Suggestions for homeschooling a 9yo with a 1 yo.

I currently have a 10yo dd, 7yo ds, 3yo ds and a 1yo dd.  We are still trying to figure this out ourselves, but I will share what we’ve done up to this point.  One thing to remember is that the stages our children are in are constantly changing.  The second you think you have it figured out, they go from one nap to two, one to none…and the list goes on.  The plus side to this is, if you are in a difficult stage, you can relax, enjoy and give yourself a bit of a break, knowing this phase will pass..and all too quickly, at that!  So, a few things we do:

1. The pack and play idea is great.  Does you 11mo still nap?  We often try to do our our group and/or one-on-one work during baby’s nap time.  When she is up, the olders can work independently, and I am still available to help.

2. My dd likes to sit in her high chair while we work at the table.  It doesn’t last forever, but it is amazing how much enjoyment she gets from chewing on a baby spoon, using her sippee cup (she thinks this is REALLY big stuff), or playing with a few toys on her tray.  It all ends up on the floor eventually, but it buys us some time, and I think it is good training for her.

3. Do you wear your dd in a carrier or wrap at all?  I wore my dd in wraps while she was younger and now have an Angelpack I can quickly snap her into.  She still loves the wraps, as well.  Sometimes I will stand and snuggle her while I work with the olders.  We both enjoy this.  🙂

4. I will say that one advantage I have is the ability to have my 10yo play with the baby while I work with the 3 and 7yo’s.  And sometimes I simply let her empty out the cupboard that holds the children’s plastic cups and plates.  My mother would balk at this, but she didn’t home educate, either.  🙂  Even at this young age, they can begin to be re-directed towards the things we don’t mind them getting into, rather than those that are dangerous or just plain no fun to clean up!

I would also just encourage you not to be too demanding of yourself.  If you sit back and look at your day, you are probably accomplishing a whole lot more than you give yourself credit for!  Hope this helps you somehow!  Blessings!

A few things we did:

• At that age, I would sit at the table with the 9 y.o. and have the 1 y.o. on my lap or in a high chair with something quiet to do.  Your hands are right there to keep the 1 y.o. engaged.  You are still able to converse with the 9 y.o. and see what they’re working on.  
• Use naptimes for things where the 9 y.o. needs your undivided attention.   
• Do read alouds during a meal.  When mine were that little, I would drink slim fast for breakfast every morning so that I could read while “eating” my breakfast.  It was a good way to have 15 minutes of undisturbed reading time. 
• Get a little hard-shell swimming pool that you can sit right beside the table where you are working.  Train the little one to play in there with certain special toys that you reserve just for schooltime.  We used to get a good 20 minutes of work done this way.  Sit right beside the little one so that you can easily focus their attention back to the activity in the little pool.

I’ve been worried about this too.  I have an 8yo, 5yo(almost), and 15mo.  My 15mo is into everything!!  I can’t look away for a second.  I don’t want to have school while she’s napping because that is the only time I have for dinner preparations and such.  Hopefully we’ll be able to figure out a system that works!  I too like the pool idea.

Climbing out of the pool and getting into all of the cabinets are training issues.  Mine have all done the same thing (and still do~baby girl like the spice drawer much better than the kiddie cups!).  People have all sorts of ideas on how we should train our children.  I am working really hard on trying to re-direct, rather than just discipline them.  This is why I would do the high chair, baby carrier, etc. right now.  During a non-school time, maybe start training your little one to have some blanket time, with a selection of toys and/or books reserved just for that time.  Once you work up to 15 or 20 minutes, maybe that will be something you can do during your school day.  I hope I don’t sound like a know-it-all.  We are all still working this out, right?  🙂  I can tell you that, even at one, my littlest knows she is not to climb the stairs (we have a really tall staircase that ends on a tile floor), play under the sink, get into the dishwasher, etc.  Does this mean she never does it?  Absolutely not, but she does these things less and less and seems to get more and more enjoyment out of those things she knows she is permitted to do.  I know it can be frustrating.  Hang in there! 

Well, like everyone else said, keeping them in the pool or out of the cabinets is all a matter of training.  Train them early and help them build up a strong will that enables them to choose right over wrong.  People use all different methods of training.   

About the cabinets, we used a paint stirrer to give them a quick swat on the hand if they were getting into something like that.  The paint stirrers don’t really hurt them but do get their attention so we kept several handy.  I know many people would not agree with this method, but it is extremely effective in a short amount of time.  I remember how it revolutionized my life when I realized I could train my toddlers not to be pulling things out of the dishwasher as I was loading the dishes.  🙂  

Specifically regarding the pool, I would sit right on the floor next to the pool and everytime the baby wanted to get out, I would just put them back and redirect them back to the toys.  Give them one toy but have about 3 more ready to hand them if they tire of the first one.  I wouldn’t give them all at once because they might need something new every five minutes.  It will take a while but they’ll get used to it.  For my kids, the key to keeping them engaged was that I was right there ready to direct their focus back to their toys.  The 9 year old can sit right there on the floor beside you and do schoolwork.  That way you’re engaging your mind with the older one, and your hands are there for the little one.  You can’t get up and go throw some clothes in the dryer or anything like that because if you get up for 2 minutes, they are fully aware of that and they will take advantage of it.  They are SMART!  I am still amazed by how much a 1 year old knows.  

And don’t be afraid to step out and do something different, like schooling after the baby goes to bed.  My oldest daughter was a night owl and did much of her work after everyone had gone to bed.  If it works for your family, do it.  For several years, my husband did our read-aloud’s at night while I would get toddlers to bed.  I also had one night per week where I would take each kid into my bedroom after dinner to work on math concepts and spelling because that’s the only time I could give them undivided attention.

I’ve got six kids and when I really embraced the idea of “training” them, the difference in our day-to-day lives was amazing.  I encourage you to read “The Way of the Will” which is available as a free download here on SCM if you need any inspiration in this area.