Homeschooling While Pregnant

The following is a post from Tabitha

I recently read a post by a homeschool blogger about a reader who asked, “Should I continue homeschooling while pregnant?  My family wants to put the kids in school.”   After thinking about this topic for a while, and reliving a LOT of memories, here’s how I would respond:

Don’t change everything just because you are expecting another little life. Don’t disrupt your routine anymore than it has to be. Each of your children were welcomed into the world before this one, and things were just fine. Even if you weren’t homeschooling then, your world now includes homeschooling as part of your everyday routine, and those educational goals you have made don’t need to be sacrificed. Life goes on!

Small children understand changes. Older children understand changes. Even with difficult pregnancies there are things you can do for your family’s learning and growth. The pregnancy itself is a wonderful learning experience. Schoolwork can be rescheduled. Life doesn’t need to be, and what is more symbolic of the miracle of life than a new baby growing and developing inside their mother.

Welcoming a new family member

Since my oldest started ‘school’  at about age 5, I’ve had (or will have) 7 more babies. We’ve homeschooled different ways through all of those times and we can look back and laugh at the sometimes fun, sometimes funny memories of what worked and what didn’t. Some of those pregnancies were harder than others, including one on bedrest.

Yes, pregnancy can cause a lot of disruption in a household, between morning sickness, doctor’s appointments, and then just the changes in Mom’s mood and energy levels. They can be worked around if they are minor issues, and they can take over the family schedule somewhat if they are serious.  However, that doesn’t mean putting the kids in school is the answer.

If your family is committed to homeschooling and your reasons for doing so don’t allow for putting the kids back in school and taking them back out again in the future, or even if homeschooling was just a temporary thing for you, but it wasn’t in the plans to send them back yet, you can work it out while pregnant.

Some things that have worked for us on the days when I cannot be as involved in the kids’ learning times:

• Skip the stuff that is too time consuming, it’ll still be there on the good days
• Use multimedia- computer, movies, books on CD (or MP3), TV shows, etc
• Take a break!- extended or just for the day
• Plan things that everyone can do on their own
• Have older children help younger children
• Review!
• Ask for help. Friends and neighbors are more willing than you think!
• Lots of books, and more books, reading together, individually, to each other…
• Board games

We’ve schooled during the summer after a springtime baby. We’ve worked through Christmas break to catch up after a November baby. This may not even matter if your other children are still small. I know that we need to still keep with some schedules as we have an AP test to take right after our new baby is due.

Life is for keeps, and your kids will remember that you were with them and taught them what was important. Remind them that they were once in the same position their little brother or sister is now, and that it is a special time for your family. They may forget that they didn’t have math one day, but they won’t forget that just like they were loved and prepared for, this baby is too.