5 Tips to Homeschooling with Multiples
Updated: Jun 4, 2020
This is one of the biggest questions I get asked. How do you homeschool with multiple children at home?
I’ve homeschooled through morning sickness, the newborn stage, toddler-land, and a few other things. I’d be lying if I told you that some days it's not a struggle to homeschool. Anyone with multiple children knows what a circus it can be. So, I’ve compiled a list of my Top 5 tips to be successful and have fun along the way with homeschooling while having multiple children.
Tip #1
It’s okay to have days when you might rush through everything. You might skip the extras or maybe even some of the main points, and that is OKAY! Do not beat yourself up over this. You are not costing your child their education but showing them how to be flexible when things don’t go quite as planned. You're also showing them how to keep going when it doesn’t go your way. In all honesty, find one teacher in the education system who is able to accomplish and complete every single thing every single day. That teacher doesn’t exist!
Tip #2
Get the smaller kids involved. Buy them notebooks or coloring books that you only pull out during school time, and let them sit with you. This is always a guarantee time buyer for us. They feel like they are big kids doing school, and don’t forget, there is no age for some things if they want to listen in on lessons or watch videos and make comments; let them! Let them do science experiments, art projects, or listen in on your reading, and you might be surprised what they pick up.
Tip #3
Let your brain learn again. Feel the spark come back alive for all things! Never figured something out in your own education? Now is the time to soak it in. You’d be amazed how it will change your desires to start school in the morning when you start to wonder right along with your child about the world. Your excitement will travel to all of the "littles" while making the school table, sofa, or floor a fun place to grow together as a family.
Tip #4
If you have younger ones, use nap time to your advantage. Yes, I know there is laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, and about a million other little things to accomplish. But you’ll be a happier camper if you're trying to figure out how photosynthesis works and there isn’t a baby attached to you. No nap time doesn’t always work, but when it does, use it to your advantage!
Tip #5
Find a family style curriculum. This is a game changer. Who says your 1st grader, 3rd grader, and 6th grader can’t all be learning about energy at the same time? Sure, there are different levels, but if you are only covering one topic and you actually get to see it at all different levels then I think this only increases everybody’s understanding. Little kids get to digest more complexities of it while the older kids get to taste the beginning side of it all again. It will ignite the wonder in both directions. I highly recommend WonderHere’s family style curriculum!
There you have it! My Top 5 tips to homeschooling with a small army! You’ve got this mama!
-Nicole