I remember stressing last year, as my belly ever increased in size and the time drew near for Baby girl to be born. How would I juggle the itty bitty newborn-hood and preschooling my 4 year old at the same time? Thankfully my baby has been a very laid back one, and enjoys just watching her big brother. There were moments of difficult transition, but for the most part it went pretty smoothly. Now it's time to plan for an older baby/almost toddler to join our Kindergarten this year! Here is how I plan to do so...
Make them a part of your homeschool
When Baby girl was a newborn, this meant wrapping her up in a moby wrap and letting her nap while I taught my son. Now it is going to mean something different as she gets ready to start walking and discovering things in the school room (yikes!). I am trying to accommodate this by setting a boppy pillow lounger by our morning chair, so she can also be a part of our morning time. She may not last long enough to be involved in math and phonics, but she can join in the Morning Time of hymn singing, Bible reading, and the book we are reading. Here is how I am helping her stay in the room with us:
Have age appropriate items for them to use during 'school'
As she will go from being 9 months-18 months during the school year, I've set aside some items that she should enjoy that can be both entertaining and educational for her. I'm not much into the itty bitty 'school', and she won't be doing any traditional learning for a couple more years, but that doesn't mean she can't do things that will help her develop sensory, verbal, and motor skills! I've set aside a small area of Little Man's cube shelf to accommodate Baby Girl's items. Here are a few of the things that I've included:
Melissa and Doug chunky puzzles
Fisher Price Block sorter
Cloth and touch and feel books
Give yourself grace
Whether having a newborn that needs your undivided attention, or a older baby transitioning to toddlerhood that is having a meltdown-homeschool means that things can be flexible. I remember there were days when we had to wait until the afternoon to finish school, or scrambling to finish a project during nap time. Allow yourself to get out of the routine, if it means that everyone is able to get what they need. We do a 4 day schedule for that very reason! If something happens and we have to call it quits one of the days, there is always Friday to finish up all the things we were unable to do.
I know in a way I have it easy, as I only have the 2 little ones. Let me know, how do you juggle the itty bitty's and homeschool?
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