Adventures in Homeschooling

Our homeschool tip this week is for those with multiple children. If you have multiple children, it is a great idea to let your older children teach your little ones. This doesn’t mean necessarily that they do ALL the teaching or even a whole subject but having them do a little on a subject can help in many ways.

One of the ways that allowing the older children to teach the little ones is that it builds a relationship between your older and younger children.  This is a great way for your children to develop a deeper relationship and learn to lean on each for assistance and guidance.

Another advantage to having the older child teach the little ones is that it can free up some of your time to work with other children or get something else done.  This can be helpful to you and your other children. If you aren’t worried about what is going on with your littles, you are more likely to be able to concentrate on other tasks.

Also, you may find that having your older children teach the little ones gives your children more responsibility when teaching their siblings. They see that you trust them with this as well giving them ownership in your home school.

Lastly, don’t forget about how well it can help solidify or sharpen a skill by teaching others.  Allowing your older children to teach the little ones gives them a chance to demonstrate their knowledge and/or mastery of a subject.

In our house, my older daughter works on sight word drills with my preschooler as well as counting and alphabet practice. She also reads to her brother and her baby sister each day. This works on her reading skills as well as makes her feel good about working with them. My preschooler spends time working with the baby by showing her pictures in books and playing with a toy to work on motor skills. He knows these skills are important for the baby and gives him some feeling of responsibility in working with her.

Have you tried allowing your older children to teach your little ones? How did it work?