If you’re planning to homeschool, you may be wondering when is an appropriate time to start. Many parents will start their homeschool for 2 year olds, and the timing makes sense when you consider their development.
When your child is 2 years old, their learning is on hyperdrive. While they still love nothing more than playing all day, there’s suddenly a newfound curiosity, independence, and observational skills that make them soak up information.
Side note: Why are they so observant? They see everything, and I can’t get away with anything!
Can You Homeschool a 2 Year Old?
Yes! I’m a firm believer that education should start early and that it should be an ongoing part of your child’s (and your) life.
That being said, a 2 year old is not going to tolerate lessons and school time like an older child will. Their learning is going to come mostly through play time.
Whether we’re coloring, reading, playing dress up, or anything else I find ways to practice things like colors, counting, or pronouncing new words during our activities.
What Should My 2 Year Old Learn?
Please, please, please remember that 2 is very early to have crazy learning objectives. Your child should be learning, since there’s so much to explore for a little one, but don’t stress if they don’t check every single box as a 2 year old.
That being said, here are some learning goals for your 2 year old:
- Recognize colors
- Count to 10
- Recognize numbers up to 10
- Shape recognition and names
- Matching
- Sorting by color and/or shape
- Recognize some letters
- Recognize common animals (pets, farm animals, etc.)
Should I Lesson Plan For My 2 Year Old?
Not really. Honestly, I think that lesson plans are a bit overkill when you’re working with a 2 year old.
As your child gets closer to 3, it might be worthwhile to do the “Letter of the Week” together. This would be the 2 year old’s equivalent of a thematic unit.
As an example of what this would look like in a given week:
- Coloring sheets with the letter of the week (I like the free ones you can get on TwistyNoodle.)
- Alphabet puzzle
- Read about or watch videos about animals that start with the week’s letter.
Just think of it like living an episode of Sesame Street, but way better because Sesame Street is trash and you are amazing (A is for Amazing)!
What Do Our Days/Weeks Look Like?
2 year olds are like random number generators. They are walking variables. Your day might be beautiful, peaceful, and productive. Or it might be chaos, tears, and screaming.
You really can’t plan out the details of a day very well when this is the case, especially if you have other kids to manage too.
An individual day with my 2 year old will typically include some combination of the following:
- Reading time (we manage to make this happen no matter what at some point in the day)
- Craft activities (coloring, drawing, painting, Play-Doh)
- Independent play time
- Cooking together
- Alphabet and number puzzles
- Magnet shapes
- Flash cards
While I generally can’t plan everything for specific days, we also:
- Visit the library at least once every two weeks (my daughter loves story time and the jiggle and jam music parties)
- Visit my nieces and nephews at least once a week (they’re also homeschooling and we’ll do group lessons and play time)
- Do two or three special activities or learning games a week (I document many of these on social media if you’re interested)
This is what works for us, but it’s possible that it won’t for everyone. The important thing is that you find the things your 2 year old loves to do or is curious about and build learning opportunities into those things.
We’re trying to foster a joy and love of learning at a young age that will last a lifetime!
Wrapping Up
Homeschool for 2 year olds doesn’t need to be a formal, dedicated schooling experience. You can ensure your 2 year old’s learning through play time together and build all their age-appropriate skills like counting, colors, and shapes. Honestly, the only ways I could see a person screwing it up would be to try too hard or to completely neglect their child.
If you’re here, you certainly care about your child’s development, and that’s 90% of the battle won. If you enjoyed this article, please consider subscribing to my newsletter to stay up to date on all the happenings at Home Learning Kit.
As a thank you, I’ll send you my free state-by-state guide to homeschool requirements. That could be useful in a couple years if you plan to keep homeschooling that 2 year old!
I’d love to hear how you’re working with your 2 year old. Let’s talk on social media about it!