Homeschool World Forum

I have a 4 year old, 2 year old, and a baby. I want to homeschool the 4 year old after she turns 5, but I don't know how it could be done efficiently with 2 other young ones in the house desperate for attention.

How do you homeschool when distracted by toddlers & babies?

Are there any threads that you know of that do a good job of discussing this?

Thanks

In the meantime I will look around this great forum!

The great thing about homeschooling is you don't have to use a strict schedule. If the baby is fussy you can postpone things till a bit later. Also the work for a 5yr old is minimal. You only need a few hours a week at most and alot of it is just teaching the basics like ABC's, the sounds of the letters, counting, basic math that can all be done verbally while doing other things. When my son was in kindergarten I used anything I could as a lesson like playing "I spy with my little eye" using shapes and letter sounds not just colors, counting in the grocery store, helping me sound out letters in the bedtime story books, etc. Doing it that way I was able to have my younger daughter with me while teaching.

Dear djl,

Would it be possible to do some of your homeschooling during the toddlers' 'quiet time'?

Which is what they have when they refuse to nap.

Put on long-playing tape, teach them that quiet time is not over until the music stops.

That way, you only have to deal with the baby interrupting the homeschooling.

If not, would it be possible to arrange some alternative childcare for the toddlers?

Again, you only have to worry about the baby.

Just a couple of suggestions.

Your sincerley,

Aspie

My homeschool network just started a kid swap. We call it kid care, and it means that once a week I don't have to worry about my little one getting in the way for a morning of school, and once a week I have someone else's little one and we do playdough, or read stories and sing songs. We trade off so I can do some neat uninterrupted school stuff with the big boys at least once a week.

I home schooled (4) children, with (3) toddlers born in a period of (3) years. Somehow it all worked out! Some days I really did wonder if we were making any progress at all, but we were "headed in the right direction" and that was what counted! My DD17 finished high school a year early and is now attending a Christian university. The Lord will honor your faithfulness to Him and will bless your efforts, if you put Him first.

My advice to you is:

Start the day off with Bible. It sets the pace (tone) for the rests of the day. (Our children enjoyed the ABeka "Flash-a-Card" Bible program.) Respect and honour to God and His laws will provide guidelines for their behavior and conduct. Memorizing scripture (and scripture songs) together, will "hide God's word" in their hearts. I highly recommend singing together as a family.

Include the younger ones in your lessons as much as possible, even if it seems they are not "catching on" to anything you are saying. You will be surprised! My DD17, when she was only 5, began to read very quickly, through listening in on lessons from her older brother.

Provide a "work space" for the younger children to look at picture books, or draw. The younger ones felt "quite grown up", when treated as though they were part of our school day. They often sat quietly for hours, playing with math blocks on "their desk" and sketching pictures. They enjoyed being in proximity to our "classes".

Try using "multi-level" programs and resources such as "Winston Grammar", "Bible Songs" and "Grammar Songs", so that all the children can participate and learn together. They DO remember what they sing!

I'm sure there are other ideas I haven't written down yet, but I can add to these later as I think of them. These should help give you a start.