I have a 16 month old toddler who is into everything these days. Homeschooling with a toddler isn’t too difficult. It just requires a little adapting. How do we do it? What do I do with my toddler?
Today I decided to track my toddler’s activities and write down what she was doing every half hour of our school day. Our school day went from 10 am – 5:30pm today.
Our Day
10:00 am Toddler playing in schoolroom. The schoolroom is babyproofed for the most part and has stairs and bookcases gated off so she cannot reach them. She has lots of toys in the school room to play with and room to roam.
10:30 am Toddler sitting on my lap watching YouTube videos with us.
11:00 am Toddler getting ready to go outside. We went outside to run around and play freeze tag.
11:30 am Toddler in stroller for flower hunt. We took a walk in the neighborhood looking for wildflowers.
12:00 pm Toddler in Ergo Baby Carrier
12:30 pm Toddler is eating lunch in her highchair
1:00 pm Toddler is finishing lunch in her highchair
1:30 pm Toddler running around with 5 year old brother in schoolroom.
2:00 pm Toddler nursing
2:30 pm Toddler asleep in Ergo Baby Carrier
3:00 pm Toddler asleep in Ergo Baby Carrier
3:30 pm Toddler asleep in Ergo Baby Carrier
4:00 pm Toddler asleep in Ergo Baby Carrier
4:30 pm Toddler starting to wake up.
5:00 pm Toddler snacking on crackers in the Ergo Baby Carrier
5:30 pm Toddler playing outside with brothers.
Today was a bit longer than a usual school day, but it gives you an idea what my toddler does while we have school. It isn’t as cut and dry as it may appear. We have diaper changes, nursing breaks, older children distracted with her playing, no snuggling on the couch with a book (room with couch isn’t baby proofed), older children wanting to play with her, and more. Adaptability is necessary.
When she is a little older I will put all her toys into separate bins and rotate her toy boxes so her toys always are new to her. Right now she isn’t bored with the toys that are always around so we haven’t moved to that stage yet. Last school year when she was a baby I held her when she needed it, fed her when she wanted to be fed, put her in a baby carrier when she wanted to sleep, and put her down to play. I just did that all right there in our schoolroom right next to my older children.
