Homeschooling with Littles: Keeping the Peace

Let’s chat today about homeschooling with littles. How is a mom to keep the peace anyway?

I love answering readers’ questions. This one comes straight from the comments section and it is a GREAT question.

I do not claim to have all the answers, but I’m always happy to share what has worked for our family.

Could you give any tips on how you have taught your younger children that school time is quiet time?
Only my two oldest are in school and I also have a 4 year old, 3 year old, 18 month old, and a nursing baby. 4 and 3 like to run around the house, scream, bang doors, and generally distract as much as possible while 18m likes to do all of the above plus climb on the table and grab, jump on, or scribble on school materials while I’m trying to teach the older ones.
I’ve asked other moms I know for advice and they generally say they occupy little ones with movies during school time, but that isn’t a route I want to take.
Mom of Littles

Keeping the Peace while Homeschooling with Littles

Somehow I find myself with a 13, 9,7, and 5 year old, but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember well the days of homeschooling with littles and lots of noise!

Who am I kidding? My kids can still be extremely loud.

If you think my children are quiet little wall flowers, ask anyone who knows us. The Rozyckis are loud!

(I blame it all on Husband and his family genetics!)

BUT school time is school time and I expect a certain noise level and behavior during that time.

We have embarked on the homeschooling journey and we don’t want to be mediocre in the education of our children.

We are laid back, but in our homeschool we require a certain level of professionalism from our children:

No pajama school
No school work sitting on a couch
Sloppy work is redone
No wild play or goofiness during school
School hours are quiet hours (from about 8-12)
Work is to be done at a table

But how do we go about achieving some level of quietness and professionalism with a herd of littles?

It comes down to two simple steps.

Letting kids in the kitchen teaches them so much more than cooking!

1-Set the expectation

Husband and I have discussed what we expect and we communicate that to the children. It’s important they get on board and fully understand our expectations!

We explain the value of their education and lay the ground rules for school time.

If I were starting from scratch, I would remind my children every morning what I expect from them.

2-Hold the expectation

This part is a LOT harder but the MOST important. You’ve told them what you mean, and now you have to mean what you say.

Your expectations become a discipline issue.

Disciplining your children into a new (and better) habit requires a lot of work initially.

As Newton said, “A child in motion wants to stay in motion.” (Hmm…don’t think I quite got that right!)

Your family has inertia going in one direction and you are going to have to work hard pulling them out of that motion and into the new habit.

It also means, mama, you have to stop what you are doing and enforce the rules.

In all honesty, I really hate this part. I hate the interruption and getting after my kids, but it pays such dividends in the end!

The old “discipline” Bible verse applies as much to the parent as to the one experiencing the discipline.

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:11

I have to keep my eyes on the goal and remind myself constantly why I’m making sure they obey.

Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

This is what all good discipline comes down to.

If you tell them your expectations but then don’t enforce the change, they aren’t going to take you very seriously.

This is why you see parents telling their kids one thing and the kid does the exact opposite. That must be so frustrating as a parent!

This doesn’t mean my kids don’t sometimes still get loud or rowdy during school time. BUT usually it just takes one moment of discipline to help them get back on track.

Prepare yourself. What are the consequences going to be for disobeying?

7 great reasons to homeschool year round!

Helpful Tips for Homeschooling with Littles:

Of course, there is the whole problem of keeping those littles occupied.

I would never want to set my children up in front of a screen everyday for school time! When they were younger I might let them watch something once every week or two.

Instead, here is what has worked while homeschooling with littles around.

Give to the littles first

I’ve found it helpful to do a little something with my young ones before starting school with my older kids. It may just be reading a book or doing a small activity together.

I get the older kids started on something they can do independently and then spend just a bit of time pouring into the younger ones.

They are much less likely to be “Hey-look-at-me” naughty if I do this!

Busy Bags

These only come out during school time. They don’t always hold their attention, but they certainly help on some of those hard days.

Sit one on your lap

Occasionally, I will take a small child and set them on my lap with a coloring books and colors while I work with an older child. I try to give them a bit of my attention while I help the other child.

I rub their back, give them kisses, and praise their work. They have to be quiet and well behaved though!

Send them outside

When my 7 year old is done with school, she takes the 5 year old outside for recess time. Can your older children take turns with recess duty for a couple of your children?