Full disclosure: Rohan is not homeschooled full days. He attends a p/t Montessori place where he basically learns through play with a bunch of other adorable 4 year olds. Kaya is thoroughly jealous of Rohan going to “school.” She stages sit ins at her own personal picket line every time I bring her to drop off or pick up. It’s to the point now that I just drop her at my gram’s house, go pick up Ro, then scoop Kaya back up…just to avoid her protests. But, we felt sad that she felt left out so we have started “homeschooling” her. That wasn’t enough. She still begged to go to school, so she now attends “Library School.” (And she will tell you about her school, proudly.) It’s tricky having two different ages/stages to handle while helping them learn through play.
Here is how I handle homeschooling my toddler (2) and preschooler (4):
Remember that everything is homeschooling:
This is key for me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Everything you do at home is homeschooling whether you label it that or not. Our lilspongeybrained kids are always watching and soaking up what we do, say, and don’t say. Play and interacting with us as parents is about 99% of their days and that’s how they learn. So I intentionally make everything a learning opportunity. Whether it’s decorating the bathroom, or doing laundry, we find a way to make the task fun and educational. I also narrate my moves telling the why behind what I’m doing and ask the kids for input on it to get their wheels turning. (Most recently Kai asked me why I was going outside to shake the dirt out of a rug, I asked her why did she think I was doing it outside? She said because the rug is too cold in this house. -… I took the hint and turned down the A.C. hahaha)
Make a dedicated school zone:
Our old kitchen table has been moved to the family room and has been dubbed the “activity table” where we do our arts and crafts and “school” work. I help one kiddo at the table while the other one uses The Touch & Learn Activity Desk™ Deluxe by VTech®. We then will do an activity like clay play or kinetic sand together. The Touch & Learn Activity Desk™ Deluxe by VTech® is a hit in our house. Rohan absolutely loves the desk and calls it his “station” and it really is. It’s an interactive play center that has nursery rhymes, games to teach him concepts, reading, math and more as he goes along. It also transforms into an art center with an easel that he can use chalk on, or clip paper to, and it can even be a music center as well. Kaya likes “the station” and when it’s just the two of us at home she will pull it over to wherever I am and start doing her “school”work. (It’s very light but very sturdy.) It’s also easy to switch out the activities so the kids can be independent and play on their own.
Be creative (or…just lie.):
Remember that “Library School” Kaya goes to? Yeah…well that’s just story time at our local library. They lead a group of kids in singing songs, reading a few stories and doing a craft. It’s twice a week but when it’s not in session (or when we’re late) Kaya and I go and she does “puzzle class” using all the puzzles in the kid section, and we discovered the computer area for younger kids so she’ll start “computer class” too (Basically whatever computer games they have while mommy uses her laptop to do some work beside her.) So….yeah…we got a little creative with the titles… or maybe we just straight up lied to our two-year old… either way, she’s happy and learning through play!
Have special items for each child:
We share a lot in our house and try to instill sharing as a value with Rohan and Kaya…to an extent. We also know it’s important for them to have their own special items. So, with The Touch & Learn Activity Desk™ Deluxe by VTech®, we let them know that they have to share it. They each get a set amount of time with it each day. However, we also made it special for each of them by giving them both their own proprietary extension packs. Rohan has the Getting Ready for Kindergarten pack and Kaya has the Getting Ready for Preschool pack. I’m going to buy the Math pack for them both to share, though. They have 8 extension packs to choose from for ages 2 through 5 so it’ll take a long time before your child “ages out” of the desk. This was one of the best educational toys purchases I have made in a long while. I really love that both my 2 and 4 year old are able to get so much out of it. I really love that the volume has more than just high, low and off like so many other toys that talk and sing. The kids know to keep the volume lower when they’re using it next to mommy while she works. #win. Another great feature is that the legs can come off without too much effort. Kai prefers to sit down and use the desk as a laptop toy. Rohan likes to sit at the desk “station” using the stool that’s included. So not only can we customize the skill level, the subjects and transform the desk to an easel, we can also cater to each kid’s comfort preference.
Check out The Touch & Learn Activity Desk™ Deluxe by VTech®! If you have a curious toddler or preschooler I am certain they’ll love it and learn from it!
What subjects do your little ones love to learn about?
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I don’t have any little ones yet.
https://twitter.com/willgriesmer/status/788118393605988352
My nephew loves to learn about science and history.
My baby girl is interested in music.
tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/788451546325520384
The little ones loves to learn about math in our house.
https://twitter.com/myway070/status/788463186525560832
My kids love to learn about animals, music, and fun movies!
tweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/788467184825622528
My kids love to learn about science and animals.
tweet
https://twitter.com/Kellydpa/status/788490831460175878
My son loves to learn math
https://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/788511027784654849
My son loves to learn about science and outer space.
My niece loves to learn about science, especially biology.
https://twitter.com/yarbr012/status/788530312422813696
Learning about nature is a favorite.
my little one loves learning science/basic astronomy
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
tweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/788709983810486273
jslbrown2009 at aol dot com
My son loves to learn about farm animals.
https://twitter.com/RachelGriesmer/status/788726801254187008
my son loves to learn math
https://twitter.com/raggammuffin/status/788729839314436096
Anything art related 🙂 If it involves drawing something, they are all for it 🙂
Tweeted 🙂 – https://twitter.com/Enter_Now/status/788994462802337792
My son loves to read and practice reading. He loves visiting the library and getting a stack of new books.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/PrettyHotPink6/status/789863569416413184
My daughter is all about science. (Also, we homeschool, too!)
chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com
My kids love science and math.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
tweet-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/789921912767905794
My little one loves reading and anything to do with books.
Tweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/789933694672711680
My kids love science. it’s just so fascinating! 🙂
amy [at] uTry [dot] it
tweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/791165538517024768
amy [at] uTry [dot] it
Science!
MIne loves animals
https://twitter.com/mkjmc/status/794648328315224066
Math is a favorite. Thanks so much.
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/peg42/status/794692723437617152
Thanks so much.
https://twitter.com/mitadav/status/795018104548032512
They like Books and reading
I make learning fun by playing games and singing songs
https://twitter.com/eliza_elliott/status/795305508286631936
My daughter loves art and history.
https://twitter.com/susan1215/status/796089007197356032
My daughter is big into science, gardening, animals.
we love learning about animals
https://twitter.com/showstopper474/status/798226581584023552
My daughter loves learning about her colors and shapes.
https://twitter.com/ashendricks80/status/798386829263327232
My son loves learning about animals and the planets.
https://twitter.com/JBeard25/status/798641467333951488
my kiddos love learning about animals!
https://twitter.com/lindilala/status/798762209253806080
Music and math.
My niece loves learning about history!
tweet
https://twitter.com/aes529/status/800466082289086464
My niece likes science.
https://twitter.com/mitadav/status/800478846688468992
My Granddaughter loves learning to read.
https://mobile.twitter.com/arress83/status/800530385507450880
They love reading and science.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/rubylorikeet/status/800892183347724289
They love spelling!
Tweet https://twitter.com/Lindiac/status/801181993597685760
I don’t have kids. I can say that math was my fav subject, when I was a kid though.
I tweeted here: https://twitter.com/MsTofuFairy/status/801434525490413568
my baby loves learning about animals
https://twitter.com/linjumimom/status/801496220749463553
The little ones in my life love learning about art and bugs, not necessarily at the same time. 🙂
I shared your blog post and the VTech giveaway on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NotherAnneOther/status/801882180913860608
Thank you.
She is loving learning her ABC”S right now and having fun with music!
I tweeted
https://twitter.com/my4boysand1/status/801995829804494848
when my son was younger he loved to learn about dinosaurs
https://twitter.com/raggammuffin/status/802148100261498881
My daughter is really into animals right now!
tweeted: https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/802197174486437888
my son loves learning about the weather!
My granddaughter is just learning her alphabet and colors right now.
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/eswright18/status/802712057468502016
My son likes science.
tweeted
https://twitter.com/thomasmurphy40/status/802757807229566980
Science and math are my nephew’s most loved to learn subjects.
I publicly Tweeted this giveaway: https://twitter.com/versatileer/status/802941900617555968
When the kids were little they loved learning about anything nature related.
thank you
Tweet https://twitter.com/JalapenoMama/status/802943689509261313
She loves learning about animals and the planets
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweet https://twitter.com/ChelleB36/status/802992697971769344
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
My great granddaughter loves art. She recently learned how to use Mommie’s phone to take photos and is getting very good at doing it.
Tweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/803000222938988546
My kids love math and science.
#SweepstakesEntry- comment
ABC’s, spelling and learning new words!
kacor7@hotmail.com
#SweepstakesEntry tweet:
https://twitter.com/thrincor/status/803036371308908544
kacor7@hotmail.com
My grandkids like learning the ABC’s, colors and dressing themselves.
https://twitter.com/dawnmonroe83/status/803082798525345792
Right now we are big into ABCs and 123s. And learning about Christmas, of course!