7 Tips for Homeschooling with Littles Around
Recently on Instagram, I had a mom ask: “Do you have a post about entertaining little kids while homeschooling? My oldest two will be in K and 2nd and I have a 1 & 2 year old and I’m nervous!”
Now you know why I gave up homeschooling for quite a few years after my 4th child was born!
It’s a real question, and it’s honestly one of the biggest reasons people feel too overwhelmed to even start homeschooling.
(We started homeschooling again when my youngest was in second grade and it felt manageable again to me!)
After asking the Everyday Reading community, I got a flood of answers back from families homeschooling with littles around!
If you’re in the trenches with a big kid who needs to learn multiplication and a little one who needs to not eat a crayon, there are some really helpful ideas.
TIPS FOR HOMESCHOOLING WITH LITTLE SIBLINGS AROUND
- Do your hardest subjects during nap time.
This was, by far, the most repeated tip, and for good reason. Save your most focused, most parent-intensive subjects (think math and language arts) for when the littles are asleep, and save your lower-lift stuff – read alouds, art, PE, morning meeting, history – for when everyone’s awake. If your littles don’t nap at the same time, just pick whichever one is hardest to keep occupied and build your focused time around their naptime. - Give the littles their OWN “school” stuff – and only bring it out during school time.
Busy boxes, special toys, a rotating basket – whatever you call it, this idea also came up over and over. The trick is exclusivity: the toys only come out during homeschool hours, which makes them feel novel and keeps littles engaged way longer than their everyday toys would. A few favorites people mentioned: coloring (markers if your child still eats crayons!), stringing beads, painting with water, easy puzzles, sorting by color, play doh, shape sorters, ring stackers, and fine motor activities like picking up pom poms with tongs. Rotate every so often to keep it feeling fresh. - Sensory bins can be a win.
Several people swear by these – a towel down, a tub of water, pom poms, spoons, small cups. Or go with rice, beans, or oats since they sweep up easily and don’t stain. Just make peace with the mess ahead of time and it’s a lot more fun for everyone. - Let your older kids help entertain (or even teach!) the littles.
This one does double duty – it frees you up AND gives your older kids great practice. Pair one big kid with one little for playtime while you work one-on-one with another child, then swap. Some families even have an older kid act as “teacher” for a bit – reading books, doing a simple art project, or working on stickers with the younger ones. It’s a genuinely good skill-builder for the older sibling too. - Build “blocks” into your day that match your family’s actual rhythm.
Instead of trying to mirror a traditional school schedule, block your day around when your littles are easiest or hardest to manage. Something like: morning is breakfast and independent work, midday is art/PE/lunch, afternoon (nap time!) is your most focused subjects. Everyone’s rhythm looks different, so build yours around what you’ve already got. - Bring in outside help if you can.
A mother’s helper (an older neighborhood kid or homeschooler, works great and doesn’t have to cost much), a few days a week at a parent’s morning out program, or tag-teaming with your spouse or another parent can all buy you real, focused chunks of time. Even once a week makes a difference. - Give yourself – and them – grace.
Some days this all clicks. Other days your toddler is in the high chair with snacks and the TV on in the other room, and that is fine too. Don’t judge the whole week by one hard day. Homeschooling with littles in tow is genuinely one of the harder seasons to pull off, and doing it imperfectly still counts.
If you have any other tips or ideas on homeschooling with little ones around, I’d love to hear them!
(And if you’d like to see all my homeschooling posts, they’re right here!)
