homeschooling multiple grades Archives

Homeschooling with Babies and Toddlers Around – MBFLP 297

Homeschooling doesn’t (and shouldn’t) look like a classroom school. One big difference is multiple ages together – and sometimes, the younger ones aren’t even school-age yet! How do you manage to teach your older kids while you have nursing babies and demanding toddlers in the room? It’s possible – we did it for our eight kids! – so, in this episode, we talk about how to make it work in your family, too.

Thank you to our sponsor, Route 60 – The Biblical Highway. In theaters September 18th & 19th only. Please check the website to learn more about this wonderful movie.

Resources We Mentioned

What does a multi-grade classroom look like? Check out Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, particularly Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years

For ideas about homeschooling the very young, and some great picture book recommendations, CLICK HERE

And speaking of picture books – here’s an earlier episode where we talked with a retired school librarian (Hal’s mom!) about the value and the joy of classic children’s books

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Homeschooling a Bunch of Levels at Once – MBFLP 282

There are a lot of new homeschoolers this year, and many families may be wondering, “How will we ever manage to teach two, or three, or six grade levels at the same time?” It’s possible – Melanie has taught six students with a toddler underfoot, more than once! But there are some tricks to the trade that make it workable. This episode we talk about changes in expectations and choices of curriculum that make the difference when you have more than one grade to teach!

Homeschooling looks different than institutional schools – for a reason

You have to recognize that classroom schools are set up and operated a certain way for efficiency with groups. If you’re homeschooling, you don’t have to manage twenty-five 5th graders – you have several different grades, with one student in each one. Have we ever heard of this?

Of course – the one-room schoolhouse. For an example, read about Laura Ingalls’ school in Little Town on the Prairie – it’s a great description of how she managed a room with beginning readers and high school students at the same time. That’s not unlike a large homeschooling family!

Curriculum choices will be different, as well as the way we use them, compared to classroom schools. The whole endeavor needs a fresh look at what we plan to accomplish and how that should look – but you’ll be glad you made the effort!

We homeschooled eight children and have graduated six so far – two still at home! And there have been times when we had a high school senior, a sophomore, two middle-schoolers, two elementary students – and one “pre-K”. And you know, all six of our graduates have gone on to college with academic scholarships, which tells you this can work. This episode may give you the hope and encouragement you need to press on with this challenging adventure.