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What do you do with a one, two or three-year-old while you’re teaching your older kids at home? Whether you’re homeschooling or managing virtual school, those little hands need something to do. Here are the simple things that keep my toddlers busy, most of them using stuff you already have.

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1. Use nap time for the hardest subjects

If your little one still naps, that’s a great time to do your more intensive subjects with your older kids. We like to get school done in the morning, so everybody’s awake for ours, but if you can line up a tough subject with nap time, do it.

2. Keep them in the room with you

We have a school room, so I can close the door and keep my little ones in there with us, where I can see them and they have things to do. If you school at the kitchen or dining room table, that’s okay too. Block off a space, or close the doors, so they can’t get too far from your sight.

3. Highchair activities

If they’re young and don’t mind sitting in the highchair, there’s a lot they can do there:

• Crayons and coloring. (My one-year-old still eats crayons, so not for him yet.)
• Painting. Finger paint, or use a brush. My three-year-old loves to paint. My one-year-old still eats the paint, so we do other things with him.

4. Mega Bloks

If you don’t have Mega Bloks yet, they’re like the toddler version of Legos. Little ones can sit there forever taking blocks on and off, or dumping them out and putting them back in the box.

5. Magnet tiles

There are a lot of brands. Toddlers can sit there forever, mesmerized by how the magnets stick together, and when they’re a little older they start building things. They’re awesome. You can find the ones we have on my list of toddler toys.

6. Free water play

You already have everything for this:

1. Lay a towel on the floor.
2. Put a little water in a big plastic container.
3. Give them little medicine cups and a medicine syringe.

Seriously, they’ll play with this for the longest time. One warning: a really young child may eventually dump it out, which might cause you more stress. But it holds my little ones’ attention for a long time.

7. Playdough, our frenemy

Playdough is tried and true. It keeps them quiet and entertained for a long time. It can also be quite a bit of cleanup, so there’s a give and take. Add a few little tools for them to play with.

8. Super Simple Songs

This one isn’t a toy, but it holds their attention so well. On YouTube there’s a channel called Super Simple Songs. It still mesmerizes my seven-year-old! Many of the songs are somewhat educational, with classic nursery rhymes and new versions of them, and they have playlists that run about an hour.

I’ll often put my one-year-old in the highchair with it on while I’m cooking dinner. If he can’t see the TV, put it on your computer or phone in front of him.

Key takeaways

• Line up your most intensive subjects with nap time when you can.
• Keep toddlers in a closed-off room or space where you can see them.
• Mega Bloks, magnet tiles and playdough buy you a long stretch of quiet.
• Water, a towel and medicine cups make a free activity.
• A song playlist works in a pinch, even for older kids.

Things we mentioned

• My list of toddler toys: including the Mega Bloks and magnet tiles we use
• Super Simple Songs on YouTube

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FAQ

How do I keep my toddler busy while homeschooling?

Keep them in the room with you and give them long-lasting activities like Mega Bloks, magnet tiles, playdough, painting or water play with medicine cups.

When should I do the hardest homeschool subjects with a toddler at home?

If your toddler still naps, nap time is a great time for your most intensive subjects.

What free activities keep toddlers busy?

Put a little water in a big plastic container on a towel and give them medicine cups and a syringe. It keeps my little ones busy for a long time.

More from our crew

• Homeschool with Me!: Teaching Multiple Kids
• How to Schedule a Homeschool Day + Chore Ideas for Kids
• Top 10 Favorite Baby Books! Best Books for Toddlers and Babies

Full transcript

Hi everyone how are you today I wanted to talk today about what to do with your little ones we're talking like ages one two three especially if you're home right now having the home school what to do with them while you're homeschooling one tip if they're still taking a nap maybe that's a good time to do some of the more intensive subjects with your kids I do like to get our school done during the morning so that means that everybody is up in a way

But one thing to do is we haven't set schools in for us we have a school room so I'm able to close the door and keep my little ones in there so I have my eyes on them and we've got things for them to do if you're using your kitchen table or your dining room table that's okay too if you have a way of blocking off a space for them to be in or at least closing all the doors so they can't really get too far from from your sight then that will be helpful to just a couple of activities that you can do if they're really young

And they don't mind sitting in their high chair there's all kinds of things you could do you can even give them a crown to color with mine is just a little over one so if you still eats the ground so that's not a great activity for now you can do some finger painting or actually use a brush and paint again my one year old still eats the paint so we do other things but my three-year-old loves to paint Mega Bloks and you don't have these for your kids yet these are super fun

And easy kind of like Legos but like the toddler version right these are super fun to build so they can sit there forever and be taking stuff on and off on and off or dumping out and then putting the blocks back into the box of the country great activity you can also get the magnet aisles there's a lot of Bran's I'll link the ones that we have below but they can sit there forever and be mesmerized by how the magnets work and stick together if they're a little older they can be building things

So these are these are an awesome toy something else you can do that's free you already have the stuff at home would be to grab a Tupperware a big one and put a little bit of water in it and you could lay a towel down on the floor give them little medicine cups even the little medicine syringe and seriously they plant this for the longest time now if your child is really young they may eventually dump this out which may cause you more stress so maybe maybe not

But it really keeps my little ones attention for a long time so that's good and then of course the tried-and-true frenemy is playdough I love it because it does keep their attention for a long time but it also can be quite a bit of cleanup so there's a give-and-take there but it keeps them quiet and entertained while you need them to be entertained so that that's a win for me so playdough and some different little tools that they can use to play with it the last thing that I'll mention is not something to play with

But something that keeps their attention really well is on YouTube there is a channel called super simple songs and I'll put their link in the in the box below those songs they still mesmerized my seven-year-old if I turn on super simple songs they're all just like that and it is so great a lot of the songs that they do work somewhat educational and they're like the nursery rhyme classic songs and then some other versions of those they'll have like playlists that run for like an hour

So if you're cooking dinner a lot of times I'll put the one-year-old in the highchair turn that on if you can't see the TV from where he is you can put it on on your computer or your phone and in front of them and that keeps him very happy and entertained well I am getting done but I need to get done so those are my tips for you or your little ones hopefully it helps keep their little hands busy and allow you the time to get the things done that you need to get done have a great day