Homeschooling with younger Siblings
"What do you do with younger siblings while homeschooling?"
Even though my oldest is only 9 I have been asked this question quite often, frequently by moms whose kids are actually the same age as mine, to which I reply “Here’s what I do. What do you do?”. My point is I think we are all, myself included, always looking for new ideas and tricks, because it can be tricky. But I don’t think it has to be as tricky as we make it. I think the the most accurate answer is “You just do.” End of post. But having some plans and ideas can help your school day be more consistent, less chaotic, even enjoyable. And we could all do with less chaos, right?
Active Babies And Toddlers
Personally I feel this is the easiest age. You can sit next to your school age child and help them with their math while nursing the baby. You can put the baby in a swing or carrier and stand and sway while reading out loud. Or you can snuggle everyone on the couch while reading out loud.
Babies learn where to sleep. If you train them that they have to sleep in a quiet dark room then that’s where they learn to sleep. If you train them to sleep on you, that’s where they will sleep. If you train them to sleep in a pack’n’play with noisy siblings around, that’s where they will sleep. All of these have pros and cons. Figure out what works best for your family and lifestyle but, don’t be a slave to nap time. Children are far more adaptive than most people give them credit for. Your youngest child is not the dictator of your whole family.
Older Toddlers And Preschool Children
This age starts to become easier in some ways and more challenging in other ways. Just remember that challenging does not equal bad. At this age, I start trying to include them in our group school. This means they learn to play quietly while we all read Bible together. Then, while the older children do things like math and spelling and reading practice, the younger children can play together (if they have another sibling), or can play with special school time toys. Sometimes they like to do their ” school”, which for us is coloring books, dry erase tracing books (we get these at the dollar store) or these water reveal magic books. School time toys at this age might be puzzles, play-dough, Duplos, or some other activity they don’t get most of the time.
The key here is something not messy and that you don’t have to help them with, also something that the older children either don’t see as a treat or they get special access to maybe during nap time. Otherwise, your older kids will be too distracted to do their school which defeats the whole point.
With this age I have also enjoyed doing a simplified version of Five in a Row. I don’t make it complicated, but we will read the same book each day and look at the pictures and maybe do an activity. Even better if we can tie this into our “group school”. (More on that in a minute.) Depending on the ages of your littles, and what kind of outdoor space you have, (is it safe, a fenced backyard or established boundaries, nothing they shouldn’t get into, easily visible from where you are teaching so you can keep an eye on them), consider letting this be their chance to have some self directed outside time.
Lastly, I do try to make what we call “group school” which is a kind of mish-mash of morning basket, unit study, and delight directed learning (something all ages can participate in to various degrees). For example, when we studied birds we read books about birds, some more fact based for the bigger kids but, also picture books with beautiful pictures that every age can enjoy. Stories and literature and poems play a big part in our school and preschoolers love to sit on my lap and point out the birds. I try to teach them colors and shapes right along with bird names and the science of flight for the older ones. We work field trips, nature study, art, history, geography, crafts, and life skills into our group school subjects, and these can span every age. A field trip to the zoo to look at different birds is fun for all ages. Building a bird feeder, watching birds, going for a walk and collecting feathers for nature study span every age. Looking at beautiful artwork of birds, noticing the color and brushstrokes, then printing out coloring pages of birds for little ones while bigger students paint or sketch is perfect. Reading history to older students while little ones build blanket bird nests and pretend to be birds or play with stuffed animal birds or little plastic bird figurines, or looking up what parts of the world different birds are native to and their habitats, then doing some sensory play with water or sticks and leaves, or snow (real or cold baking soda with a little ice water), is so much fun. There are so many bird crafts that can be chosen based on the ages and skills of your various students.
A Word Of Encouragement
Be patient. Little ones have short attention spans and that activity you thought would entertain them for an hour might only last 5 minutes. Be flexible, understand that this is slowly building their attention spans to last longer. Remember that school doesn’t have to look one certain way and will look different right now, with littles, than it will look a few years from now when they are all school age.
Slow down and try to enjoy it instead of being frustrated by the interruptions. Honestly, the biggest interruption to our school day from little ones is when I have to pause to do some discipline or training. (Often with toddlers, discipline cannot wait because 5 minutes from now they’ve forgotten what they did.) This grinds our whole morning to a halt and is so hard for me when I have math on the brain and have to refocus to correct the toddler then regain the lost attention of the older kids who are still easily distracted and get us all refocused on math. These are unavoidable and I often have to remind myself that the training of their little hearts and souls is of greater importance than any amount of education, and that this is okay. Everyone will know how to read by the time they graduate, but the journey to that will look different for everyone.
Avoid Overwhelm
I think the most discouraging thing you can do right now is overwhelm and stress yourself and your students with too much. They won’t learn, maybe even becoming bitter toward learning, and no one enjoys being around mom when she’s stressed out of her mind. If you are in a season of little ones, consider taking a lighter school load for now. Your child is learning even when there’s no textbook in front of them. Studies like this one done by the National Bureau of Economic Research titled “The Gift of Time” have shown that children that start formal school later have been shown to have better self-control and less hyperactivity than their peers. Other studies show that these children often level out or surpass their peers in academic performance by high-school. So, slow down. Don’t stress. Pray about it.
Did my example of our bird focused group school sound overwhelming? You need to understand – that study spanned 6 weeks! We only did one activity or subject a day, if that. There were plenty of days we did none of it or only read one picture book. It’s okay to take it slow and enjoy your school time together.
In Closing
I hope this helps, I pray that it is encouraging and you will find joy in your homeschooling journey. I’d love to hear your favorite tips and tricks for homeschooling with younger siblings around because, in all honesty, I don’t have this completely figured out either.