Homeschooling with a Toddler
Here are some tips to try to keep your toddler busy while you work one on one with another child.
1. Wooden blocks
2. Small baskets of toys that are rotated by days and sometimes hours :). This doesn't need to be a large container or large assortment of toys.
3. Duplo building sets
4. Pots, bowls, wide handled spoons
5. Matchbox or Hotwheel cars (my son loves these, but we only allow him to play with certain ones we have checked for loose pieces.)
6. Toys sets like farms, school buses with children, etc.
7. Wooden train set with small pieces removed
8. Tent (We use a $20 two man tent set up in the den. You can also use blankets, small bed tents, appliance boxes, etc.)
9. A mountain of blankets and pillows piled on the floor.
10. Age appropriate electronic toy.
11. Sometimes the older children and I take turns holding him in our laps while reading or watching an educational program.
12. Ride on toys if there is enough room.
13. Shape sorter cubes
14. Dump trucks, shopping carts, boxes or other containers
15. Stackable containers
16. Enlist help of a sibling to play with your toddler while you work with another one. Some days this seems to be the only way we can get anything accomplished.
17. Empty laundry baskets (My son likes to fill these up with toys and push them around on the carpet, climb in and out of them, and sometimes he catches the cat and puts her in there so he can push her around.)
18. If your child shows an interest, include them as much as possible in what you are doing. My son sometimes likes to be in the highchair while I work with the others. I give him a toy or a snack and he feels like he has his work at his table and is on the same level as the "big kids."
19. Keep at least one room within viewing "child safe" so that you can let your toddler explore without fear of harm to him or your valuables.
Above all remember that attention spans are short at this age and don't expect things to go just as you would like every day
