How to do this....??

[ziff130]

I have a 4K and a 2 yo. This year my preschooler and I are working on school during nap time. After the 2 yo wakes up, I work for about 20-30 min with her on whatever the topic of the week is for her. I do different topics for each child. This next school year I'm going to do unit studies w/ the Kindergartener (that's what he'll be then) and I thought I'd do letter of the week curriculum with her. How do you do them together? Especially when they're this young?? Or do you not and I need to do them at different times? Have the two year old play while I work with the older one and then let the older one help me teach the younger one and participate in crafts w/ her?

[Bleacheddecay]

That sounds like a great plan. Try it and see how it works!

[momo8child]

What I have done with children those ages is to let the younger one do what he wants with you and the older one.  He maybe can do some scribbling while the other one writes, crafts, listening to stories.  My younger one learned a lot this way.  Then you could have a few special things you all do together for the younger one.  I think it is important that you do as much as you can together as a family, and don't try to separate them based on age when they are that close in age.

[4everInBluJeans]

I agree that you should just let the younger one do what he wants. He will learn a lot by just listening to you teach the older child. That is how it was for us when our first child was home schooling for K. We also had a 3 yo and a 1 yo at the time. When I needed to focus on the older child, I put a gate up in the hall so that the younger ones could not wander into danger. Then I took out a special box of preschool toys. The box was labeled "School Only" and the only time they could play with those toys was during 1-on-1 time with the K child and Mom. That kept the toys novel enough for me to be able to teach the older child and have a few moments without distractions. That was maybe 15 minutes to a half hour a day at the very most. The rest of the time, we met at the kitchen table for projects or at the couch for stories and the younger ones were free to join us or to listen while they played on the floor near us. Sharon