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If you’re a homeschool mom trying to teach your older kids while a toddler is pulling every single thing off the shelf behind you… I see you. I AM you. (Or I have been for the past 9 years anyway…. time is weird.)

We started homeschooling preschool when our kids were 4, 3, 1 and one on the way. Life is funny — just when we thought we were past the little-kid phase, we began respite care for an infant whom we would end up adopting 18 months later.

Our fifth came to live with us full time when he was a little over 18 months old. (Basically a new baby to our family all over again!) PHEW!!! It’d been a hot minute since we had a toddler in the house. Holy moly. Toddlers are SO BUSY.

As we wrap up year 9 of homeschooling with younger siblings, babies, and toddlers underfoot, my youngest is turning 4 and I think we might finally be leaving the little years behind.

I was talking to a friend who is in the thick of this busy season with kids ages 1-8, and I just realized how different our homeschool days are becoming from what they used to be.

She shared her exhaustion and frustration and I encouraged her…

Yes, it is hard! No, there isn’t some magical system around the corner that makes your life 100x easier. And no, it’s not forever.

There are some legit practical tips I’ve learned over the years though. To be honest, a fair bit of it is just made easier by trying to relax & persevere… But, in the spirit of the random tidbits I offered my friend, this post has my best tips for homeschooling with toddlers PLUS 30+ activity ideas to keep those little hands busy during school time.

In This Post:

• The biggest challenges of homeschooling with a toddler & encouragement
• Practical ways to structure your school time around little ones
• 35+ cheap & simple toddler activities that might actually keep a toddler busy while you’re schooling older kids

The Hardest Thing About Homeschooling With Toddlers

The hardest thing about homeschooling with a toddler is that you can’t give anyone your full attention. Your older children need you to explain the math lesson. Your toddler needs you to make sure they’re not eating a crayon. A lot of times, homeschool moms feel like they’re failing everyone at once.

But here’s what I keep coming back to: this season doesn’t last forever. And you’re not failing. Your harder on yourself than you’d be on anyone around you. Receive grace from Jesus! You don’t have to carry the burdens of your family all by yourself.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

What’s Realistic?

In our first year of homeschooling, I had four young children and no idea what I was doing. I thought I was supposed to sit down with each child for one-on-one time and do book work for hours. That is not realistic when you have little kids running around.

Here’s what I’ve learned in the years since then: the older kids are way more capable of independent school work than you think, and the younger kids need way less structured “curriculum” than Instagram tells you.

Young children learn through play, exploration, read alouds, singing, and the security/ connection of being home.

Being in a literature rich home education environment, with a variety of ages of people around, and being near their older siblings is giving the littles way more of an educational foundation than you might realize. You can relax. They’re going to be okay.

Best Tips for Homeschooling With a Toddler in the House

Here is a random smattering, in no particular order, of practical activities and ideas that I’ve used to survive (and even enjoy!) homeschooling with toddlers, babies, and little ones around.

Snuggle them up – babies don’t keep.

1. Set Up a Toddler Station Near Your School Area

Don’t banish your toddler to a different room. They want to be near you and near their older siblings — that’s totally normal for young children. I set up a high chair or a little table with a toddler activity right next to where my big kids work in our living room. A coloring book, some board books, or a busy box goes a long way.

2. Sometimes Banish Your Toddler to a Different Room

Leap Frog Letter Factory, Little Bear, or some other similarly low-stimulation tv program at the end of the homeschool morning won’t ruin your child.

Also, a special toy set up in their bedroom or a nearby room that’s just out of ear shot, can be a helpful break for everyone. I love using a kids’ CD player & CD in a different room to entice the toddler to play over there for a while.

The same is true for outside… sit on the deck with your older child’s math lesson while your little one plays in the sand across the yard.

I’ve even plopped a toddler in the bath while doing school with an older sibling in the bathroom doorway. (Don’t worry, I was within an arm’s reach.)

2. Rotate Toddler Activities (Don’t Put Everything Out at Once)

This is a great way to keep things fresh without spending extra cost on new toys every week. I go through phases where I’ll have a bin of special toys that ONLY come out during school time. I rotate them every week or two — when something comes back out, it’s like a brand new toy. This works especially well with novelty toys like kinetic sand, a new truck or doll stroller from a thrift store, or busy boxes.

3. Give Older Kids Independent Work First

When school time starts, I give my older kids their independent work right away. (That linked post has free independent list templates.) Then I spend the first 10-15 minutes getting the toddler set up with something. By the time the little one is occupied, my older children are ready for the parts that need my help.

5. Lower Your Expectations (Seriously)

Some days, the toddler is going to have a hard time and school is going to be a circus. It’s okay. There’ll be plenty of good days too. 3-4 solid days a week of school is totally fine – especially in the early years of homeschooling. It gets SO much easier as little kids grow.

6. Include Toddlers in What You Can

Field trips? Bring the toddler. Read-alouds? The toddler can listen too. History projects with art? Give the toddler their own paper and some crayons.

A lot of times, younger children absorb more than you think just by being in the room during school time. My big kids still remember songs and facts they absorbed passively as 2 and 3 year olds. (This is literally why I created Musical Memory — passive listening through song is such a powerful way for young children to learn!)

7. Get Quiet Time on the Daily Calendar

Even if your toddler has dropped their nap, build quiet time into your day — 30-45 minutes minimum where your toddler plays independently with favorite books and special toys. This gives you quality time for focused school work with your oldest child or older student without interruption.

We love a clock that turns green as a visual timer of when it’s okay to come out of your room. You can start to train this around 2.5-3 years old and it really becomes useful around 3-4, I’d say.

20+ Toddler Activities for Homeschool Time

Okay, here are the good ideas. These activities have actually kept my toddlers busy long enough for me to teach my older kids.

Some of these have a certain level of mess — but little kids need space to explore. Know thyself: only set up what you have capacity to clean up. I can deal with pom poms or dried noodles. Rice and fingerpainting? Not for me.

Most of these are very cheap or free. This age group doesn’t need giant playrooms full of expensive wooden toys like you see on Instagram. They just need room to explore, a safe home, and a lot of patience & love.

(I will say… thrifting toys or swapping with friends for novelty toys can keep the toy cabinet fresh & fun.)

1. Pipe Cleaners and Colander

Perfect for fine motor skills practice. Anything that requires little hands to pinch is a great way to build fine motor skills. This is much fun for a surprisingly long time.

2. Large Pasta Sensory Bin

We use a shallow under-the-bed size bin with dried pasta — WAY easier to clean up than rice! I let the kids choose “real” kitchen tools. One time, we went to the dollar store and picked out items there!

3. Oatmeal or Coffee Container + Cards

Cut a slit in the lid and show your toddler how to push cards through. Once it gets boring, put it away for a couple of weeks — it’ll be like a brand new activity.

4. Coin Drop

Coins are so much fun to drop in the slot because they make a loud clank! Just be sure they’re well past putting small things in their mouth.

5. Special Reading Chair + Book Bin

One and 2 year olds love things to be their own size. Our little guy loves to sit in this special chair with a basket of board books and a snack. Even your youngest child benefits from being surrounded by favorite books.

6. Random Objects + Pots/Pans/Lids/Muffin Tins

Let them go to town with small objects in pots and pans. For older toddlers, try math linking cubes or dried pasta. For younger kids, use larger objects like blocks. Muffin tins are perfect for sorting different colors of items.

7. Egg Matching Toy

Our little people play with this egg match toy in lots of different ways for about 2 years — opening, closing, pulling the eggs apart, pairing up the different colors to match.

8. Something to Push & Put Stuff In

Toddlers love loading things up, pushing them around, and dumping them out. Repeat for 45 minutes. It’s a great way to keep them moving around the living room while you work with your big kids.

9. Hot Lava aka: Don’t Touch the Ground

Couch cushions, pillows, and blankets spread out in the family room. This activity lasts longer with young children if you let them do it near you. Your older siblings might even join in during a school break!

10. Paint the Paper

Construction paper, a small container of water, and a paint brush. No actual paint needed! Zero cleanup.

11. Paint the Deck/Sidewalk

Same idea but outside! A whole lot of quiet time for you.

12. Play At or In the Sink

My two year old plays in the sink for about 30 minutes every morning while I do school work with my first grader. A little bit of patience training in the beginning goes a long way.

13. Water Play or Pouring – Outside or Inside

Turn on warm water and give your child pouring utensils. Playing with water is a GREAT hand-eye coordination builder that basically never gets old.

14. Droppers & Colored Water

Put food coloring in a dish and let them discover what happens when they add water. Ice cube trays make this even more fun for older toddlers.

16. Baby Wipes Container with Button + Objects

Recycle an old wipes container by letting your toddler push pom poms or cotton balls or other small pieces in and out. This is a favorite during school time at our house.

18. Kinetic Sand

I love kinetic sand for many ages — even my older kids like playing with it. The premade kits are inexpensive and make for an easy school time activity. Let kids use cookie cutters for extra fun.

19. Giant Ball

Bouncy balls make for the best gross motor activities. Kicking, chasing, throwing with two hands — much fun for any age.

20. Stickers!!

The magic trick is peeling the backing off for them at first. “Sticker stations” can work if that’s your jam or your kids might just want to put all the stickers on themselves. Whatever floats their boat.

21. Fall Tree Cardboard

Draw a tree on cardboard, poke holes in it, and take your child leaf hunting. A great one for a field trip to the backyard!

22. Spray Bottles & Squeeze Bottles

Kids of all ages have so much fun spraying plants, the sidewalk, and each other! This is a great way to get your toddler outside so you can do a little bit of school work on the porch with your older student.

23. Pretend Play Grown Up Stuff from Thrift Stores

Thrifted phones, remote controllers, baskets, purses, hats — thrift stores are a great way to get this stuff at no extra cost. Little hands love to zip and unzip bags that are just their size.

24. Q Tip Painting or Glue

Q tip painting is SO good for little fingers! Let kids dab “stars” onto black paper or make “leaves” on a tree drawing. Little stamps of color all over the page.

25. Toothpicks in the Container

I showed the toddler how to dump them out and put them in. This occupied a little guy for 25 minutes — miracle-level stuff when you’re explaining polynomials to the oldest child.

26. Freeze the Toy!

Freeze a small toy in a cup of water. They can use a toy hammer or screwdriver, and warm water to melt the ice. Such much fun to watch.

27. Play with Ice!

Just plain ice cubes in a bowl are endlessly entertaining for young children. Add food coloring and watch the different colors swirl.

28. Block or Lego Stacking

Good old wooden blocks or big Legos. Your younger siblings may want to build alongside the older kids — actually a great way to include them in school time.

29. Magnatiles

Honestly the best toys for a huge age range. They’re great for the younger children to explore colors and shapes while the older kids make elaborate structures.

30. Toddler Watering Can

Send them to the backyard with a small watering can while you finish school work with the big kids through the window. Our little guy will water the same 3 plants for 20 minutes straight.

31. Laundry Baskets

Sit in them. Push them around. Fill them with stuffed animals. Laundry baskets are endlessly entertaining for little people and cost basically nothing.

33. Dishwasher Play

I let the toddler “help” unload the dishwasher. It’s quality time and keeps him right next to me while school is happening at the kitchen table.

34. Sheet Over the School Table = Fort

Toss a few board books and a snack in there and you might buy yourself some peaceful school time with the big kids. This is one of our oldest daughter’s favorite memories from when she was little.

35. Big Kid Games Repurposed

Our younger kids love playing with math manipulatives and school books materials that the big kids use. Our second daughter started recognizing shapes and different colors from playing with her older sister’s math manipulatives long before she started any formal school work.

One of the Hardest Ages – Some Encouragement for You

I told a new friend this summer that I thought 12-20 months was by far the hardest age and she almost burst into tears with relief. She was carrying around a lot of guilt because everyone would just comment, “Oh they’re so cute!!” and she found her toddler exhausting.

I said, “There is no guilt!! They are so cute but man are they exhausting. They can’t really do anything for themselves yet but they’re not tiny snuggly babies anymore. They’re into everything. They dump everything out. It’s just a lot.”

So if you have a kid this age and you’re trying to homeschool your older kids at the same time — hang in there. It does get easier. Next year will be different. And I actually think if you patiently train and guide your 1 year olds, then the 2 year old year will be SO MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE. I actually like age two more than age 1.

Whether you have little girls or boys, a third child or your fifth, this is one of the biggest challenges of homeschooling with a toddler — you’re in the thick of it and it feels like it’ll never end. But I promise you, it’s a season. Your older children will remember this time as normal family life — whether they’re heading into high school or just finishing up their first year.

You’re the best person to teach your children. I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Even on the days when the toddler is painting the wall while you’re explaining fractions. Especially on those days.

To that end, I have to tell you about this book I ALWAYS recommend to people with kids between 8 and 36 months. It has invaluable practical wisdom for parenting this age and I can’t recommend it enough.

xoxo,

~Renee