Homeschool Families: Getting Ready for a New Baby

It seems like I just found out I was pregnant, but every time I look at the calendar I am reminded that we only have two short months to go!

I've spent the past couple of weeks getting bids from contractors to help us do things like get rid of old, nasty carpet, paint our grubby walls and organize our closets. Now they're actually here working, and I can't wait until they're done so our house can go back to being a home.

Whenever I announce a new pregnancy, I am always asked if I'll put my older kids in school. I say I couldn't imagine getting rid of all my helpers! Beyond that, school comes with burdens of its own - rushing through breakfast to get everyone dressed and out of the house on time, packing lunches and backpacks, keeping up with assignments and notices from the teacher - homeschooling is so much easier.

Days with a new baby are also great learning experiences for children. Diane Hopkins' article, The Baby is the Lesson, explains this perfectly. Even if academic work does take the back seat for a moment, my children will learn so much more at home than they would in school. They also love new babies and I don't think they'd leave home if they could!

In addition to getting our house ready for the baby, I'm also making preparations that will keep the house running more smoothly once the baby arrives. I am at my worst when sleep deprived, so I've learned to set things up so I can run on autopilot.

I keep meals really simple. Breakfast is either cereal or something from the freezer that can be quickly defrosted and heated up. Lunch is sandwiches or leftovers. Dinner is defrosted and reheated from the freezer, or made in the crock pot.

Before my last child was born, I made a 3-month meal calendar, including grocery lists and breakfast/lunch/dinner menus. I also packed our freezer to almost overflowing with pancakes, muffins, breakfast sandwiches, soups, casseroles and other make ahead meals. This made it really easy for my mom and husband to help when they were around, and for me to keep everyone fed when they weren't.

I doubt I'll have time to stock the freezer before this baby is born, but I am making menus and getting my recipes in order. I recently found out about the Eat at Home blog, and I'm planning on trying some of her free weekly menus and recipes.

I also keep housework to the bare minimum when we have a new baby. I know it's not eco-friendly, but we use plastic cups and utensils, and paper plates. My kids reduce my workload by helping with chores - making their beds, folding their laundry, taking out trash, picking up toys, etc.

My 8-year-old can prepare cereal and juice when everyone's too hungry to wait on me to get moving in the mornings. He also unloads the dishwasher, and I'm working on teaching him to straighten up their bathroom. It's slow going, but I think we'll make progress before the baby is born. I am blessed to have children who actually LIKE doing chores!

One other thing I do when getting ready for a new baby is simplify our schedule as much as possible. I have no problem saying no to outside obligations, and I make sure we are home every day for mom's naptime our daily quiet time.

So this is how I keep everyone sane during those crazy post-partum months. Next week, I'll share the traditions we have that make having a new baby fun!

Homeschooling: Should Learning Be Fun?

"Love of learning" is a big catch phrase in homeschooling circles, and often implies that parents should make learning fun through the use of elaborate games, projects and activities.

While I do think it's important to raise children who enjoy learning, I often wonder if we aren't overemphasizing "fun" in our pursuit of that goal. It seems some of us are in danger of raising fun addicts - children who are in need of constant entertainment, who will only work when bribed with generous incentives and rewards.

One problem with placing too much emphasis on fun is that can be a recipe for burnout. Parents can become slaves to their children's whims and desires, always looking for something fresh and exciting to grab their interest. This is often not only time-consuming, but downright exhausting.

In some homes, parents work under the ever-looming threat of hearing, "I want to go to public school!" I encourage parents not to place themselves in competition with public school teachers. We don't home school because I've convinced my children homeschooling is better for them. We home school because I know homeschooling is better for them. If there's a competition, I'm the judge.

Another problem with overemphasizing fun is that it creates unrealistic expectations. Sometimes there's nothing fun about the process of learning. Fun is often a result of the joy and satisfaction that comes from having learned new information, even if the pursuit of that information wasn't fun.

There was nothing fun about reading the volumes of material I had to read in order to build my website. However, I did enjoy taking that information and using it to achieve a worthwhile goal.

Am I suggesting that we stop doing fun projects and activities? Absolutely not! But I do believe in balance. And I also believe that some of the pressure many homeschool moms feel could be relieved if we put fun in proper perspective.

In our home, fun is a part of every single day. We smile, laugh, skip, hum and sing. We tell jokes and we play games. We're not a fun family because I've stressed myself to the breaking point in an attempt to provide constant entertainment. We're a fun family because we enjoy each other.

Homeschooling Textbooks - Why we love them!

Homeschooling textbooks have a bad reputation among homeschoolers. They're boring! They don't inspire creativity and impart a love of learning! They bring school into the home!

I'm outing myself as a huge fan of textbooks who has been homeschooling with A Beka math and language arts workbooks for the past 4 years. Here's why we love homeschool textbooks:

1. My kids are part of the rare group of children who actually like completing workbook pages. Perhaps it's genetic. I also enjoyed using workbooks as a child. For my children, fun doesn't come from fancy projects and activities. Fun is the feeling of accomplishment they get from learning something new, and having their afternoons free to pursue projects on their own.


2. No lesson planning! I love not having to plan or prepare lessons. Every morning, I simply open up the teacher's manual, skim the day's lesson and start talking. I don't have to scour the internet to find exciting, creative ways to present new concepts. The work has been done for me. The teacher's guide tells me exactly what to teach and what to say.


3. Textbooks help us remain consistent. We have a fairly relaxed schedule, and workbooks provide us with the consistency we need. If we skip a few days here and there, I know exactly where we left off and where we should begin again. Our school time follows a predictable routine so my children know what to expect. In our home, parent/child conflicts about schoolwork are extremely rare.


4. Textbooks make us more efficient. As our family grows, it is becoming essential for my older children to work independently at times. I love being able to start my oldest on an assignment that he can finish on his own while I work with a younger sibling. I still find plenty of time to interact with and disciple him, and we still have many opportunities to create great memories. Our special memories just happen to revolve around activities other than school.


5. No projects! I am not a peppy, get your hands dirty, let's do an activity kinda gal. Honestly, I have an anxiety attack at the mere thought of running from store to store for supplies that will end up as a mess on my kitchen floor. Although we don't do crafts and projects as part of our official school time, my children find ways to express what they're learning through play, and they plan their own activities. That's creativity!

And now for the disclaimer: My love of homeschooling with textbooks doesn't mean that you should use them or that they will work well in your home. I wrote this post mainly to encourage you to keep an open mind - a program that's a disaster in one home may be a perfect fit in yours, and a program that works great for your best friend may be entirely wrong for you.

I'm currently working on an e-book about choosing homeschool curriculum for which I've interviewed experts in various home school philosophies. It has been amazing to hear individuals like Catherine Levison, Sandra Dodd and Sarita Holzmann share the benefits of their chosen home school method. In working with these experts, I've learned that there's not one right way to home school.

The right way to homeschool is the way that works best for you - even if that involves textbooks!

Classical Homeschooling - The Benefits of Rote Memorization

When I first heard about classical homeschooling and it's emphasis on rote memorization, I assumed it wouldn't be for us. I've made it through life just fine not having memorized the names of the U.S. Presidents, so why should I force my children to memorize them. After all, rote memorization is boring and learning should be fun.

Last year, a friend introduced me to a program called Classical Conversations. I took my oldest to an open house, and I was really impressed with the public speaking portion of the program. My son said he wanted to learn the information that the children in the class were learning, and I thought the public speaking practice would help him build confidence, so we decided to give it a try.

Far from being boring, practicing memory work is my children's favorite part of the day. Here's some of what they're learning.



Based on our experiences, here are some of the benefits of rote memorization:

1. My kids are learning how to memorize large volumes of information, and it gets easier for them as the weeks go by. Classical Conversations uses songs, hand movements and games to make memorization fun. My son is a visual learner, and has found that it is helpful to write out some of the information he is trying to memorize. He's learning techniques he can use when he's older.



2. Memorization is much easier for my kids than it is for me and my husband. From birth to age 10 or 12, children are in what's known as the grammar stage of the trivium. This phase of classical homeschooling takes advantage of a child's natural ability to memorize.



3. My children are storing factual information they can use in the future. They do not fully understand everything they are learning, but the facts will be available for recall when they need them. We sing the alphabet song to our babies years before they understand what the letters mean. As my kids sing about the parts of the cell, they are tucking the information away for the days when they'll study biology.



4. As we memorize information together, we grow stronger as a family. If you watch the video closely, you'll notice that my 2-year-old often sings along with his older siblings. He is usually with us when we practice, soaking up information like a sponge. This is one of the benefits of learning in a multi-age environment.
   



5. Learning is fun, and the ability to recall information on demand is a huge confidence builder. I am learning facts that I didn't learn as a child. And my husband, who was a bit skeptical about the need for an extensive memorization program, has asked me to get him a copy of our memory work audio CD.

We are mostly relaxed homeschoolers, so we don't strictly adhere to the classical model of education, but I can definitely see it's benefits. Follow this link to learn more about classical homeschooling and the 3 stages of the trivium.

Enjoy the journey,