MomtoJGJE wrote:Or you could do like I did today...
I wouldn't really advise it though...
I handed Evie paper, scissors, crayons, and glue and told her to have fun, just try to keep the glue on the paper...
this is funny and again, probably more like what I do. My 2.5 YO has gotten into a routine, which still needs reinforcing sometimes, but basically she is supposed to have free play time and play quietly during most of school, and then when I read to my older girls she is supposed to play in her room. I have put special toys in her room for her - and am working on more. A good friend of mine actually recently found some good ideas online for developmental toys you can make yourself so we each made 2 of the ones we found, and gave one to the other mom for her toddler. Plastic eggs in an egg carton, felt shapes to put on a board, a yogurt container with holes to put pipe cleaners in, things like that. My toddler loves the ones I have given her. Anyway, I just try to find ways to occupy her. We are going to hopefully start LHTH this fall.
I think my toddler does feel left out, though she doesn't think she wants to do school, or doesn't say that she does. I think because of the way we've transitioned it since she was a baby, she thinks her involvement in school IS school. I'm sure she'll be excited once there's school specifically for her. She does do rotating box activities with us, or if the math activity includes a snack I sit her down and she has snack and maybe counts hers or something.
I agree with what eachlee said. A lot of things that are developmentally appropriate for that age are not things that can be done independently. So that means you have to focus some time and attention on the little one, and with doing LHFHG/ER and all that you can't do both at once. Certainly if you can squeeze it in or just have a special time for it, do some school stuff with your younger one. But otherwise, I think you are more looking for something he can do and feel ownership of while your older daughter is doing school. Maybe give him assignments like building something with blocks, picking up all of something and putting it in a certain place, doing a puzzle, or whatever. Things he can do independently but you will have to direct him on a little bit maybe? I'm so glad having my 2.5 YO play in her room has worked out as well as it has, she doesn't seem to mind, she likes having her CD on and usually she also eats a snack in there (which I know would not work for every parent, and she has made a mess with the snack but usually she does okay). I hope some of these thoughts are helpful.
Sometimes she still bugs her sister though. 
