“A Quiet Learning Time” with multiple age groups

How do you give your under 5’s the “quiet learning time” once you have older children who require your attention as well? This is something I’ve been struggling with a lot lately. I’m hoping some of you have learned some wisdom on how to deal with this, how to make it work, and what to let go of.

I love, love, love the idea of and descriptions of the “quiet learning time” that Charlotte Mason puts forth for the “early years.” I was able to do so much of that with my first two, who are only 14 months apart, and we spent so much time outside and I was able to just pour my time into them, watching over their habits, encouraging their curiosity etc.

However, the reality of my life now is that I no longer have the option to spend hours upon hours outside devoting my full attention and mental efforts to the little ones, as I must to do school with the older children, and I feel like the younger three (the 5 and under set) are getting gypped out of this precious “quiet learning time”.

obviously, we still go outside as much as we can once school is finished, but trying to balance my other responsibilities into that means that often we only have a couple hours a day, and not all of that is time that I am able to spend out there with them, guiding them, encouraging them etc.

I know that the younger set is learning by osmosis as they watch the older children, as they listen to the lessons even though they don’t understand them all, as they hear the discussions that go on in the home etc. Is this the trade-off for the “quiet learning time”? Or is there something that I missing where I can somehow balance the older children’s school time with the younger children still receiving the time that I wish that I could give them?