Stayseeliz Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 This is hands down the most chaotic year we have ever had. My kids are almost 10, 7, 4 and 10 months old. Getting school done is almost impossible. I tried moving school to the living room and letting the 10mo crawl around and play while we do history and science. The baby is constantly trying to pull up on one of the kids or trying to escape from the living room. The 4yo is running in and out making noise. That didn't work. Today I thought I'd try waiting until the baby goes down for her nap to do school. The kids are toast by noon and not wanting to do anything. And right now the baby is screaming bloody murder while I'm helping my 7yo with her grammar. Our house is tiny and it's very distracting. I'm at my WITS END. I don't know what to do to make this a productive year and I want to cry and scream all at the same time. I've never thought my kids would be better off in school until now. PS is NOT an option here so that's not going to happen. But I just don't know what to do!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenangelcat Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 :grouphug: I'm only schooling my 6 year old right now but it's been difficult this year with a 16 month old constantly fighting over me with my 3 year old. We've been relying on science videos like Beakman's World and Bill Nye. Also my daughter reads really well so I keep a constant supply of library books, on the various subjects we're studying, in the house. There's lots of online educational games you could use as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Don't be afraid to ask for help! Videos CAN be a God-send. When my dd was 6 and my son was a baby, Sesame Street really helped! Plus, for the youngers, Magic Schoolbus videos and books are GREAT! You might even be able to find some Magic Schoolbus videos online. Start with www.pbs.org For Grammar, for now, consider using the Schoolhouse Rock DVD (it has math rock, grammar rock, science rock, etc) for your 7yo. It will at least allow her to get the basics down. Or have the 10yo do some grammar review with the 7yo. Have the 7yo read to the 4yo at times. During baby's naptime, tackle read alouds (literature, history, etc). You obviously have access to the internet; have your older kids use www.mathfactcafe.com or www.iXL.com for learning and/or review when you can't get to it. Don't do yourself a disservice and think you're going to have a perfect 7 hour school day with everything done at the end of the day. Not going to happen. And realize that your kids ARE learning. Even if it's not at the pace that YOU think they should be learning. You'll figure it out, I know you will. In the meantime, give yourself a BREAK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 I'm good with my curriculum. I just can't find any quiet time during the day. It's always chaos. And the baby doesn't want to nap. UUUGGGGHHHH!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pageta Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 My kids are 8, 5 and 2, so I'm working with the two oldest ones, and I have homeschooled with a toddler and a baby. I would suggest working with one child at a time and teaching the others to play together in the mean time. My oldest plays with the 2-year-old while I school my middle child, and then the younger two play together while I work with the oldest. When I first started and our school day was very short, we just used nap time. But once nap time became less dependable, we started first thing in the morning when everyone was fresh and cheerful. I would say my kids have grown in their relationships with each other by getting to play without one sibling. It offers the middle kid a chance to be the "oldest" for a while, and then the oldest gets some one-on-one time with the baby, where he mostly ignores her otherwise. Yes, it's a three ring circus. Keeping lessons short and learning how to continue without a perfectly quiet environment are tricks of the trade. Sometimes my voice gets tired from talking over the baby's chatter, but I send the two I'm not working with to their bedroom or the basement and we continue on. Trim back to the essentials - reading, writing, and math - and get a handle on things and then you can add everything else back in. I've had to do serious trimming of our schedule, but my kids are still thriving academically. School shouldn't be overwhelming. It's better to do a few things successfully than to feel guilty about having left something out every day. Hang in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) :grouphug: Some days are like that. Some weeks and months are like that. My advice...Divide schoolwork into work that can be done with little instruction (like handwriting) and what needs your full attention, individually (math) or together (science). My boys have a list of daily subjects divided into "Independent Work," "Lesson with Mom," and "Lessons Together." And while the 7 y.o. needs a little prompting to stay on task, he knows that if I am busy with someone else, he should move to the next independent taks until they are finished. It took a while to teach this, but once we got the routine down, it's much easier because everyone knows what to expect. Which is why my next advice is.... Make yourself a routine. Maybe not a schedule that's time-dependent, just a routine. Breakfast, chores, read-aloud, independent work, math lessons, play time, lunch....whatever you think will work for you. You'll probably have to tweak again and again, and you'll definitely have to teach the routine. Getting it established is hard work. But I think things will get better once everyone knows exactly what to expect. My guys, at 4, liked to feel "big" so I made each a School Box that looked a lot like the older kids' school bins. I put handwriting and pre-K math books, coloring and maze books, and fun activities and toys like play-do and puzzles and Legos that only came out during school time. It kept the preschooler busy during school time, I sat with him for a short "lesson" during the lesson time, and (unexpected bonus for me!) once each boy reached school age, he was so accustomed to "doing school" that it was super-easy to start more formal instruction and activities. Babies just wreak havoc with schooling. My hardest year was when my youngest was about a year old. (And his brothers were 3 and 5. Eeek. How are we all still alive?) Busy and mobile but in need of constant watchful eyes. :grouphug: Just work around baby as best you can. It will get easier! And I agree with the advice to not expect real days to match the perfect days in your head. Some of them do, most of them don't. :grouphug: Cat Edited January 18, 2012 by myfunnybunch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 My kids are almost 8, newly 5, and 21 months. I totally get it. Do you own an Ergo or other baby carrier? Up until about 4 months ago DS2 spent a LOT of time in the ergo on my back because at least he was contained and couldn't get into trouble. He was usually reasonably happy in there. It is getting tougher now as he is bigger and older though. But for his first year of life, he spent a ton of time in the Ergo on my back. Can you do some "school" on weekends or some of it in the evenings if you have a spouse or partner who can help with the other kids at that time? We went through a challenging patch where I did most of the stuff during the day but DH would do math with DS1 in the evenings when we could tag team. Now that DS2 is approaching 2, he's starting to do some fine motor things for a few mins here and there and that helps a little bit. He still spends a lot of time climbing, trying to nurse, or destroying when we are doing school though, so I know it is really tough. Oh, and DD (newly 5) will sometimes read him a book (even if it is just showing the pics to him and talking about what's on the page) or plays with him a few mins, and that helps a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 When my 3 year old was an infant I would put her in the backpack carrier for fussy periods. When I was concentrating on school with the two older kids I had her in a play yard. At first I had the play yard closed and then I used the panels to close off part of the room I didn't want her to access. Now I haven't ever tried schooling with a 4 year old and a baby, but rotating toy boxes really help with my 3 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 lots of great advice already :iagree: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I'm good with my curriculum. I just can't find any quiet time during the day. It's always chaos. And the baby doesn't want to nap. UUUGGGGHHHH!!!! Can you swap some babysitting with another hs parent so you take turns watching each other's too little for school age kids? Is there a MDO or something you could access for the little ones a few hours a week? Does the little baby nap? How about doing early in the morning followed by long break and then loop back to school while the little one is napping? Can your 4 yo watch a favorite video or do an activity while your older ones work? Like cut and paste or light preschool type "school"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 This is hands down the most chaotic year we have ever had. My kids are almost 10, 7, 4 and 10 months old. Getting school done is almost impossible. I tried moving school to the living room and letting the 10mo crawl around and play while we do history and science. The baby is constantly trying to pull up on one of the kids or trying to escape from the living room. The 4yo is running in and out making noise. That didn't work. Today I thought I'd try waiting until the baby goes down for her nap to do school. The kids are toast by noon and not wanting to do anything. And right now the baby is screaming bloody murder while I'm helping my 7yo with her grammar. Our house is tiny and it's very distracting. I'm at my WITS END. I don't know what to do to make this a productive year and I want to cry and scream all at the same time. I've never thought my kids would be better off in school until now. PS is NOT an option here so that's not going to happen. But I just don't know what to do!! Do you have toys that you can set aside for the baby to use ONLY when you are schooling? Bring them out only when you need the baby completely distracted. I used to pull out the pots and pans for those times. :lol: Concentrate on the SKILLS not CONTENT when the baby is distracted. Your 10 year old can go to her/his room and read history and science books by her/himself whenever. I'd do math, writing and grammar first thing. Schedule a snack time for the baby when you do this if toys are distracting enough. I hope you get more advice! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigger Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 My little one is almost one and it's gotten impossible to get schoolwork done while he's awake - if he's not trying to play with DS, he's still distracting to DS....and he stopped taking a morning nap, so we only get a nap time in the afternoon. I have someone come in to help now - they keep the baby occupied while I get seat work with DS done in the morning, then in the afternoon, while the baby is sleeping, we finish up things like reading aloud, projects, and other things that we're not working on at the table specifically. So MUCH easier now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I have many kids the same age as yours, and I have to admit that our schooling is pretty much limited to the 1yo's nap time. I can read aloud or direct independent activities with him awake, but even those things aren't very successful. My baby naps for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. Those are our windows. If we miss them, school does not happen. I have to prioritize our time - (1) skills for my 4th grader, (2) skills for my 2nd grader, (3) read alouds & K for my 5yo & 3yos, (4) anything else. I wanted more and different for this year, but life is what it is. Sadly my life will look very similar next year too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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