How to homeschool when so sick during pregnancy?

[calihil]

I just found out today I'm pregnant with #4. I am very excited but it is bittersweet. I get so incredibly sick from like weeks 5-25 and even after that it's just plain out miserable, lots of pain, spitting, etc. I'm just very scared of going through that again, though I know it's very worth it and I'm so grateful. Has anyone else homeschooled through a rough pregnancy? Thankfully, my oldest is only almost 6 and we're only doing Kindergarten but I'm afraid of slacking off or her not learning much this year. :( I'm going to try to at least do her reading lesson every day, either with Starfall.com or Phonics Pathways (we're halfway through right now), maybe do some math games online... She can count to 100 and backwards, she can do simple addition. She's on track for everything so far, I think.... But what are some things I can add to my "educational" repertoire for her on the days I literally can't get off the couch?

 

I need some encouragement that I'm not ruining her and that it will all be ok. :/

 

ETA: My other kids are almost 2 and almost 4.

[duckens]

Congratulations!  We love babies!!!!

I'm sorry to hear about your track record with morning sickness.  With my last pregnancy, I did daycare AND a bit of early K homeschooling.  I couldn't walk (hip pain), so I cared for my daycare kids by crawling around on the floor.  I yarped every.single.day. from before the pregnancy test through nearly puking up the anti-nausea drugs on the delivery table.

At the age your kids are at, they will not be far behind if you take it easy.

1) Read many good books from the library.  Does your library have home delivery for the elderly or disabled?  You may fit into this category for the next 10 months. 

2) Watch lots of PBS Kids.  My kids are constantly telling me things I didn't know (Kratt Brothers), to which I can only reply: "I should let you watch more tv."

3) If you do not have a DVR, this may be a good investment for your household.  No, you don't need cable or a satellite dish for a DVR.  We purchased ours as a "reconditioned" unit from TIVO over 5 years ago.  It has outlived its original contract and is still going strong.

Current cost: ~$200 for the box, + $15/month.

My kids (and I) can watch their educational shows any time.

I love this device so much, I nearly named my second child "Tivo."  :laugh:

4) You don't need to homeschool every day.  And you are wise to prioritize what you want to cover, and don't sweat the rest.

5) Ask Dad for help.  With as many littles as you have, he may be most helpful to take some of them out in the yard to play for 30 minutes while you do uninterrupted lesson with the older.  Or, he may walk your oldest through what you want covered.

6) Buy a set of BOB books (or similar readers if they come with your curriculum).  Put a post-it in the back of each with a list of
--1) Mom
--2) Dad
--3) Sister
--4) Brother
--5) [the pet]

Send your Ker off to read her book to each person on the list.  She can only read it to one person/day.  By the time she has read it 5X on 5 different days to 5 different people, she will be a pretty good reader of that book.  Put the books she has completed in a shoebox under her bed.  These are books she gets to "stay up late" and read at bedtime.

7) Puzzles are good for brains.  Do ones that are one step too hard for your dd5 with her.

[Coco_Clark]

I'd suggest trying your hardest to read aloud everyday.  Either in the morning, in the afternoon, or at night, whenever you tend to be least sick.   If you can't handle that, have her listen to an audiobook everyday.  We listen to several books every year just in the car.

Then do a short phonics and math lesson as many days as you can manage.  Or switch off every other day and do either a phonics lesson OR a math lesson.  20 minutes is really all you need.  On the days you can't fit a lesson in, have her spend time on the computer games you mentioned.  

 

And dont discount evenings and weekends.  Maybe dad can help lighten the load a bit?  

Good luck. I have incredibly difficult pregnancies so I know how you feel.  

[blondeviolin]

I am feeling your pain. My focus for kindergarten is teaching the child to read. I'd make sure I was getting reading and some fun math done (probably Miquon) every day. Lots of this can be done while you lay on the floor or snuggle on the couch. Then, fill your time reading lots of good library books, playing starfall and BrainPop jr. It's really not messing her up. Plenty of kids completely skip K without any issue.

[EmseB]

I'm just getting over severe nausea of early (half) of pregnancy.  I cut back on a lot of stuff, but my kids are young and it was the beginning of the year so it was a lot of review for my 2nd grader, and honestly my kindy student is progressing amazingly now that I'm back on track.  Now that I'm through it I can totally say that I would not make a big deal about "falling behind" in kindergarten.  With my guy, I did one lesson of Ordinary Parents' Guide...in my bed...every day.  We did the Saxon worksheets together, but no way was I able to pull off a math meeting everyday.  Yet, now at lesson 37, we do math meetings and if there's something that we glossed over a few weeks ago, I just explain it to him and we work from there.  I also had him do a McRuffy handwriting sheet every day and got a cheap-o math book from the grocery store of all places that he could do "fun math" in.  I just couldn't read aloud a lot, so lots of audio books were listened to while I dozed.

 

This age is so forgiving.  I know exactly how you feel, and I told my hubby that if there was ever a year I could have used a good school for the kids, it would have been this year with the nausea at first and then a big break in March for the newbie.  But I honestly think they get so much out of learning that when mom feels bad they need to help, they need to be flexible.  They just learn more about real LIFE at home, especially during the hard times, that it's been neat for me to see my big guy step up and become really independent and my k'er work to help his littlest brother and have the whole family come together to get through it.  I know it is easy for me to say on the other side of things, but they did learn a lot even if it wasn't about academics all the time. :)

[Random]

Congratulations!  I hope you sail through this pregnancy without the nausea.

 

But...

:grouphug:

I was in the same position as you a few years ago.  I was sick except from about 12 PM-3PM daily, so I did have a window to teach each day.  My oldest was only in 1st, and school was pretty light.

 

Some things my children did without me:

Workbooks from Rod & Staff preschool set and K set

I got picture books from the library for my children to look through.

Audiobooks are great.

Puzzles and a stocked craft box

Reading Eggs is fun.  You can set up an account for each child and he/she can do a lesson daily.

XtraMath is fun, too.  Accounts are free, and your children can at least learn math facts if you are incapacitated.

 

 

My oldest was six, and he would make sandwiches or a bowl of oatmeal for the 2 & 4 yr old at lunch time if I was too sick.

 

Best wishes! :grouphug:

[Julie of KY]

Curl up on the couch or in bed and do a little reading aloud and a little math. Teach reading/phonics at a slower pace. Don't worry about getting it all done.

 

Check out books on cd from your library.

 

Basically, I'd prioritize doing some reading to all the kids (everyone together is fine). Do math/phonics as you can, don't worry about anything else. If you do more it's bonus, but don't worry if it waits until another year. Enjoy your time together as a family.

[LivingHope]

Congratulations!

Okay, I am with you...I am 8 weeks and really sick...and since this is baby #9, I know my pattern is that my nausea will not let up until about 25 weeks too.

 

The best advice that I can give you is to try to get dressed early in the day and go outside for fresh air and a morning walk. This helps all of us to feel alive, happy, and connected. Then keep things simple with an hour max of table-time school and later read alouds. Also, I have one audio book ready for when peace and quiet are needed.

 

Greek yogurt and lemon water help me the most right now.

[calihil]

LivingHope... Number 9! And being so sick, wow, you are my hero!  :hurray:

 

Thanks for all the advice, everyone! We literally just found out yesterday so the nausea hasn't hit me (yet), but these are great ideas. Thanks for the XtraMath, I hadn't heard of that one. Sounds like something we'll be using. My daughter (almost 6) is SUCH a huge help, I'm not sure I could do it without her. School already takes around an hour to do now. I'm just thankful I don't have any older kids that have more detailed work to be done! I'd be waaaay in over my head!

[Mystie]

I relied on audio books (I was pregnant when I made my list of free audible classics), puzzles and games like Equilibrio, and letting them play outside even in the dirt or mud and then popping them in the bath and letting them play there.

 

Audio books were the lifesaver for me.

 

Congratulations! You'll all make it through. :)

[Mrs. A]

Been there, done that. About twelve weeks left in this one, thankfully!

 

I actually found the schoolwork wasn't hard to complete so much as the fatigue made it challenging to get started and my temper is extremely short. My biggest battle bar none is keeping my tone sweet and being patient. Planning lessons the night before helps, too, because I don't have to summon up brain power if I'm having a rough morning. And keeping it light and simple without too many frills, trips, or projects is another must.

 

Nausea? No biggie. Exhaustion and being a mean mommy? Almost insurmountable. I ask a lot of forgiveness and take lots of deep breath ;)

 

My problem is also fatigue and a short temper. I've found that it's really really important for me to let go of expectations and not focus on checking off what's planned for the day. I have to prioritize carefully and be ok with letting the rest go. There are some days that are great, other days when nothing happens and more often than not most days we at least accomplish one or two things, but not as much as my ideal. 

 

Audiobooks are a lifesaver and having lots of math and other educational games around is great too. I'm like duckens, who mentioned above that she had lots of hip pain. Mine has already kicked in with gusto and I'm finding myself on my hands and knees a lot too. But I will say that it is great for getting me to spend focused time with the youngest kids because often times when I'm not in pain I tend to put off playing with them in favor of whittling away at my endless to-do list. 

 

I think that taking it one day at a time, sometimes even one minute at a time, and doing the best you can in the moment is really all you can do and somehow the little moments add up and you find that a lot more learning goes on than you expected. :)

 

Congratulations to you and all the others who are expecting! 

[mamabear2three]

I'm there too - pregnant with number 4 and really sick. I've learned to prioritize, we do the most important school first, (ie, the stuff i have to do with her) and try to assign things that are easy for her to do independently. (I'm teaching 1st grade and preschool - the annoying thing is my preschooler wants to do school all the time whereas my first grader would gladly spend all day playing.)

 

I've let the house go - I don't worry about the mess, and my husband is picking up a lot of the chores for me. If I have a moment of feeling well, I take the most important thing first - usually dishes - and go from there.

 

My doula just recommended accupuncture for nausea relief, so I'm going to try that next week, probably, but that was a new suggestion I hadn't heard of yet. She said she's had great success with it.

[Lawyer&Mom]

Accupuncture is awesome for nausea.  Just FYI.

[Tsuga]

I'm so sorry to hear pregnancies are rough for you. I had some friends go through that and it was just so difficult to watch (tried not to just stand by but there is only so much you can do!).

 

I will say that first grade even in private and public school is a year of solidifying skills: learning to read fluently and learning math facts. It is the year many kids make that leap to the "age of reason" and they finally start to really think things through and ask questions that are less charming and more interesting.

 

My daughter just completed first grade in a good public school. If by the end of this year, your daughter understands that:

 

--the world can be divided into categories that help us understand how things work (solid, liquid, gas, non-Newtonian... okay maybe not that last bit, haha) ;)

 

--how to add and subtract numbers 1 - 12 by memory (IXL math is GREAT for this)

 

--she can read a story and tell you the main characters, the plot (what was the problem and how did it get solved), and the setting--

 

Then she will have learned pretty much everything she really needs for second grade. More history would be great, but I agree that in your situation, with two little ones out of the belly and one in it, those are just going to have to come from videos.

 

Fractions--if you can cook at ALL with her, using cups, 1/2 cups and 1/4 cups, tsps and so on, are all she needs to know. Or, if your family can afford music lessons with parks and rec or someone coming to your house, it's a great year to start and that takes care of wholes through sixteenths (though sixteenth notes usually come in year two ;) )

 

I hate TV but I'm always amazed at how much my kids learn from PBS kids. If that means you have the energy to sit with the family at dinner, go for it.

 

I wish you the best of luck. First grade is a great year for her to become more independent. And first kids can be great at that!

 

 

letting them play outside even in the dirt or mud and then popping them in the bath and letting them play there.

 

So... as a mom of two older ones, this is like my MO on a daily basis, even not being pregnant or homeschooling. I guess if I were pregnant I'd have them eating worms, lol!

[Sahamamama]

If my children were still 2, 4, and 6, I would snuggle them, read to them, and let them play outside, whether or not I was pregnant.

 

You blink and they no longer fit on your lap. Sigh.