Hello Folks! I am so excited to be amongst the first to host a HSV Playdate.
We are the Scotts. Craig (the dad), Sarah (the mom), Hudson (the boy), Meadow (the girl). So glad you decided to drop in and meet our shabby chic, Hippy-ish, hillbilly family.
Our homeschool grades are preschool and kindergarten. We use an eclectic mix of curriculum including Bob books, Kumon, and stuff mommy finds in blog land or makes up herself.
Feel free to click on the about me option in the above menu to find out more about our family.
So here is my question for all of you wise homeschool mamas: We are expecting baby #3 in September and will also be officially embarking on Kindergarten with Hudson. What tips do you have to make this a smooth(ish) time for us.... or any tips to ease things up for me.
15 comments:
We are still in the preschool years ourselves but we do have 3 so maybe that qualifies me to give advice??? I would say plan your day around the babies napping/feeding schedules. Give you new Kindergarten kiddo independent work when you are taking care of the new baby and have a list of mommy led work ready for when you have your hands free to work with them. And above all be easy on yourself!
I don't have any advice, although when our #3 comes along I'll need it! LOVE the picture of you guys. You all look so cute!
So glad to "meet" you and congrats on the playdate today!
I was in the same situation! I have a 6 yr old, 4 yr old and 2 yr old, so we were schooling K while the youngest was born.
I would say looking back, don't be "married" to a schedule. Find little things, puzzles etc for the preschooler to do. There will be interuptions, jus the way it is. Be calm, things will be crazy for a while....but you can get thru it!@
Congrats on bringing in number 3 (I have 4..)
Melisa
http://just-starting-out.blogspot.com/
what a fun photo! Sorry I have no advice - I have 2 boys (8yrs & 3yrs) and as much as it was transitioning from no naps to annoying big brother ... mom being flexible is key to anything. Take help when its offered from friends/neighbors/family. Thankfully for K you can do little things in 15/20 minute snippets all day long!!
I don't really have any advice per say from my own experiences. I have seen many who manage through wearing their babies, and using saucers and such to entertain them as they get older. I am just looking forward to meeting baby #3!
Mine are 4 months, 4, 5, 7 9. So there have been a few babies in the house since we've started schooling- including right now (she was born mid year with a k,2 and 4th grader) My advice, being that it is only K, is to relax in general. More games, more learning through life and play. READ aloud to the kids, have them try to read to you. Utilize educational games/websites- lie Starfall or literactive or other PC games when you need to tend to the baby. My younger ones always liked to watch their older sibling play these games. Use nap times for more book work if you want...
I love your post -- cute blog!! Well, I just have two children and they are 9 and 6. With one that just finished Kindergarten, we loved using some Five in a Row titles -- it was a no stress way to learn and have fun together. Kindergarten is so much the year of play and discovery ~ so don't stress yourself out too much over anything academic.
Blessings to you!
Hi folks! Love the family photo!
I think flexibility seems to be the key word here... :) At the same time, having schoolwork well planned out and a routine of sorts to follow may help with your family's sanity.
I only have one, but my schedule is absolutely crazy. I'm seriously debating getting a total curriculum package so I don't have to spend as much time planning...
Cute photo! I have four under 8 and can relate! ;-D Planning and a schedule help me but also not feeling like the curriculum or the schedule dictates to me. A general routine helps everyone out in my household. Con grads on the new one!
Kelly
Hi, nice to meet you-- I am a mom of 3, ages 5, 3, & 1. We did our kindergarten homeschool trial run last year and I had just had a baby. Things that helped me were to ditch the schedule and lesson plans and instead to focus on a flexible routine and look for opportunities for learning. A lot of folks would call this unschooling or child led learning-- which is a great way to school when you've got littles. Read lots and lots and lots of good quality books to your older two while you're feeding the baby. Oftentimes, the baby will be the lesson. To make yourself feel better, keep a log of what they learn and what you accomplish rather than trying to complete a checklist. If it's your desire to do so you can concentrate on more formal schooling in a couple of years. Sorry-- I know this is a bit lengthy but these are some things that have helped me.
"shabby chic, Hippy-ish, hillbilly family" That has got to be one of the best descriptions of a family that I've ever heard! Love it!
Advice: The first year with a baby is pretty easy imho, if you can get them on a decent schedule, since they mainly like to eat and sleep. It's once they hit 7-10 months things get difficult, because they get so mobile- and then the tolddler years. Oyvey!
My advice would be to work on reading skills and letter/number recognition and then shore up "helpers." CD's and books on tape, educational DVD's (MSB, etc.
Your family is lovely!
Nice to "meet" you! I love the family photo!
I have two, ages 6 and 7 (although she's almost 8). I don't have the third, and I didn't have a newborn, but I did a take-it-easy approach to Pre-K when my littlest one was a toddler. I did a letter-of-the-week theme where we focused on a certain letter all week long, read a lot of books, and learned to count and recognize numbers 1 - 10. Like the others have mentioned, I took lots of time to read aloud and learn through play and interact in the kitchen etc.
I know it's not the same situation, but maybe it will help you realize that homeschooling in the younger years doesn't have to be heavily "academic."
My advice is to just be flexible. You can accomplish a lot during nap times. Oh, and have fun! As days go by, you will be able to figure out what will work for you and your family. So, if you have a bad day, don't stress about it! :) By the way, it is nice to "meet" you!
Last September was a stretch because I was starting my twins in grade 1 and my youngest was 1. I am also homeschooling a 9 and 11 year old. Once I just relaxed everything went smoothly. I learned that my oldest 2 could do a lot on their own and we did some work in during the afternoon nap instead of trying to finish everything in the morning. Have fun. You'll do awesome! ~Rachel
I have three boys, now 13, 10, and 7. We have homeschooled from the beginning, and looking back, I wonder how I did it with babies! Really, everything will just fall into place naturally. Just remember to have fun with your kids and cherish the moments, because they really do grow up so fast. I tried to "do school" around the baby's schedule as much as possible--you can read aloud while nursing, if you have a helper to hold the book, squeeze in alphabet sounds while fixing lunch, take the baby for a walk and study nature finds along the way. Best wishes!
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