Ok, so I'm not necessarily new at this, I mean, I have schooled with a toddler before. But my son is a totally different kid! He's wild, energetic, and very hectic. I do a lot of outdoor things with him. Just to be clear, I'm not schooling him with bookwork at the moment. I'm wondering how to school the older two with him around.

I've tried giving him activities to do while I take small chunks of time to work with the older two. Any ideas, please? I also have an almost-ten-month-old who is teething. Makes for a few crazy days!! Thanks!

Mama J.

I've never homeschooled multiples, but I have worked with multiple ages in other settings, and worked with PS kids at home.

Having an older child read a story to a younger sibling helps the older child practice reading & helps them feel the dignity of working to help the family. IT also helps the younger one be encouraged to learn to sit & listen (you could hold him in your lap during reading time)

If it were me, I would "school" him - make sure that he was getting a lesson for every lesson the older kids got. Sit & read a book, color, count blocks - whatever he's ready for academically. It is my feeling that a child who is overwhelmingly active or wild is not going to get more disciplined by having a lot of free time, rather the opposite will happen. And, he no doubt wants attention - and this would give him some positive attention so that he didn't feel left out.

(just for the record, I'm of a different educational philosophy than many. I'm in favor of teaching attention span & stillness & focus. - rather than letting kids "run their energy out" (And, we had some exceptionally "lively" little ones! ) Any personal trainer will tell you that the more you exercise, the more energy you *get* I'm also for parent-led education rather than for child-led or interest-led education. So, if you're of a different mind, take what I say with a grain of salt.)

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Anna, you're right about exercising for more energy BUT..... I think there are different kinds of energy. Just like you also exercise during the day to help you sleep better at night, some kids seem to need that "burn off" before they can settle down. My 12yo dgd was one of those and my 5yo dgs seems to be the same. (Actually, our DOG is the same!!! LOL)

I sometimes have them run around the block 3-5x before settling down to do any mental work. During the winter they have their chores before school and that includes bringing up wood. They have to bring up so many pieces each and I decide how many, sometimes, by how much crazy energy they are displaying!

With that said, I didn't school any kids before my youngest was old enough to do her own schoolwork so I'm not much help there.

Actually, having the olders do things with the youngers while you concentrate on one student is still education! It's "practical living 101"!

Oh, Sis - I JOKE about tying them in a chair till their muscles atrophy - but it IS just a joke! I do believe in *moderate* exercise - I just don't think it does *anything* to reduce the excitement level in a lively little kid (if our time after our trip to the park yesterday was any indication! )

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hehehe Oh, I hear ya! I'm just saying that it doesn't work the same for all kids. Exercise does NOT energize ME! And I know a few kids that absolutely do 75% better after some heavy working or exercise. I'm not saying all kids respond that way.

I think it's like with other things in my family - my dh can not sleep when he takes hydrocodone but it knocks other people out for hours. I think there are chemical differences in people that make them respond differently.

Hmmm. I might try the "tying in a chair" thing.

Do your little ones take naps? I have an almost 10 month old, too, and I do school with my older kids while he's napping.

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Well, this was all helpful advice. Let me begin by saying I do NOT just let him do whatever he wants. I am working on incorporating more structure into his day. I'm looking specifically for ways to keep him occupied while I'm giving an older one a lesson. I've tried holding him on my lap, and he just disrupts the lesson.

I'm working on a couple of things. I've been saving empty toilet paper rolls, and I'm going to make a bean bag, and let him do bean bag bowling. It'll help with his co-ordination and counting (how many did you know down? How many are left?). My ten-month-old does nap, and we do more focused schooling while she's down, but my son no longer naps (until he completely crashes at 4pm) and so that is an extra challenge. I do still have him sit quietly in a room for about 30 minutes during "quiet time".

He does allow me to read to him, he loves water play and finger painting. But as I said, it's during my lesson time with the older two that I need ideas for. Thanks.

Mama J.

Don't overlook helpful websites, if he's old enough to enjoy them (I forget if he's two or three). Sesamestreet.Org & Starfall are great for little kids, and can keep them both learning and hypnotized - at least part of the time. Sesame street has recently added a segment on "Divorce" -and I wish they hadn't - I don't want my kid to learn about that from the screen (part of why we don't have a TV!). So be careful about unsupervised surfing.

There are also lots of great blogs out there for homemade kid activities that might give you some busy-but-learning toddler ideas. These may get you started.
http://www.sunscholars.com/p/100-days-of-play.html
http://fun-a-day.com/back-to-school-fun ... t-Saturday

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This may be a case where the older two will have to do as much independent work as you can get them to do while the toddler is up and at 'em.
I know how hard that can be! My ds was SO distracted by any little noise or music, or a bird flying by the window.. you name it, he had to look up and see, or walk over to see... sigh.
It took a long time for him to be able to sit and do his work regardless of what was going on in the house, and he didn't even have a toddler to blame.
So.. if you can get the older ones busy with their work??? and you tend to the toddler... ??
Then use the toddler's down time.. "quiet time" or after he's in bed at night.. or have your dh give him his bath and story book time??? THEN you can do more seat work with the others?
Just throwing out some idea's here.
If he'll sit in a high chair, use it for "fun" activities for him while the others are doing their school.