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Baby #4 on the way – How will we get things done??!!
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Hello! I have posted once before but never formally introduced myself. I am a mom to 3 boys (7,5, & 2). We are expecting another baby boy any day now. In August/September we will start our third year of homeschooling. Last year we did 106 Days of Creation study. All loved it and we plan doing it again in the future when my 2 year old can participate.
My question is to those who have had a newborn while homeschooling. How does it all work out? I would love to hear any tips or suggestions on how you did made it all come together. This year I am homeschooling my 7 yo while 5 yo attends kindergarten at a private school until 12:30 pm. I plan on having most of the work completed by noon. We may even have a 4 day week, 5th day a nature study or anything else ds7 finds fun and interesting.
I think my weakness these past two years has been trying to do it all. I tend to look too much at the “schedule” or lessons in each subject leaving out the having fun part. Even though I do this we still don’t get it all done! I know God has more than this for our homeschool.
I hope all are enjoying summer!
Marsha
Hello,
I have four children too and I have to say that the thing that saved me when my daughter was a newborn was my sling. 🙂 Actually, I had several different kinds, but as long as the newborn was tucked in next to me I could get sooo much more done. We did a lot of homeschooling in bed (ie..reading aloud a lot of books with cheese sticks and crackers). I played videos on the computer in my room if I was just too tired to do anything else. We did some copywork and other work when I was more energetic.
Are you using the SCM organizer? I would just schedule EVERYTHING—even educational videos and games. That way you can just go through and check off anything you did, including life skills. I’m even thinking of scheduling cleaning chores for the kids. That way I get a paper trail that makes the govt. happy and I feel like I accomplished something. 🙂 I wish I had this organizer three years ago!
Hope that helps.
Hi Marsha,
Caroline’s advice is excellent! Also, remember that your children are still really little and if all you did was read some good books to them, teach them from God’s word, enjoy the outdoors, and work on habits, your children would in no way be hindered academically. When times get tight, it is good to get WAY down to the basics and add up from there.
I will tell you my analogy that I always tell moms that call saying things like, “I can’t believe how you do it all with eight children! I only have ___ and I can hardly keep up!” Well, a new rubber band does not know how far it can be stretched until it is pulled upon. Even then, it does not know that it can be stretched even farther until it is pulled upon once again (and again, and again…).
You will do it, bit by bit, because you are paying attention with much prayer and you have it in your heart to raise godly children. God will stretch you by degrees and things will fall into place as you and your children learn again the preciousness of a baby and how God can grow them in the process as well. Babies have a way of rejuvenating a home like nothing else!
I notice that you will have FOUR BOYS!!! I have three, only two back to back though, and I want to applaud you (with encores!) 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 <- they are applauding! The energy level of boys astounds me.
I know lots of us will be praying for a blessed delivery! Let us know when little Spudleduke arrives! (It drives my family nuts when I make up silly names like that.)
Blessings,
Cindy
Marsha,
First of all, congratulations! We have 7 girls and then 2 boys, so far! 🙂
I had my first 4 in 6 1/2 years! In fact, I had to be on bedrest with #4 at the beginning, which was half-way through our first year of homeschooling! And it’s been a wild ride ever since! 😉
Cindy’s right, your dc are young and believe me, as I found out from experience, unless you are totally irresponsible and totally ignore your dc, you can’t ruin them! 😀 Just do what you can and trust God to perfect the things you miss right now. As I counseled a beginning homeschooling mommy who chose to go the traditional route, I asked her, “How much of early elementary science and history do *you* remember, anyway?!” It’s great when you can get it in, but don’t stress!
My favorite “homeschooling verse” is Isaiah 54:13: “And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.”
When you are doing your best, and “life” gets in the way, I have seen it happen again and again, God will bring learning in ways you never imagined!
It sounds like you already have a great plan! I have done things like, do phonics/language arts one day, math the other, to get at least 2 days of each in. And I have seen them learn so much, even if they didn’t finish all the “lessons” in the book by the end of the “schoolyear”.
This year I am planning subject days for my littles (3 dds who are almost 11, 9 and 7) where we will get in history, science, extra language arts (things like poetry, newspaper writing, other fun stuff!), fine arts, etc. My older girls (the two oldest that I am schooling, ages 16 and almost 15) will have goals to reach and I will let them decide when they’re doing what. I hope to do the Days of Creation Study this year with everyone, focusing on the littles but including the big girls!
I’ve had two of my dds right before school time–one late July and the other mid-August! One BIG thing I would advise is DON’T try too hard to make it all happen right away because it’s “time to start school”. I tried that with my 4th dd who was born late July and finally realized I was missing the joy of my newborn dd!
You will settle into a routine, just maybe not the way and timing you have the past few years!
Enjoy those younger years and PLEASE don’t stress! I so wish I could go back and be then the way I am now. I hadn’t even heard of Charlotte Mason back in 1992, and although I didn’t do a full traditional curriculum, I still had LOTS of the public school mindset in me! Your nature study/delight directed day sounds WONDERFUL! You’re off to a good start!
Just trust me that they WILL get what they need with a caring, involved mama! And I say learning about new babies is a great part of homeschooling! Real life learning at its best! 😉
God bless!
Wow ladies, there is so much wisdom and encouragement in your posts! Thank you. I receive all your advice wholeheartedly.
As I prepare for the birth of our precious baby I am going take homeschooling planning, organizing, and scheduling out of my mind. We can all now focus on having a newborn in our home. I don’t know how long till I post again, but I will be back! It may be sooner rather than later.
BlessedMama, I think Isaiah 54:13 is an excellent “homeschooling scripture”. I must post it in our homeschool area.
Blessings,
Marsha
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