My toughest homeschooling year also happened to be during my most difficult pregnancy. Pregnancy number four, if I remember correctly… which is debatable, since my brain was parked in neutral for much longer than I care to admit!
Will I ever believe that my tough pregnancy and that very difficult school year just “happened” to occur simultaneously?
Not a chance, sister!
If you’ve ever homeschooled and been pregnant at the same time, then you probably won’t be easily convinced otherwise, either.
I’ll just be honest here: it’s tough to keep up with homeschooling when you’re pregnant. And if you already have a few children in the mix, well, life sort of morphs into survival mode.
Today I want to share three ideas to simplify your life as a homeschooling, pregnant mom. I’ve been blessed with eight homeschooling years (so far) and five pregnancies, so consider this gentle advice from a mom who’s been there!
Since I’m calling these “homeschooling hacks,” I decided I’d better find out exactly what a “hack” is. The online dictionaries I consulted gave this definition:
“A quick solution that solves a problem, but does not solve it particularly well, or in a particularly good way.”
So I guess that means you can consider these “quick fixes” or “temporary solutions” or “survival mode tricks.” Maybe not long term lifestyle choices, but short cuts to help ease the pressure while your body is busy creating that precious miracle!
3 Homeschooling Hacks for the Pregnant Mama
1. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
If you tend to be a perfectionist or a mama who stresses over the little things, it’s time to let some things go!
Can your older kids fix breakfast for themselves, just until you survive morning sickness or get through the postpartum stage?
Can you use paper plates and eat left-overs or simple meals, especially on busy homeschooling days?
Maybe it’s time to pull your kids out of the extra curricular activities, just for a semester?
What areas are causing the greatest amount of stress for you right now? How can you creatively simplify your life for a few more months in order to ease the pressure just a bit?
2. Focus on the Biggies with Homeschooling
Educators called these the “core subjects.” Most of us probably refer to them as “the basics.”
For you, the pregnant mama, these are “the biggies”… and everything else is small stuff.
I’m talking about the Three R’s: reading, writing, and arithmetic, and these subjects can be your focus for a while. Especially if your children are still young, don’t stress over trying to fit too much into your homeschooling day. Now isn’t the time to tackle a new, complicated art curriculum, or dabble with science experiments (unless that is just really your thing)!
Keep a narrow academic focus for a while. It’s better to do a few things consistently, and well, then to tackle too much and feel overwhelmed and defeated.
3. Think Way Outside the Classroom
During the months of morning sickness with my last few pregnancies, I spent a lot of time on my couch or in my bed. I battled some pretty painful varicose vein issues, as well, so I had to sit a lot throughout the day in order to give my aching legs a rest.
During those months, my homeschooling didn’t mirror the classroom setting. At. All.
Imagine kids sprawled all over the living room rug, along with papers, books, crayons and pencils, and Mama settled nearby on the couch with her legs propped on a pillow, a toddler on one side and a lesson plan and stack of books on the other… and that’s what a lot of my “homeschooling” looked like!
Another way to think outside the classroom is to adjust your homeschooling schedule according to your family’s needs, not just the typical school year calendar.
Do you need a few weeks or a month off in order to get through a difficult season of pregnancy or postpartum recover? Then take a break. You can make up the missed school time over the holidays or summer months.
Homeschooling should suit the needs of your family, not feel like a task master.
For now, let formal school work ebb and flow with the bends and climaxes of a family life that’s stretching to embrace one more little person.
Are you a pregnant, homeschooling mom? What “hack” keeps you surviving during this busy season?
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Kristy H
Kristy is a pastor's wife, mama of five busy blessings, and second generation homeschooling mom. She writes in her spare time, but motherhood is her career. If you’re looking for perfection or fluff, you likely won’t find it here. She's a straight-forward mama who needs to be real! Get to know her by visiting her blog and checking out her social media outlets.
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This post could not have been more timely for me. I am expecting our seventh child and I have been feeling tired and nauseous. I have been thinking : “My! Will I ever get to do this homeschooling thing right? Life always seems to get in the way!”
A few things have helped me: First, to remember that we do not have to keep up with the schools. My children will learn what they need to learn when they are ready, and it will be a more joyous experience for them if I don’t burden them with my expectations (which are based on outside criteria that don’t really benefit my children anyway). A wonderful movie about this is entitled : Être et devenir (available in English too, check out the Website!).
Second, I make sure I take a nap in the afternoon.
Third, I make sure I stick to my workouts in the morning (may sounds crazy, but it helps me get through the morning, it seems to increase my energy level, I know, I stopped for a week or so, because I wanted to sleep in and it made my life miserable!
And lastly, having the house a mess is a huge stressor for me. I can’t seem to put it aside and think “it’s only for a time”. But since, I am so tired, I don’t accomplish much housework (only the basics – laundry, cooking and dishes), so I take at least one day a week off “homeschooling” to catch up on housework. It’s amazing what children can learn just helping out at home and playing!
I liked the image you painted of your children working around you while you rested on the sofa with the toddler snacking . It is a beautiful scene of a family spending time together and learning in a casual way. If nothing else, that is what we should always remember: living together is learning together.
These are great. I will remember these if I decide to homeschool and even if not next time I get pregnant. A great book I read during pregnancy is God’s Plan for Pregnancy by Nerida Walker. Also I found that a good plant based copper supplement worked really well for varicose veins. I got mine from Youngevity. Blessings
This is so timely! This is going to be my life this fall. Thank you for the encouragement!
These are great ideas. I’ve also learned to go with the flow and teach during my prime time of the day and let go of what we didn’t complete until next time, or sometimes skip something altogether for a month as needed.