My Top 10 Easy Activities for Homeschooling With Toddlers

Homeschooling with toddlers at home. It can be done; you just need to get a little creative. I have been homeschooling a long time now, but once I added my two littles in the mix, homeschooling got a bit more complicated. I had all my systems down and having babies and toddlers in tow while homeschooling changes everything, doesn’t it?

Today I would like to share with you what has worked for me. I have two toddlers that were once two babies, and at 14 months apart, and I have tried it all! So hopefully, you will find a few of these ideas helpful to you as well.

I should preface this post with a couple of things; some of these are free activities with items that you would find around the house and other items I have purchased and loved!

I also do not always buy items and adhere to the age requirements, I have found toys/activities that stated they were 3+, and my littles loved them with no problems. I am always monitoring my children’s play within my sight range, and I know my kiddos tendency to eat or not eat certain things. So you get the idea, you choose what items you think your child can handle – these are my recommendations of what worked for us.

10 Activities to Keep Toddlers and Littles Busy While Homeschooling

1. This one may sound a little kooky, but the kids loved it! I have been using this one from 10 months and up, and it usually buys me a decent amount of time. Dropping Colored Popsicle Sticks into Water Jugs and then trying to get them out! They also learn to count them or identify the colors of the sticks.
2. Peg Board Set – Montessori Occupational Therapy Fine Motor Toy for Toddlers and Preschoolers with 30 Pegs in Board for Color Recognition Sorting & Counting -Free Skoolzy 20+ Activity Pegboard Download
   3. Aqua Doodle Mat,Amytalk 4 Color Children Water Drawing Mat Board & Magic Pen Doodle Kids Educational Toy Gift 31.5″ x 23.62″
   4. Another interesting choice, but trust me it’s another one that builds fine motor skills and keeps them busy for a bit. Pushing Pipe Cleaners into the Holes of a Colander. Turn it upside down and let them fill the holes with colored pipe cleaners.

   5.  Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Activity Set: 5 Wooden Panels and 5      Matching Laces – Farm This one may seem advanced, and they haven’t mastered it, but they love to keep trying to figure it out. Or play around with it and make the animal sounds/tell me what animal it is. 6.  Melissa & Doug Take-Along Wooden Doorbell Dollhouse – Doorbell            Sounds, Keys, 4 Poseable Wooden Dolls The kids love to ring four different doorbells, and try to unlock the doors with real keys!

       7. Guidecraft Barnyard Activity Boxes Color sorting houses with cute  little wooden animals. This one was a lot of fun!

8. Yoovi Early Learning Basic Life Skills Learn to Dress Boards – Zip, Snap, Button, Buckle, Lace & Tie 6 pcs/set

9. Good old crayons, books, paper and pencils, chalk, and color safe markers are all excellent choices for early learners. My kids LOVE to “write,” so if I can oversee them so that they aren’t writing on anything important, this type of activity buys me quite a bit of time.

Create an area that’s safe for them to use these type of items, and let them create! These are non-toxic and safe for kids 1+ just in case they eat them!

Honeysticks 100% Pure Beeswax Crayons (12 Pack) Natural, Non Toxic, Safe for Toddlers, Kids and Children, Handmade in New Zealand, For 1 Year Plus

 

Crayola; My First Crayola; Fingerpaint Kit; Art Tools; 3 Tubes of Paint; 10 Sheets of Paper; Washable I love all the “My First” Items that Crayola came out with, it was difficult for me to find items that my one-year-old could safely use too.

Tip: I tried looking for these products at many stores, and had the best luck ordering My 1st Crayola items on Amazon. They had the best selection. They also have stamps, crayons, all sorts of My 1st Crafts for 1+ children.

10. This one I like because we put a large oil drip pan in the schoolroom ($8.96 at Walmart online), and the littles play with magnets on it while we school. You can get all types of themed magnets too for learning themes – Farm, Zoo, Ocean, etc. It helps them to identify animals of all kinds, even my 15-month-old will hold each one up and wants me to tell him the names of the animal. It’s another fantastic learning activity that also keeps them busy!

 

                                Melissa & Doug 20 Animal Magnets in a Box

I hope you guys enjoyed some of these ideas, I have many more to share, but these were my top choices for the most engagement the kids get out of them. If you have or do try some of these, let me know what you think.

I would love to hear your ideas, share in the comments your best tip for homeschooling with toddlers at home.