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[quote=Anonymous]I posted upthread at 20:07.  I wanted to come back to give some practical advice for what I have found to work:

1) Virtual school really doesn’t work for this age group.  With my employers’ blessing, we bailed on school and bought the Learning Dynamics reading curriculum.  I taught the twins to read and we do a handwriting practice page and they write a daily journal entry to practice writing, and we play a lot of board games and card games and use math manipulatives to practice math.  Every other subject we cover via reading, watching documentaries, or playing games or doing projects.

2) For the nanny’s sanity, allow more screen time.  I use 45 minutes-an hour per kid per day.  They get 20-30 minutes of screen time while I work on reading and writing with their sibling, then we switch kids.  Then they get another chunk right before dinner so that I can just concentrate on making dinner without constantly being interrupted.  This routine allows each of them to have one-on-one time during school and gives me a mental break at the end of the day when things are hectic and we are all tired.

3)You need the correct gear to get outside in all weather.  In summer this meant UPF clothing and hats and lots of toys that helped us get wet.  In fall/winter that means washable, waterproof boots, rain and snow pants, rain and snow coats, and lots of mittens and hats.

4)You need a daily, weekly and monthly routine, that allows for a good balance between connection/independence, activity/downtime and consistency/novelty.
Our daily schedule:
Free play from wakeup-9am (while I prep breakfast, pack lunch and snacks and prep for our outing)
Outing from 9-12.  We eat snack and lunch outside most days.
12-1 Freeplay indoors (while I hang up and wash and put away outdoor gear and toys), then game time.
1-2 “school” for one kid and screen time for the other then switch
2-3 “rest time” where we all cuddle on the couch and listen to audiobooks
3-4 “Individual time” (I have a bin of activities they can do solo and they each pick one thing to play with alone in a separate room from their brother for at least 15 minutes, then they can switch if they want)
4-5 outdoor play round 2 (if weather is decent) or indoor gross-motor play of some kind
5-6 half an hour of tv, then dinner
6-7 bath, pjs, teeth, bedtime stories, etc.

Our weekly schedule: 
We do all of the following each week to build some variety in, but the days vary so that we can take advantage of nice weather
—One day per week we do a science project during our morning outside time
—One day per week we do a big art project of some kind
—One day per week we go on a big outing of some kind such as a faraway hike, going apple-picking, driving to a lake with a swim area in the summer, etc.
—One day per week we have a “spa party” where they take an early bath instead of our usual quiet time and do bubble bath and glow sticks in the tub, we trim hair if needed, wash it in the bath, then do a massage and watch a cartoon while we trim nails.
—One day per week we do “fancy dinner” where they wear collared shirts and practice eating with glass dishes and grown-up utensils and we light a candle on the table.  While doing fancy dinner we call grandparents who read them a chapter of a book while they eat.
—Once a week I have the boys read a book to a parent instead of to me for their reading lesson (or over the phone to a grandparents, depending on parent availability)
—Every Friday, instead of their usual lesson they choose a book to read from a library of beginning reader books that I keep put away as an only-Friday treat.

Having each weekday be special in some way helps it feel like not everything is the same old blah.  We also look for other ways to shake up our routine, like if it’s a nice day outside we will do everything outdoors—have quiet time under a tree at the park, eat dinner on the porch, even do school outside.

Our Monthly routine:
—Once a month, each parent takes an hour off mid-morning for a short activity with one kid.
—Once a month, each parent does lunch with one kid
—Once a month we have a planning meeting and the kids tell me what they want to learn about (e.g. “Ankylosaurus”).  We also talk about how they are doing in general.
—I make a big deal of even minor holidays as a way to break up the sameness of our days.  We had lots of silly pranks for April Fools, learn about the Star-Spangled Banner for Flag Day, watched Newsies and talked about the industrial revolution for Labor Day, made a ton of decorations for Halloween, etc.  I find that it helps a lot to have things to look forward to every few weeks, so we talk up the things that are happening and make plans and get excited![/quote]

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