5 Tips for Homeschooling Multiple Ages

When you begin homeschooling typically there is only one student. You’re able to give your full attention and focus to them without interruption. It is not very difficult to make it through each day’s lessons.

Fast forward a few years and you now find yourself with multiple students, each with their own unique personality, learning style and they’re all at different levels of educational ability. Suddenly you find that you’re spread thin and can’t seem to find the right balance in homeschooling multiple ages.

This is the story of almost all homeschool moms at sometime or another. We’ve all been weary and lost, not knowing how to fit in all of the “necessary” schooling into each day.

You are not alone in striving to balance homeschooling multiple ages! <– Share this truth!

It is possible to homeschool multiple ages at once, all it takes is a little patience, planning and understanding!

Tips to Homeschool Multiple Ages

• Teach your children to be independent learners.

Your children can do some schoolwork on their own, even your preschooler! Utilize free printables for penmanship, tracing activities, writing prompts and more! For your younger students have blocks, crayons and paper nearby at all times! As your children get older they’ll be able to do more and more on their own, especially if you teach them to work independently at a young age.

• Let your older children help their younger siblings.

Sometimes the way we are explaining things may not make sense to our children. Try letting your older children explain things to their younger siblings. This will not only help keep you from becoming frustrated from repetition, but it allows your older child a review of schoolwork and they will learn how to teach and explain things to someone else. It also can bring about a deeper trust and strengthen the relationship between your children.

• Find curriculum that is designed to work with multiple ages.

Balancing a different textbook or curriculum for each child is often one of the most difficult tasks for a homeschool mom. There are so many options for homeschooling multiple ages with one curriculum now! If this is where you’re struggling, take time to look into unit studies, lapbooking, online curriculum and more! Not only are there many ready to teach options out there, most curriculum can be adapted for all ages.

• Schedule/Plan less than you can do in a day.

You can always do more, but if you plan too much you’ll fight feelings of failure and defeat not only in yourself, but in your children as well.

• Accept that some days you will not get it all done.

There will be days that one child will need more attention and instruction than other children. These are the days when giving your other children independent work or even the day off is important and perfectly ok!

While homeschooling multiple ages can be challenging, it is possible! Learning together is a wonderful method to bring unity and build individual relationships within your family!

Keep pressing on, Mom! You can teach students of multiple ages and homeschool!