My six weeks have been planned. The pages printed. The folders lined up. Videos in the queue. Books checked out. The kids woke up.
That is precisely when it all started to fall apart.
Why? Because in our school, we have two students that could care less about explorers and puffer fish. No they aren’t teenagers. It is our two year old daughter and our very mobile six month old only son.
She is interested in whatever makes the most mess, or generates the most adrenaline. “Stop doing flips off of your Daddy’s chair!” gets said a lot at our house. The little man just wants to eat anything, and I mean anything, that he finds.
Keeping the two big girls (ages 9 and 6) focused is a challenge. Doing more enjoyable things like explosive science experiments with them is almost impossible.
Yesterday, I pulled out our big cookie trays and set the little ones down with bowls of bubbles (not the kind you blow, the kind you get when you are washing dishes) and some spoons. I scored roughly 20 minutes of teaching time and a clean kitchen floor.
I find that the key to homeschooling with the tiny people around is to be prepared, be flexible, and remember that this sweet baby time will not last forever.
I keep a few items handy for times when our sweet Bubbagirl wants to “participate”:
* Pom Pom balls, egg carton, tongs: She loves to pick up the balls and put them in the egg carton
* Coloring books, or old workbooks for her to scribble in: She thinks she’s doing school work
* Large tray with bubbles, stickers, beans, scoops, empty yogurt cups, funnels, spoons.
An article on WikiHow suggests that you don’t expect your tot to entertain themselves for more than 20 minutes. This is another reason why I plan my lessons in little bites, alternating between time with Mom and independent work. I can take about 15 minutes to instruct, then send the big girls off to work while I take time with the littles.
I use many of the tips from Alpha Omega to help with more newborn specific tips such as letting the baby be the lesson and not to worry about canceling field trips for a while.
Some parents work around nap times. Some days this works great for us. Right now our little man is teething so there are few decent naps happening in our house. We had reading time yesterday with Popsicles in our hands, just because that is what kept them all quiet.
There are some great blogs out there with ideas and activities for preschoolers, here are a few I visit regularly for new ideas:
* 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 Tot Trays LOVE THESE!
For me, I keep my goals simple. Keep working in math, focus on reading, teach what interests them (so they will be more willing to work on their own) and remember that even when I don’t feel like I’m “teaching” anything they are learning.
Lisa is a Christian wife and homeschooling mother of four. She posts regularly, and on a variety of topics, on her blog Chaos Appreciation and is very active on twitter as @TaderDoodles.
