Scheduling woes....

[sharonb]

I've read the threads about school schedules, and I'm in awe of you ladies who are able to do that! I would love to add more order to our days, but I just haven't been able to figure out how to do it. Plus, my 9-month-old baby is about to drive me crazy... she was up FOUR times last night, so I'm exhausted. I nurse her on demand, but I'm feeling like it might be time to establish a schedule. She used to sleep through the night, but somehow the last several weeks we got all messed up! And during the day, sometimes I'll put her in the highchair thinking she should have some solid food, but she just screams until I nurse her (she does like solid food, just sometimes she'd rather nurse, I guess!). When my oldest was this age I put her on a schedule and she did great. My 2nd baby put himself on a schedule. Then the next two I just kept on feeding on demand until they weaned. But this baby is a bit more demanding!

Anyway, I guess I just need some encouragement from those of you who are schedulers, both for babies and for school! I think most of the schedules I have read are only for a couple of children. Any advice on how to juggle several? We are doing Beyond and LHTH. My oldest two are on different levels of math, phonics, etc, so they need individual attention for that. My third has some preK workbooks that he works on when he wants to. Usually he pulls one out and is asking for help right when I'm trying to work with someone else. And of course, I spend quite a bit of time making sure the 2.5-year-old is behaving, as well as taking care of the baby (we have a playpen in the schoolroom, so I'm trying to teach her to entertain herself in there for a while!). Computer time may or may not be an option for breaks, as it would be super distracting for the ones that are still doing schoolwork (it's in the same room with us).

Would a block-type schedule work better in my situation? I'm not sure using specific times for each subjects would work; I think I would stress if we got behind (like today when i had to stop because a neighbor came by with okra, peas, and cucumbers for us!).

Sorry for rambling. I'm just so tired today, and stressing a bit, because even though we got MOST of our schoolwork done for today, we did not finish ALL of it, plus we have company coming for dinner tonight and there are many chores to do (anyone want to share their chore charts and schedules???).

Thanks!

[WigglesMom]

Hi,
I have 4 kids 8,7,6, and 2. I feel your pain. I do have a schedule and it does have times on it, but just today I woke up late. Super late actually...at 10 am...Ah! What? I was supposed to be an hour into BHFHG with my oldest already. I decided not to stress it and just began our schedule exactly as written except late. We took 10-11 to wake up and dress and eat. Then began with the schooling. Believe it or not we finished only 30 minutes to an hour off from if we had started at 9.
Anyway, since I started my schedule school has been smooth sailing even when we don't get off to an ideal start in the morning. http://www.heartofdakota.com/board3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4058 This post has a copy of my schedule.
As for chores, Class Lesson Planner by CLP has a great weekly chore list and it is easily adaptable for your needs. I wish I could just scan it in and show it to you, but I think that would break copyrights.
I make sure that the other kids are having video, computer, or something independent while I work on reading and math. I would go ahead and schedule the pre-k books and put them with the school stuff so that your little one knows he has certain times to work on it and special time working with you like the big kids. I think a block schedule would work great for you. Mine is set up in 30 minute intervals and color coded by kid. My biggers help and play and entertain my 2.5 year old during their breaks.
Since you are introducing solids to your nursing little one, I am going to assume you aren't adverse to a bottle or a cup of expressed milk. I would try to pump at least twice a day to bring up my supply so that you could have ready pumped milk on demand in order to give you a little break. Is she gassy or seems to be in pain? I don't think it is as much of a scheduling thing with the nursing but some underlying cause for her to want to nurse so much and so often. Have you tried gripe water or gas drops before nursing? Do you try other things to comfort before offering to nurse when she wakes in the night? Could she be teething?
It's been a while since I weaned my last one so I am trying to refresh my memory. Have you tried calling La Leche?
You are more than welcome to my schedule to tweak it for your personal use if you have excel. PM me if you want me to email it to you.
Val

[sharonb]

Val-
The baby is teething, so I'm sure that's a big part of her crankiness. She will take water in a cup, but all my attempts to give her a bottle in the past failed. I never tried to give her one until she was 3 months old, and by then it was too late. (With my other children we introduced a bottle much earlier, but this time there was never a need, so we didn't do it early enough). It's been a while since I tried to give her pumped milk in a sippy. I do know that her behavior is not related to tummy troubles (when she was a newborn, I do think she had a sensitive tummy, but she has outgrown that). My supply is fine. So, anyway, it seems it's just a matter of figuring out a good routine/schedule for her and sticking with it.

Thanks for your advice on scheduling the schooling. I'm going to go look at your schedule now.

[Carrie]

sharonb,

This schedule thread may help you: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4048

There's other scheduling threads that may help too and there are some past threads on baby schedules that would be good too, however I don't have time this A.M. to find them. Some other moms might be kind enough to chime in when they get a chance.

I can feel for you! We've all been there too, and I just wanted to encourage you.

Blessings,
Carrie

[mariaw]

One of the things that has helped me immensely is something I read on someone else's schedule (probably on the thread Carrie referenced). I let my dd8 "babysit" the baby for about an hour a day. I would not have thought of it on my own, but she does a great job, and feels so important that she is a "babysitter." I agreed to pay her a small amount per day (we hadn't started doing allowance yet, so I figured it was time). They have developed such a sweet bond, and sometimes dd8 is the only one who can comfort the baby! I don't know if that's an option for you, but it has worked wonders for us.

[Mumkins]

My 7 and 5 1/2 y.o are doing beyond. i have a 3 y.o. doing LHTH. I do use a block schedule with somethings set, like snack is at 10, lunch at
12, afternoon snack at 2. I looked at beyond and figure what would be easiest to go from one subject to another and did in that order. We always start with reading the Ergermier's bible. Then we do 'bible study', then poems, storytime, history read, then the changeable one. That way I have us all sitting together and paying attention. Then I split them up. One does math while the other does explode the code. Then we switch. Then they do spelling. Then one does phonics while the other has some free time. Then oldest does copywork, younger does HWT. Oldest does English and we're done. After lunch we do LHTH and play outside. Now that's a day that goes perfect, lol. So that's not always the way things go. But it helps to figure out the order things will run smoothest for you. And alternate that when one needs your help, the other has indepent work. For my 3 y.o. I have made her a box with colouring books, work books, pattern blocks and teady bear counters. So I try to keep her engaged too. We've moved down into the toy room now, cause it's too hot upstairs. The toys can be distracting, but at least the 3 y.o. can play more freely. I also have a box of toys for the baby so he can play. He just turned 1 this month. He has a toy he can walk in around a play center, but doesn't move. I use that if I need him to stay in one place. I also do my housework when the baby is napping or in the evenings when DH is home or the kids have gone to sleep.

[my3sons]

Oh Sharon, I know that a dear baby can be exhausting!!! We love them so much, but they take a lot of our energy when they are little don't they? My dc all had reflux and were up many nights, which kept me up many nights - so I truly feel your pain.

I think you are right, it is time to put little baby on a schedule. You will know how to do this just fine as you have done it well before. I think the toddlers are the bunch that can run the house - in fact, they can run the whole day if we're not careful. I've come to realize this after many times trying to read to my other dc on the couch as toddler tore through the room and yelled over me. So, this last year, I decided to do 2 things -
1: Use all of my house to homeschool (at times to get away from loud toddler - we love him, but you know what I mean here)
2: Train toddler to be independent with a few things and put my schedule around him

When he was 1-2 years old, this is what worked...
I trained him first thing in the morning to look at books in his crib. Sturdy books - a bunch of them - with the lights on and the curtains open. He enjoyed this for 20 minutes or so, and I got showered and ready.

Then, we did set up a "happy playpen time". Through trial and error, I came to realize it was important I set up the toys each time for him, around the edge of the playpen, sitting him in the middle. Then pick them up every time, so each day he was getting into a "new" looking play area in his playpen. Tubs of toys with sturdy books and favorite sit-down toys were set aside for use only during playpen time (I stored them in tubs under his crib; he has a very tiny room ). We put Christian radio on quite loudly. It worked the best in his room with a child protector doorknob cover and the door shut. This worked great for about a year (then he started crawling out). He started out doing this for 15 minutes, and then gradually happily played longer, like about 45 minutes. I taught like crazy downstairs during this time with the monitor on.

He also had a 30 minute playtime with older brother (8 yo) in the basement in an area we set up with a gate as a playroom. We did this for 30 minutes, and during this time, I taught my middle ds his school.

He had a Barney video time in his saucer in our bedroom upstairs. I moved a t.v. and vcr into our wardrobe and put the monitor in there. He loved this!

Scribbling in his high chair was another daily independent thing he did for 15 minutes. I taped a big white piece of paper to the high chair top and gave him markers and crayons.

In between these things, he was out playing among us, but during those times, I had my older dc working on something they didn't need me for.

For the 2-3 yo's, here's what's worked...
Still does the sturdy books in crib or toddler bed first thing in morning

Instead of "happy playpen time", he has "happy playtime" in our entryway. Yes, you heard me right, our entryway! This was the only space left. So, I put child protectors on the doorknobs, brought in a shelf stocked with toys just for him, and put a rug on the floor, with a blanket on the rest of the floor. I put the radio on the top of the toyshelf and put a gate up in the doorway. Through trial and error, I've figured out it's important he CAN'T see me, because then he wants me and cries at the gate. When I go around the corner to the living room, he plays very happily for about 45 minutes now, but if he sees me, POOF! That's the end of "happy" playtime. I am currently training him to do this so we can have this time to school next year (we are on break now). We will probably either school during that time in the living room or upstairs.

He still has 30 minutes of playtime with oldest big brother in the basement playroom, and he also now has 30 minutes of playtime right after that with middle big brother. He's happily played with for an hour, and I can be schooling the other 2 boys, one at a time during these times. Works great!

He still has the Barney video, but on the couch instead. I trained him to stay in the room and watch it by first having him belted in to his high chair as he watched it. Then, I let him sit on the couch for it. The first few times he ran around I put him back in the high chair, now he understands that to get to watch his Barney video, he needs to stay on the couch, and he does so very cheerfully.

Instead of scribbling in the high chair, I replaced that with "choose from the cupboard" time. It got this idea from Carrie, and it works great! I cleaned out the bottoms of several kitchen cupboards and put learning toys in there (such as puzzles, Lakeshore boxes, coloring books, etc.). During this time, he can choose 1 thing. I open the cupboard and have him pick. He then can take that thing to his little table and chair (or the living room), and play it. When he's done, we pick it up and he puts it away and may choose a new thing. This is the thing we're working on now, and he's not very good at it yet. He only plays with each thing for a tiny bit of time, but that's alright. I know he'll get better at it and more interested in each thing as I show him how to play with these things one by one. I did this with both of our older dc, and it is a wonderful thing once they are trained!

So, these are just a few of my very best lifesavers for teaching multiple dc with a crazed little one joining the scene! Each of these things I have trained my dc to do, slowly, usually one or two at a time. We rotate our school around to not be within eyesight when toddler is doing his things on his own. I also try to rotate these things with free playtime for little toddler. These are just some ideas, but looking at the space in my house creatively, taking time to train little ones to have some specific routine ways of being independent, and making the schedule around the toddler has really helped my days go better. I hope something here helps - and I am praying your baby settles into a schedule so you can get more sleep - that makes all of the difference in the world!

In Christ,
Julie

[sharonb]

Thanks for all the detailed responses! The baby got to feeling better, so she's giving me an 8-hour stretch at night again; I just need to get to bed a bit earlier! Getting more sleep helps tremendously!

We are getting ready to go on vacation, so we haven't really done much school this week, so I'm taking the time to write out a schedule to see how to best juggle everything. Fortunately, the baby does enjoy sitting in her playpen with toys, plus we can get a lot done during her naps. I'm figuring out which activities keep the 2-year-old occupied, and saving those for school time. (His favorite is a dry-erase board with several markers!)

My main priority is going to be starting school at a consistent time, and doing the subjects in a certain order. I'm trying to put times on the schedule too, but until we actually follow it for a while, I'm sure it will need tweaking.

Thanks again for all the advice. I'm tired of the super-casual way we've been doing school. There's too much going on now, so we need a routine!!!