5 Tips for Educating Multiple Children

Chances are, you’re managing the education of multiple children at different stages, and it can get HECTIC just to think about. Breathe. It doesn’t have to be an over-the-top challenge that occupies every waking moment of your day.

Just because you have one, two, or even five children that you are working with in a day doesn’t mean that you must kick it one-room schoolhouse sort of gig! It just means that you should be a little more prepared, a little more organized if you will. And, possibly, a little more open to changing things on the fly.

Let me begin by saying, as always, there is no one way to do this. There are as many ways to make it work educating multiples as there are personalities amongst the children you are educating. Some people are more regimented and prefer a strict schedule, while others are more laxed and prefer to take learning where it leads. No matter what style you lean to here are a few tried and tested tips for educating multiple children.

Work with what you have

Learn about your children, how they learn best, if they need structure or space, if they do better under supervision or would prefer to explore learning independently. Take note of the times of day when they thrive with attention or energy and work around what would be most productive for them.

There is no point trying to teach your four-year-old their numbers 10 minutes before you know that they will be famished and ready for their seventh snack of the day. Work with them to build a routine that will meet them when they are most ready to learn.

Establish a routine, but be flexible

All children thrive when they know what is coming, when they can anticipate what is expected of them and what will be happening next. Once you have a good idea of the energy ebbs and flows of your day, set a routine.

Maybe you are the family whose children rise before the rooster and thrives when you start school at 8:30, then run with it! Get an early start and free up your afternoons. Or, you could be the gang who likes a slow start and finds the best learning is done after lunch, when bellies are full and the sun is shining.

Figure out the routine that works for you and stick with it, as best you can, allowing for the surprises of life.

Build in independence

There is a certain amount of freedom found when your child can read on their own and can set to work without your guidance.

Capitalize on that!

Encourage that! Education, in any form, is about fostering a love for learning and confidence in their abilities. Helping your child take initiative over their lessons not only builds their independence but also frees up time for you to focus on a younger learner, accomplish other tasks, or simply take a breather. 

Celebrate that! Keeping in mind… there may be times when your independent learner still wants your attention and still yearns for the praise and instruction of their parent. So don’t rush away when they start to do it on their own.

Build in breaks

When you educate multiple children, it isn’t just a challenge because there are so many people, it’s also difficult to keep all the lessons straight in your own head. Who’s learning what, who needs help in which subject, what are the things we do all together and which parts of our day do we need to do one-on-one?

Build in breaks to allow you to recharge and reset your patience, your compassion, and your enthusiasm with teaching.

If you’ve decided that each child will do their language arts and their math independently, you may want to structure your day such that, after each child you have a 15 minute MOM BREAK to breathe, tidy up, reheat and sip the coffee from that morning and prepare to be fresh faced and ready to teach for your next learner.

This strategy may take longer, generally, but it may beat out the fatigue of having 5 children asking questions about 7 different subjects all at once.

And lastly …

Keep it all in perspective

It is certainly challenging to teach multiple children at varying levels all at once (even one after another). When it feels like it is simply too much step back and remember why you chose this path in the first place.

Whether your child is learning at home, in a classroom, or through a mix of both, the heart of your journey is to nurture their growth, curiosity, and love for learning. On the toughest days, hold onto that purpose - it’s what makes all the effort worthwhile.

It’s ok, on the hard days, to take a break, to call it quits for the day and go outside to play or even to turn on a movie so you can have a moment to yourself.

If you need that pause, take it, recharge and remind yourself that – even though they may cry when you start math every morning, or they may bicker over who should have the sharpest pencil, this journey of educating them is a beautiful and worthy endeavour. Your children are worth the effort and the bad moments aren’t indicative of your teaching skills all together.

Supporting the education of more than one child is, obviously, exponentially more challenging than focusing on just one, but there are blessings to be had in the journey, there is growth and sanctification when we remember that this is good work and our children are a blessing.

Because they are.