September 25, 2024 – One Room Schoolhouse: Teaching Multiple Ages

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

One-Room Schoolhouse or Three-Ring Circus?

We love reading books or watching movies involving one-room schoolhouses. That peaceful idea of home learning was what I was looking forward to when I started my own schoolhouse. I quickly found out that often it looks more like a three-ring circus as I am overseeing more than three things at the same time all day long. I am the ring leader, the lion tamer, the teacher, the organizer, the janitor, and the refreshment coordinator! 

I see you mamas with multiple ages. I was there for over twenty years. Multiple grades under one house can mean multiple challenges. Here is something I wrote about fifteen years ago on the topic that I still remember today:

You don’t have to teach all at the same time: Today, while I was working with Caleb and Mercy on phonics, Hannah was working with Joshua on science, Christopher was reading to Hope, and Jonathon was working with his computer math tutor. And then we switched subjects and partners. Some days, Mom is doing her computer work at the table where all the independent students are gathered around doing their assignments, while the younger ones are playing nearby. 

You can teach some things all at the same time: You can all gather to study Bible, history, or literature. And you get to read aloud their favorite books.

What Johnny doesn’t get today because you are working with Susie, he will get tomorrow when you are working with him. Do as much as you can all together. Being together as a family, reading and talking, laughing and learning—it can’t get much better than that! 

You are teaching your children like no one else on earth can. Take each day as it comes and thank God your children are home with you and that you are home with your children. You are doing a good work. 

And for those days when your strength is exhausted from giving and giving and giving again to all those little clowns in your circus, remember that your Good Shepherd wants to lead you by still waters and refresh your soul. The only requirement is that you come to Him. 

Find peace in your little schoolhouse by going to the Prince of Peace. Hang onto Him and you will not lack any good thing as you keep His children Home. Where They Belong.

~Deborah

P.S. Don’t forget to listen in to this week’s podcast on this topic! www.HomeschoolShow.com 

Get an All-Access membership for unlimited access to all the homeschooling materials you need, PreK-12th grade on My Teaching Library today!

Hal and Melanie Young

Learning from Laura Ingalls Wilder

Have you read the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder? What a fantastic read aloud for girls and boys—Pa is a great role model! Years ago when we read them aloud, we loved hearing about Laura’s experiences teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in Little Town on the Prairie. 

At the start of the day, Laura did some things with all the children, then gave each grade work to be done at their desks. She would call up one grade at a time to work with them on their level, then send them back with seatwork to be done and call up a different grade. It gave us a vision of what it was like to teach multiple ages in the same family. Here’s some more we learned homeschooling our eight:

Combine and conquer! There is no reason students under high school age should each be doing separate history, science, or the arts. Choose a curriculum that lets you teach your students together in those subjects. A hidden benefit is that it gives your kids shared knowledge and experiences that build relationships and makes hands-on projects and field trips a lot more fun.

Leverage lists. Give every child a list of the day’s tasks so that if they finish one thing, they don’t have to wait for you to know what to do next. This is especially important for your older kids.

Manage, don’t micromanage. If your kids are generally getting the answers right on their practice work, you don’t have to check/grade every single thing. Just make sure they are getting it done and spot check to make sure they are correct.

Banish busywork. Must curriculums have way more written work than kids need to learn the material. Don’t let yourself and your kids get bogged down doing stuff that is unnecessary.

Enjoy the experience. We wish we’d been more relaxed in those early years and enjoyed that time even more!

Here’s a podcast about homeschooling with babies and toddlers around that might help, too! https://ultimateradioshow.com/homeschooling-with-babies-and-toddlers-around-mbflp-297/

Your friends,

Hal & Melanie

About the author

Hal and Melanie Young have been homeschooling almost as long as they’ve been married, and they’re still happy with both decisions! They wrote My Beloved and My Friend: How to Be Married to Your Best Friend without Changing Spouses to encourage their young adults – find out more at raisingrealmen.com.

Learn to love the ancient language of Latin with JAMwithLatin.com an online classroom with a modern approach to learning a classical language.

Shelby Hand

Couch Subjects

At one point, I had four children under the age of 5. Life was busy when they were all little, and it continues to be busy now that they are school-aged. The type of busy, however, has changed. Instead of running after toddlers getting too close to the stairs, I often find myself running from one learning area to another as I check in on children while they work or play. Just as I learned to utilize baby gates to keep toddlers contained, I now utilize couch subjects to homeschool multiple ages. 

I only recently heard the term “couch subjects.” As soon as I heard it, though, I understood what it meant and realized it was what I was doing. Couch subjects are content areas that can be done “from the couch;” they don’t require multiple books, worksheets, or manipulatives. Couch subjects are usually ones that include readings and discussion. For us, these are history, science, Spanish, and Biblical worldview.

Because they can be done from the couch and don’t require a lot of materials, I enjoy using couch subjects to transition into academics each day. If my children are playing happily and quietly, I don’t want to stop their productive play. Instead, I grab a read-aloud and let them play while we read and discuss. Two birds, one stone.

Some of these subjects wouldn’t be what I would normally teach my preschooler or even first-grader. However, because they have older siblings, there are some benefits that come with including them. First, their siblings model the discussions. Second, their siblings teach them. This allows the younger children to learn, and it helps solidify the older siblings’ understanding of the content. The most important benefit to me, however, is that couch subjects help build our family culture of closeness and lifelong learning together. 

I hope my future memories of homeschooling include snuggling on a couch with my daughters while reading an animal encyclopedia or having a snack while discussing the printing press. There is joy in this type of homeschooling. Here’s your encouragement to sit back, relax . . . and learn!

About the author

Shelby Hand is the wife of Cody and mother to four daughters. She has a Doctorate of Education in New Learning and is passionate about homeschooling her children to the glory of God. She is the Interactive Content Coordinator at SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

Pillar of Future

Adam and Dianne Riveiro

The Secret to Teaching Multiple Ages

I’ve mentioned before that I was a Christian school teacher back when we lived in Florida. One of the greatest challenges I ever faced was the year I taught a Bible class of about forty students who ranged from seventh to twelfth grade. The gap between the abilities and thought processes of these two groups is unbelievable. A seventh-grade boy (around 12 years old) is just coming out of his “girls are icky” phase, while a twelfth grader could be married within a couple of years. It wasn’t easy! 

While my experience isn’t exactly the same as teaching your homeschoolers together in one room, I did learn two indispensable lessons that I can pass on to you.

• You’d better get planning! Yes, I know you’re already a planner, but teaching a wide range of ages requires diligent planning to ensure that lessons are taught appropriately across a wider spectrum of ages. Don’t just simplify lessons to reach your youngest child. Find ways to stretch all your children, no matter their age.

• You’d better get praying! One of my favorite verses is James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (KJV). Ask the God of heaven to help you reach the minds and hearts of each of your children. Don’t skip this!

In the end, don’t strive for perfection. Your experience with a one-room schoolhouse likely won’t look like an episode of Little House on the Prairie . . . and that’s okay! Just remember that you are the perfect teacher for all of your children, no matter what age they may be!

-Adam

About the author

Pastor Adam and Dianne Riveiro live in Easton, Massachusetts, where Adam leads Liberty Baptist Church. They’re the authors of several books, including Hope from Our Heart to Yours: A 30-Day Devotional Journey for Special Needs Families, available from their family’s publishing label at www.readyscribepublications.com. They have four children: Bethany, Kaylee, AJ, and Peyton. They’re passionate about helping their fellow special needs families find joy and contentment in Christ.

How can you help foster a love for literature-based learning right from the start? Pre-K Activities: Read and Play on SchoolhouseTeachers.com incorporates interactive activities like painting, baking, games, and more into reading time. Engage with more than three dozen classic picture books, including If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff and The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Not just for littles—this is fun for the whole family!

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