Pregnant And Homeschooling. How Do You Deal With It???

[Jannah6]

I am at my wits end. I'm thinking about starting our lessons in the afternoon. I am so tired and don't want to be bothered. I hope this gets better soon.

[craft_media_hero]

Are you still in the first trimester? My first tri was a bust for hs-ing. We did lots of bed school where I'd have her read to me or we'd take our math workbook to bed. I tried to stick to the 3Rs, but we had about a two-month break for all real purposes (of course, there were my and dp's school finals, holidays, and a major move in there, too).

Take it easy on yourself! You've got a lot of jumping beans there in your sig line! You'll be back up to speed soon.

[Jannah6]

Yes,just beginning the first trimester. Thanks for your reply. It's very reassuring .

[zjande]

I've homeschooled through 3 pregnancies now & lemme tell, that 1st trimester always turns me into a slug-zombie. I can barely funtion! During that time I try to get a bare minimum of school work done. Like, at least get some math done a couple times a week, even though it's all just review (because I don't have it in me to be teaching a lot of brand new material!), and assign lots of reading. Then I'd have him give me an oral review. I certainly wasn't doing science experiments or big art projects at the time. And I didn't end up schooling every day- some days I was a brain dead barf-slug & just couldn't think enough to do school that day. But once I hit around 11 weeks I'm able to start feeling human again & ease back into schooling & getting caught up.

I always end up taking 2-4 weeks off after a baby comes as well.

Good luck & congratulations!

[dannic]

We hs so we can be flexible, right? I'm pregnant too and as far as structure, this yr has bitten the dust. However, my kids have been learning up a storm without me!
It's the same for me after the babe's born as well. 3 months of realigning our family's boundaries, ect. I think Diane Hopkins has an article called "The Baby IS the lesson" that has really helped me. Whenever something in life gets in the way of structure, I think "___ IS the lesson!" So, pregnancy is a life lesson well worth learning and embracing! All life is cycles, seasons, and ebbs and flows; enjoy it!

[craft_media_hero]

Just wanted to add that now I'm in the second trimester and I'm trying to set up the house more "Montessori" or self-serve learning for the post-partum time. So I'm trying to set up her own reading area, a math, science, geo shelf, sewing basket, puzzle table, etc. That way if she gets antsy then I will at least have something attractive that I can redirect her toward.

We're going to officially take off a month afterwards (summer birth anyways, tho I planned on hsing year round), but I do want her to have lots of educational activities available around the house to keep her occupied and entertained, since I know I'm not going to be in teacher-mode.

[Messac888]

I had an especially tough time hsing through this most recent pregnancy (dd#3, child #4). Much of the time was spent with them watching tv while I zonked out on the couch. Embarassing but true. I made sure whey were watching things like Schoolhouse Rock and other teaching things. We played a bunch of board games and read a lot together. Lots of arts & crafts, lots of home ec (cooking lots of food since, when I'm pregnant, I can't stomach leftovers). When I was up to it we'd get to the park and they'd play and then we'd go on a nature hike before coming home. Othertimes it was me sticking them in the backyard and arming them with compasses and a magnifying glass and a bug house while I rested on a blanket in the sun and they looked for bugs in the yard. We grew peas and green beans outside (easy, tasty science) and called all of this homeschooling. We do it through the summer and on Saturdays, but as busy as that seems it's not many hours in a day for it. They did fine, never got behind, and although they didn't progress as far as I'd wanted to, pregnancy isn't forever and you can always do more when you're feeling up to it.

Bottom line is this- try not to do more than you can handle. When the baby is born you'll have to tend to baby while hsing. Instead of thinking of it as an obstacle, think of it as the obstacles being your life and instead of 'getting through it' just embrace it for the reality that it is.

[zjande]

Originally Posted by Messac888

Instead of thinking of it as an obstacle, think of it as the obstacles being your life and instead of 'getting through it' just embrace it for the reality that it is.

I really like this a lot.