We recently welcomed our fifth baby into the family. This is my second time being pregnant and having a baby while also homeschooling other children and here are a few tips to make this season as smooth as possible and still keep your homeschool afloat.
The First Trimester
This is an exciting time! There is so much anticipation and joy around the news that your family is growing. It is also a time when you’re most likely to feel your worst. Whether it’s debilitating morning sickness or fatigue that leaves you feeling bone weary and needing daily naps, here are some ways to manage expectations and keep your home and homeschool running smoothly, especially if your children are young.
- Pare the academics down to the basics if you need to. The extras and enrichments can be put on hold for a few weeks until you’re feeling better. Give extra attention to read alouds and activities you can do sitting down and resting.
- Get outside everyday. The fresh air will help you feel better and the time outdoors will help burn off some energy for your younger children.
- Find a way to rest and lay down everyday. We’re a very low-tech and no screen family, but this is when I utilized screens as a tool. Putting on a 30–minute show with my toddler while I could lay down was immensely helpful. Some low-stimulation options that are based on books we’ve read are Little Bear, Frog & Toad, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.
- Simplify meal plans. You may not feel like eating much, but you still have to feed everyone else. Come up with a rotation of low-effort dinners such as pastas, soups, slow cooker meals, and the classic - breakfast for dinner!
The Second Trimester
These few months are likely when you’re feeling your best. This is your time to resume your regular academic schedule, plan and attend some field trips, and start looking ahead to preparing for baby.
- Plan a field trip or two and connect with your children over the shared experience.
- Start making a list of 12-15 meals that would work well in the freezer. No need to cook anything extra yet. Just start brainstorming those ideas.
- Look ahead to your due date. Will baby be arriving during the holidays or another busy time? Make note of what your family will need during the season of baby’s arrival and start planning accordingly.
- Tentatively plan your school calendar and decide how much time you’ll take off from school before and after baby’s arrival.
- Think through the chores your children currently do well and the chores you’d like them to learn so make home life run smoothly. Begin additional chore training now. Things like making beds, washing and drying a load of laundry, emptying the dishwasher, and the ability to make simple meals, like sandwiches for lunch, will all be immensely helpful to you when you have a newborn to care for.
The Third Trimester
When you’re in the final homestretch this is the time to set yourself up for success. In addition to all of the baby prep, here are a few other ways to prepare:
- Continue chore training with your children. Work on mastery of several key chores that they can do independently and that will help your household. Your children will love the independence and it will feel purposeful to them that they are helping in such a big way.
- Look at the list of meals you created in your second trimester. Plan one night each week in your third trimester to make the meal for dinner and double or triple the batch so that you can stash some in your freezer. Cook once, eat twice. Store in ziploc bags laid flat to save space in the freezer.
Check out The Peaceful Press Cookbook for ideas!
- Look ahead to the six weeks after your due date. What events are on the calendar? Is it christmas time? Do any of your other children have birthdays soon after? An anniversary? Buy and wrap gifts now. Also plan for someone else to shuttle big kids to required activities.
- Decide how much time you’ll take a break from schoolwork and what date you’ll start back again. Plan a similar schedule as your first trimester. Make it light and sustainable.
Ultimately, remember that this is a season and productivity is not the goal. You can always go back and reteach the math lessons. Cherish the pregnancy and this time of anticipation with your other children and prioritize a calm and peaceful home environment. This may not be the year you complete every single science experiment in the curriculum, but joyfully preparing for a new sibling will be a memory your children will hold forever.
Guest post by Beth Ann Menger