Homeschooling Multiple Ages: How I Teach 3 Kids at Once

A question I get more than I thought I would: how do you homeschool multiple kids at one time? There’s one of you, and (for me) three of them, and one kitchen table. How do you do it?

It has looked different for us in different seasons. But I found it easier than I had feared, so here’s how it works for our family.

Let’s take this one step at a time.

The seasons I’ve been through

Right now I have a sixth grader, a fifth grader and a third grader. But when we started, I had a kindergartner, a four-year-old and a two-year-old.

So on any given morning now, I’m going from teaching phonics with my youngest all the way to pre-algebra with my oldest. That’s a wide range. Here’s how we handle it now, and then how it looked when only one of my kids was school-aged.

Together subjects vs. individual subjects

With three school-aged kids, I split our subjects into two groups:

• Together subjects: social studies, science, art, PE and music. We do these as a family.
• Individual subjects: writing, math, and reading or language arts. Each child does these at their own grade level.

Same lesson, different responses

For the together subjects, the teaching part of the lesson happens as a group. Right now we’re learning about the forming of the Constitution. But the response activity looks different depending on each child’s grade level.

We’re all learning together, but each child responds at an age-appropriate level. And honestly, the together subjects are fun.

(Here’s what a full homeschool day looks like in our house.)

How our morning starts

We usually start the day together at the table. We go over what everyone needs to do that day, and the schedule if there’s anything else going on.

Then my kids usually start with either their language lesson or their math lesson.

The round robin

Practically, I don’t really move from the table. I might move my seat to sit by a child who needs me. But if someone’s doing their math lesson first, I’m totally locked in with that child.

Meanwhile, the other two are either doing math review that doesn’t need me hands-on, or starting their language lesson, which usually begins with reading a chapter of a book on their own.

So it looks like a round robin. You go from child to child and teach each one where they’re at.

Why open-and-go curriculum helps

This is why open-and-go curriculum works so well for us. I’m not spending hours the night before, or the week before, planning every day.

• Math with Confidence: I open my instructor guide and read it over while I’m drinking my coffee. My child next to me starts some review while I look it over, and then we dive into the lesson. That’s very one-on-one time.
• The Good and the Beautiful language: the child opens their workbook for the day, and it lays everything out. It fosters independence in a really healthy way.

The parent still needs to be very involved, checking that the work is done well and giving feedback. But open-and-go has made a huge difference as more of my kids have become school-aged.

(More on choosing curriculum: how to choose a kindergarten curriculum.)

Independent checklists

At the ages my kids are now, they each have a simple checklist, so they know what they need to do. A lot of things, like typing, creative writing or spelling, they can do on their own. They knock those subjects out and check them off.

That works really well for my middle-aged kids.

Letting the olders teach the youngers

This works with some of my kids and not others. I have a set of Irish twins about a year apart, and that’s not enough of an age gap for one to teach the other.

But my sixth grader and my third grader? That can work really well. My sixth grader is very strong in math, and I’m confident he understands the third-grade concepts. He can play some of the math games with his little brother or teach some of the basic concepts. My younger son loves that his big brother is teaching him.

I’m always right there supervising; I’m not off doing other things. It doesn’t work for every sibling relationship. But it’s a helpful tool when I need to be with my daughter and the boys need to be working on something.

When you have toddlers too

When we started, my oldest was in kindergarten and I had a four-year-old and a two-year-old. I vividly remember potty training our youngest (I used the Oh Crap! Potty Training book, and I highly recommend it; the author is hilarious) while my oldest needed to do his Explode the Code. Plus a four-year-old who wanted to play dolls and run around.

I felt really overwhelmed in that season. Here’s what helped.

Do some subjects together

Even then, we did some subjects together. Art and science were so fun: we’d all get in on the science experiment or the art project. If my four-year-old or two-year-old were done, that was okay. They could run off and play, and I’d stay focused with my kindergartner.

I feel like mothering prepares you well for this season. You’re always tending to one child, then the next, and pivoting. Having one in school and two who aren’t yet feels like a natural extension of the motherhood journey you’ve already been on.

Short, split-up school days

Our kindergarten days were an hour to an hour and a half, and they could be broken up. Do 20 minutes, then everyone plays. Do another 20 minutes, then run errands or go to the library. It doesn’t have to be a 90-minute straight block.

(Here’s a real kindergarten homeschool day, start to finish.)

Busy bins for little ones

I did spend a lot of energy thinking about how to keep my younger two busy. So I had bins I rotated through, filled with simple, themed things. Sometimes just a bin of Hot Wheels cars, or a seasonal activity they could do on their own.

It really helped to keep those bins separate from their daily toys, so they felt fresh and exciting. The kids looked forward to that time and stayed engaged, which gave me time with my kindergartner.

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel

Those days did feel noisier and more hectic than now. If you’re in that season, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Our house is still full of noise and laughter and love, but it’s different from toddler screaming or a baby crying. And the kids now know to respect each other’s need for quiet during school, which a toddler can’t understand yet.

Lower your expectations and find your rhythm

Something I had to tell myself time and again: lower your expectations, and know that it’s okay. You have to be pretty flexible. If you get to math today, great. If it needs to get done tomorrow, that’s okay too.

Figure out what rhythm works for you. I’m pretty type A, so I like getting school done in the morning. Some of my friends do school with their older child while the little ones nap in the afternoon. Try a few things and see what works.

You can do this

Homeschooling will look different for every family. But you are totally capable of teaching multiple kids at different grade levels at the same time.

The beauty of homeschooling is that you know your kids very well. You know what’s a strength for each of them, what’s a growth area, and how to help them best, because you’re their parent. So you’ll be able to tell which systems work for your family and which don’t.

I needed someone to tell me that when I had small kids and was trying to homeschool. So if that’s you: you’re doing a great job. It will get easier. I could build things up in my mind to seem a lot harder than they were, but when we sat down at the table together, I could handle it. And you can too.

The short version

• Follow a rhythm, not a set schedule.
• Be flexible.
• Sit yourself down at the table and rotate between the kids.
• Expect every day to look a little different. One day I start with my youngest; the next, with my oldest.

What stays consistent is you and your kids sitting down at the table, ready to learn.

Wondering what a first week even looks like? My free Starter Week gives you guideposts for what your day can look like, plus some encouragement, because that’s what I needed most.