 This is the second part in this series about keeping my younger children busy while homeschooling my older ones. Read the first part for some simple, practical ideas that only require a little bit of planning at the beginning of the year.
This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own. Preschoolers The Middles are a little over three now. They are almost potty-trained; they can almost dress themselves; and, over the summer, their pretend play has blossomed. It’s been amazing to watch them develop from toddlers into preschoolers. They disappear into their bedroom quietly for an hour or more at a time!! But, then I check on them to find out what they are doing… Sometimes they’ve emptied their entire dresser onto the floor or pulled all the clothes off the hangers; sometimes they’ve broken all the crayons into fragments and ripped the wrappers to shreds; and usually their diapers are poopy (yes, we’re still working on that potty-training thing). All these developments show me that their “education” needs have changed from last year.
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 Homeschooling has been a huge blessing for our family. When my Little twins were born, my older twins were only 20 months old - I had four children under two, along with a four year old and a 2nd grader. In the beginning, I was recovering from a C-section and spent about a quarter of my day nursing babies. We took several weeks off school because of this but before long, we needed the rhythm of school to give our day some order and I knew I had to re-figure out my management techniques.
So, when I say that this wisdom has been hard-won and learned in the trenches, you’ll see what I mean. These tips are practical, simple, and require only a little planning at the beginning of the year. You CAN occupy your little ones while teaching your older ones.  By the end of a carefree summer, I long to get back into the routine of school. I enjoy a solid, daily rhythm and I’ve learned that it keeps our household more peaceful, too. I'm not quite ready yet for the summer to be over yet, but I'm quickly getting there...
 I’ve tried various chore charts for the Bigs. Peter, in particular, adores checking off accomplishments on a chore chart for the first week; but he’s also super competitive and turns the chart into a contest with his younger brother. I find it difficult to supervise a long list of chores - I have so many little distractions! I researched a lot of cute options using clothespins, magnets, and cute little cartoons. But, I couldn’t find a method that worked for us, so I basically gave up and we’ve just been muddling through while I remind (or nag) kids about chores.
 “...I have a regard for children’s little treasures, and think they should be treated respectfully.” - Louisa May Alcott This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.
It doesn’t matter where you live, if your children go outside, they will find interesting discoveries out there and want to bring them inside. When my Bigs were littler, we would walk through our suburban neighborhood to the library every week and come home with more than just books. Usually, it was rocks, sticks, leaves, or prickly gumballs: nature treasures found along the way. As a toddling two year old, William loved rescuing earthworms on the sidewalk - even the dried-up, shriveled ones. I cringed slightly and encouraged him to leave them in the grass because I didn’t want dead earthworms in my house. For the first few years of my kids’ lives, I treated nature finds like an unpleasant task - something I had to put up with. Any mother of twins will tell you: their first year is hard. We reached the one-year milestone for our Littles during this past school year. They sleep better; therefore, Momma sleeps better and can do everything with more energy, patience, and clarity. It also helped that just a couple months after the Littles turned one, Michael ended up working from home due to the Coronavirus quarantine. Just having an extra adult around is so encouraging for me.
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AuthorSusan is a mother of six: five boys and one sweet girl. She is probably busy right now diapering a child, getting someone a snack, and looking for a lost shoe. Now, where is that coffee cup? Archives
October 2020
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