Geomama,
I am not a homeschooling mom, so I can't help with any specific homeschooling advice, but I remember being *soooo* so stressed out and tired when my EG kiddo was 3-5 years old because he was just so full of the excitement of learning, everything was new (and DEEP), and he was just a non-stop question machine. Most of his questions required *me* to think, or do some research... and when he wasn't asking questions he was demanding that I read to him
I also have two dds, all three kids spaced two years apart, ds is the oldest. So we weren't homeschooling, but those years were just nuts! (For me lol).
I'm not a mom who likes to recommend tv as a babysitter, but fwiw, when ds was 3-5 years old he just absolutely *loved* PBS shows like Nova and Nature, and also loved listening to some of the NPR stuff online like Science Friday. Is there any chance your older kids might be interested in something like that, that will engage their brains and also give you an hour of non-interrupted time for yourself?
Is there also something your older kids like to do that is an activity they can become totally absorbed into and focus on happily for awhile? Things that worked for my ds were Legos, or giving him a hose next to our dirt pile and letting him create dams and rivers etc. Just anything that one child loves to get lost in so that you can leave them having fun with that activity while you work with another child. JMO, but I felt like the types of activities that fed their creativity and let their brains wander wherever they felt like going was as beneficial to their learning in those early years as the traditional ABCs.
Another idea - books on tape? (eta - shoulda called them "audio books" - they were still on tape when ds was little lol!)
Best wishes,
polarbear
