Homeschooling with a New Baby

I have recently heard a few concerns about homeschooling with a new baby in the home. This is something we have dealt with this past year. I love my baby.

But adding a new baby to  life & then homeschooling, it challenging. So I thought I would share a few tips & tricks that work for us. Now keep in mind, I am not an expert by any chance. In fact, I debated whether or not I should even write this post, because I feel inadequate at times. But here we go anyways.

#1. Keep it simple.

For us the simpler I can keep things the more consistent we are with doing them. Life gets tricky enough by adding a new baby don't make it harder by adding complex curriculum as well.

One example is our history curriculum. Story of the World. I love it because it can be as simple as reading a chapter over lunch (which we do frequently) or as complex as building models. I can decide how much we do.

# 2 Be Flexible


The joy of a new baby is wonderful. We have loved watching our newest addition grow & change over the months. But this also had meant that our schedule isn't the same now as when he was a newborn & slept all the time.

     I know what time I want school to start in the morning & the things I want to accomplish & learn by lunch & after lunch. We don't go by an hourly schedule. The babe doesn't know that at 10:30 I really wanted him asleep so we could make things explode for science. Or that I need one on one time with my oldest. So instead I tell my kids when the baby is down for his nap this is the time we will be doing one on one stuff. When I plan knowing that I just have to be flexible I get less stressed out & we still usually accomplish what we need to.

# 3. Take advantage of mini learning sessions.

So your baby was sick all night & now your morning is spent in the Dr. office instead of homeschooling. Don't stress. Just use this time to teach your kids about staying healthy, doctor & nurses, spreading germs ect
.
The baby is taking an extra nap, great! Grab your kids & work on some extra projects you have been meaning to do.

Spend your time driving listening to books on tapes, reviewing phonics, or adding up house numbers. You get the idea.
    You may not have large groups of time any more, but 10 minutes here & there can certainly add up!

# 4. Record what you do each day.

This was taught to me by another homeschooling mom. I love it. I record little bits that we do throughout the day. Here is an example:

   

I just type mine up in the notes on my phone. It's small & I always have my phone with me. I can email it later to print out & save. You may want to use a notebook   Just jot down notes on what you did. You may notice that mine are not even complete sentences, just put something down.  It helps on those days were you feel like you haven't done anything to realize that indeed you are doing more than you realize.

# 5- Have a quick grab bag.

I have a shelf that has what I call my quick grab bag. These may be bought science experiments, dollar store crafts, or kits I put together when I had extra time.

    These are my life saver for days we need to go school but I was up all night with the baby & I am exhausted.  Or day one of my kids is sick. Or life got crazy & I didn't get things ready like my original plan. You know those days. I can grab one of these off the shelf & there we go. We have it all ready to go, it painless & quick & I feel good that we still did something that day.

# 6 - Have your kids help..

In the midst of our school day almost everyone has a time that they are responsible for the baby. Keep in mind my oldest is only 8, & even my 5 year old can be in charge if entertaining him for 15 minutes. My other boys can change a diaper, get him dressed, & feed him.  This teaches them responsibility & helps lighten my load as well.

# 7 - Last but not least - Enjoy it!!!!

In the end some days are smooth as silk & others are as bumpy as a dirt road. The trick is to remember they all grow up too fast! The homeschooling journey is like running a marathon & this piece of time is just a short mile in the journey. So enjoy snuggling the baby. He will be big before you know it.

( from Lay Baby Lay)

- Tiffany

P.S. I am linking this baby up to Hearts for Home Weekly Blog hop