How do I teach multiple ages at the same time?

Claire

4 min read · The grovio Guide

I assumed this would be the impossible part.

In our early days, I ran completely separate lessons for my two kids. It was exhausting, essentially two school days back to back while someone waited impatiently for their turn.

The thing that changed it for us: I started combining them wherever I could.

Read-alouds, history, science, art, nature study: all of these work with kids at different levels in the room. You read the same chapter. You watch the same documentary. The older child goes deeper; the younger absorbs what they can. Both are learning.

The subjects that usually need to stay separate are math and phonics-level reading, things that build sequentially and need to match where each child actually is. Everything else has more flexibility than you'd expect.

A rhythm that works for a lot of families: group subjects together first while everyone's energy is high. Then individual work: math, writing, whatever needs focused attention. While one works independently, you help the other.

It's not seamless. Some days everyone needs you at once. But more often than not, they end up learning from each other.

Helpful links

— The Homeschool Mom — teaching multiple ages — Demme Learning — teaching multiple ages

Claire writes the grovio Guide. She owned and ran a Montessori preschool program and did graduate-level study in developmental psychology back when her own son was little — these days she's homeschooling that same son, raising another little one, and staying in the thick of it through her local co-op. Read more about Claire →

How do I teach multiple ages at the same time?

Helpful links

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