homeschooling with a new baby « Back to Group Discussions

[shanna-cat]

I know there are a few other homeschooling families on this ddc! this will be my first time homeschooling with a little baby around. We started homeschooling our boys about 2 years ago and they are now almost 6 and 8.

for those of you that have done it how was the transition? was it easier/harder than you expected? did everything just flow into place (this is obviously what i'm hoping for!)?

We are pretty liberal homeschoolers, do use a curriculum but mostly are child led learners and aren't too hard core about age group standards or grade level expectancies. we are part of a distance learning program and are 'holding back' our what would be third grader next year so he doesn't have to take standardized testing for another year. really this is only in the eyes of the state, as we don't care waht grade level he is in and he doesn't even put any weight on the issue of grade level himself.  we will keep learning/teaching to what ever stage he is ready for.

i'm excited to hear what other families have/are planning to do with their homeschooling life after the new LO arrives. My DH is nervous it will be 'too much' for me (i am the sole homeschooling parent)  and I'm hoping to prove him wrong.

[dayiscoming2006]

I'm planning on taking a bit of a break at first, then ease back into it. My homeschoolers(2 oldest) are only 4 and 6 and thankfully Texas doesn't even require reporting that you are homeschooling. 

I'm going to make sure to get back to reading to them on various things as soon as I can and add back in their worksheets and learning to read stuff. I expect it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Helps that mine are so young. But, usually after 2-3 months old the baby settles down into somewhat of a routine when it comes to my babies anyway. 

[FarmerMomma]

Interesting timing. I just woke up from a dream thinking that I need to enrol my 5 year old DS in Montessori again. He went a year when he was 3. I gave myself a break and got over it. We've been sick and haven't been doing much lately, but we're getting back into it. I'm just looking for a good regular group for us. Inspiration that other kids can provide. Our Waldorf play group may be sprouting a homeschool group so we'll look into that. Sometimes I wonder which would be harder getting him to Montessori every day or teaching him at home. But I really love sharing my life with DS in a way only homeschooling can provide. Add a baby not like I can work much more so probably hard to afford it anyway.

[jr'smom]

We homeschool too.  Our kids will be 8, 7, 4, and 2 when this baby is born.  Both DH and I wear our babies in a sling a lot, and they sleep so much at first that I think t makes for a natural transition.  You hardly know they're there for the first few months (except all the nursing and diaper changes!)

Do you take a break in the summer?  We won't take too much of a break, but will if we need to.  I'm lucky though because DH is a SAHD and I hope to take 12+ weeks off.  (I'm having trouble finding a replacement for me though, so I may have to go to work occasionally, to keep my business from disappearing while I'm off!)

[Voondrop]

I'm planning to school light this summer. Lot's of books & exploring. I'm really just hoping (& I think it will happen) to finish our math curriculum before the baby gets here as that is the largest part of our day. Our oldest is only 7 & I've told him we'll take math off of the table until Aug. or so which pleased him. I do plan on a preschool routine w/ the 3 yr. old over the summer & I'm pretty sure her 5 yr. old sister will want to jump in for memories sake but we'll be outside growing food whenever possible. We'll see when summer gets here.

[zjande]

We homeschool year round and make our own schedule as we go. We take a total of 16 weeks of vacation off each year, just scheduling them in as needed. So I may schedule in a week or 2 off for a vacation, or maybe not. ;) I've found that hopping back into schooling after a new baby is actually really easy. Newborns sleep just about all the time! :) I put my newborns in a Maya Wrap and they've tended to sleep through the entire school lesson day. It's when they reach about 12 months old that getting the schooling done with them is really difficult!! I'll have only a couple official schoolers- 9th and 1st grade, and a preschooler.