Homeschooling can be tough with one child and can definitely be hard when you have more than one. Trying to balance toddlers and school aged children can be tricky but once you find your rhythm our routine, it can get a bit easier.
I homeschool two kids and have a toddler as well. My oldest is only 8, so I still direct her for most of her school work. While she is doing schoolwork, I try to have the toddler and my middle child who is 4 play. Once my oldest is done with her schoolwork, I have the 4 year old do schoolwork with me. That leaves the oldest to play with the toddler. Thankfully, the 4 year old's schoolwork is much faster than the 8 year old's schoolwork. Sometimes, the 4 year old does not get to her schoolwork if the 8 year old has to take longer on her schoolwork. Thankfully, at her age, she learns more through play than anything else. I do read the 8 year old's read alouds at lunch though so that the whole family gets exposed to as many books as possible.
Since I do have a schoolroom in my house, my children can all stay in the same area of the house if they want so I keep an eye on everyone. That does make it a bit easier for me but before we created the schoolroom, I did school in the dining room so I was able to watch everyone and put the baby in the swing to sleep. That is probably the best solution to homeschooling when you have a baby, school while they sleep.
Now, like I said earlier, homeschooling is tough no matter how many kids you have at home. There may be points in your life where homeschooling is just too much on you and you need to take a step back. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Back in 2020 before the pandemic shut everything down, my oldest wanted to try public school. I enrolled her and it was at the time the right thing for us as I had just found out I was pregnant and was dealing with HG. It left me unable to keep anything down so I did not have the strength to do anything, let alone teach my daughter. By the time the world shut down, I had gotten the right medication to help my issue so I could help with the now virtual school setup. I was then able to go back to homeschooling during the next school year even with having a newborn because I let myself have time to adjust and take my time in learning a routine for my family.
I do not think homeschooling will ever be a breeze for us. Children grow and change which means our methods and routines must change. I think the key is to just be willing to adjust and relearn how we need to homeschool to fit our families needs. The best advice I can give is to let yourself have a break and your kids whenever you need one and to not be afraid of changing up your style or routine.
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