Homeschooling older children with babies and toddlers in the mix can be a challenge. As the mom of teens, I can assure you that those years pass all too quickly and I would encourage you to savour them.
However, the fact remains that in the midst of savouring, you don’t want to shortchange your older children’s education. Being an essaywriter, I’d like to offer some tips to make homeschooling with babies and toddlers a bit easier and to make sure that everyone’s needs are being met.
Make sure babies’ and toddlers’ needs are met first
Of course, there are the basics, such as ensuring that your little ones have been fed and changed before starting school. However, it’s also wise to make sure that you allow enough time before school starts to spend some quality time with them. Snuggle in bed, read a story, or play for a bit. When my younger two were little, they were much more content to play together while I schooled their older sister once they’d had some of my undivided attention first.
If you have a young baby, you may want to try a wrap to keep the baby close by and content while still allowing you to have both hands free to help older children with their schoolwork.
Utilise nap time
If your little ones still take regular naps, use that to your advantage. We always saved the schoolwork that required the most concentration or one-on-one time with Mom until the younger kids were napping. Even if your little one only takes short naps, 20 minutes of focused time with your older student can go a long way.
Let little ones join in as much as possible
Most toddlers enjoy emulating their older siblings, so they appreciate having their own “schoolwork,” too. Let them snuggle up and listen during read-aloud time. Give them colouring pages while your older students are doing written work. If you’re making a salt-dough map, give your toddler a lump of dough to shape. If your older child is reading, give your toddler his own cloth- or board-book.
Have toys and activities that are only for school time
Keep little ones happily occupied with toys and activities that are only available during school time. It’s also a good idea to rotate these out regularly. For activities, consider those that work on fine motor skills such as:
- Pushing pom poms or clothespins into a milk jug (Cut a flap in the side to easily retrieve them.)
- Lacing cards
- Puzzles
- Stringing large beads or Cheerios on pipe cleaners
- Stacking blocks
- Cutting straws with safety scissors
You might also consider doing a busy bag swap with a group of homeschool moms or putting together a simple rice box (or using beans).
Use screentime judiciously
Obviously, you’ll want to limit screen time for young children, but I used to find that a carefully chosen 20 or 30-minute video once a day could buy some much-needed one-on-one focus time for my older child. The great benefit to a video is that it only lasts for a predetermined amount of time, as opposed to TV where there is always another show to watch.
If you have a smartphone or tablet, consider taking advantage of one of the many kid-friendly apps designed just for toddlers. Many of these apps serve the purpose of also working on fine motor skills.
Tag team
You may also want to tag-team your little ones. If you have two or more older students, the tag team principle can be accomplished by having them take turns playing with their younger sibling while you work one-on-one with each. This approach offers several benefits: it encourages sibling bonding, it allows a short school break for the older siblings, and it provides one-on-one teaching time for the older children.
You can also tag team with your spouse by schooling during non-traditional school hours. Do read-aloud time with your older child at bedtime while your spouse bathes the little ones. Work on that history on science project after dinner while your spouse spends one-on-one time with the little one – or let your spouse assist with the school project!
Homeschooling with babies and toddlers can present a challenge, but it’s such a short season. Be flexible and embrace it!