Restarting school routine with a new baby

[Kidlit]

Our newest little one is a month old, and I really need to restart our school routine to wrap up dds' 3rd and 1st grade years. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how! I also have an almost 3 year old ds. With lack of sleep, nursing, lots of poopy diapers, etc., I just haven't been able to get it together yet. Any btdt advice?

[Kidlit]

No one? Please!! I'm desperate! ;)

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I honestly find it easiest to just start back right away after my help leaves (1 week). The baby sleeps so much that I can get most of our work done for at least a few weeks. And it keeps the older kids busy and less likely to get into trouble.

 

What was your routine like before? Could you try to follow that as much as you can (with baby interruptions of course!)? This is how I start back. Of course, I try to do the most important things first, and then if we have time we do other things. Then as baby gets into more of a routine we change our schedule to follow that.

 

Does your 2yo still nap? If so, that would be a great time to schedule school work. Otherwise, first thing in the morning is also a good time for us. We tend to be at our best then.

 

What do your days look like now?

[Kidlit]

Our routine had begun to slide in the last month of pregnancy, so we were down to the bare bones (math, language, handwriting, spelling, and composition, with history when time permitted, and always reading aloud). We start after breakfast and piano practice, work until lunch, and then do whatever is left after rest time in the afternoon. Now the problem has become that essentially naps for happen for the almost 3 year old because he's sleeping too late to take them (due to my sleeping too late to wake him up early). That means now I'm training him to stay in his room during rest time, so working on school then really isn't possible. Anyway, I feel like we've lost so much momentum, I don't know how to regain it. My girls read almost all the time, so I don't feel like they've necessarily lost ground, but we really need to get back in math and writing, anyway.

 

The other thing is just having time to plan or get materials ready at all.

 

I'm struggling.

[skeeterbug]

:grouphug: This will be me in a couple of months. I'm planning to take a month off school after baby is born. If I were you I'd start back with only the basics. Pick one or two subjects and just do those for a week or two until you feel good about those, then add another. Forget the schoolroom and do school on the couch, the bed, the floor, wherever you need to be with baby so you can feed during lessons. Keep a basket with diapers and a changing pad nearby so that you can change the baby right there and don't have to stop everything. Send kiddos to gather the things you inevitably forget from the other room.

 

You shouldn't have to plan or get materials ready for writing or math, right? At least not as much as other subjects. So start there, or whatever subjects require the least prep. Then slowly add back others when you feel capable of planning again. Aim for a few days a week for now. You have all summer to catch up!

 

I do baby-wearing, so I'll have mine in a sling on me most of the time, but mine have all gone through phases where they cry when I sit down (not usually as newborns, a bit older). That's the part I'm not looking forward to, trying to do school while standing all day! I saw this great picture recently where a mum used a laundry basket with a blanket in the bottom as a bed for her little one, the baby was all swaddled and asleep inside. Potrable bed, move baby as needed!

 

You can do this! Just not all at once. I'm wondering how much our routine will slide during that last month of pregnancy...

 

[Kidlit]

Thanks for the good advice, skeeterbug! We've been off for a little over a month, and I'm itching to finish the year. I think I will just try to add one subject back at a time and count the days we manage just the one subject a huge success.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Any luck getting things started today? I've found that (new baby or not) structuring school life around what is already planned/happening helps. I plug snacks, meals, naps, and any outside activities in. In your case, whatever time works best, just try starting a few things. Can your oldest do anything by herself? That might help. Also, my oldest is 8.5yo and when I'm sick (or baby ds isn't feeling well and I need to tend to him) she will help out with read-alouds, etc.

 

Also, new baby or not, just having a written out schedule/routine/checklist helps me so much. It often makes the difference between getting some/all of our work done vs. none or only part of it.

[RootAnn]

When I had to do this, I didn't start until my baby was at least four weeks old. Then, I picked ONE subject and did that for a week. The second week, I added another subject. (I rotated between "easy" and "hard" (or "fun" and "boring").) I added two more subjects on the third week because it seemed to be going well (one easy, one hard). We were up to 'full schedule' by week five. However, I did this in the fall.

 

If I were you, I wouldn't try to 'finish' too much. Just try to get in another few weeks (of something) and call it good.

[claluck]

I am so with you. I had my little guy mid April. He is 3 weeks old now and while we are doing school my heart is so not in it. I just want it done for the summer. Mine are a bit older so I think it is easier though. I have only a 11 and 9 year old homeschooling right now and a 3 and 4 year old at home as well. The three year old demands alot of attention. I unfortunately turn her to the TV or Kindle way too often so I can accomplish something. I did eliminate a few of the sort of extras so we are doing a bit less than we were. Some items that are super time intensive are shuffled around in the day for when kids are occupied or my husband is home or whatever. And some stuff just doesnt get accomplished every day. We are doing okay. Not great and not horrible. I did end up making a sort of list of what needed to get done to finish out the school year. And I think that helped me see more what really needed to be done every day. Like Math for my 9 year old doesnt have to happen every day. Math for the 11 year old does. 9 Year old is almost done with history and some other books. Really though if you need to get take a few more weeks being way lax. Technically you have til the end of August to finish this school years items. (I am a bit more on a crunch because my husband works for the school district so he actually comes home for the summer first week of June and so do grandma and aunt who live a block away, making school in the summer nearly impossible). I like Rootanns idea to add in a subject or two at a time til you are back up to speed.

 

At any rate I get where you are. My baby is good, not colicky or anything but it still is so demanding between feedings and diaper changes and times he just wants to be held and times my others all seem to need attention too. It is not easy. We will get there though

Christina

[AngelBee]

Hug Taking notes

[duckens]

:grouphug:

 

Congratulations on your new little one, Mama!

 

When we were at this point in new babyness, we watched A LOT of PBS Kids and just read library books.

 

1) Start back one subject at a time. "This week, we're doing JUST Math. Next week, IF I feel up for it, we will add Phonics."

 

2) Be prepared to work at night or on weekends when Daddy is home to hold the baby. (Or Daddy can do worksheets with the older kids while you lay down to rest or nurse the baby).

 

3) It is okay if you don't finish extras. Carry them over to the fall, or squeeze them in here or there through the summer months. Or just skip them. It is unlikely that this information will show up on a do-or-die test within the next twelve months. I wouldn't recommend this attitude EVERY year, but one year, for the age your children are, is survivable.

 

4) Even the Math and Phonics: Check next autumn's curriculum. I know the first half of dd6's math curriculum is just review next fall, and she will likely test out of it. Her phonics also has a certain number of review lessons at the beginning of the book. (We use Saxon for both).

 

This could give you reason to skip or skim over this years lessons, knowing the material will be presented again next autumn.

 

Or save the end of Math or Phonics until August, planning that your older kids will test out of a certain number of lessons when the new curriculum is introduced. This, of course, is curriculum dependent. (Saxon is quite repetitive. Most curriculum are not).

 

5) If anyone asks how they can help with the new baby, tell them Meals!

 

I hope you find what works for your family.

[Mom2TheTeam]

My baby is almost 7 months. I have a 1st grader who is 7, twin K'ers who are 5 and twins who just turned 3. Believe me when I say, you can do this! ;)

 

I found that I needed more time off before baby was born than I did after. I was so ready to get back to school after about 2wks and we did.

 

I nurse while teaching. When baby was a newborn, I nursed on the couch and the kids brought their work over. Or I do reading while I'm nursing. It wasn't always easy, but I made it work. We aren't really couch schoolers except for reading, but you do what you have to. We did have lots of interruptions. We still have lots of interruption....lots of littles....older baby who sleeps less....I just keep plugging away despite the interruptions. What choice do I have. Of course, it takes longer than it should, but that is my life. I just do it anyway because it has to get done.

 

One thing that I find is that once I've taken a long break, I really struggle to get my routine back and to actually start doing school again. I just have to do it. Nothing really makes it easier...I just have to decide that we need to do it and start.

 

For the waking late and non-napping almost 3 year old, I would definitely not give up on naps at this point. My kids get up at 8am or even 8:30 some days, which many people think is late. They nap at 1pm. They sleep for about 1.5 hrs, so not as long as a lot of preschoolers. They go to bed at 7:30. Until at least age 4, my kids nap and they take a quiet time till 5. (I would keep the quiet time indefinitely and had planned to do that, but unfortunately, I need the time while the youngers are napping to get school done with the olders. But, such is my life.) Even if your 2 year old won't sleep, I would strictly enforce staying in bed (or his room) with books or something similar. You might be surprised that he starts napping again. You need the break.

 

Anyway, so my advice is really just to do it. You don't have to wait till you can start first thing in the morning. I often don't get started till 10:30 or even 11. But, I still have to do it. So, we just do and we get done as much as we can. I find that doing a little today and being successful with that will motivate me to get more done the next day. It also just starts to get my mind back in the school mindset, KWIM.

 

Oh, one more thing to note....I struggle with my hormones getting the better of me postpartum. The more sleep I can get, the better off the hormones are. I know it's hard to get good sleep, but do try to take a short nap when you can. I would say that a 30 minute nap with the new baby is worth the school progress lost during the 2 year olds nap time. I had to learn to nurse laying down so I could nap while baby is eating in the early days...while someone is there...obviously, I can't sleep with 2 barely 3 year olds running around. ;) And, try to get to bed early if you can. If you husband is willing to put the others to bed and let you relax or go to bed early, that would be a big help. When I have a new baby, I handle the baby at night and my husband deals with the other kids if they wake up in the middle of the night (remember, I have lots of littles. They all sleep through, but even if each of them wakes up once in a week, that is someone up almost every night. One of my 3 year olds isn't a great sleeper even though he does sleep through a lot.) Also, make sure you are eating...new moms can forget to do that. ;)

 

Okay...one more thing....if you are having issues with your 2 year old staying in his room while he is supposed to be napping...so you can't nap...I suggest a "Door Monkey." You can find them on Amazon. These are a life saver in our house...but it might take some getting used to. Check it out. :)

 

PS - We skip most extras and most of the hands on projects/crafts. We just aren't in that season of life. ;)