Seeds of Wisdom --- Homeschooling with Young Children

Congratulations to Cra33120, who is the winner of The Signing Time The Zoo Train DVD!

Several of us have young children and we assume that some of our readers do too.  It can be difficult to meet the needs of all of your children while homeschooling, so this week's Seeds of Wisdom provides some ideas.  Today, our panel question is "How can younger children be included in the homeschooling process and how do you meet the needs of young children while still homeschooling the older ones?"

Beth - Let them participate as much as possible and modify the lesson to meet the younger child's abilities. For example, if you are doing an activity that requires writing, cutting, coloring, and pasting, just allow the little one to color and experiment with the crayons.

Marla - Charlotte (10 months) sits in her highchair with us for about half of our homeschooling time.  She enjoys snacking on fresh fruit and Cheerios and watching while we do the bible lesson, circle time activities, and Spanish lesson with puppets.  When she gets bored, she plays in the playroom, where she can still hear the lesson and I can watch her.  When she is having a clingy day, I put Charlotte in the Ergo carrier and wear her while I teach Abigail.  When there is a lesson that I am teaching that requires a lot of focus, I teach it during Charlotte's naptime.  In the next few months, I am planning to start giving Charlotte some "work" too (foam letters, blocks, stacking cups, etc. to play with); currently, I do a sensory activity (water, cool whip, jello, pudding, oatmeal, rice, etc.) with her a few times a week and I think she will be excited to do more.

Ralene - I was just homeschooling while my son slept, but as he is getting away from his morning naps, I find myself having to entertain him. Mostly, he likes to pretend he's doing whatever the girls are. So I usually set his highchair at the table with us and let him play with different little toys.

Sam - I encourage them to stay close by and listen while they play with play-doh or blocks and then play games with them that are educational. Reading is fun for all of the kids to do together. If they get bored, I let them play with whatever toys they have nearby and they still pick up on what everyone else is learning.

Shamberley -  I am still in the process of figuring this one out, but because my kids are so close in age - about 18 months apart, one being 2 1/2 (girl) and one being 4 (boy) - they are used to doing almost everything together. That being said, I try t...o include my daughter somehow in everything we do school-wise with my son. This has been quite a trying task at times because my daughter is very bold and outgoing and LOUD, and she loves to be the center of attention; so getting her to settle down and focus on something for a few minutes, so that my son is able to focus as well, proves difficult.

One thing I have done is to find an age appropriate task/toy that she can play with that is similar to what we are doing. If I am working on counting with my son, I pull out blocks or dominoes that my daughter can count/play with. If I'm working on letters, I have a magnadoodle that she can practice "writing" (or scribbling) on... I have a basket of "For School Only" toys that she is allowed to use/play with during school time ~ these include the toddler version of the TAG Reader Pen and Books ( http://shop.leapfrog.com/l​eapfrog/jump/View-All-Tag-​Junior/category/cat270017?​utm_source=google&utm_medi​um=ppc&utm_term=leap+frog+​tag+junior&utm_campaign=Ta​g+Jr+Brand&gclid=CMLavdKq8​KkCFYZrKgod0zskZg) , the Magnadoodle, Blocks, Sorting Toys that help her learn shapes, colors, etc... and even a special school DVD that focuses on Letters/Phonics lessons with Music (because she loves to sing and dance)...
If there are any subjects that she just becomes too disruptive during, we try to wait until her naptime to go over those ~ just to allow my son the time and atmosphere and attention he needs to focus...
Also, if there is something he has already mastered - like his Alphabet, I ask him to help me teach it to his sister ~ that way, it serves as a review for him, but it isn't mundane because it makes him feel like such a "big boy" being able to teach his "baby sister" something.

Tracy - For my two year old, I fill her workbox with activities I know she'll enjoy—coloring pages, do-a-dot activities, lacing cards, etc. But I also have a "cozy corner" with a basket of books and other toddler-friendly activities. By making her ...feel that she is doing school, I can keep her quiet long enough to get a lesson in. I've also read that ten minutes at the top of every hour works wonders for little ones; give them ten minutes of your undivided attention, and they'll play better on their own.