Homeschooling with a baby or toddler in the house

How do I homeschool older kids with a baby in the house?

Stop planning by the clock and plan by the baby's day. Most days have one or two stretches when the baby sleeps or is content; those are school. Everything else is reading aloud, outside time and work the older child can do near you.

The page a day with a baby or toddler has a sample day around one nap, a loop card to print and what goes in a quiet bin.

What should we do at nap time?

The lessons that need you sitting beside your child: reading lessons for a young reader, new math, writing that needs talking through. Twenty focused minutes at the table beat an hour of interruptions. Save the dishes for later; nap time is the one window you can't get back.

What is a loop, and why does it help with a little one?

A loop is a list of subjects in order. When a window opens you do the next one; tomorrow you carry on where you stopped. A bad night doesn't wipe out "Tuesday's science", because nothing was tied to Tuesday.

Peabody's planner has a loop list beside the week grid, and the loop schedule explains how to set one up.

Does school have to happen in the morning, or on weekdays?

Not in every state. Utah: The statute says the parent is solely responsible for the time, place and method of instruction, and the State Board of Education says Utah law does not require homeschool families to follow a set number of school days or instructional hours. New Hampshire: It says dates and hours of instruction do not have to match the district calendar, and the academic term does not have to match the district school year.

Your state's page says what yours counts. A Saturday morning with the other parent holding the baby can be a school day.

What can the older child do alone?

• Read: a library book, or a story at their level on Peabody. Add it to the reading log.
• Copywork or dictation from Peabody's printed copywork sheets.
• Math practice they already know, while you feed the baby.
• An audiobook while you cook, then a few lines about it in their notebook.
• Help: a child who reads a board book to the baby is practicing reading aloud.

Where can I find help with the baby side?

Peabody Parents is our site for the years before school: siblings, sleep and play by age. For anything about your baby's health or development, ask your pediatrician.

Keep a record that survives interruptions

Peabody's Tap Clock starts with one tap and stops with another; it keeps the start time rather than a counter, so a locked phone or a crying baby loses nothing. Stop it when you get up, start it when you sit back down.

In the attendance record, a short day can be marked as a half day, and a day lost to a sick baby as no school, with a note.