A Few Tips and Tricks to Homeschooling with a Toddler

Homeschooling is a challenge!  Homeschooling with a toddler is a big challenge!  When our third child was an infant, I didn't find schooling a very big challenge.  We would work on school when he napped in the morning and in the afternoon.  Then he stopped napping in the morning, ok still not too bad we just did more work in the afternoon.  Then that infant turned into a toddler!  A moving, running, jumping, crazy toddler!  That's when the real fun began!

He was always a clingy baby/toddler.  He wanted my attention all the time!  So the only time I could really focus on my other two was when he was napping.  Thankfully he was and still is a good napper.  Although lately he's not been sleeping during his nap time, but he stays in his room and plays until we come to get him.

So what did I do to keep him entertained while working with my other boys?  Here are a few little tricks and tips that I had up my sleeve!  I will list what ages I think these activities are good for, although please use your good judgment.  For instance, my toddler did not put things in his mouth very often so playing with rice and beans was ok for him at 15 months.

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12 to 15 Months Old
-Shaker Bottles (beans, rice, a mixture of water/oil with food coloring in an empty water bottle and then super glue the lid on.  Maybe even add a few hidden items for them to find!)
-Board Books
-Bead Maze (we had this one from Ikea)

15 to 18 Months Old
-Lauri Puzzles (these are super easy for little ones, we have this one and this one)
-Chunky Puzzles (Melissa and Doug make some really great ones!)
-Leap Frog Alphabet Fridge Phonics
-Water Play
-Finger Painting with Pudding (Kinda messy but a great sensory activity!)

18 to 24 Months
-Pouring and Dumping Beans
-Rice Play (here is a step by step tutorial on how to dye rice for play)
-Felt Books (we have a Zoo one, but this Safari one looks similar)
-Using Safety Scissors (these Crayola Safety Scissors are wonderful and fun!)
-Dot Markers (A great fine motor activity that isn't very messy! And these last a super long time, we have had ours for about 3 years and they are still going strong!)
-Water Color Painting (I bought these amazing no tip water cups, what a life saver!)

2 years old to 3 years old
-Play Dough
-Tracing Pages (there are tons of great resources online to find pages to print off or make your own!)
-Lacing Cards (these are pretty simple and fun, great for fine motor development)
-Stickers (I have found that just giving him a blank piece of paper and a page of sticker keeps him busy for a while!)
-Finger Painting
-Tot Books (I find great Tot Book resources here)
-Imaginets 
-Sorting and Stacking Puzzles (We have this one, this one, and this one)
-Wooden Blocks
-Crayons and Markers

Using a Tot Book, this one is a Cars theme.

Working on some scissors skills, we have moved beyond the safety scissors at this point.

Gluing sequence and jewels onto a paper that he colored.  This activity kept him busy for a long time!

Using water colors and that awesome no tip water pot! I have also found some paint with water books at the dollar store that he loves!

Doing some q-tip painting, this was the first time we tried it and he wasn't too sure what to do.

Obviously there are so many more things that can be done with your kiddos!  Just remember to have fun with them and expose them to lots of different things!  One thing that I really tried to do every day was spend my first 30 minutes with our toddler.  I would read to him, play a game or do puzzles, build blocks, and then get him started on an art project.  He was always in the same room with us, so I could keep a close eye on him.  Also don't be ashamed to use a video every once in a while to occupy them.  There are some days that he gets to be particularly fussy or crazy that I need him to just be quiet and still for a few minutes in order to help an older child with something.  In these moments a video comes on and he gets a snack, that keeps his attention for at least 10 to 15 minutes!

I hope these ideas will help you to get through these crazy toddler years!!