HS good for kids but...

[omishev]

I feel like homeschooling is great for my school aged kids. They are thriving. But the toddler and baby don't get much attention and it is sucking the life out of me. The actual schooling is good but I feel like I can't keep up with everything and this introvert is so overstimulated. I miss just having my baby and toddler home, going to the gym, to storytime, getting things done in peace while they nap. Anyone feel like this?

[Not_a_Number]

Yep. It's hard. 

Not perhaps a pandemic-worthy solution, but we actually always did half-day preschool for my kids at that age. It made it easier to work with the older girl and gave us a much-needed break. And kiddo got social time that didn't require me being around 🙂 . 

[Katy]

3 hours ago, Not_a_Number said:

Yep. It's hard. 

Not perhaps a pandemic-worthy solution, but we actually always did half-day preschool for my kids at that age. It made it easier to work with the older girl and gave us a much-needed break. And kiddo got social time that didn't require me being around 🙂 . 

Yep, I’m struggling with this too. My 3 year old is more in need of preschool than any other I’ve had, but another kid is high risk so we’re all stuck at home, and it’s driving everyone crazy. 

[Not_a_Number]

2 minutes ago, Katy said:

Yep, I’m struggling with this too. My 3 year old is more in need of preschool than any other I’ve had, but another kid is high risk so we’re all stuck at home, and it’s driving everyone crazy. 

Yeah, my 4 year old is VERY social. Preschool was a positive thing for her. I'm lucky I only have 2, and they play relatively nicely together... that, and DD4 is socially advanced while DD8 is a tad socially behind, so the age difference isn't a huge problem. 

Her preschool has started up again, but we decided not to send her 😞. We paid tuition, though, partially to reserve a slot for later, and partially to support the school, and it's a little heartbreaking getting their e-mailed photos with a lot of DD4's little preschool friends... 

Edited October 26, 2020 by Not_a_Number

[freesia]

It helped me to do roughly five weeks on one week off during those years. We still roughly do that. I felt it gave me a week to focus on the little one and reset with her. Then we started with good habits and then by the time I felt she wasn’t getting enough, it was time for the week off again. 

If it helps, she’s turning out just fine and is probably the closest to me of all my kids. 

I dud institute quiet time for all kids during her nap so that was still my time. Questions about school had to wait an hour. I also took her to storytime.  Sometimes that meant bringing kids to young to leave and setting them up with work at the library while we went. She didn’t go every year of her life, but I did get to go with her. 

But it is different.  It’s also one of the harder homeschooling periods bc you feel torn in different directions.

my older kids took turns with her—reading, playing, teaching her the Greek alphabet (or watching Peg plus Cat and Cat in the Hat—which pretty much covered preschool and kindergarten science and math lol. I had no idea how much she’d learn from those shows!)

[wendyroo]

I try to remember that comparison can be the thief of joy...and acceptance.

I remind myself that my younger brother's life as a baby and toddler was different than mine despite me being 5 years older and in public school before he was born. And later, his life as an elementary student with a high school sister was different than mine had been with a baby/toddler/preschool brother. Different is unavoidable, and doesn't have to be better or worse.

When my older kids were babies and toddlers, our house was in full on baby/toddler mode. It was a great environment for them to grow up in.  But, by the time my younger kids were born our house was shifting into homeschool mode, and that has been a great environment for them to grow up in too! No, I didn't spend nearly as much time singing The Wheels on the Bus to #4 as I did to #1, but that is partly because she had three enthusiastic siblings around all day who were eager to serenade her far more than I ever would have.

This is the first school year that I do not have any kids under school age (though it was a fine line since my youngest just turned 5 last week). Through my 6 years of homeschooling with littles in tow, I have had to focus on establishing routines that worked for all of us. Our homeschool looks less like school at home and more like living an educational lifestyle - less busywork, less output, less box checking, more group subjects, more listening to read alouds, more short, focused lessons. We all focus a lot on life skills and self-regulation and learning how to positively coexist together.

Probably most importantly for my sanity, as my teaching load has increased (as my older kids get older), I have steadily transferred other tasks to the kids. I don't clean bathrooms any more, I just inspect them after the kids do it. I don't vacuum, sweep, change sheets, empty the dishwasher, put away clean clothes, etc. I also don't have to teach how to do those chores anymore because I have older kids who can mentor the youngers as they come up through the ranks.

While I am sure my older kids feel it is completely unfair that they have to help and teach the littles, I tend to reframe it and think about how fortunate they are to have those leadership opportunities readily available.  I have found that with coaching and oversight, my bigger kids really can handle a lot of teaching/caring/mentoring - my 7 year old plays math and phonics games with the 5 year old, the 9 year old supervises the 7 year old vacuuming and helps him see areas he has missed, the 11 year old teaches the 5 year old's piano lessons, the 9 year old helps the 5 year old cut up her food, etc. I think there is HUGE value in those interactions for both the youngers and the olders...and for me!