Homeschooling through pregnancy - advice?

[Marie131]

I am right in the throws of first trimester morning sickness and fatigue. I feel like doing nothing beyond lying on the couch. Right now we are on a 2 week break so I can do that, but once the break is over we need to get back to work. How do I get through this w/out sacrificing my older kid's education. Any tips or advice?

[JMDRAD]

If you figure it out let me know! I spent the first 13 weeks on the couch absolutely miserable! We did NO school whatsoever. We got a little school done during my second trimester until we all ended up sick. Since January we've been battling one illness after another. I'm finally beginning to feel better (although my oldest now has a mild case of pneumonia) but now the baby is due any day. We've gotten about 2-3 months worth of school done this year.

 

I take my children's education very seriously and it really bothers me that we are so far behind. My plan is to give myself a little time after the baby is born then really attack our school work. We'll be doing school this summer and hopefully finishing up by the end of August.

 

I doubt that was helpful other than to let you know you're not the only one going through this. :)

[LinRTX]

I really wouldn't stress about this. I had really bad morning(?--all day) sickness with my pregnancies. When my son was 6, I could only manage about an hour of schooling a couple of times a week for about 5 months. Then I went to an hour a day until the baby was born and then we took off 2 months.

 

He is now 26, went to college on full scholarship and graduated suma cum laude.

 

I know you seem like you are so behind right now, but don't worry. Do what you can when you can. It will be fine.

 

Linda

[Butter]

I have rough pregnancies and have homeschooled through two. When I was pregnant with Fritz, we didn't really do school for the first 1/2 to 2/3 of it. Mostly we laid in my bed and I read books to the big two all day long. If I moved I threw up, so it's the best I could do. Adrian's pregnancy wasn't quite as bad. I still threw up for 2/3 of my pregnancy, but I would throw up and feel better for a few hours so I could be up and around a lot more. We still didn't do school quite like we do now and I read to the kids a whole lot. The way I figured it, pregnancy (and new baby time) is very temporary. We do school year round so I figured it wouldn't hurt too much in the grand scheme of things to be light (or nothing) for a few months.

[melissad2]

I wish I knew :). I am in the 3rd trimester misery so we haven't gotten much done at all. We have just been focusing on reading but FWIW I only have a young 5yo to really focus on right now.

[LadyMSews]

I have home schooled through several pregnancies and I would like to try to reassure you that even if you can only do a little each day, that is enough for your children at their ages. If you can focus on reading skills and basic math, that is an excellent base of knowledge that your oldest will have. Reading good books to him while you lay on the couch is still homeschooling. :)

[Mom28kds]

I homeschooled while pregnant including the first trimester. I layed in bed and on the couch alot. The kids knew what they could do on their own and if they needed me then they came to me and we did it there. I was HSing 4 kids at the time. I did just the basics. We did it and got through it. You can too. Hang in there and congratulations!!!!

[Whereneverever]

My dd does writing and math every day. I can read out loud as long as I'm not puking at that moment, so that covers history and science and French.

 

I'm also making heavy use of tv shows for school.... Liberty Kids covers the American revolution and we are studying American history, so I am considering that school, too. :D

[Mommy22alyns]

I haven't been pregnant, but I have had a few really rotten days. Use educational videos/TV, lots of reading on the bed/couch, and even computer games (online, like Starfall or Mr. Nussbaum). Your oldest is 6? Don't sweat it too much if you can do those things. :grouphug:

[ocelotmom]

IMO, unless you're the type who is pregnant the majority of the time, you're not going to cause long-term harm to your child's education if you cut back to whatever you can handle, even if that is absolutely nothing for half the pregnancy and the newborn period. If you're really concerned, plan to make up time during the summer.

 

If they can work independently, great. If not, a few months of lots of educational movies and radical unschooling is not going to make them illiterate :)

 

(Even reading aloud made me unbearably nauseous during the first trimester.)

[Coffeetime]

Don't stress.:) Do what you can, and leave it at that.

Honestly, at your kid's ages you could pretty much just drop official schooling, spend time lying on the couch reading for rest of the year and pick up at the next grade level next year.

It won't hurt them. Promise. ;)

I've homeschooled through many pregnancies, my last pregnancy we were really hit and miss because I was placed on bedrest. We ended up just having to drop everything 3 months early, and somehow no one got behind. Sometimes, you just have to go into survival mode. :grouphug:

[Scuff]

I make sure we do reading and math every day. Everything else gets done as we/I can. I plan to continue through the summer this year. We'll be more relaxed, but we'll get it done. Also, look at next year's stuff and compare it to this year's stuff. Some lessons you should be able to skip, which will make finishing the year easier. Make this year about preparing for next year and do what is neccessary for that.