Congratulations! Pregnancy is full of so many different emotions and experiences. You may be wondering if you are setting yourself up for disaster trying to homeschool while being pregnant.
There are lots of different ways to make it a bit easier on yourself. I feel like the key to remember is that this is just a season. It will soon pass. The key to homeschooling while pregnant is simplicity and streamlining to make life more efficient and easier for your whole family while you are not at your best for a short period of time.
Preparation is the Key
Okay so far enough sometimes you have no idea that you are going to be pregnant. That was my last three pregnancies….But sometimes you have a bit of time to plan. Even once you find out you are pregnant you might have a few weeks to pull something together before the dreaded morning sickness kicks in. For some of us lucky ladies that should read “all day sickness”
If you have a few weeks to prepare for the nausea and fatigue that plaques the first trimester then use it to prepare. You will thank yourself later.
Food
Everyone is still going to have to eat even if we are heaving everything we eat back down the toilet bowl. If you don’t have an instant pot yet, this is the time to buy one. It may just save your life. You can even cook food from frozen! yep thats right frozen, you won’t even have to smell that raw meat. Amazon is the best place to purchase one you can see the current price here.
Create some freezer meals that you can easily put in your instant pot or slow cooker for the days that you just can’t face cooking. My eight year old can use the instant pot so definitely bring in those bigger kids to help out.
Cook up a bunch of different meats and divide them into portion sizes suitable for your family and freeze. That will eliminate a huge step in the cooking process for a future date. If it is something like ground beef, you can just add a jar of spaghetti sauce and boil some pasta and you are good to go.
Stock up on the lunch time basics like peanut butter, jelly, tortillas, etc. Anything that your kids can easily make themselves that isn’t going to create a tonne of mess. This means you will be able to let them get their own food for a while if you are preoccupied over the toilet bowl again. I love having a good stock pile of things they can easily make or grab themselves because it means less running to the store too.
School
Do all the printing/laminating/binding/cutting and busy work now. Organise it and have it ready to go. It will make all the difference.
If you have little ones at home with you, they are going to take the most energy and time from you. They still need their mommy too. Take some time to create some activities for them that they can do quietly and fairly independently next to you in bed or by the couch. If you need some ideas for busy boxes head over to this post which has lots of brilliant suggestions.
Older children can be a bit more independent so ease them into more independence over those first few weeks so that it won’t leave them lost and confused when you can’t be as switched on as usual.
You might like to use this time to try some online programs to take some of the pressure off yourself while still ensuring they are getting on with their school work.
Rest, rest and rest some more
Once the nausea and exhaustion of the first trimester set in, rest. Try to rest as much as possible. It won’t always happen but try. Cat naps in the lounge or going to bed early will all contribute to feeling better and being able to be more hands on and productive.
It is entirely acceptable to dial back your commitments for a time. Say no to extra outings, and stick to what is truely necessary. If possible ask if someone else can take your children to classes or groups if they are going to be passing your way.
Since the second trimester is usually the easiest in terms of energy and feeling well use that time to catch up a little.
The last month or two of pregnancy can really take a lot out of you so be sure to get as much rest in as you can and don’t feel one bit guilty for it. If you are not well, you can not look after others. It’s a time when you really need to put yourself first for the benefit of the whole family.
Accept Help
Don’t try to be superwoman! Let people help you and ask for help. Your partner and older kids can be the greatest blessing during pregnancy.
Hold a family meeting and discuss what help you need and how everyone can pitch in a little bit more to keep the house running smoothly while you aren’t 100 percent.
Friends and family will often offer to help by taking your older kids so you can rest or bringing your family dinner. Let them. You can return the favour for them another time. The kids will probably really enjoy a break away too.
Create a Routine
A solid routine will keep the family and house ticking over even when you can’t be right there to supervise it. If you have teenagers you can put them in charge of making sure younger sibling are getting their chores done (kindly of course!) and helping them if needed.
Write up a list of things that need to be done each day so they can have a visual aid. Once the item is completed it can be checked off. Kids are very visual, having a list to look at and refer back to is going to be much more effective than just telling them what needs to be done.
Some school subjects can be done next to you on the couch or in bed if needed. The kids will probably love to cosy up next to you to practice their reading or math work.
Use Technology
Create a Netflix playlist of educational shows they can watch during the day. While I am not an advocate for a lot of screen time, and I do limit it in my own home, my kids got most of their education from Miss Frizzle and the Magic School Bus during my last pregnancy.
Fill the iPads with lots of worthwhile apps that they can use while hanging out with you in bed. As much as I wanted to be left alone whilst being so sick, kids want to be close to mom. My kids follow me around like lost puppies looking for me all day if I suddenly disappear for 10 minutes.
One of the best ideas I had was to have them Facetime my mom. We live in different countries so she is not easily accessible for babysitting duties. However she was able to keep those kids occupied for a good hour over video chat. The kids loved it too.
Childproof Your House
Make you house childproof if you have little ones. Section of a part of your house where you are able to nap while being confident your children aren’t going to burn the house down or run off down the street. Sometimes you really do become so tried it is hard to keep your eyes open.
Before I would lay down to relax on the couch I would insure all the doors were bolted shut, the windows were closed and the kitchen was blocked off. Then set my toddlers and preschoolers up with the iPad or tv show while I shut my eyes for 20 minutes.
Take A Break
If you can afford to, take a break from homeschooling. Even if you just manage a week at the start and end of pregnancy your body will thank you for it. Just like you would take maternity leave from work, it is okay to take maternity leave from homeschooling.
During my last pregnancy I had planned to finish up for a month break at 38 weeks, baby had other plans and arrived six weeks early and threw out all my plans completely. All this to say that even the best laid plans can fall apart and end up down the drain. That’s okay. Try to be adaptive and don’t try to push yourself longer or harder than you should.
Simplify
Cut out all the fluff and extras from your homeschool program until you are feeling up to it. The second trimester is usually a great time to pick things up again as you get that much needed boost of energy.
You may want to cut down the schedule to just the core basics of math and reading for the younger crew. Your older children may be able to continue on with the extra subjects without needing your direct input which would be ideal but not a big problem if they can’t.
Clean the House
A clean house is a happy house. I know if my house is a mess I feel like I am a mess. One of the things I try really hard to do while pregnant when I have the energy is to do a big spring clean. I enlist my helpers…usually just the husband and we deep clean everything. I do this because I know I won’t have time while I have a newborn and because it will make it easier for the kids and my husband to keep on top of the household cleaning while I am not up to it. When I am feeling better I don’t want to be doing much cleaning either. It becomes super awkward with that huge belly.
Final Words
You can homeschool while pregnant. It is not going to be the prettiest homeschool, the most efficient or productive homeschool but the children will learn and they will grow. It is only for a time and a season. Soon everyone will have a new little one to love on and to squish.
Go easy on yourself. If you are feeling great then do everything that you want to do. If you are feeling bad it is okay to do school in your pj’s in your bed with your bucket close by.
You will be surprised at how much your current children will grow and step up to the plate when you need them to. They will show you their love for you by trying their best to help you even if their efforts are a little clumsy. That is what being their mommy is all about. You can always catch up on school. It’s not going anywhere.
