How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

Homeschool preschool with older kids at home can be so rewarding, but it can also be challenging. Here are some tips to make it work.

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

Homeschooling Multiple Ages

When it comes to homeschool preschool with older kids, managing and organizing are skills you get very good at.

Managing who is doing what, when. Organizing all of the things that come with homeschool preschool with older kids. Managing what’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and about ten different snacks. Organizing a schedule that works for your family.

Hopefully, the tips below will make managing and organizing a bit easier, making homeschool preschool with older kids enjoyable and rewarding for you and your kids.

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

This article may contain affiliate links to products that may help you when homeschooling preschool.

Tips to Homeschool Preschool with Older Kids at Home

Be Patient

Homeschooling, in general, takes lots (and lots) of patience. Throw in juggling multiple children and ages, and it has the potential to be overwhelming quite quickly. It can be equally as rewarding, too.

Here is where patience comes in. Rest assured that you don’t have to keep up with anyone. Taking your time and living a slower-paced life is totally alright.

Adapt your expectations when you feel yourself starting to get overwhelmed.

Create a Flexible Schedule

Kids thrive on schedules. Having a predictable rhythm to your day will benefit not only your preschooler but also your older kids.

Time doesn’t have to be the driving factor for your schedule, though. Following a “this then that” type of schedule works, too. For example, the schedule could include math, snack, and free play. Your kids will learn that after math always comes snack.

This type of scheduling allows you not to be pressured that the math lesson went five minutes longer and throws off everything else.

Once you have decided what to include in your schedule, make pictures to represent each step of the schedule. Your little one can refer to the schedule and see what is next, even if they can’t read.

Helpful hint: Plan lots of breaks for food and playing!

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

Do Multi-Age Activities

Some things can be done together as a whole family. These activities and learning opportunities are lovingly called “family subjects” many places online.

Think how art, science, social studies, and even read-alouds can all be done together. Depending on the age gaps of your kids, you may need to modify the activities and lessons to be appropriate for older (or younger) kids. Most lessons can be adapted when you homeschool preschool with older kids.

Some of our favorite learning happens together as a family! Family subjects are a wonderful gem in our homeschooling day.

Set Up Learning Stations

While working with your older kids, you will need something for your preschooler to do. Having learning stations with puzzles, sensory bins, or other crafts that your preschooler can do independently will be a lifesaver.

Keep the learning stations interesting by making them available only while working with your older kids. You can also rotate what you have at each learning station to keep them fresh and engaging.

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

Incorporate Play- Based Learning

Play is important.

Don’t feel guilty for letting your preschooler play. That is how they learn best.

Stacking blocks, sorting animals, building a bridge, and playing restaurant are all excellent learning opportunities for your preschooler.

Play-based learning requires little (if any) planning on your part. 👏 You can set out items you haven’t noticed your little one playing with, but ultimately, let them decide how and what to play with. It’s excellent decision-making practice.

Use Technology

There are many amazing resources for your children. Check out the list of our favorite apps to let your little one try while you work with your older kids.

Guided access on Apple devices has been a game changer for us. It locks the device so your little one can’t navigate away from the app you have them working on.

You may want to consider putting a screen time limit on the device to help balance screen time with other hands-on activities.

Technology time isn’t only for preschoolers. There are many great apps and websites that are educational for older kids, too!

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

Encourage Independence

Encourage your older kids to take on tasks independently. Things like reading to themselves, handwriting, and math practice sheets (after a lesson is taught) are all tasks your older kids can probably handle with little to no help from you.

This allows you to work with your preschooler while they do their schoolwork. Once your older kids have completed their independent work, you can check it for accuracy.

Have Quiet Time

Mama needs a break from all the noise and running around. Quiet time is not negotiable in our house.

In our house, quiet time is similar to rest time. Everyone has a quiet space, like their bed, where they need to stay and do something quiet.

Playing with stuffed animals, action figures, or trucks is fine, but you can’t disrupt others. This takes LOTS of practice (remember when we talked about patience 😂).

You can use this time as you please. Depending on your kids’ needs, you can have more intense lessons with your older ones or take this time for yourself.

We typically do math lessons one-on-one during this time while everyone else is having quiet time. Having uninterrupted one-on-one time with your little ones does wonders to refill a mama’s heart.

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

Personalize Learning Plans

One of the perks of homeschool preschool with older kids is that everyone gets a tailored education. You get to pick and choose what they do, how they do it, and when they do it to fit their needs.

Some kids need complete silence and solitude to focus. You can make this happen for them.

Older kids can help teach your preschooler, too. Set them up with an activity to work on with your preschooler to alleviate some work from your plate. It does wonders to strengthen their sibling bond.

Find Support

Join local or online homeschool groups to get the support of others who are homeschool preschool with older kids.

You can find out what works for them, learn of different resources to utilize, and take advantage of social gatherings that are local to you.

Check out local libraries, museums, zoos, and parks for educational opportunities they offer. This is another way to meet local homeschooling families.

How to Homeschool Preschool While Homeschooling Older Kids

Homeschooling Multiple Ages

Enjoy the beauty of homeschool preschool with older kids in tow. You have beautiful memories to make while you are all learning together.

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