnt types of transport, decided which ones go in the air, on the sea and on land, set up a train set and made tickets etc and put up pictures of holiday destinations.

flamingobingo · 18/05/2009 13:50

Train set on world map is a fab idea - going to steal it! Thank you!

flamingobingo · 18/05/2009 13:52

History - does he have a good concept of time? Could you make a calendar with him and put on it when things are going to happen or have happened? Use stickers or something. And also, what about thinking about his history - looking through photos of him when he was a baby/toddler, and of his parents when they were children.

mistlethrush · 18/05/2009 13:53

Family tree is a good one on history

daisysue2 · 18/05/2009 13:55

One of my fav things is to get pictures of all the places we have been on holiday and one of those world maps - poster size. Put lines going out from each country to the picutre. They sound like the kind of family who probably travel a lot. Also do the same in the local area with a local map that way the poor child will have some idea of what these places are in his mind. If you live locally get some photos of local shops and library etc and put them on the map.

Also my kids who are 5 love Henry VIII just because he chopped his wives heads off. Easy to remember he had 3 Catherine's, 2 Annes and 1 Jane. Kind of helps with adding up as well.

IF they have a garden go out and do some soil analysis, rain collection, make windmills etc etc.

Look to see if he needs handwriting help if so you could actually help him by writing a little story about one of the monarchs as a fairytail would be. Also comprehension in same way. Maths adding up and taking away how many kings queens there have been since for each hundren years (grouping). Feel sorry for the chld but as my daughters school does subject work that includes all areas of the curriculum you cold also do it this way. Ie they are doing the Romans, they look at Roman buildings, literacy is writing stories about Romans etc etc.
Hope it helps.

Original poster

Hotcrossbunny · 18/05/2009 15:01

You are all wonderful! There are loads of ideas I can use as I get to know him. His mum wont be that thrilled if I keep asking for photos/information etc, but it might give her a little idea of where you need to start with little ones. I'm not going to launch into 1066 if he doesn't even know who he is and where he fits in.

Thank you all so so much. MN is a wonderful thing

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mistlethrush · 18/05/2009 15:04

Another good geography one would be where the food out of the fridge says it comes from (adding in a bit about airmiles in consequence ) - particularly at this time of year as you will be able to see the changes - tomatoes will start to come from nearer, same with strawberries - then you can go into climate type things....

Starbear · 18/05/2009 16:19

I'm keeping this thread it has some great ideas I can use with my own lovely Ds.
He will get a piano teacher soon but DH is going to learn with him and I'm going to learn the guitar so we can start a family band/sing song ha ha (I'm totally tone deaf and near had the time or money before)

flamingobingo · 18/05/2009 16:23

Does she want science stuff too? if so, get hold of the usborne science things to make books - they are fab and very do-able with a 4yo.

Original poster

Hotcrossbunny · 18/05/2009 21:29

Don't know about science. No doubt she will! Am off shopping tomorrow for the usbourne books.

OP posts:

oneforward20back · 08/06/2009 06:27

It sounds like you have the wrong kid. You should try mine, he would love what dc's mother wants you to do.

If you need cheap ideas for science stuff the place you need to be is a small diy shop and not the book shop....

Confused? I'll explain. A couple of pounds will get you a whole range of assorted bits from plugs, washers, wooden handles etc. These can be sunk/ floated (look at material and size and shape), tested with a magnet, and looked at under a magnifying lens.

Magnifying lens can be taken in back garden to look for many different insects, which can lead onto a discussion about what eats what - eg bird eats insects (we're horrid and ds takes delight in cat eats birds and mice) which can lead onto a discussion about what things need to grow - which can lead onto growing a grass head or cress. The different things needed can be investigated by putting one pot cress in dark, two on windowsill -one watered /one not.

Science doesn't need a lot of expensive things. At the mo our expense it some food colouring, a little cooking oil and some sugar cubes. Today we are looking at how many sugar cubes disolve in cold water and how many disolve in warm and whether it is same or more. We will probably put some water in a glass jar (with lid) put a thin layer of oil (dribbled down side). This will be shaken and looked at. Allowed to settle and a few drops of food colouring added. reshaken and looked at, allowed to settle and looked at again.

Can you tell Ds has an obsession topic of science? It helps that i am a scientist

Need any more sciency bit poke me - there are almost 2 years of bits i've done with ds.

trickerg · 08/06/2009 20:14

I don't think a 4 year old is really going to understand world maps (and periods of history) - it's a bit young for understanding where you are in the world. I'd use a Brio train set and build a little world - make houses, rivers, boats, etc, name villages, draw plans of the land, make mountains, fields, etc to get in some geographical language.

Then do something horrible to the parents for being so ridiculous!

trickerg · 08/06/2009 20:15

BTW - thought dinosaurs were a good idea though!!!

Original poster

Hotcrossbunny · 07/07/2009 12:04

Just rediscovered this and wanted to update everyone who so kindly -saved- -my- -bacon- helped me out.

I've done about six sessions so far and have managed to keep the little boy interested and the mother happy. Amongst other things we've travelled round the world, which led to a mini topic about transport, with each week thinking about a different method of transportation. We've made timelines, floated and sunk, tested his toy cars to see which travelled the furthest/fastest, cut and stuck, touched on N,E,S,W, map co-ordinates etc etc. Fortunately the mother seems happy for me to venture more to the science side of things, and I'm also looking at improving his fine motor skills.

We've had lots of fun, and I don't think I've done anything to compromise his enjoyment of learning. In fact, he's rummaging in my bag to see what we're doing as soon as I get there

THANK YOU all so much for sticking with me and offering such fab ideas. Any more suggestions will be very gratefully received

OP posts:

Littlefish · 07/07/2009 21:32

Georgraphy at 4 really should be about the local environment, what he likes and dislikes and why. Then he should start to compare his own environment with other places around the world.

Could you look at stories from around the world? Barefoot books do a set of Pirate stories, each from a different country. You could have a look at the map to see where the different stories have come from. While you're reading them, you can look for clues which will tell you a bit more about the countries - e.g. different ways of travelling, geographical features like mountains etc.

Could you have an ongoing project to make papier mache mountains, rivers, lakes etc. to lay on top of a huge world map?

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