10 Things to do with your Active Toddler while Homeschooling your Older Kiddos
You’re trying to do school with an older kid or two or three … but Baby B isn’t sitting still in her cute bouncy seat anymore. She can climb out of the pack in play in 4 seconds flat, and screams if being left in the jumpy for more than a minute. Letting her roam around the house will only lead to destruction – mud, water, toilet paper (and maybe worse) in every corner corner of the house.
But school still needs to happen – so what do you do?
Here are 10 tried and true methods that have kept my littles in place. These worked especially when my kiddos were 2 and 3 years old. When my babies were one, I tried as much as possible to do schoolwork when they were sleeping and to use all of the above mentioned methods as long as possible. (And the destruction that can happen when you let a 1-2 year old roam for 5 minutes … yes it’s a real thing. As miserable as mud and water and toilet paper are, what about paint, poop, toothpaste and nailpolish? (ask me how I know …blech)
So … my first recommendation – especially to all of you moms that are a little afraid of a mess. Yes, you probably know who you are. It’s okay – I usually stand in awe a little when I enter your homes, because I’m not quite like that. But here’s my thought.
You need to be willing to let your toddler make a contained mess. Contained, being the key word here. If they are going to make a mess anyway – why not contain it to one area – right under a high chair or booster seat – where you can do one large pass with a broom and a sponge, and make it all disappear in a couple minutes. Is 5 minutes of clean up worth 30+ minutes of a stationary toddler? I say a hearty yes.
The following activities are all ones that will keep your toddlers entertained while sitting in one spot. Yes, they will make a mess, but a contained mess.
So without further adieu – here goes.
1. Play-Doh / Cloud-Doh / Moon-Doh etc.
We’ve gone through so much play-doh around here that I almost have the recipe memorized to make it from scratch. This recipe works well, and has been made many times in our home. Play-doh is great because 1) what kid doesn’t love playdoh? 2) Actually – it is really really good for building their fine motor skills. My youngest played play-doh almost every day for a school year when he was two. He was writing his name and cutting out letters perfectly by his 3rd birthday. Seriously – I credit the play-doh. And as he has grown, he has always done all of the small-motor skill things (like mini legos and writing etc) well before any of his peers. Plus, Play-doh makes lots of educational kits, too, with letters and number mats that they can practice creating on.
2. Scissors and Scrap Paper
If you’re a homeschooling family, chances are, you always have scrap paper floating around. There is always an old workbook or half piece of construction paper, or some leftover cardstock somewhere. Get a kidsafe pair of scissors, and let your toddler cut. Yes, yes, I know some of the packages say they aren’t safe for kids – and you know your child. But most toddlers are fascinated with scissors. My toddler would stay in place for an hour or more with a pair of scissors and a stack of paper. (This may have been after his fingers were strengthend from so much experience with playdoh). Kumon makes a pretty fun book where you can cut out various shapes and foods, and we did enjoy that for a little while, but eventually I just started giving him strips of paper or quick drawings of letters or animals, and he would cut them out.
3. Glue Dot Pictures/Mosaics
So …. once you have ten-thousand little itty bitty tiny pieces of paper – what do you do what do you do with them? Well, usually I just sweep them up and dump them in the trash. But sometimes – we save them in a ziploc bag or plastic tub, for a time when we do glue dot picture or glue dot mosaics. Kids also love glue. This was always one of my go-to projects when I taught Sunday School to two-year-olds, and my own kiddos have loved it too. Give your kiddos a handful of little construction paper squares (or left over scraps from another day of letting them cut), cover a paper with glue dots in the shape of a tree or a rainbow or a sun – etc, and encourage them to place the scraps on the paper. This is also excellent for early fine motor skill training. In the beginning you can let them place anything anywhere. As they get older, you can give them certain colors of construction paper and encourage them to put them in a specfic place.
4. WaterColor Paint or WaterWow Books
Believe it or not, I’ve tried acrylic paints with a toddler, and hmmm… I only recommend that under supervision and for the very brave :). But watercolor paints are really not so bad. And if you can get your hands on some watercolor pencils, try this idea we came up with on one particularly creative day – it may change your life, and add one more idea to this list. Usually any toddler is excited just to hold a paintbrush in their hand. Yes, watercolors take a tiny bit more skill to use, but they make far less mess (especially if you use watercolor pencil idea). Give them a jar (like a mini baby food jar) that is heavy and won’t tip easily with a small amount of water, a large brush (or q-tip), and the tub of washable watercolors.
If you want to avoid paint all together – I understand. If so, WaterWow Books are AWESOME. My kiddos – even the older ones – love these almost as much as if they are painting with real paints. There is just something satisfying in seeing the color of the paper change as your brush crosses the paper. If you’ve never seen them before, they are reusable books that change color when painted with the water-filled “paintbrush”. As a double bonus, you can reuse the WaterWow Paintbrush with a premade water color journal or those old fashioned Paint with Water Coloring Books, and you can paint ANYWHERE. Seriously. (My 3 year old actually painted using a pen from our WaterWow Book and a Melissa and Doug Water Color Book during our last road trip). So. Water Wow books are great – The Alphabet Number WaterWow Pack encourages handwritring too – and well worth the $5 price tag.
5. Cheerios on a Pipe Cleaner
Beads can get stuck, swallowed, or choked on — but Cheerios? You probably already have them in the house anyway. Invest in a package of pipecleaners from the dollar store. Keep them next to your school supplies – when you need a quick entertainment, give your toddler a bowl of cheerios and ask them if they can get any on the pipe cleaner (my big kids love this too). They’re busy, practicing fine motor skills, and it’s no big deal if they eat a few in the process.
6. Duplo Legos
If you’re a mom of todders, you probably you already have these around. Of all the toys in our home, the box of duplos is probably the most used toy. Little hands love these – and better than the megablocks – because they can actually create something – they can make it look like a house or a bridge or a robot. If you want to add some educational value to it (beyong motor skills), create a pattern with a stack of duplos, and see if they can copy it. Or just take them out and let them build. This may also work well if you need to let them out of their chair for a little while, but still get them to stay in one place.
7. Simple Puzzles
Do you have these in your home already? A shape puzzle. An ABC Puzzle. Maybe one that makes animal or car sounds as you put the pieces in? These are fun, good for hand-eye cordination, and educational
8. Stackers Well – that’s what we call them around our house. If you have older kiddos, chances are you hae some math manipulatives around the house. We have this set of Lauri Tall Stackers , and this set of fun wooden shapes , and these wonderful plastic connectors. ALL -and I say ALL- of my kids love these. But for little ones especially, they’ve been seeing their older brother and sister using these – so any opportunity to get to use “big kid” blocks is exciting for them. Take out one of big brother or sisters math manipulatives and see what then can do.
9. Board Books
Do you have a stack of board books around the house? Put them in a basket near your school area, and let your toddler look through them. This may or may not work, depending on your child. But if you have a slightly older child who needs reading practice, let them read to baby brother or sister. This is usually a win for everyone. Big kids love reading to little guys, and the easier words in board books are encouraging. Little kids usually love to be read to – and to be read to by brother or sister is extra special.
10. Coloring and Sticker Books.
There are soo many fun coloring books out these days. Crayons haven’t lost their appeal. Keep them in a box that is near your school station, with a stack of coloring books (or sticker books – even better). When my youngest was 3, we went to the dollar store and bought about 5 ABC books. They each came with stickers, and he loved sticking all the “A” things onto the A page, coloring A, tracing A, etc. Of course there is no limit to printables available on the internet, but sometimes it’s nice just to have everything in one place where you can take it out right away as needed.
| $10 at the Dollar Store |
If all else fails … these two tricks have also worked great for us –
Go outside.
If you have the luxury of a backporch, backyard, or nearby enclosed playground – let your toddler run around, while you work with your olders. Sometimes, at this point the older ones can get distracted 🙂 = but the toddlers LOVE being out there and will stay occupied for as long as you need them to be.
Or …
Have an older sibling take turns playing with the toddler while you work with another.
If you have multiple olders, and you really need to focus with one, ask the other to read or play blocks with your little one. The older kid will enjoy the break, while the younger one stays in place, and you can focus. Do this in alternating blocks as needed. (As an added bonus, sometimes reading to a baby brother makes my reluctant readers more willing to read.)
Hope this was helpful. Got something to add? Leave it in the comments below.
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