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Original poster

3 kids under 4

53 replies

CelticFay · 09/03/2023 16:33

Hi, I'm a homeschooling mom to a 2.5 year old boy and a 15 month old daughter and I'm currently 11 weeks pregnant. When my third baby will be born my other 2 kids will be 3y and 22 months. I'm a homemaker and I intend to homeschool my children which means I won't have time out by sending them to childcare/schools and I don't have much support to help me, my husband works full time. I'm happy my kids will have short age gaps so that they can grow up together in similar developmental stages but I'm starting to feel the vertigo of what's to come. Any tips from other moms who have gone through something similar? I'm also expected to tend to all domestic chores and at this rate I feel I need a clone to get anything done 😂

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Comedycook · 09/03/2023 16:34

Surely you're not homeschooling if your eldest DC is 2?

BestBeforeDatex · 09/03/2023 16:35

"I'm also expected to tend to all domestic chores" - expected by who?
I feel it would be difficult to home educate 3 children of all different ages and run a household. could you get a cleaner at least?

Suzi9989 · 09/03/2023 16:38

May I ask why you have decided to homeschool? Can you send children into nursery 1 or 2 sessions a week until you find your feet?
3 under 4 is no joke

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

1 year olds 1st trimester 2 year olds Behaviour & development
setfire · 09/03/2023 17:28

Do you actual mean you're going to homeschool or do you mean you're a sahm and don't use preschool /nursery? Because if you're going to send your kids to school when they reach school age then that's not homeschooling. And if they're all under 3 you wouldn't be homeschooling yet anyway as they should just be playing at that age

cocksstrideintheevening · 09/03/2023 18:17

You're not homeschooling now are you? And won't be for a while.

Are you emulating #tradwife?

atiaofthejulii · 09/03/2023 18:44

My 3rd was born a few weeks before my first turned 4, and it was fine. Had a 4th 23 months later. Home educated until they went to secondary school. Had a great time, my house wasn't very tidy though 😀

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 09/03/2023 18:49

You’re not homeschooling yet if your eldest is 2.
Personally when the eldest is 4/5 I can’t see how you can homeschool with toddlers around.

WhatNoRaisins · 10/03/2023 08:31

I think if you're serious about doing this alone you might have to wait until the youngest is able to play by themselves for short periods and then try to catch up the oldest one. It's going to be really hard to full time educate a 4 year and care for a 1 year old.

Original poster
CelticFay · 10/03/2023 09:02

When I say I'm a homeschooling mom I mean I intend to homeschool my kids for their primary and secondary education, up until the age of 16, by then they'll take their SATs and choose what to do with their lives. The reasons why I do this is because I don't want my kids to be slowed down by following the minimum common denominator in their classroom and I don't like it that schools are removing parts of their curriculum like algebra because "other kids find it too hard". Both my 2 year old and my 15 month old are homeschooled through playtime. My 2 year old knows the alphabet both in upper and lower case, can spell written words, can count to 20 and knows the symbols that represent each number, shapes including polygons, colours,... He even surprised me the other day when he saw the number 26 and he told me "two and six is eight". I really think he could learn how to read, add and subtract in the following 2 years. My daughter knows her body parts and farm animal noises, I'm teaching her the colours now and she can partially sing the ABC song. Homeschooling only takes maximum 1h of their day.

OP posts:
Original poster
CelticFay · 10/03/2023 09:10

BestBeforeDatex · 09/03/2023 16:35

"I'm also expected to tend to all domestic chores" - expected by who?
I feel it would be difficult to home educate 3 children of all different ages and run a household. could you get a cleaner at least?

Well the dishes need doing, the house needs some level of maintenance and meals need cooking. It's possible to do it it's just I won't be able to have the house sparkling for the first year or so until the new baby is able to play more independently, I was asking for tips from other moms who have gone through the same. We take a lot of sacrifices so that I can stay at home and we can't afford hiring any help.

OP posts:
Original poster
CelticFay · 10/03/2023 09:16

atiaofthejulii · 09/03/2023 18:44

My 3rd was born a few weeks before my first turned 4, and it was fine. Had a 4th 23 months later. Home educated until they went to secondary school. Had a great time, my house wasn't very tidy though 😀

Aww that's so lovely 😊, you did a great job honestly I don't think I could handle a 4th one until my kids are older, that's incredible! Do you have any tips? I understand the house is not going to be the tidiest for the next years to come, I'll have to make peace with it 😅

OP posts:
LemonInaMug · 10/03/2023 13:45

Is this some sort of joke????

PennyRa · 10/03/2023 14:10

Have you decided what kind of homeschooling you will use

Eastie77Returns · 10/03/2023 14:15

“minimum common denominator”😂😂😂

Marchforward · 10/03/2023 14:16

SATS at 16. I’m assuming you’re not in the UK?

Chimna · 10/03/2023 14:17

Please don't 'homeschool' your DC into a breakdown. They have so much to learn about the world and socialising is important too. Push, push, push is unlikely to result in success. But I would say if you can mamange it, get a cleaner! Your focus needs to be on the DC.

Stellaris22 · 10/03/2023 14:19

What teaching qualifications do you have? Are you knowledgeable enough in all subjects to correctly teach?

Although much of this post comes across as entirely fake.

RampantIvy · 10/03/2023 14:24

I'm not buying this TBH

PennyRa · 10/03/2023 15:32

RampantIvy · 10/03/2023 14:24

I'm not buying this TBH

Buy what?

Sarahcoggles · 10/03/2023 15:37

OP of this is genuine then please come back next year and tell us how you're getting on teaching your 4 year old with a baby and a pre-schooler in the house! But a word of warning - not all super bright toddlers stay being super bright. Some of them struggle when they get older. They may even end up being the lowest denominator!

GreenCup · 10/03/2023 15:42

I don't know what part of the OP's post everyone is struggling with here tbh. She's been quite clear. I also don't see what would make anyone think it's 'fake'.

It might not be your (or my) way of raising/educating kids, but everyone's different.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 10/03/2023 17:06

BS!

RampantIvy · 10/03/2023 17:25

GreenCup · 10/03/2023 15:42

I don't know what part of the OP's post everyone is struggling with here tbh. She's been quite clear. I also don't see what would make anyone think it's 'fake'.

It might not be your (or my) way of raising/educating kids, but everyone's different.

My 2 year old knows the alphabet both in upper and lower case, can spell written words, can count to 20 and knows the symbols that represent each number, shapes including polygons, colours,... He even surprised me the other day when he saw the number 26 and he told me "two and six is eight". I really think he could learn how to read, add and subtract in the following 2 years. My daughter knows her body parts and farm animal noises, I'm teaching her the colours now and she can partially sing the ABC song. Homeschooling only takes maximum 1h of their day.

Because I'm struggling to believe that all of this ^^ is true.

Also, the OP seems hopelessly out of touch with how education is delivered these days in mainstream schools.

The reasons why I do this is because I don't want my kids to be slowed down by following the minimum common denominator in their classroom and I don't like it that schools are removing parts of their curriculum like algebra because "other kids find it too hard".

This ^^ doesn't happen in UK schools. Most schools set children for English and maths, and UK schools don't remove parts of the curriculum that the pupils don't like. I'm struggling to believe that this happens in American schools TBH.

PennyRa · 10/03/2023 17:26

RampantIvy · 10/03/2023 17:25

My 2 year old knows the alphabet both in upper and lower case, can spell written words, can count to 20 and knows the symbols that represent each number, shapes including polygons, colours,... He even surprised me the other day when he saw the number 26 and he told me "two and six is eight". I really think he could learn how to read, add and subtract in the following 2 years. My daughter knows her body parts and farm animal noises, I'm teaching her the colours now and she can partially sing the ABC song. Homeschooling only takes maximum 1h of their day.

Because I'm struggling to believe that all of this ^^ is true.

Also, the OP seems hopelessly out of touch with how education is delivered these days in mainstream schools.

The reasons why I do this is because I don't want my kids to be slowed down by following the minimum common denominator in their classroom and I don't like it that schools are removing parts of their curriculum like algebra because "other kids find it too hard".

This ^^ doesn't happen in UK schools. Most schools set children for English and maths, and UK schools don't remove parts of the curriculum that the pupils don't like. I'm struggling to believe that this happens in American schools TBH.

Show quote history

That normal for some children...

TinyTeacher · 10/03/2023 19:10

OP, I believe there is a homeschooling board. You may find you get more useful guidance there.

I don't homeschool, I'm a teacher. I have taught a reasonable number of pupils who were homeschooled until either 12 or 16. My experience is that homeschooling up to age 11/12 can be done well (IF thought through carefully! That's a bit if), but up to age 16 means there are some practical skills they 're likely to miss out on - I'm a science teacher and the ones that try to do science a levels after homeschooling REALLY struggle with practical work as they just aren't at all familiar with the equipment.

For those leaping on OP about what her 2 year old can do, it's not at all unbelievable! My eldest was a fluent reader at 3, because that was her priority, she loved it. My toddlers know their times tables because toddlers are little sponges and they listen to her practising. They can read short words too. It's not that unusual. Young children are prone to obsessions and sometimes these tend towards the academic, especially if that's the sort of thing they are exposed to.