Homeschooling with a Toddler

After having baby number four, I was asked many times, “How on earth do you homeschool

with a baby?” I usually replied by explaining how the baby sleeps a lot. However, from my

experience, homeschooling with a newborn isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I can

breastfeed my baby and read aloud to my older children at the same time. When I put the baby in the swing or bouncer, he stays put. The question people should be asking is, “How do you homeschool with a toddler?” The truth is that a toddler is far more challenging than a baby. Of course, I am sure there’s someone out there who had the opposite experience, but generally speaking, I think most people will agree that a baby, who takes multiple naps a day and is warm and cuddly, doesn’t add tremendous interruptions to a school day. It’s the two or three-year old who can disorganize and destroy a room in only a matter of minutes that can add a layer of difficulty to a regular homeschool day.

You may sense that I am writing from experience. Yes, I currently have a two-year old who

sometimes, but not all the time, causes many interruptions when I am schooling my older

children. Some interruptions are small, such as needing help picking up a mess, and some are big, like a toilet accident. This blog post is not a list of activities that will keep your toddler busy while you homeschool your kids. The internet has plenty of those. I am writing about what I have learned about being content while homeschooling and having a busy toddler by my side.

It’s amazing how quickly envy creeps in. I have seen homeschool families with their two

children get out of their car and walk to the church where our co-op classes are held in only a

matter of seconds. It takes me a lot longer to get out of my car. I have found myself wondering how smooth and easy their school days must be. Then I need to stop myself. I love my family. I love having four small children. Yes, everything takes longer, and I can’t go out and do as much as other families. However, slowing down and knowing God has given me my children has helped me grow in being content with having a slightly more jumbled up sort of day. I am responsible for four little people and that makes me feel proud.

I don’t read many parenting books, but I find great examples of parenting in literature. One of my favorite lines is from Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. It comes right after all their ducklings have hatched.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were bursting with pride. It was a great responsibility taking care of so

many ducklings, and it kept them very busy.

Bursting with pride about having so many children is not the norm, but that is how we should

think and feel about children. I have the children God gave me, and I get to homeschool them.

The more I grow in being content, the more I am able to grow in patience, joy, and kindness.

Having a toddler while homeschooling is one of the many ways God is sanctifying me.

Being content brings a lot of blessings to our lives. God is the one who gives good gifts, and

children are one of them. Having lots of small children means that our homeschool days will

look different than they would for a family with only two children who are both school aged.

Acknowledging that my homeschool days are going to have interruptions and that our days will be slow paced helps me know that nothing is wrong with my day. Being responsible for a

toddler while homeschooling is a great responsibility, and it keeps me very busy….and what a great thing it is to be busy taking care of children.

And many years later, I hope I can respond like Mrs. Mallard and say, “I know all about bringing up children.”