If you have older children, homeschooling with a toddler can feel daunting! However, with a little prep and planning, it is possible to teach your older children while still providing learning opportunities for their younger siblings.
Disclaimer: These items are offered as suggestions for homeschooling with a toddler to keep younger children occupied while working with older kids. However, please directly supervise your child, especially for children under 3 with any of the suggestions that involve small parts or water.
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My Experience Homeschooling with a Toddler
I am currently homeschooling my five-year-old, but I also have a 2.5 year old and a newborn. There have been many days where it feels impossible to teach certain skills with a toddler and baby in tow.
I will note that my husband works from home, so I do have the luxury of having his help sometimes during our homeschool time. However, there have been lots of days where I am navigating teaching my oldest while caring for the younger two.
My second-born loves to “do school” with us, and most of the time it goes really well! However, when I am working on certain skills such as handwriting or sitting for longer periods of time, it can be difficult to teach while providing age-appropriate learning for her.
So, I decided to compile a list of ideas to pull from when homeschooling with a toddler in tow!
Differentiating Lessons When Homeschooling with a Toddler
We are currently using The Peaceful Preschool from The Peaceful Press for our main preschool curriculum, and many of the suggested activities are also enjoyable for toddlers! However, there are times when I need to have some other options in my back pocket.
So, I recently set out to make a list of some different ways to keep my daughter occupied when I am teaching subjects that she isn’t ready to join in on. I am a big advocate for differentiated learning and sometimes that means slightly accommodating a lesson for a younger child and sometimes it means providing an alternative activity to support their learning.
Keep reading for my list of ideas to have on hand when homeschooling with a toddler!
Outdoor Play
We loosely follow a Charlotte Mason approach to home education, and she encourages lots of time outside! If you are doing lessons outside with your older children, here are some suggestions for tools that could help keep your younger children occupied!
All water play should be directly supervised. Do not leave your child unattended or give them water play when you are not able to watch them closely.
- Sandbox
- Garden tools
- Splash pad
- Play pool with balls instead of water
- Mud kitchen
- Pails of water with wooden spoons
- Stepping stones
- Water table
- Binoculars
- Balls
- Rocks
- Sticks
Click here to shop the outdoor play items mentioned above.
Sensory
Sensory play is so important for childhood development. And, it’s fun! Some of the suggestions below are messier than others, so consider your capacity and space when planning sensory play for kids.
- Playdough
- Kinetic sand
- Sensory bin table
- Magnetic maze
- Liquid motion bubblers
- Sarah’s silks
- Doodle board
- Busy board
- Fidgets
- Poppin pipes
- Wikki sticks
Click here to shop the sensory items mentioned above.
Open-Ended Play
I prefer open-ended toys for my kids that encourage them to be creative! Here are some of our favorite open-ended toys as well as some that some of my friends rave about!
- Wooden stacking rocks
- Blocks
- Floor rug for play
- Magnatiles
- Musical instruments
- Legos
- Duplos
- Toy animals
- Talking flash cards
- Lincoln Logs
- Pikler triangle
- Nugget couch
- Play kitchen
- Play food
- Montessori tools
- Cardboard boxes
Click here to shop the open-ended play items mentioned above.
Educational Play
In my experience, my daughter wants to “do school” because her older brother is. Even if she isn’t developmentally ready for everything he is doing, I like to have educational play on hand so that she can work on skills she needs while he too is learning!
- Puzzles
- Kiwi Co box
- Lovevery toys
- Shape puzzles
- Handwriting Without Tears
- Sorting
- Audiobooks
- Abacus
- Morning Basket Bundle
- Lacing cards
- Letter shapes
- Interactive globe
- Pattern blocks
I created printable, seasonal Morning Basket Bundles for kids ages 2-6 to use during homeschool. You can find them here, or you can read about how to set up a morning basket in this post. Also, Lovevery offers research and play-based kits for babies through age four. Shop their play kits here.
Click here to shop the educational play items mentioned above.
Quiet Play
If you are needing your younger children to be quiet during certain parts of the day, here are some suggestions for quiet play that may help lower the noise level so that you can focus on homeschooling your older children.
- Quiet books
- Books
- Felt boards
- Paper dolls
- Tea set
- Blanket fort
- Matching game
- Reusable sticker books
- Tape book
- Magnets
Click here to shop the quiet play items mentioned above.
Board Games to Use When Homeschooling with a Toddler
These do require a little more supervision, but if you set aside some time to teach your children early-childhood board games, they will eventually be able to play with them independently! Here are some of our favorites, some of my favorites growing up, and a few highly rated games for kids!
- Fishing game
- Candy Land
- Twister
- First Orchard
- Hungry, Hungry Hippo
- Don’t Break the Ice
- Chutes & Ladders
- Monkey Around
- HoneyBee Tree
- Sorry
Click here to shop the board games mentioned above.
Art
My children absolutely love arts and crafts! My daughter likes to join in on all of my son’s preschool art projects; however, I also like to pull art supplies for her when I need to work with him one-on-one for core subjects! Here are some of our favorite art supplies!
- Crayons
- Markers
- Finger paint
- Paint brushes
- Coloring books
- Pipe cleaners
- Stickers (easy to use)
- Water doodle mat
- Paint sponges
- Dot markers
- Safety scissors
- Construction paper
- Water coloring book
- Etch-a-Sketch
- Magnetic drawing board
Click here to shop the art items mentioned above.
Baby Play
If you have children under a year old, some of the above suggestions will not be developmentally appropriate for them. Here are some play ideas for younger children to keep them occupied close to you while you teach.
- Baby gate
- Play pen
- Play mat
- Rattle
- Stacking cups
- Montessori mobiles
- Montessori balls
- Tummy time books
- Mirror
- Teethers
- Baby wrap
Click here to shop the baby play items mentioned above.
Tips for Saving Money on Toys for Homeschooling with a Toddler
We do not own all of the items mentioned above, but many of the ones that we don’t have are on our wish list. Although I tried to share affordable yet high quality items, the cost adds up quickly!
We buy many of our toys secondhand. I also ask for certain items for my kids’ birthdays or Christmas. If you want to save money, I recommend shopping secondhand, prioritizing what you really want, and gradually adding over time!
In all honestly, my kids love cardboard boxes and sticks more than anything! But I also like to keep some other items on hand like those mentioned above.
The Value of One-on-One Time when Homeschooling with a Toddler
This requires no cost beyond your time. I find that when I take 10-15 minutes to give my toddler my undivided attention, she is more likely to play independently when I need to give her older brother assistance with school.
Kids crave connection and setting aside a few minutes to enter your baby or toddler’s world is priceless!
In conclusion, homeschooling while raising younger kids can feel daunting, but if you set aside some time to plan and prepare a few of the activities above, it will help set you up for success!
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