How do you keep your younger children (pre-school age) occupied while teaching your older one?

Question

I have a 1 year old and will be home schooling my 6 year old Kindergarten student.

Answer 1

The question is what age is the one year old. They change so much in that year. My answer depends on what stage of development the child is. Closer to two means more time is needed for directing by you. Closer to one means as the previous post recommended, toys and an open area for free play time. There is a great book full of developmental ideas for your younger child called "slow and steady get me ready" Ideas are for children 0 to 5. Once you have shown them the activity sometimes you can let them continue to repeat it. Such as building a tower with blocks and knocking it down.  We do a lot of our school in the kitchen. I put my younger child up to the table with different mediums to explore, play dough, noodles, crayons and paper, paint etc. Sometimes this is a distraction and others its a lot of work for not a lot of help. I also have my child up to the sink with a few inches of water and some plastic dishes. She is "helping" me do the dishes while I can focus my attention on my older child. When I am desperate this one always works! Yes I have done this with my almost two year old. I can see her from the table and water is not to much for me to clean up. I sometimes do school during nap time or assign other "jobs" for my youngest. The time spent on school doesn't have to be a lot yet so these activities work to get them off your hip just long enough to get things going. There is the occasional "plugging" in to the TV for leap frog videos or character building shows such as little bear. I hope this helps get things rolling! Happy Schooling!

Answer 2

I try to get the harder subjects during nap time and let go hide in her room for the easier ones that she doesn't need much help with. For the other one hes 5 we do very basic stuff phonics and math and then he plays outside or in his room for the rest of the time the oldest is working

Answer 3

My younger daughter is almost two.  We usually start out by sitting her at the table with us and giving her a wooden puzzle to work on or some paper and crayons.  This is, of course, if she is not already entertaining herself.  If she gets, too, distracting I will put on a video or t.v. show.  Since I only do about 30 to 45 minutes of work with my older daughter (almost 5), it's not a lot of t.v. time.

Many parents will set aside a special box or two of toys that only get pulled out during school time.  That way they seem more like a special treat and will often hold their attention longer.  A lot also do more one-on-one work while the little one is taking a nap.

Good luck!!

Answer 4

A 1yo is more of a toddler than a preschooler, so in addition to what I suggest below, try a search for "toddler activities" online.

I'd say age-suitable toys, but not too many out at once. Just do whatever school work you are doing in a place where the 1yo can roam fairly free. They're usually pretty busy at that age!

As your children get older and you'll probably want to spend a little more time each day with the older of the two (for K, you really don't need to spend much time at all and could probably cover everything without actually ever formally sitting down and doing work), you'll find other activities for the younger to do that are age-appropriate. By the time the 1yo becomes a preschooler (ages 3-4), you'll be able to have paper and crayons available, glueing activities and more.