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.

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

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How to Homeschool Like a Professional: Even when You are Outnumbered - A Better Way to Homeschool says:

January 23, 2017 at 5:47 am

[…] Work hard to train my young children to play independently twice a day. Even 15 minutes of playing contentedly in a playpen can make a huge impact on your homeschool day. That’s 15 minutes to tutor Math, English, or another challenging subject.{Homeschooling with babies and toddlers} […]