Need advice from elementary age children and a baby...

[yellowperch]

That should read-- parents with elementary-age children and a baby.

 

Hi, I'm a long-time lurker here who has finally--after years of agonizing and a few dry runs--taken her children out of school and begun homeschooling.

 

We are now in week 2.

 

Things are going wonderfully in many ways. Still, there are several issues that I could use help with. I'll be posting more in the coming days. Here's the first issue: my six month old, who has always been nursed to sleep for naps and bed, is only catnapping. He's sleeps for 20-30 minutes in the morning, and about that long at midday, mid-afternoon and early evening. He goes to bed late--around 9:30. He wakes in the night and I nurse him back to sleep then too.

 

This is difficult for lots of reasons, but primarily I am concerned because he's not getting high quality sleep and he is developing habits that won't be good in the long run.

 

(Dh has helped with night-weaning in the past (comforting the babe so s/he loses that sleep/milk connection) but is abroad until June 1.)

 

So I'm asking for two things. First, your best advice for getting his sleep sorted out. Second, I'd just like some examples of schedules (including naps,chores,schoolwork, music practice, sports) in families with several oung children and a baby.

 

My dcs are 10, 8, 6, almost 4 and 6 mos.

 

Thanks very, very much.

[Mergath]

When dd was less than a year old, she would go through short phases- usually a couple weeks or so- where she'd just catnap. It usually corresponded with teething or a growth spurt. Has your ds always slept like this, or is it something relatively new? Either way, you could try a pacifier during the night, if you aren't already.

[Veritaserum]

I like Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution. My "baby" is now 21 months and takes an afternoon nap. She settles down best if I snuggle with her, so I just plan for that to happen right after lunch.

 

Our current "schedule" is for the kids to dress and get themselves cereal for breakfast. Immediately after that they start their independent subjects that I've loaded into their workboxes the night before. (Our workboxes are bankers boxes with file pockets, like these, only we use subject tags with clip art pictures instead of the numbered tags. I also used colored ink to differentiate each child's box rather than wrapping paper.) I float around and help whoever needs help with math, reading, etc., and do one-on-one turns for spelling and other one-on-one subjects. Sometime between 10 and 11 (depending on what I want to get done that day) I gather everyone together to history, literature, songs, and poetry memorization. Sometimes we also do science, music, or art. We take a break sometime between 12 and 1 for lunch. After that I get the littlest one to sleep and finish up any subjects that weren't completed before lunch.

[Sasharowan]

Mine always slept better when involved with what was going on. I used the sling or the swing for naps right in our school room.

 

As for a schedule, I print a list with subjects down the side, Mon-Fri across the top, and fill in the grid with what they are expected to get done. The younger two will work through the assigned days work in the order they like (we do history and science together after lunch), but my oldest will work through subjects and do several days work in a subject. As long as he has it all done by Fri., I let him.