Babies:
- Babywrap/ carrier: This was a HUGE help for me when my guy was a wee little one. He was colicky and needed to be held almost constantly. I could easily have him nestled up in my wrap and help Kaiden with his work. We would work at the kitchen counter where I could stand and walk around which soothed the baby.
- Nap time: For the subjects that really needed one-on-one time we would save it for nap time. We didn't have a set nap time but it always ended up being some what close to the same time. We could really get a lot done during these times. Call them power hours if you wish.
- Save some for later: Thats right. One blessing of homeschool is you don't have to go by the norms. You can do "school" whatever time works best for you and your family. We would sometimes save our reading or other subjects for later in the night when dad got home from work.
Toddlers:
- Special activities: We have a box of toys that gets pulled out durning school time. It's like all new toys each day I pull it out.
- Let them join: A lot of the time they just want to be where the action is. I'll put him in his highchair with a piece of paper and some crayons. He gets to sit next to his big brother while doing his own "work". He also loves joining us when we read. Yes, he doesn't understand what we are reading about but he loves to sit with us.
- A favorite show: I know some people and anti-tv and that's ok! Just skip this one. We only put on one episode of Mickey Mouse on each day and it gives us a nice half hour to get some work done.
- Nap time: Same as above with the naps. Use them to your advantage. If things aren't going our way we hold off on work until nap time then we can get a lot done. My guy naps for 2-3 hours a day so it really frees up our time.
- Location is key: We don't have a fancy homeschool room. Pretty much all our work is done at the kitchen counter. We have an open floor layout so I can see the living room straight from the kitchen. I can let Ezra go crazy with toys out there while working with Kaiden in the kitchen. We have it baby proofed (as of now until he finds something new to climb) so I don't have to worry about it as much. Yes my living room looks like a tornado has went though it daily but that's ok!
It's going to be a whole new ball game when I have a newborn in February while also having a toddler running around. We'll see if I have some new tips after that. I plan on utilizing my wrap again and working around the toddler. We also started early this year to plan around taking the month of Feb. mostly off.
At the end of the day if not everything gets done it's OK! Save the work you couldn't get to for tomorrow. You have plenty of time to teach them what they need to know. They are constantly learning even if it's not in a "structured" form. Have fun with it and try not to let the stress get to you. If we're having a bad day we take an hour and get outside. I have everyone run off their crazies and then we come back in and try to refocus. One last thing is to try not to stress about the house work. I normally have a list of things I try to get done each day but if it doesn't get done there is always another day. My husband is great a really helps out on the weekends when he's home with household work. Everyone just does their part in helping out!
I hope this helped give you some ideas on finding balance. No, none of the information is mind-blowing but putting all the parts together really helped us stress less and get more done.
