Picture this: A home grown Mommy wakes up in the morning with a plan for the day. As she steps into the shower, her head is filled with lesson plans for the day, work that needs to get done, what to make for lunch and the new concept she will be introducing to Tommy this morning. Shortly, the children are awake and have had their breakfast and they are now ready to begin their home schooling day. Mommy is so excited about this particular lesson and can’t wait to share the information! She sets little Susie down by her side with some toys and starts into the lesson. Within minutes, Susie is crying and Tommy is completely distracted. Mommy’s heart sinks.
Sometimes, it is hard to be right at each child’s level each and everyday. Sometimes, the children’s needs collide and Mommy is left wondering how to manage it all. Part of our home school challenge is to be able to look at the obstacle as an opportunity to learn and get better! In this article, I’d like to share some of the ways that you can teach those upper level concepts to your older child(ren) while still playing with the baby or at least helping the baby to be quiet during intense instruction times. One of the first pieces of advice I received when dealing with this dilemma was to do the one-on-one teaching of my older child(ren) while the smaller ones were sleeping. This didn’t always work in our home for two reasons – first, sometimes the time I needed to devote to my older ones lasted longer than the nap time; and, second, I use some of that nap time to do my planning for the next day.
I had to find another solution. Here are some ideas that have worked in our home. For the purposes of this article, our “small child” age range covers six months to two years of age.
Babywearing. This is at the top of the list for a very good reason – it works the best out of all the ideas by far! When all the other ideas have been tried and don’t work, or the small one has tired of whatever was working, this is the one idea that I fall back on every time. If you don’t have a sling, you can use a sheet or a sweater. The small one feels involved or comforted enough to fall asleep and the older ones can get their work done without being distracted. This idea may not work as well for the older end of our age range, but I have put a child as old as four years old in a sling before.
Schedule. If a child knows what to expect in their day, it is so much easier for them to be comfortable going with the flow and doing what it expected of them. The first day or week (sometimes even the first month) of a schedule may be a little rocky as you work out the details and figure out what works and what doesn’t, so don’t give up. Think of the reward that you will receive in the form of a peaceful and orderly home! It is so worth the work you put in to developing that schedule. This piece of advice certainly pertains to every area of home schooling and helping little ones to be a blessing is no exception. If you need the little one to play quietly during some instruction time, do it at the same time each day and in the same place. Before too long, your smart little baby will know what to do just upon entering the area.
Toy Rotation. An interested baby is a quiet baby! The first day with a new toy is ever so exciting. By day five or six, we are looking for the next new toy. You might have five toy group set aside to play with on certain days. For instance, the truck bin is brought out on Monday, the blocks on Tuesday, the books on Wednesday, the balls on Thursday and the ring stacker on Fridays. As you can see, the toys need not be expensive or loud or new. Just the rotation will help keep your little one occupied while your older students soak up all that knowledge. These toys should only be used during this time. If they don’t see the trucks for the whole week, on Monday, they will be just thrilled to play with them again.
Involvement. (This idea probably won’t work with the younger end of our age range.) I haven’t met many little ones that don’t want to be just like big brother or big sister. They want to be where they are and do what they do. You can use this desire to your advantage in this situation as well. Tell them with excitement in your eyes and joy in your voice that they will be doing school work with big brother or sister! Set them a special chair at the table with brand new colors and a brand new coloring book. Give them some pages to do. You could also put out some flash cards, some blocks with letters and some other educational toys for them to do in their special school seat. You would be absolutely amazed at what a small child can pick up at such a young age. This is exactly how my second child learned her letters, numbers, some sounds and colors before she was two years old. Incidentally, you are also setting the stage for when the little one is not so little any more and will be doing fourth and fifth grade work as well. Sitting and studying will just come naturally.
Child Training. There are hundreds of ideas that will work for a sweet and obedient child, no matter what the age. I am beginning to realize that successful parenting, which would be judged by the obedience of your children, has more to do with loving consistency than lots of other things. Write out in black and white what things you consider important for your children to know or to do. What are you trying to achieve as you guide and nurture your children? Then, implement those things in your everyday life. I know that is a huge statement and it will be different for each family and for each child in that family. Start with one thing and be consistent about it. If it is important to you that your little one learn how to sit quietly, do something about it everyday with the same rewards and punishments.
Curriculum. This idea has more to do with the older child for whom you are trying to minimize the distractions. We use A.C.E. (School of Tomorrow) for our oldest child. You can read more about our experience with this curriculum here. Having this type of curriculum helps the older child know exactly what to do each day and minimizes the amount of planning time you need for each lesson. When the smaller child is sick or is otherwise inconsolable and nothing else has worked in creating a distraction free moment, a curriculum allows the older child to move on to another point in the work for the day until you can give the deserved attention.
With your love and commitment to your children, you can definitely make these ideas work for your home schooling success.
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