BellaOnline Forums Education Homeschooling Homeschooling with a Toddler in the House

I wanted to start a discussion to share ideas of what tricks we all have for teaching one child when you have a toddler in the home. My ideas can be read in the article Homeschooling With a Toddler . I would love to read yours.

I think your suggestions are great. I have a 2 year old and I also try to give him activities that mimic what my older kids are doing. If they're working on worksheets, I'll give him a coloring page. If they're cutting, I'll give him paper and safety scissors. During instruction time, I'll give him an eraser, dry erase markers and a lap sized dry erase board. I think that's his favorite.

I do a lot of hands on work with my kindergartener, so while I'm teaching her I'll let him play with the manipulatives we're using - counting bears, lacing cards, flashcards, alphabet magnets - stuff like that. I think he feels like he's "doing school" too.

I do have a few special toys set aside that I'll pull out during school time and I think it helps to rotate those in and out so they feel new.

I used to try to teach my children during naptime, but I prefer teaching everyone in the morning and giving myself some downtime while my toddler is asleep.

Thanks for sharing Carletta. I think that involving young children is great. They feel included and important to be "doing" what their older sibling is doing. It is also amazing at the things they pick up on too. Plus, when they are old enough to officially start school, they are already used to your routine.