One thing about homeschooling in our house:
If the YOUNGEST isn't BUSY,
NOBODY is WORKING.
Keeping the homeschooling humming is not too hard as long as I don't forget to keep the 4yo from being bored. Here are a few of my tricks:
- Include her. Print out a worksheet for her and show her what to do. She does most of our history maps with us. I just have to show her where to color, or she looks on her siblings papers. She may not know that she just colored the battle of Waterloo, but she knows where France and England are on a map.
- Rotate play time with the older two. Some of our lessons require me to sit one-on-one with my older two. When that happens, the other one is supposed to play with their sister. They usually play with legos, stuffed animals, board games, or outside. This works well as long as they are getting along.
- Give her some educational screen time. We do not have screen time in our house until after 4:00pm unless it is educational. These are my favorite sites for my pre-schooler.
- Focus only on her. Sometimes, what she wants and what she needs is for mom to sit one-on-one with her. I'll read her a book, or have her go over her phonics, or take her out to the garden and help her water the plants.
- Let her get messy. Playing in a sink of water with her bath toys will keep her occupied for a while, but painting is her favorite activity. I tend to avoid these things because of the mess, but I have to stop myself. If the only reason I don't want her to paint is because of the clean up that will come later, I need to go ahead and let her. The mess is never as bad as I envision, and the benefits of her quietly creating pictures are many.
Great ideas! I do not homeschool, but I have three children and a constant conundrum with entertaining the youngest when we are doing projects at home. Thank you for sharing some great suggestions. And for sharing with NOBH! Smiles -
ReplyDeleteGreat tip, engaging your little ones in educational play while the others are doing school is a great tip. My youngest loves to do School just like his big sister. thanks for sharing on the NOBH
ReplyDeleteI was a teacher & tried homeschooling for a bit when my oldest two were 4& 3. I gave up too quickly but always wondered how to keep the wee ones on board! Thanks for sharing with all the moms reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly amazed at the ingenuity and inventiveness of those who home school. I wish I would have known all of you when my children were little. I am privileged to know you now!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I like to have a special bucket of toys that I give them for those times that they won't preoccupy themselves. I will rotate the toys so that there is always new ones in there. I am stopping by from No Ordinary Blog Hop and voting for you! I am a new follower. Hope to see you at True Aim.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea. Thank you for stopping by! I really like NOBH and all of the wonderful bloggers I get to meet through them!
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