proudmomma23 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I am schooling 2 children ages 8 and 6 this year, and I have a 1 year old and another baby due March 2012. Does anyone have any methods that have worked for them? Homeschooling during naptime is what I am likely to do. Just a little stressed at the moment because #4 was a complete shock to us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I would love to hear advice on this, too! 7yo DS is homeschooled, and then we have a 16mo DD and a new DS due any day now (our #3 was a total surprise). I'm mainly thinking I'm going to have to be pretty flexible about how things go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 My 16 month old is forever climbing, etc. when we are trying to do school, so he spends a lot of time in the Ergo in a back carry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I am schooling 2 children ages 8 and 6 this year, and I have a 1 year old and another baby due March 2012. Does anyone have any methods that have worked for them? Homeschooling during naptime is what I am likely to do. Just a little stressed at the moment because #4 was a complete shock to us! When I had a little one running around, I took turns having an older one watch the younger while I did formal instruction in a subject. I also did things during her nap time, and had a few things that were special for school time for her to play with. It didn't always work, and there were days where little formal instruction occurred, but 4 years later, they are all doing fine. They have learned everything they need for their age and then some. The little one is now 5 1/2 and has been 'doing school' for the past 3 years [she literally begged for it] Enjoy this time, it won't come again and I miss some of that chaos. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Our little surprise arrived in January, so he's six months old now - the first few months was pretty easy, just do lessons while he slept....now it's a little bit of this and that - high chair with toys while we do lessons, exersaucer while we do lessons, sitting next to us on floor while we're reading, playing on floor while we're doing things, doing stuff while he naps, and until recently, the bumbo chair was great to keep him with us as he could sit and play and watch! I have no clue what I'm going to do once he really starts crawling - he's got the moves underway, but still pretty limited in his ability to get anywhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommee & Baba Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 (edited) Honestly I have really no SUNSHINE on the situation as far as advice goes. I'm not being a downer but for me it was a COMPLETE nightmare and a very stressful time! I will just say that I'm so glad he's 2.5 yrs old and can sit and watch Leapfrog Letter Factory before he decides to scream the letters at the top of his lungs making it nearly impossible to have the girls concentrate on what I'm teaching or allow me to be heard, grabbing the colors of the rainbow and creating artwork on the sofa or walls because I'm in the middle of helping a dc with their math problems, OR when he decides he's hungry and my "in a few minutes buddy" doesn't work and he puts together his own concotion in a SPLIT second where we have salad dressing, mayo, ketchup, pickles, milk, sugar and crackers all over the kitchen floor with a HAPPY SMILING toddler in the middle. BOY isn't he proud of his school day thus far :lol: I really am eager for the weekends now that school is back in session AND he doesn't do nap time any sooner than 2pm so waiting for that time to do school is not realistic. I'm hoping for some more lap time with him but as for now he can't handle me reading a stack of 10 books and having him occupy himself for 15min next to me while I teach a lesson. He wants all or nothing it seems lately. I'm eager for some sanity but I'm sure I'll have more than enough of it when they're grown and moved out. ;) When he was a baby and loved the swing and sling it was a BREEZE to do school! The toddler part or the later baby months is what's got me going WHACKO! I think if my other 2 dc were older and more independant workers when it came to school work I wouldn't have been so stressed and exhausted. But my dc are super mama needy when it comes to all their school work and I HAPPILY hold their hand on the subjects that I too agree can't be done without me as they just aren't of the right age/maturity level. Now my dd's take turns with their little brother during our school hours...one might play starfall.com with him on their lap while I do math with my other dc. This helps out ALOT! But when my ds wouldn't have anyone but me, it made it really difficult to do much of anything in any sort of routine. ENJOY those baby years, I sure miss my ds's baby years because I was over-stressed. Some might view my personal experience as sad but for me it's a reality. Not sugar-coating it. It's gonna be stressful. Hang in there! Edited July 27, 2011 by mamaofblessings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I'll be in this boat in October. Honestly, I'm preparing myself to be completely stressed out lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmy Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 A couple thoughts - * I would try to not establish a "set" school time that limits when you do school. When I had my surprise twinkles my boys had to understand that sometimes we do school when we have time to do school. In other words - we seize the moment for a lesson even if it's after 2:00 on a weekday or after supper. * Think about your true top priorities and work on getting to those first. Anything that isn't top priority you can schedule in a loop after the 3 R's are complete. * Assuming your kids are youngish (and I mean under 5th grade or so), try to not fret over how much you get done. I know that flies in the face of hard core homeschooling but some years are just like that. 2 years ago I had a school year that was split between fall semester when I was on bedrest with my twin pregnancy and spring semester when I had newborn twins. We did very little history, no science (except at our weekly enrichment coop), no music, and only free style art projects. Were I measuring our year against anyone else's standard I'm sure I would have to admit it was a failure. Given the challenges I had to deal with, I felt my year was a huge success. I homeschooled 3 kids (K, 2nd, and 3rd) during that time and everybody finished their math curriculum and everybody was a better reader at the end of the year than they were at the start of the year. Success! :) IMO the bottom line is do the basics and enjoy your baby. You can cover a lot with just the 3R's and reading a lot of books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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