Tot Schooling: When is the Right Time to Start Homeschooling?

My oldest child is eleven years ond and when people ask me how long I’ve been homeschooling, my response is, “Eleven years!” every time. For us, homeschooling started from day one. I have fond memories of walking my eldest around as a very tiny baby showing her all of the blue things in the house, strapping her into her baby seat to listen to a book, or letting her wail on her tiny xylophone. Once she got a little older, she loved flashcards and other more “formal” learning tools. People thought I was crazy for “doing school” with a baby so young. I disagreed. She loved it, we were happy, mind your own affairs folks. 

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Recently, I had a new baby. A beautiful, intelligent little boy who warms my heart. While we were waiting for him to arrive, I spent lots of time thinking about learning opportunities I could provide for him in his days as a tiny. Suddenly I remembered that I had a blog when my eldest was a baby – I could look there for ideas! Well, I did and I can see why people thought I was crazy. That baby of mine did more learning in a week than some kids in kindergarten! Honestly, from the outside, it looked pretty insane. But, we were both having fun and she was (and still is) smart as a whip because of it so who cares if I looked a little nutty in the process. 

With the new little guy, we’ve already started the learning. He’s only four months old, but he loves his tiny piano and plunks away, happily making music. Will he be a piano prodigy? Probably not, but he’s having fun. Most days, he does a sequence of early reading flashcards from BrillKids. Will he learn to read at age 2? Not likely, but he’s having fun! He’s heard more books read aloud than many kids who are starting school. Will he be an avid reader? Maybe, maybe not, but he is having fun. He very intently watches Horrible Histories with his sisters. Will he be a history buff? Time will tell but, for now, he’s having fun. I think you can start to see a pattern developing here. Schooling little ones is great, as long as everyone is having fun. 

All of my children have really enjoyed the process and the bond we’ve built while learning together. No guarantee it will work the same for your kids. My advice – keep it light, keep it fun, if someone starts crying it’s time to stop, and definitely be prepared for people to think you’re insane for trying to “do school” with babies.