Homeschooling with little ones underfoot can feel like trying to run a marathon while juggling flaming marshmallows. I get it. When I first started homeschooling my oldest, the timing couldn’t have been worse — I had a two-and-a-half-year-old at home and gave birth to our third son halfway through the school year. It was chaos… with a side of chaos.
But here’s what no one told me: it can be done, and it doesn’t have to look perfect to be meaningful.
The Early Days of Chaos (and What I Didn’t Know Yet)
When we started, I leaned hard into simple workbooks — Brain Quest, School Zone, anything that didn’t require hours of prep. My oldest loved them. But my middle child wanted to do everything big brother was doing, so suddenly he had “schoolwork” too… which was really just coloring books disguised as lessons. The baby was crying, someone always needed a snack, and I was overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted.
What I didn’t understand back then was something I now remind every new homeschool mom:
✨ Young children do not need hours of structured learning.
✨ Play is the work of childhood.
Letting Go of Old School Mindsets
After attempting traditional methods, Charlotte Mason, and even classical education, I finally let myself slow down and watch my kids. I tried to see how they learned best instead of forcing them into the mold I thought they needed. This was hard — public school conditioning runs deep — but once I stopped fighting it, I started seeing learning unfold naturally, right in front of me.
Since I was usually busy with my oldest (because his workload was heavier), I often let the younger two play in their room or put on an educational show to keep them busy. And honestly? That’s when some of their biggest learning jumps happened.
My youngest shocked me by falling in love with math on his own. I’d find him arranging Legos, cars, and Magnatiles into patterns and math problems — literally doing math as play. My middle child, meanwhile, dove into creativity with his whole heart. He drew constantly, invented outfits out of duct tape and cardstock, and built worlds out of anything he could find.
I learned that curiosity is a powerful teacher — if we allow space for it.
(If you’ve read my book Schooling At Home with Nerds, you know these early years were full of trial, error, tears, and some beautiful breakthroughs.)
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Finding a Rhythm Instead of a Schedule
Over time, our days naturally fell into their own rhythm. I learned that you don’t fight nap time or play time — you work with it.
In our home, we save the “together” subjects for when everyone’s awake: geography, art, history stories, sensory-based science, and read-alouds that toddlers can listen to while building or coloring.
Then when the younger ones nap, that’s when we switch to the quieter, more focused work like math, grammar, writing, and reading lessons.
It’s never a rigid schedule — more like a gentle flow that shifts with the season.
Here’s what our rhythm looks like most days:
9:00 – Get ready for the day
9:30 – Chores
10:00 – Start school with a game
10:30 – Miacademy
11:30 – Lunch
12:00 – Individual lessons
After that, the rest of the day is theirs to explore hobbies, dig into projects, or head out for Ninja Warrior Training, Pokémon Club, or Fort STEAM (our co-op).
Switching from a strict schedule to a flexible rhythm changed everything for us.
For more schedule and rhythm ideas check out my post How to Create a Homeschool Routine that Actually Works.
Keeping Littles Close (Without Losing Your Mind)
I learned quickly that the best way to keep younger siblings included was simply to keep them nearby. While I worked with my oldest, the younger two would color — I printed fresh pages every week. As they got older, playdough became their go-to during history read-alouds.
Little hands stay busy, little minds stay calm, and they absorb more than we realize.
Quiet activities became our secret weapon:
- Coloring pages
- Playdough or sensory play
- Magnatiles or blocks
- Water Wow books
- Snack trays during stories
None of it was fancy — just consistent.
The Real Sanity-Savers
Honestly, the real secret to homeschooling with littles is flexibility and extremely low expectations of perfection.
Kids do better when they have room to move and a sense of what comes next. Moms do better when we let go of comparison, simplify, and accept that mess is part of learning.
Here are the strategies that kept me afloat:
1. Combine as much as possible
Keep everyone together for shared subjects. You do not need to teach every subject individually to every child.
2. Use nap time wisely
Those quiet pockets of one-on-one time with older kids are gold.
3. Lean into educational screen time
Shows and movies can truly teach — and give you a moment to breathe. (My post Screen Time That Teaches has our favorites and a free list.)
Homeschooling and Housework: The Truce I Had to Make
You know those signs people hang in their homes?
“Excuse the mess — we live here.”
or
“Excuse the mess — we’re making memories.”
That’s homeschool life in a nutshell.
Because of my OCD, keeping the house in order was one of my biggest challenges. Routines saved my sanity. Each morning, after we get dressed, we do a light reset:
- Beds made
- Rooms tidied
- Rotating daily cleaning tasks
Only then do we start school.
We also use a chore chart, and yes — our Echo Dot is programmed to remind the kids of their chores for me.
But even with routines, the biggest shift had to happen internally. I’ll never forget the day my kids asked, “Why is Mommy always angry?” That moment hurt… but it also made me rethink everything.
I remind myself often:
If I wanted everything perfect, I’d have to live alone.
That thought changed everything about how I approach homemaking while homeschooling.
And truthfully? During our busiest seasons, the first things to fall apart are the floors and the boys’ bedrooms. I used to sweep and mop every single day, but in our new home, that’s impossible. It takes two and a half hours just to handle the floors on Saturdays. And their rooms? Once upon a time I organized toys into neatly labeled bins. Now? If the toys are off the floor and in any bin, I call it good.
Grace, Growth, and the Beauty of Imperfect Homeschooling
Homeschooling with babies and toddlers takes research, patience, trial, error, more trial, and more error. But the most important thing to remember is this: you should never compare your homeschool to anyone else’s. We all walk through different seasons, and we all figure things out at different paces.
Give yourself grace.
Let yourself make mistakes.
And know that joy can absolutely coexist with chaos.
I’ve made more mistakes than I can count — and I still wouldn’t trade this life for anything.