Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Homeschooling with Toddlers in the House

Sorry, no tips here. Just extolling one big benefit.

My older kids all had younger siblings around during their homeschooling days. There were little people in the house playing with Legos or drawing or making messes or being distracting in a gazillion different ways. But you did what you had to do, read what you had to read, etc.

The two youngest kids never had that. They were the interrupters, not the interruptees. Now there's a toddler in the house. And they cannot pay attention when we're doing schoolwork: Alia might do something cute that they'll miss! Yoo hoo!!! Tune in to the history lesson and let Alia play trains or dolls or whatever!!!

So next time you bemoan the fact that you can't do a good job homeschooling your 10-yr-old because the 3-yr-old is being distracting, just remember that there's a lesson the big kid is learning that's far more valuable than dividing fractions or studying the Boer War.

1 comment:

  1. I was thinking that very thought today as I was trying to answer Madeleine's math question with Elisabeth singing in the next room and Caroline screaming in my arms. Somehow, the question was answered and the assignment was finished, despite the noisy distractions.

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