Homeschooling with Toddlers

Homeschooling with little kids underfoot is something I am still learning to figure out. We are starting our fourth year of homeschool, and I know how difficult it can be to find a groove.  And once I do find my groove, something usually changes, like my toddler drops a nap, is no longer napping, is eating more, or any number of things that change when you have toddlers

At first, I tackled this issue with a mindset of trying to keep my two littles (currently ages 3 and 1) busy. I wanted to keep them from distracting my oldest (currently age 7) or from disrupting our school day. I kept looking for a curriculum that my oldest could do independently and that would need less of my attention so we wouldn’t have a 3-year-old throwing papers and scribbling on my daughter’s worksheets or a 1-year-old ripping up anything she can get her hands on. At the same time though, I wanted to be involved in all my kid’s schooling and I wanted to build a healthy relationship, have fun science projects, art, STEM, and truly enjoy our homeschool rather than just making it through day by day. 

For a long time, I felt like I was struggling. We would barely get any schooling completed because of all the distractions and tasks that come with having a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. 

I don’t have a magic fix, but I did discover a key: I am homeschooling my toddlers just as much as I’m homeschooling my second grader. 

Homeschooling with little kids underfoot is something I am still learning to figure out. We are starting our fourth year of homeschool, and I know how difficult it can be to find a groove.  And once I do find my groove, something usually changes, like my toddler drops a nap, is no longer napping, is eating more, or any number of things that change when you have toddlers

At first, I tackled this issue with a mindset of trying to keep my two littles (currently ages 3 and 1) busy. I wanted to keep them from distracting my oldest (currently age 7) or from disrupting our school day. I kept looking for a curriculum that my oldest could do independently and that would need less of my attention so we wouldn’t have a 3-year-old throwing papers and scribbling on my daughter’s worksheets or a 1-year-old ripping up anything she can get her hands on. At the same time though, I wanted to be involved in all my kid’s schooling and I wanted to build a healthy relationship, have fun science projects, art, STEM, and truly enjoy our homeschool rather than just making it through day by day. 

For a long time, I felt like I was struggling. We would barely get any schooling completed because of all the distractions and tasks that come with having a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. 

I don’t have a magic fix, but I did discover a key: I am homeschooling my toddlers just as much as I’m homeschooling my second grader. 

I shouldn’t be trying to keep the toddlers out of the way or busy with this or that. They also need to know they are part of our homeschool; they aren’t a problem I need to solve. Our days have been running so much more smoothly now that I’m molding my homeschool around my family instead of molding my children into my homeschool.

For example, here’s how my three children, ages 7, 3, and 1, all enjoy BookShark Science Level A together. 

The Benefits of Including Toddlers in Our Homeschool

This approach to homeschooling with toddlers works for us right now. My younger ones are actually playing more independently, crying less, and seem so much happier now that they feel involved rather than pushed away. Even my oldest seems much more at peace. Of course, she gets annoyed when a little one scribbles on her art or her handwriting worksheets, but she seems more at ease with this new family-centered process. 

For me, involving my toddlers in our homeschool day has been a huge game changer because I am so much more relaxed. I no longer feel like I am ignoring my toddlers or my oldest and I no longer feel pulled in a hundred different directions. 

My homeschool is not picture-perfect—we still have snags once in a while. That's okay!  We will continue to take life day by day, chapter by chapter, snuggle by snuggle, and mess by mess.