Keeping the days peaceful and running smoothly while homeschooling is hard no matter what, but homeschooling with little ones can up that challenge exponentially. Littles are loud, need a lot of attention, don’t stick with the same activity for too long (generally speaking) and for the homeschooling parent, there’s the constant multitasking- always needing to know where the Littles are to keep them safe and out of trouble while trying to attend to the education of the Bigs- it’s exhausting! Amidst all this, it can be hard to remember that this is educational time for the Littles as well, even if they aren’t in ‘school.’ They are constantly learning, so if we can figure out constructive ways to engage their attention while we’re working with the bigger kids, it’s definitely a win win and the days go so much more smoothly.

In our homeschool, for the toddler and preschooler, we have lists of Schooltime Activities and ‘Busy Bins’ (a term I certainly did not invent, though I’m not quite sure where it originated). These are simply lists of ideas that you know you have the materials for and bins of items that can be used only during ‘school time’ and that are engaging and age appropriate. We’ve tried a variety of things over the past few years, items with varying degrees of success. Most of the Bin contents are to be used only with at least partial supervision (mostly so the house doesn’t get destroyed). The lists of Schooltime Activity options are taped to the wall (to cut out the mental work of coming up with ideas on the fly), and these are generally play ideas using things that don’t fit inside the Busy Bins and can be done outside of the school room, but within earshot and with check ins by me or whichever of the older kids I’m not actively working with at the time.

We homeschool at the dining room table mostly (though there certainly have been seasons of schooling on the family room floor when there was an infant in the midst), and have a smaller child sized table right next to it for the littlest little to work at while we’re schooling. This allows me to achieve the at least ‘partial supervision’ of the Littles during school time. Many of the list activities require a slight bit of direction for the 2yo (and with creative directions these interruptions can be fairly minimal), but the 4yo is able to generally direct herself much of the time.

To make it all work, there are just a couple other things needed along with the lists and Busy Bins: paper and project trays. We encourage the kids to use both sides of the paper, show them how to keep the salvageable pieces in a separate scrap bin to keep them aware of the resources they’re using. And I can’t say enough about the project trays… they are absolutely essential when using the Kwik sticks, rubber stamps, building Lego sets, or using Kinetic Sand or Mad Matter- anything with small parts or bits that need to be contained and not drip or fall all over the house.

Here are the things that have worked well for us on the Schooltime Activity Lists and in the Busy Bins to keep the Littles occupied during school time- maybe you can find something that would work for your homeschool!

2yo Busy Bin

  • Lacing Beads
  • Magnetic Doodle Board
  • Counting Bears (small bears removed)
  • Magnetic Design Blocks
  • Sticker Pictures
  • Skoolzy Peg Board
  • Magnetab
  • Crayons and Paper
  • Peg Game
  • Colorful Craft Sticks
  • Poker Chips

2yo School Time Activity Ideas

  • Playdough
  • Dollhouse
  • Magnetiles with Magnetic People
  • Farm Set
  • Felt Board
  • Water Mat
  • White Board and Magnets
  • Train Tracks
  • Mega Blocks
  • Play Kitchen
  • Dress Up

5yo Busy Bin

  • Sticker Pictures
  • Activity/Maze Book
  • Coloring Book/Pages
  • Magnetic Doodle Board
  • Stencils
  • Sticker Painting Book
  • Repositionable Sticker Mat
  • Crayons/Colored Pencils/Washable Markers
  • Rubber Stamps
  • Kwik Sticks

5yo School Time Activity List

  • Playdough
  • Legos
  • Felt Boards
  • Water Mat
  • Dancing/Music
  • Yoga Dice
  • Castle Blocks
  • Play Kitchen
  • Dress Up
  • Puzzles
  • Watercolor Placemat
  • Counting Bears
  • Train Tracks
  • White Board and Magnets
  • Kinetic Sand or Mad Matter

You can keep some of the Busy Bin items or Activity List ideas off, and rotate them in to keep things fresh (if you put them in all at once, the kids tend to get overwhelmed and that never keeps things peaceful).

Most of our school time stash has come from Freecycle/Trash Nothing, secondhand stores/FB Marketplace, and grandparents and friends as birthday, Christmas or Easter gifts (they always ask what they should get so we steer them towards actually useful things!). The lists may look like a lot, but it doesn’t have to be super expensive to keep the Littles busy and engaged.

Keeping the Littles Busy during school time can certainly be a challenge, but we find that having a plan in place and things at the ready to keep them constructively engaged goes a long way to helping our school days stay peaceful and go smoothly.

How do you keep your Littles busy during school time?