Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers- It Can Be Done! Let me introduce you to my greatest secret for homeschooling with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers: Scheduled Crib-time, Play-pen time, and room time. Why? Without a safe place to play, and a routine, my boys literally climb the walls… Parenting Vocabulary: Room time: a block of time ranging from 5-60 minutes built into your child’s schedule where they play alone in a safe and secure environment. Alone: child is in a safe, and confined play space just out of sight of parent. Out of sight: baby/child cannot see mom, but mom is fully aware of what child is up to. Parent: the one in control of child’s routine. Child: little person being trained for future success as a functioning adult. Parent guided: parent decides what child will do. Period. Choice: the opportunity to enjoy the activity or go without fun time. Neglect: never a part of healthy child rearing and training. Controversial: Talking about parenting techniques that put the parent in control. … Read More »
Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers: Quiet TIme Inside: Homeschooling with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers-Let me introduce you to my greatest secret for Survival Crib-time, Play-pen time, and Room time. Without a safe place to play, and a routine, my boys literally climb the walls… Parenting has changed so much since my oldest son was born, we need to clear up some basic vocabulary, so there is no confusion. Parenting Vocabulary: Room time: a block of time ranging from 5-60 minutes built into your child’s schedule where they play alone in a safe and secure environment. Alone: child is in a safe, and confined play space just out of sight of parent. Out of sight: baby/child cannot see mom, but mom is fully aware of what child is up to. Parent: the one in control of child’s routine. Child: little person being trained for future success as a functioning adult. Parent guided: parent decides what child will do. Period. Choice: the opportunity to enjoy the activity or go without fun time. Neglect: never a part of healthy child rearing and training. Controversial: Talking about parenting techniques that put the parent in control. 1. Prepare Place toys in bins, preferably in an area that you as the parent can easily control. Choose which toys are for crib-time/room-time. Safe Place From as early as the time when a baby can sit safely, begin setting baby in a playpen/crib with a safe age appropriate toy, or bin of toys. Timer Set timer for 5-15 minutes. Turn on music. Say “It’s play time”. Leave, But Be Attentive Leave the area, but stay alert. I have some children who are more prone to danger than others. ReEnter When timer “dings” quietly re-enter and say something like “play times over, time to clean up”. I always sang the cleanup song. Help child clean up their space. Mama, please remember, “If they can empty a basket/bin, then they can be trained to fill it!” Take the time to teach your children to clean up after themselves. Routine Schedule a play time in the morning, before snack time or outside time; one for just before nap time in the afternoon, or just before dinner prep time. Practice Makes Perfect Over time, slowly increase the amount of time, until the child can self-entertain for 45-60 minutes. Why build in quiet play time? Maintains parental control over baby’s environment Provides safe play area Keeps baby/toddler right where you need them to stay Provides an area of focus Encourages self-entertainment Stimulates concentration Unlocks creativity Creates peace and stability in the child’s day Vary locations: Remember: the goal of playtime is to train contentment while simultaneously creating a safe environment for learning. I recommend varying the location of playpen time at least once a week. This helps the child be more flexible. I have one child who craves routine far more than his other brothers, this varying of location helped him a great deal! Safe Environments: I added age appropriate toys and activities to the play area Crib Playpen High Chair Baby gate to keep child safely in the room I chose. Pet corrals (like the one picture above. This one worked beautifully for outdoor play! Car Seats. That’s right. I used a car seat in my home to help little ones sit for a short period of time. Rewards of Scheduled Independent Play: All five of my boys enjoyed this quiet and controlled play environments. I can’t tell you all the benefits I have seen over the years, but here are a few of the best ones: Kids learn to focus Kids have time to really explore a toy, story or idea I could use these pockets of time to focus on older kids and their harder subjects. Kids developed and created incredible “inventions” This pocket of time transitioned to quiet reading time (or Lego Time) as the boys got older. Encourages self-control Still a highlight of each boy’s day I wish I could help you understand how big of an asset it has been for me to have this pocket of time trained into my boys’ days. Here are some things they have created or completed during quiet time: Cowboys in action. He made glasses. He followed the directions and built his robot. Notice… I have him on my kitchen counter. I am right there preparing a meal. The other boys were in their quiet zones, but this little guy was required to play quietly with the stickers I gave him:. He knitted his own beanie on a knitting loom. )All five of my boys were taught to knit on a loom.) This is his OWN Lego Creation! He made a huge Turkey. (The picture doesn’t do it justice) He solved his rubik’s cube. Notice, most of these pictures show older kids: ages 3 and up. That is on purpose for two reasons: 1. My baby pictures are not digital and I am lazy:). 2. We train our babies so that they can reap the rewards later. Babies and toddlers that learn to sit still, play quietly and concentrate grow up to be incredible artists, builders, musicians, thinkers, readers, writers, gardeners, etc. Last word: Have patience. Any child can be trained to accept and love quiet time, but it takes thought and patience on your part. When I first learned about this possibility I already had a wild 5 year old and an infant. It took time to retrain the 5 year old, but I was patient and always made it a positive activity. Last, Last word: Are my kids perfect? (she gets up from laughing on the floor…) No way! There were days that the kids “chose” to complain or whine through their quiet time. I still pressed on. 98% of the time, they settled down and focused within a few minutes. (music helped set the mood) There were days that they refused to help clean up cheerfully. (They still were required to clean up.) There were many, many days that they threw fits because they did not want quiet time to end. (Never give in to fits. I always said, “If you want to play a few more minutes you need to ask cheerfully and nicely… Let’s try that again.” Then I would leave the room and say, “ready to try that again?” Then I would re-enter and give them a chance to ask correctly. The goal was training:) There were days they did not want to play with what I chose for them. But I was pretty firm. Some days I gave them a choice. I always gave them a bin/basket of books I chose. If they were done playing, they could read. They were not allowed to simply pull out other toys. **as they got older, they would clean everything up and ask if they could “please switch bins”. I never lost sight of the fact that “I was training them in the way they should go”. It is my job as mama to teach my boys how to play, how to speak, how to listen, how to concentrate, how to respond, how to clean-up, how to sit still, etc. Your Turn: Do you train/schedule parent controlled quiet time in your day?
Teaching with Toddlers and Babies Have a nightmare with me Imagine being pregnant with baby #4 and being on bed rest. Now throw in an 18-month-old who is terrified of umbrellas and balloons. Not enough? How about a kindergartener scheduled for MAJOR surgery. Oh heck, why not toss in a 12-year old hormonal 5th grader. Now decide this is a perfect year to begin homeschooling! Teaching with Toddlers and Babies Yes. That was my first year of homeschool. So how did I survive? medication prayer The key to my homeschooling survival was three-fold. I had the heart and attitude that no one was going to be more invested in my children’s success than I was. I took the time to create a plan with my husband. I found successful homeschool moms and asked a lot of questions and implemented their methods that were successful. You can grab a copy of my Survival Plan Overview at the end of this article. It’s all Attitude When you school around toddlers and infants you have to be dedicated. There is no other way to describe it. It is exhausting to chase little ones and teach algebra simultaneously. The first question to ask yourself is whether or not you are committed to “Stick and Stay”. Our kids desperately need to see us model a never quit attitude. The great news is that, with a few adjustments, it is absolutely possible to do a great job! Your Plan If a plan is going to succeed, there must first be a plan; a goal. It was here in my life’s story that my husband and I focused and formed our foundational goals; our Mission Statement if you will.I would encourage you to do the same. Our goals were simple. Pass on our faith Teach our kids basic math facts Foster a love of reading while exposing our kids to great literature Begin the lifelong journey of becoming an excellent writer and communicator. Over 20 years later, three kids are in college, including the umbrella/balloon hater and the babies are now in high school. But our goals are the same. Asking for Help from Experts I would never have survived that first year of homeschooling had I not taken the time to seek advice and ask for help. Some people have a really hard time asking for guidance, not me. I knew I was a good teacher, but I also knew my house was a mess and I had no idea how to teach with little ones around. Here’s what I gleaned from experts. Organization: I actually had a new friend come and help me organize my home. She taught me how to clear and organize clutter. She taught me how to store things in to clear bins. She taught me that taking the time to organize my home, even above the time I took to teach would save me countless hours. Fast forward to today. This was the smartest thing I ever did. It took me about 3 weeks to completely clean. purge, and organize my home yet I have been able to maintain it for over a decade. Toddlers Crave routines. (Actually, we all do, but toddlers thrive when they can anticipate the next thing). One of the moms I “interviewed” encouraged me to schedule my toddlers into manageable time-chunks. It can best be compared to kindergarten “stations”. I established a cycle of activities that followed this order: eat, quiet activity, busy activity. If I could give any advice it would be to glean this “quiet-time”/controlled environment mentality. I used a high chair, a car seat, a booster seat, a playpen, a crib and a gated area for quiet time activity centers. I chose activities that were age appropriate and safe and gave the toddler their own space. Related: Engaging, Pre-planned Activities that Help Create Magical Moments together I honestly did not let them “roam”- that’s when they would get into trouble. Sometimes they were in the same room and even at or near the same table; other times I had them “play” in the next room or in their room. This was something I trained into their day. I began with 5-minute intervals and slowly worked up to 30-45 minutes. It worked beautifully with all my little ones. There are many, many, many kinds of activities to entertain and educate your toddler available online. Keep it simple. I always kept my school activity time toys out of reach so they were fresh and new when needed. Toddlers: crave consistency. thrive under a schedule of rotation of activities. need to have set boundaries for their own development and safety, as well as the sanity of your homeschool environment. Download your FREE “Babies and Toddlers Survival Plan” {printable} Easy Preschool Crafts and Activities Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers: Quiet TIme