Homeschooling Children in Multiple Grades

Homeschooling multiple grade levels is challenging. Keeping up with the schedules and academic needs of multiple children can be exhausting and overwhelming. There is only one of you, but there are so many needs.

But homeschooling children in multiple grades is also extremely rewarding. Your children bond as they work and play together. You get to tailor each child’s educational experience to his or her individual needs. And you get to shepherd your children through both the hard days and the good ones. 

You might have two children you are homeschooling. You might have ten. No matter how big your family is, there’s a lot that you can do as a homeschool mom to help your homeschool run smoothly.

Plan for Success

A successful homeschool starts with a plan. If you can, set aside some time after the close of each school year to plan for the upcoming one. You will want to think through some of the following questions:

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of your children?
2. What is each child interested in?
3. What is each child’s learning style?
4. What do you want your homeschool to look like? What is your homeschool style?

Choose a Curriculum Type

The answers to these questions will help you choose the best homeschool curriculum for your family. I suggest that homeschoolers teaching multiple grade levels consider using video lessons. You as a mom only have so much time, and video lessons will allow your children to work more independently. I’m homeschooling four children right now and video lessons from BJU Press have been a sanity-saver. If you want to learn more about online homeschooling, check out the post “Online Homeschooling Guide—How to Help Kids Learn Online.” This post presents a fair evaluation of the pros and cons of online homeschooling, plus tips for making it work. 

Create a Homeschool Plan

Once you have chosen your curriculum types, you can use that curriculum to put together a custom homeschool plan based on your homeschooling goals. In the blog post “How to Create a Custom Homeschool Plan,” some of the components of a homeschool plan are explained and suggestions are give on how you can create a beneficial one for your family. You may choose to do some lessons together with a video teacher or teach some subject yourself using a teacher’s edition.

Set a Daily Routine

Establishing a daily routine will help your children know what is expected of them every day. I often advise homeschool parents to resist the temptation to overschedule school days. If you are homeschooling multiple grade levels, you will want to give yourself plenty of time to complete tasks, especially at the beginning of the school year. Below is the basic daily routine that my family has followed for years. 

• Breakfast
• Bible time
• Dressing/personal hygiene
• 1.5 hours schoolwork
• 20-minute break (includes snack)
• 1.5 hours schoolwork
• Exercise
• 1 hour break (includes lunch)
• Finish any remaining schoolwork
• Music practice
• Afternoon outings (such as library, music lessons, etc.) or free time
• Afternoon chores

Get Your Children Involved

There are a few ways that you can get your children involved in your everyday homeschool routine. Then you can have more time to focus on the things that only you can do. 

Chores

If you’re homeschooling multiple grade levels, having your children help around the house will free you up to help them with their schoolwork. As they grow, teach them to empty the dishwasher, wash the breakfast dishes, do laundry, vacuum, sweep, and other jobs that you do daily. Your children will learn important life skills, and brief breaks from schoolwork to complete tasks will help them regain their focus when they return. 

Practice & Review

Some academic skills must be practiced over and over again to be mastered. A beginning reader will have to practice word families and service words. A non-native English-speaking student may need to practice conjugating verbs. All elementary students need to practice math facts so they can advance in math. You don’t have to be present for every bit of your children’s practice. Instead, have your children help each other. Both the child practicing and the child listening will benefit! 

Teaching & Entertaining 

Homeschooling multiple grade levels while caring for an infant, toddler, or preschooler is especially challenging. Your older children can help by taking turns teaching and entertaining younger siblings. I was introduced to this idea years ago when I talked to an older mom. She told me that during her homeschool days, she had her eight-year-old daughter teach the alphabet to her four-year-old son for fifteen minutes a day. Her four-year-old learned how to read, and she had fifteen uninterrupted minutes a day to focus on teaching another child. And her eight-year-old learned some valuable teaching skills—she grew up to be a teacher on the mission field! 

Teach Independence

Checklists

If you are going to successfully homeschool multiple children, your children are going to have to learn to be independent learners and problem solvers. Use a tool like BJU Press’s Homeschool Hub to help your child visualize what he or she needs to get done during the day. Even if you don’t use video lessons, the Homeschool Hub will help break down textbook lessons into individual tasks that your student can check off as he or she works throughout the day. You can even add non-BJU Press courses.

Problem-Solving Plans

In my post “8 Tips for Homeschooling Multiple Ages from a Mom of 4,” I wrote about Jennifer Lont’s strategies for teaching her children to be independent problem-solvers. She teaches her children to re-read directions, look up answers in their textbooks, and think about possible solutions. Then, if they still need help, they can ask her for assistance. 

Some moms use a “need board” to keep interruptions to a minimum. Children can write what they need (test pulled, protractor, glue stick, etc.) on a large whiteboard or chalkboard. Moms can then triage those needs to keep the day moving smoothly. 

Learning in a Group

Learn at Home

Homeschooling multiple grade levels gets easier if you can teach multiple children at once. If you have children who are close in age, you may be able to accelerate one child or hold one child back so they can be in the same grade. Some homeschoolers have also found that they can teach subjects such as history and science to different ages at the same time. Young children can grasp the topic on a basic level, and older children can study that same topic at a deeper level. 

Learn Outside of Home

Local homeschool co-ops can be very helpful for parents homeschooling multiple grade levels. Your children may be able to take a class at a local co-op a few times a week to free you up to work on other projects at home. Some moms even use the extra time to plan for the upcoming school week. Check out the Home School Legal Defense Association’s search tool to find a co-op in your area! 

Assess & Communicate Progress

How do you know that your children are succeeding? How do you know that you are meeting your educational goals? If you want to measure the health of your homeschool, assess progress throughout the year. In the blog post, “Assessments in Your Homeschool,” it explains types of assessments and how each can be a valuable tool in your homeschool. 

Give your children regular feedback about how they are progressing. It’s hard to keep up with the grading when you have multiple children, but timely feedback is so beneficial. Be sure to celebrate the wins! 

With proper planning and a family teamwork mentality, homeschooling multiple grade levels is highly rewarding. BJU Press can help by providing a robust yet customizable curriculum to meet your educational goals. In addition, its team of HomeWorks consultants are ready to help you be successful. Get started with BJU Press Homeschool today!