Homeschooling with a newborn in the house?

[jubilation]

This past year was our first year homeschooling. I found it really difficult due to 1) having a 2-year-old underfoot, and 2) the fact that I work part-time nights, which makes it really difficult to establish and keep a good routine.

 

I felt like I was neglecting my 2-yr-old and parking him in front of videos much more than I would have liked, in order to keep him busy long enough to get stuff done with my 6-yr-old. I didn't make it out of the house to get her involved in social activities very much, due to my work schedule. Working fewer hours is not an option, as I carry the health insurance and we need the income. But in spite of all this, DD says she loves HSing, and she is on track academically. Really, the main thing that we are lacking is getting her out around other kids more.

 

DD will be going into 1st next year. We are due with our 3rd child in early August. The idea of trying to homeschool with a preschooler AND a newborn in the house stresses me out. I am really, really tempted to send her to the local PS (which is a good school), at least for this year, and then decide from there whether to stay with PS or bring her back home for 2nd. DD is not keen on this idea; she would really prefer to keep HSing. I'm waffling back and forth daily on what to do next year.

 

ETA- I should add that a couple things are changing this summer which will potentially make HSing more doable for us. 1) DH is finally fencing in our yard, so I will have the option of sending my 3-yo outside to play while we do school, and 2) we plan to join the YMCA, which has several HS PE-type classes that DD could participate in, to get more social time with kids her age.

 

So... I would like to hear about others' experiences with a newborn in the house. Is it doable, if we start our HS year during the summer and then take off a month or two after the baby arrives? Or am I insane for considering it? :confused:

 

Thanks!

Edited April 2, 2012 by jubilation

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

I am expecting our 8th baby in about 8 weeks.

I have had to have summer lessons to work around a few pregnancies and to make up time lost due to illness or family death.

You are not insane, and it may help to have scribble paper and coloring books for your little one to be nearer to you while you do lessons.

I don't like too much fluff tv either.

Pattern blocks, lego's, puzzles, etc. are also good to have and pull out for "Special" times.

 

Try not to worry too much, it should not take long to get lessons done with a 6 year old. I use nap time if needed, to do some lessons.

[abbeyej]

First of all, congrats on the baby! Yay! :)

 

Second, I think this coming year the 2yo will *still* be your biggest challenge. Newborns are relatively easy compared to 2yos (but she'll get easier eventually!), so while you'll certainly have your hands full, I don't think it'll be *that* much harder than it was this year.

 

In your case, I would consider looking around for a local Mother's Day Out program where the 2yo could go two mornings a week. It's not a lot of time, but it would be enough for you to hit the most vital academic subjects with the 1st grader. You would also work the other three mornings a week, but you'd have the reassurance of a little more focused time during the MDO hours.

 

That said, I don't think you *need* that sort of time. But given your work schedule and the little ones, it might give you some peace of mind. And it's not as dramatic as putting the oldest in school full time.

[jubilation]

Thanks for the input, ladies!

 

I suppose it is true that the little guy will still be my biggest challenge! :lol: If the newborn is anything like my other two were at first, she will mostly sleep, nurse, and poop!

 

MDO isn't really an option, as we're 30 min away from any preschools, BUT my mom is very supportive of HSing and I have a feeling she would be more than willing to watch the younger two a couple of mornings a week. She is heartbroken that I'm thinking about PS.

 

Another change that might help is that I'm planning to switch to weekends-only when I return to work at 12 wks.

 

Congrats on Baby #8, TGHEALTHYMOM! :)

[busymama7]

I have been hsing for 10 yeas and have added a newborn 3 times. A newborn is easier than a crawling baby or toddler so I don't take much time off when a baby is born. Three weeks at the most unless nursing isn't going well. With a first grader you really can fit short lessons in around the baby and preschooler. Don't send her now. Just take it slow and easy and make it work. Also its a marathon not a race. Do light school in the summer or something and realise next year might be easier and you can make up anything you didn't get to. Focus on the skills and don't stress the content subjects. She is still little and there is lots of time to teach her every thing she needs to know. If you have a mom that is that supportive and you think will be willing to help you are very fortunate.!

[meggie]

You may find that 5 months will make quite a difference in your toddler. He may be able to sit for a few minutes at a time. I did a blog post here about keeping my toddler occupied. I also did a post here about what our day looks like (I apologize that it's so long, the part I'm talking about is the final third of the post, the part that says "What we do now".)

 

Good luck. I would suggest trying various things until you find something that works. There are a lot of interruptions, but just try to go with the flow.

[nova147]

Busy Bags! I agree the newborn is not the biggest problem -- they are fairly easy to manage. But busy bags save my life with my girls. At 2 and 4, they are such a disaster some days. I have about 20 different bags (just do a google search for ideas) and I rotate which ones I give them. They usually give me at least 15 minutes of peace to get stuff done with my oldest.

[abbeyej]

...BUT my mom is very supportive of HSing and I have a feeling she would be more than willing to watch the younger two a couple of mornings a week....

Oh, that sounds like a *fantastic* option!!! :)

[jubilation]

Thanks so much for the suggestions, everyone! So much food for thought! :)

[jennsmile]

Mom of 4 here. 9,6,3, & 2 months. The baby really is easy so far. I bring a diaper bag to the school room so we don't have to interrupt lessons for fetching diapers ect. My 3 yo have activities from the toddler swap he plays happily with or some manipulative that has caught his fancy for the day.

 

You can do this. Remember they grow much to fast. Here is my favorite article on the subject.

 

http://www.lovetolearn.net/policies/baby.lasso

[BakersDozen]

A newborn is easier than a crawling baby or toddler so I don't take much time off when a baby is born. Three weeks at the most unless nursing isn't going well. With a first grader you really can fit short lessons in around the baby and preschooler. Don't send her now. Just take it slow and easy and make it work. Also its a marathon not a race. Do light school in the summer or something and realise next year might be easier and you can make up anything you didn't get to. Focus on the skills and don't stress the content subjects. She is still little and there is lots of time to teach her every thing she needs to know.

:iagree:

 

I've never taken time off from schooling after a newborn (lol, even when my babies were in the NICU for a month I did school over the phone since I was 1.5 hours away from home!). I've found that the new baby stage is the easiest stage and I want to keep the routine going as much for the school factor as for helping my family/dc adjust more easily to a new addition. The nice thing is that a 6yo needs so very little schooling! 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there, nice and easy! Since you have the summer you can continue lessons just to "pad" your schooling a bit before baby arrives.

 

I love the memory of schooling while holding a brand new baby in my arms (the youngest I've done that with was a whopping 5 hours old...I'm insane). I love remembering the day I brought a new baby home and we were sitting together in the living room going over the history lesson, my 13yo holding her new sister. sigh...such sweetness

[sandellie4]

Like a pp said, it's a journey. I can't begin to tell you how many times I have felt that we should have done better on the academics, that they would have been better off in PS. Some days -- some years -- were so difficult because of the mix of children, a death in the family, etc. But it's difficult not just when you're trying to home school. Some years are just tough with kids, including PS kids. :) Enough years were good enough, and all of my children are doing just fine.

 

Sandy