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Can I be honest? The hardest part of homeschooling for me isn’t teaching lessons. It’s managing everyone’s needs and parenting and discipling AND teaching at the same time. I’m currently homeschooling a 2nd grader and a kindergartner with an energetic, adorable 4 year old and a curious 1 year old whose favorite hobby is surprising me by what she can get into next.

I want to raise thriving thinkers and I want to be with my kiddos. I also want our lessons to be enjoyable for the whole family and for my big kids to appreciate the normalcy of having younger siblings around. I think multi-age homeschooling has great benefits. I also practically need to give my older students attention and engagement during some lessons.

Maybe that’s you, too? Or maybe you’re thinking about homeschooling but not sure how you’ll get through a lesson when your toddler is occupying 110% of your focus.

Our homeschool is by no means perfect, but I’ve tested out quite a few strategies for making our lessons a priority and for helping that time stay as “peaceful” as possible. I’m sure I’ll continue to learn as we continue our homeschooling journey, but here are some tactics that have helped me invest in lessons while keeping our littles content.

Note: I don’t think you need to buy anything on this list, and you can certainly use what you already have around your home. To make it easy, I’ve added some Amazon Affiliate links. I’ll gain a small commission from these at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the mission of Thriving Little Thinkers!

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1. Consistency is key. PRACTICE!

At the risk of stating the obvious, your kids will do their best when they know what to expect from school time and what is expected of them. It will take repetition for everyone to get into the groove of focused lessons and independent play. We’ve been homeschooling for 4 years now, and it is getting better and more enjoyable over time.

2. Are your expectations realistic?

Be prepared to stop for your littles. It’s realistic that they will have needs and that you are available to meet those needs. Yes, we are training them in patience and independent play, but they are small humans with needs and you are there to provide for those needs. That doesn’t mean we give in to every “want” that occurs, but if I’m entering into lessons with open hands toward my littles, I’m much less likely to pop and more likely to model the peace that I want my family to have.

I am inspired by the beautiful images of family style learning around the kitchen table with candles lit, baked treats at an arm’s reach, and gorgeous learning supplies scattered everywhere.

Everyone once in awhile, our family has these moments and they are beautiful!

But I can’t say that’s an everyday occurrence. With littles, it’s okay that there are needs. It’s okay that there are interruptions. It’s okay that the preschooler is so excited to show you their building or art creation. It’s okay that the baby got fussy and needed to go down for a nap, so you paused or gave the big kids some independent work to do.

I’m still growing in this area.

It’s not going to be perfect. It’s going to stretch your capacity and your patience, but in a good way. And it’s going to get better over time. I often remind my big kids that these little siblings are blessings. They remind me of that, too.

Do you have an image in your mind of what your homeschool could look like? Use that inspiration to motivate you, just don’t hold it so tightly that you lose sight of the imperfect reality right in front of you with all the of the messy growth (for them and for you).

3. Take Learning Outside

4. Containment + Snacks (I use these daily.)

Sometimes you just need your youngest safely contained for a short lesson. Here are my go-to containment tactics:

Downstairs safety check and baby gates

Before we begin our lessons I walk through our downstairs and close doors, make sure the stairs are blocked off, and that nothing dangerous is within reach. While I try to position our toddler’s toys and snacks in a close area where I can see her, if she wanders off I don’t have to panic.

We have a playroom that opens to our kitchen with baby gates, so I pull those gates and have her play there when needed. This is a work in progress… my preschooler can play contently in the playroom alone. My 1 year old? We are working towards that in very short spurts.

The High Chair Snack Station

When she isn’t pleased with the playroom situation or feeling cranky, I put my 1-year-old in her high chair with finger snacks. Cheerios, small crackers, cut-up fruit—whatever keeps those little hands busy. Yes, there’s cleanup afterward. But 15 minutes of reading instruction without chasing her? Worth it.

The Hiking Backpack Carrier

5. Special “School Time” Bins

I have a shelf in our office with plastic bins that ONLY come out at school time for our older toddler. Because they are kept special, they are exciting and grab his attention for at least 10 minutes (often way more). Some of these can’t be used by our 1 year old, so our older toddler (2.5-4 years old) brings the bin to the kitchen table or front porch so that they are out of the baby’s reach.

The physical bins were an upfront cost, but we already had many of the toys/supplies around our home and we added some items to our birthday and holiday wish lists. We did not buy all of these fillers at the same time. We don’t have more than 4-5 bins on the shelf at a time. I usually only swap them out of necessity when the contents are missing or dried out or we get a new filler as a gift.

Here’s what is currently in our school bins:

• Puffy stickers and blank paper
  • Simple but effective. Puffy stickers are easier for toddler fingers to grab and peel than regular stickers. My 4-year-old can spend 15-20 minutes making sticker masterpieces on paper. We often repeat “Stickers only go on paper” and we remove the sticker bin if I find stickers elsewhere.
• Sensory bin(s)
  • You don’t have to buy anything fancy to make one of these! I’ve made sensory bins with water, ice, rice, beans, corn, or pasta. When I first started homeschooling, I learned everything I know about sensory bins from The Busy Toddler (check out her website for list after list of toddler pre-k activities!) Just like the stickers, if I find the contents of the sensory bin in other places or they have intentionally dumped them, the bin is mine for a few days. We put Dino & Ocean Sensory bin and Outer Space Sensory Bin on our birthday wish lists.
• Crayola Color Wonder paper and markers or sets
  • These are mess-free and toddlers love them! The markers only work on the special paper, so I don’t worry about wall art.
• LEGO®bricks
  • For an entire post on my love of LEGO® bricks, check out 5 Ways LEGO® bricks Promote Learning. I keep a bin of bricks on our shelf for my older toddler to use during lessons. It’s not fancy or sorted, it’s just a bin of classic pieces, mini figures, and baseplates to create with. On many days, this keeps him occupied for the longest of the options listed.
  • LEGO® bricks may not be low cost, but I would consider them high value. Read here for ways to lower the cost and add some basic sets like these to your Amazon wish lists: LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box (includes storage) or LEGO Classic Creative Suitcase (includes storage)
  • LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO® Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site.
• Water Wow! Books (Melissa & Doug)
  • These Melissa & Doug books use water to reveal colors, then dry and can be used again. Completely mess-free and endlessly reusable.

In the past our bins have included scratch art pads, play-Doh kits with dough tools (make your own playdough with this recipe), threading activities (make your own with twine and plastic sewing needles), Wikii stix, or brain flakes (doubles as math manipulatives)

6. Parallel learning

7. Be Flexible with Lesson Timing

Typically, by using the strategies I’ve listed above, we are able to knock out our lessons before noon.

But life happens! Kids get sick, or need extra snuggles, or we have trouble making it through without frustration.

On those days, we capitalize on the flexibility of homeschooling by shifting our lessons to:

• Baby’s nap time
• When dad is home from work
• When the littles go to bed
• Weekend mornings (making it a fun mini-adventure to the library or coffee shop)

We can still finish our lessons without changing up our day drastically. This flexibility is one of homeschooling’s greatest gifts…and we use it!

8. Know When to Get Help

My goal for Thriving Little Thinkers is to share low-cost, high-impact ideas. It should not cost an arm and a leg to home educate your children or raise them to be thinkers.

With that being said, it is also valuable to know when to invest in help.

It isn’t always feasible for every circumstance, but having an extra set of hands can be incredibly valuable when getting your feet under you in homeschooling.

Mother’s Day Out Programs

When I first discussed the possibility of homeschooling with my husband, I had doubts. I wanted to test out the waters, but my hands were full! We were thankful that we had access to a local Mother’s Day Out program. For two mornings a week my youngest two at the time had a blast, finished by lunch, and I was able to figure out the basics of how my daughter and I could do this whole homeschooling thing.

Grandparent Help

I have friends who involve available grandparents for similar help: one to two mornings or afternoons a week to watch the littles while the parent and older students focus on schoolwork. Do you have a close neighbor or friend who could give you an hour to focus with your older student?

Mother’s Helpers & Babysitting

A Mother’s Helper is often cheaper than the cost of an older sitter and works great *when you are still present*. A mother’s helper is typically a young person (often a tween or young teen) who wants to learn babysitting skills for the future. They help with light childcare or basic house chores while you’re still home.

I know a family whose young daughter (10) works as a mother’s helper. She helps keep the youngest busy during homeschool time, builds caregiving skills for the future, and earns some money (all before independently babysitting). The family pays less than they would for an experienced sitter, and the mom gets helping hands to keep the youngest occupied during focused lessons. This could be a great low-cost way to not only invest in another young lady, but also get extra hands-on help for a short period of time.

We are in a season where we can have a sitter come three times a month. Sometimes I use that time for a focused school activity and other times I use it for personal projects. That hasn’t always been available to us, and we hold it with open hands. For now, we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have occasional help.

Try it today: Pick ONE strategy!

Starting up your homeschool is challenging. It’s also incredibly rewarding. Your younger children are learning by watching, listening, and soaking in the rhythm and habits of school time.

You don’t need to implement everything at once. Start with one or two tactics, build your confidence, and grow from there. See what works for your family and your homeschool.

Cheering you on,

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What strategies have worked for your family? I’d love to hear what’s helping you manage homeschool with multiple ages! Leave a comment below.