Homeschooling multiple kids of all different ages and grade levels might sound impossible – but I assure you it’s not! In my opinion, having kids in different grades is actually very helpful most of the time! In this blog post I’m sharing some practical tips for homeschooling multiple kids. These will help ensure that each child gets the attention they need, while you stay calm and in control!
Homeschooling is an incredible lifestyle and pours so many blessings into the home. But homeschool moms need encouragement too, especially when balancing multiple kids! Check out this list of 7 great homeschool books that will rejuvenate and inspire you!
Older Children
Let’s talk about older children first. I hear a lot of parents say they don’t think they can homeschool through the high school years. There seems to be this idea that a homeschool parent is supposed to know everything about the high school curriculum, and be able to teach every high school subject without help. This concept is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, and stems solely out of fear and ignorance. Let me explain…
If you grew up in public school, you can likely remember your high school years and your high school teachers. Did you have the same teacher for every subject? No! I had one teacher for language arts, one for math, one for social studies, etc. Why are high schools set up this way? Because nobody is expected to know everything about every subject, and be able to teach it ALL without support! Homeschool is no different.
When you have high school aged kids in your homeschool, there may be a few things here and there that you are facilitating but the majority of the time they will be doing independent work. This will likely consist of a combination of online classes and homeschool curriculum. They could be self lead for certain subjects, maybe have a tutor to learn a foreign language, and possibly even participate in some online college courses.
My point is, older kids are an asset to your homeschool because they require less one-on-one time from you, and are also able to be a huge help to their younger siblings. I know many homeschool families where the older kids do the read alouds during morning time with the younger kids. Or while the mom is helping one child with their math, the older siblings are helping a younger one spell a tricky word. Older children can be super helpful when it comes to homeschooling multiple children because of their independence and ability to step in when needed.
>>Read Also: How I Approach Homeschool Grading
Younger Children
Younger children can be a bit harder to balance than the older ones, but it’s still very doable to homeschool multiple kids when they’re young. I started homeschooling when my daughter was finishing grade 2 and my son was in the preschool years. My biggest challenge during that time was giving my daughter the attention she needed, while keeping my son entertained so he wasn’t interrupting us constantly.
At his young age, “school time” consisted of playing with kinetic sand, Play Doh, colorful blocks and alphabet trains! Little hands need to be kept busy, and all of those activities not only exercised his hands, but his mind as well. Playing with those types of things help improve fine motor skills and even teach basic problem solving skills.
The amount of academic work you get done in a homeschool day largely depends on the ages and stages of your kids. Preschool children need to play more than anything! Therefore, having some hands-on activities ready to go is a great way to occupy your youngest children, while you sit with another child who needs your help.
Here are some activity ideas you can have on hand for your littles:
- A bin of Play Doh with some cookie cutters or plastic forks and knives
- Lego (if they’re old enough not to put the pieces in their mouths)
- Magnets with letters and numbers
- Pieces of scrap paper and safety scissors
- Color by number pages and crayons
- Touch and feel picture books
- Wooden picture puzzles
- Math blocks that they can organize into color groupings or patterns
If you have preschool/kindergarten aged kids, I have a blog post all about how to teach kindergarten. It provides practical tips and even some curriculum recommendations.
Adjust Your Expectations
One of the best tips I can give you is to make sure you don’t have unrealistic expectations. When you are homeschooling multiple kids, you need to be flexible and ready to change your plans if needed.
Remember, homeschooling can happen at any time of the day, so don’t worry if you have to stop mid morning to handle something with a toddler. If your other children are old enough for independent learning, set them up with what they need while you care for your younger ones. If none of your children are able to work independently yet, try sitting with them while your baby or toddler is napping. Or, for 20 minutes after supper when your spouse is around to take care of the rest of the kids.
If you typically like to have a more structured approach to things, it can be really hard to relax your expectations. I understand that because I’m someone who loves a good plan! But homeschooling has taught me that having a daily routine rather than a strict schedule leads to a much happier experience!
Keep an open mind and be willing to step outside the box. Homeschooling is a lifestyle and involves the whole family, so don’t be afraid to ask for help and support. Don’t force “schooling” it into one specific time, accept help when it’s available, and just trust the process!
Group Work
Utilizing group work in your homeschool is a great way to teach multiple kids at once! My favorite way to do this is through unit studies. Right now, I have a 6th grader and a 2nd grader, and we use unit studies for specific subjects like science, history and social studies.
Unit studies that are made for multiple different ages have one main teacher’s manual the homeschool parent reads from, and lesson plans that include different levels of work for the entire family.
We have used unit studies from both Gather ‘Round and The Good And The Beautiful, and each one follows a similar structure. It keeps each child engaged with age appropriate work, and makes things easy for me as the homeschool mom! I can read from one lesson and know that both of my kids will have just the right amount of work for their age and grade level.
A unit study isn’t the only kind of group work you can do. You can turn lots of things into activities that incorporate the needs of multiple children. Here are some group activities you can all do together:
- A morning basket – If you haven’t heard of this, it’s basically a morning time routine that involves the whole family. Pam Barnhill has made the term “morning basket” quite well known. Her website Homeschool Better Together explains what it’s all about.
- Nature studies and scavenger hunts
- Science experiments
- Baking
- Field Trips
It’s Totally Possible!
I’ll leave you with some words of encouragement: You are completely capable of homeschooling multiple kids!
How do I know? Because they’re YOUR kids and you know them better than anyone. You also have their best interests at heart and they will thrive from the customized education homeschooling can provide.
If you have lots of littles right now and you’re in the thick of the toddler years, give yourself some grace. You won’t get everything done you want to do, and that’s okay! There will come a day when things will get a little bit easier. Don’t set expectations that your kids aren’t ready to meet.
If you have a large family with some older kids who are able to help, let them! It teaches them empathy and responsibility, plus your younger ones will love having an older sibling help them out!
Take a deep breath, relax, and know that everything will work out! Tons of moms homeschool multiple kids…..and you can too!
Blessings!
~Maryann
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