avazquez24 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I have dd who is 11 months old (walking and into everything:) and so she'll be my biggest challenge this year in homeschooling the other two. Was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or helpful hints on things to keep her 'busy' while working with the other two? I'm sure there's plenty of others who have homeschooled with a 1 yr old, and thought maybe some insight from them would be helpful:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthyfamily Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Well to be perfectly honest, I started homeschooling all of mine by the time they were one. Some of our faves were really simple flashcards (solar system, numbers, colours...so on), a box of math manipulatives (balance scale with tongs and cotton balls were a fave), and of course reading to them is super important. HTH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy_of_4 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 We try to school when she is taking a nap. If not I either put in yo gabba gabba, put her in high chair with lots of toys and/or snacks, or just let her go play if she is entertaining herself. She is 14 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Prakash Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 It may not be ideal, but I put mine down for the 2 hour nap and taught the others. THen after the nap time my kids did their independent study. This year my youngest is turning 2 and not napping as long, but I am hoping to entertain him with pudding finger paint on his tray or hell go and entertain himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brehon Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Duct tape. Lots of duct tape. :D Seriously, try having a box of toys which only comes out for school time. Or buy one of those big pre-school workbooks & let your little one "do school" (of course all she'll do is scribble away). You might also try a half hour or so of intensive play time w/your little one before you start school. This is also a good time for your olders to get some physical exercise in before lessons which might lessen the wiggles. If all else fails remember the duct tape. It even comes in designer colors. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I heard SWB speak in Feb. and she said that when required she'd toss a handful of cereal (or candy?) on the kitchen floor far from where she was w/ her older kids and while her little one went after it one by one . . . she'd get some homeschooling done. Cracked me up. :lol: Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelbe5 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 One suggestion I read some years ago is having older children take turns for a period of time (30 minutes) to play with baby while others are working on school and rotate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avazquez24 Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Thanks everyone for all the ideas!! LOL....the duct tape cracked me up....and so did the cereal one!! The cereal idea reminded me of what the older two do to the baby sometimes now...they think it's funny to make a trail of cherrios, and have her follow it and lead her into one of the closets:glare: I can totally see me doing that with Emma though...she LOVES to eat food, so I can imagine me lunging the cherrios across the house constantly to have her keep going over there lol. As of now, the baby takes a nap in the morning (around 10:30/11:00), but only sleeps a half hour. She takes a late afternoon nap as well, but it's also only about 30-40 min long. Right now, when she's napping is when the older kids and I snuggle on the couch and do our reading together, as that's the longest and only time I can sit for that long lol. The baby is right there with us though, because she only naps with me holding her:tongue_smilie: She is VERY attached and has only co-slept with me, and napped on me ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheerioKid Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I think it will be interesting to say the least.....I babysit for a PS teacher two days a week, and he will be 10 months old when school starts. Homeschooling and babysitting will be interesting. Definitely going to need a high chair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 We used to take turns. One thing you could remember is that at your dc's ages, you shouldn't need a lot of quiet seat time. Perhaps you could do the important 6 yr old work during her first nap and then the important 4 1/2 yr old work during the second nap. The rest you could do with the baby in the high chair with a cup of water or maybe a few special toys or have the 4 1/2 yr old play with her while you do any left over work with the older one and then switch. HTH [at least a little] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I let mine join in as much as possible. When I went through pictures for our yearly video I noticed he was in quite a few. :lol: Life happens. You roll with it and accept the distractions for being an added benefit. The 1yo isn't going to let you pretend that school is all workbooks and table time. He'll force you to get up and learn on the go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 When my DS was that age, a Pack 'n Play with 3 bags of these ball pit balls kept him entertained for a long time (relatively speaking for a 1-year-old:D). As others have said, cardboard boxes of various sizes were a huge hit too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peplophoros Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 :iagree: with naps and t.v. (if she watches). I'm trying out busy bags for my 2 year old (there are some really great ideas for these on the web and pinterest), although these might not work as well for someone so young. If you can, splurge on a way cool toy that only comes out during school time (busy ball popper was a *miracle* for me last year with my then one-year-old!!). Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I have dd who is 11 months old (walking and into everything:) and so she'll be my biggest challenge this year in homeschooling the other two.Was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or helpful hints on things to keep her 'busy' while working with the other two? I'm sure there's plenty of others who have homeschooled with a 1 yr old, and thought maybe some insight from them would be helpful:) We used our high chair....A LOT! Chop up little pieces of fruit Sorting toys that have suction cups on the bottom Finger painting with pudding, or applesauce. ( yes...it makes a mess....but then baby gets popped into kitchen sink to play with the water while I can supervise other kids who are at the table. Blow up a little baby pool on kitchen floor and fill with measuring cups, funnels, muffin tins etc.....put some water ( just an inch) ....or soap suds(when baby is a little older and won't eat it) ...play!....yes, it makes a mess.....but, you get a mopped floor out of it and maybe a happy baby for a 1/2 hour. There are tons of little ideas on pinterest... Activity bags, homemade toys etc. I found anything already edible, squishy, messy and non-choke/ non toxic worked best. There are lots of edible, cheap play doh type recipes online....and if they eat it, no biggie. I also would wear my babies a lot. A held baby was a happy baby. We schooled in the livingroon with baby in my lap....often.... Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nertsmommy Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I use playdoh. I put her in the highchair and she plays with that. I also have a board that DH put several different latches on and she loves that too. I am making a bunch of sensory bottles for her to play with. I got the idea from here: http://lagunapreschoolcurriculum.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-to-make-science-discovery-bottles.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Duct tape. Lots of duct tape. :D Seriously, try having a box of toys which only comes out for school time. Or buy one of those big pre-school workbooks & let your little one "do school" (of course all she'll do is scribble away). You might also try a half hour or so of intensive play time w/your little one before you start school. This is also a good time for your olders to get some physical exercise in before lessons which might lessen the wiggles. If all else fails remember the duct tape. It even comes in designer colors. :lol: I heard SWB speak in Feb. and she said that when required she'd toss a handful of cereal (or candy?) on the kitchen floor far from where she was w/ her older kids and while her little one went after it one by one . . . she'd get some homeschooling done. Cracked me up. :lol: Alley :lol::lol::lol: Seriously, I have no idea. I have a slew of kids, so it is not like I haven't been around this before. My 1 1/2 yr old has me like this:001_huh: all the time. How does she get into so much?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkl Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I am in a similar situation. My kids are 6.5, 3.5 (will be 4 in Oct), and 16 months. My youngest only naps an hour a day, and 15 min of that is on me (I nurse her down). I have been reading lots of tips here...http://www.mamaslearningcorner.com/2012/08/ultimate-guide-to-occupying-toddlers-during-school-time/ I can post my (ideal) daily routine if you think it wold help at all.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Oldest child is six? Baby plays on the floor next to you while you do any and all reading aloud. You play with baby near to the table while oldest does a bit of "independent" seat work. The rest you do during naptime. This year will be easy peasy... Wait 'til next fall when you have a climber. :willy_nilly: :thumbup: LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 We had a "school box" of toys that only came out during homeschool. We also had a selection of dvds that were only played during school. I see by your sig line, you have 2. Are you schooling them together for every subject? You could have one play with the baby while you teach the other then trade off. We took lots of breaks and included the baby in all read-a-louds. Enjoy the process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadianmumof5 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 There are lots of great ideas here. I think we tried most of them :tongue_smilie: I think the biggest thing for me this past year was lowering my expectations of what could be reasonably done when Chunky was up. There was just no way that we could do everything that we wanted so we started to do more independent work in the mornings and then once he was down for his nap - we did the more "teacher intense" stuff. We also didn't get everything done that I wanted to get done. But that was just the reality for this past year. As my DH says "everything is a phase". I am crossing my fingers that this next year will be easier (although with a newborn......who knows!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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