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September 9, 2007 - by Terri Johnson,
author
of Homeschooling ABCs
(www.homeschoolingabcs.com
) - dedicated to helping
new homeschoolers gain the confidence and the necessary
skills to successfully teach their children at
home.
Homeschooling with Toddlers
Do you get nervous when it gets really quiet around your house?
Do you have to put markers, glue and other creative art
supplies up on a high shelf? Do step stools located in unusual
places around the house make you cringe? If you have answered
yes to two or more of these questions, then you must have a
toddler living in your home. Toddlers are a joy, there is no
doubt about that, but they can also create havoc if left alone
with nothing productive to do for too long...
There are three strategies to use when homeschooling with
toddlers in your home and these are 1. Keep them busy, 2.
Divide and Conquer and 3. Get Creative. Let's look at each one
as you will want to employ a combination of strategies in your
home to get the most enjoyment with your older and younger
children.
KEEP HIM BUSY
1. Have a special school box for your toddler that they only
use during school time. It may include special crayons to be
used during handwriting time, snap cubes to be used during math
time, etc. Our special preschool box is filled with ziploc
activities - see Paula's Archives (parental note: there are
some link problems on this site, so we have temporarily removed
the hyperlink until the website owner can fix the problem) for
tons of ideas. This box is to be kept aside for use only during
school time so that it remains fresh and new for the child.
2. Offer special high chair activities during school time. Put
shaving cream in a gallon ziploc bag and let the child "write"
with a finger on it and erase by squishing it around. Offer
finger-paint or play dough. Have a big tupperware container
filled with dry beans or split peas and let your child use
scoops or measuring cups to pour it from one container to
another. Yes, you'll have to clean it up later, but it may buy
you 30-45 minutes of teaching time with another child.
3. Put the step stool up to the kitchen sink, close the drain
and run a drizzle of water into the sink along with a little
bit of dish soap. Give your child some plastic cups, bowls and
spoons to "wash". He'll feel glad to know that he is helping
with the chores.
4. Get book and tape kits from the library. Your toddler can
listen to the story through headphones while "reading" the
book.
5. Have your read aloud time with your older students right
outside the open bathroom door while your younger child plays
in the tub.
6. Have special toys for use during school time. Rotate these
toys so that they are always fresh and interesting.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
1. While working on a specific subject with one older child,
have the other older child play with the youngest child in her
room. This is a special play time together. Then switch
off.
2. Have dad teach certain subjects. My husband teaches science
and logic to the older kids. This frees me up to spend time
with my younger children.
3. Have middle grade students do certain subjects
independently. After giving instruction, send them off to work
on the assignment on their own.
4. Hire a homeschool teen (or ask Grandma) to come over and
play with the youngest child while you "get serious" with the
older children.
5. Swap school time (or toddler time) with another homeschool
mom. That way each of you can have two or three days of
concentrated school time each week.
GET CREATIVE
1. Have school time during nap time.
2. Work on some school subjects at night while dad is home to
play with or put the youngest to bed.
3. Do some fun activity with your toddler before you begin
school. This will cause her to be happier playing for a while
on her own.
4. Don't do every subject every day. Combine subjects or
possibly double up on some school work on certain days. For
example, do a whole week's worth of science on one day.
5. Be willing to do some school work on Saturday when dad is
home.
6. Use smaller amounts of time for school. A block of 4 hours
may not be possible at this time, but 45 minutes to an hour at
a time may be doable.
7. Read aloud during breakfast and lunch (while youngest is
contentedly eating in his high chair).
8. Understand that your homeschool day will not look like a
classroom day during this season of your family's life. And
this is OK!
Enjoy this season of your child's life, knowing that it will
not last forever and that you are not alone. Your toddler will
only be at this stage for a couple short years and next thing
you know, he'll be in kindergarten. They are only young once
and it is a precious, precious time. Don't wish it away! And
try to stay flexible, toddlers change from one day to the next.
Just when one strategy may be working for your family, he'll
change and you'll need to try something else to keep the school
day flowing. Above all, give him lots of hugs and kisses during
your school day which will reassure you both that he is not an
interruption, but a blessing.
Enjoy your school year!
Terri Johnson
Terri Johnson, along with her husband Todd, has been
teaching their children at home for 11 years. They also
run a publishing company - Knowledge Quest, Inc. - producing
history and geography materials for the homeschool
marketplace. This past year, they have started two online
classes - Homeschooling ABCs (
www.homeschoolingabcs.com) - dedicated to
helping new homeschoolers gain the confidence and the necessary
skills to successfully teach their children at home; and Upper
Level Homeschool (www.upperlevelhomeschool.com) –
encouraging and equipping homeschooling parents to stay the
course even when their teen enter high school and to finish the
race strong.
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