Baby Homeschool 101

As a mom of four children ages 22, 19, 17 and 16 months I figured out I’m going to homeschooling for 35 years! That’s a long time to be thinking about lesson plans and fun, educational learning. But this “second time around” I’ve discovered it’s never to early to start homeschooling.

Reading. I started reading to my baby girl as soon as she could hold up her head. Once she was able to hold a book in her hands she thought they made great teethers, but I was okay with that. In fact, I would often give her a board book that had foamy pages to play with and chew on. As she got “older,” I would read a few books a day. Then, something kicked in when she turned 15 months. Alyssa fell in love with books! Sitting on my lap and listening to a story is one of her favorite things. At least twenty times a day I hear “book, book” and she brings one to read. As we read I point out animals, we make the sounds, and she points out her favorite things. If any page in the book has a “birdie” (which she sometimes calls “boppi”) I hear about it.

Counting. We count Cheerios on her high chair. We count toys as we put them away. We count her socks as I put them on her feet. (That’s an easy one.) We count the boppies on a page! 🙂

Letters. I’m not into teaching my baby to read, but I did buy plastic letters for the fridge. One of Alyssa’s favorite games is moving them from the fridge, to a cookie sheet, to a tall tumbler and then back to the fridge. She says “D, O, R …” even though she doesn’t get the letters right she’s figuring out what they are!

Singing. Alyssa loves to sing! Or rather to hear me sing. Don’t worry about your voice, belt it out, Mama. One evening John and I were driving home from a day trip and Alyssa was getting fussy. We started singing Sunday School songs and nursery rhymes … an hour passed without us repeating one song! Alyssa loved it. Now singing in the car is a tradition.


Signing. We first started teaching Alyssa sign language when she was eight months old. We started with three simple words, “more, milk, and all-done.” We’re adding a few more words every month. (It helps that my college-age daughter Leslie is minoring in sign language in college!) I found some great signing DVDs and books for me to use when Leslie isn’t around.


Chores. Okay, okay at 16-months old I’m not teaching my baby to do the laundry, but there are a few things we do. She helps me carry in items to set the table such as napkins, silverware, and sometimes plastic cups. She helps me pick up toys. She also helps me sweep. I got her a little broom and she does a great job at messing up the dirt pile I’m sweeping up, but that’s okay. I want her to think chores are fun! (This pays off later, I promise!)

Those are just a few ways I’ve started “homeschooling” already. I’ve learned over years that the best thing to do about homeschooling is to make learning part of life. I’m excited to share more learning joy with my daughter as she grows. What are your favorite things to do with your little one?

Favorite books: