My baby is due any day now, and since this is the first year of homeschooling, I was wondering if a month off from homeschooling would be too long. (we would continue in June/July.) My DD is doing 6th grade. The only issue I have is making sure her math is correct, her vocabulary words are done, etc. I dunno if I can expect a 11 year old to educate herself for a month with no supervision? I mean, she wouldn't do her math or periodic table, etc. (I wouldn't either, lol.)
Any experince with this?
Amy

Take six weeks.

If you have a computer, get a copy of the ACHIEVE CD's for her age. Max loves them and they're mildly educationally nutritious. Enough to keep him from forgetting any facts he may have learned. Their science activities are really pretty cool for a computer game.

You can also stack up on library books and just kind of make sure she's still reading. As long as she's reading and occasionally getting some skill practice in, you can rest assured she'll be fine.

You don't have to do any of the above either, but it'll make getting back into the groove a little easier.

We haven't had any babies while hsing, but we've done massive cross country moves (well, we did one and we're in the process of trying to sell the house to do another) and it's simply insane to think we'll get any work done for the first month. We really needed six weeks off. Know what? We still finished all our curriculum by May 28.

I would take off as long as you want/need. Since she is older, you could have her do certain things everyday - maybe have a checklist for her. Maybe have her read x amount of time every day... and have it cover a few different areas. Just an idea.

BTW - we're moving to NE OH in the spring (countdown in sigline) - trying to find a house in Jefferson. Will we be close?

Anyway - my advice is to not worry about 'doing school' until you are adjusted to life with another person. It might be quick. your older dd might need to keep doing work to keep busy... she may like hte time off to just read things that interest her. Even reading things that interest her can count as 'school time'.

Guess I'm strange! We've always taken 2 weeks off, which is how long daddy stays home, then week 3 is back to business.

Except baby #4, for some reason I only took 2 days off that time.

I've just always homeschooled from the couch for a couple of weeks - now cooking and laundry, THAT'S another topic!:joker:

I've also got to say with baby #7 it took me longer to feel better, maybe we should've taken a longer break, but I was 40, so that also plays a part in recovery.

Play it by ear! Don't feel like you have to set up a schedule - this is homeschool, we're flexible :)

well I am due in May and my DD is 13 so.. We plan on taking no time completely off but change are schedule a little bit. We are really focusing on Math and Science now, the things she needs the most help with. When the baby comes or I get tired right before she will spend more time reading, history, english. DH will help pick up slack on spelling and grading but...

We are doing the same thign for Dec pretty much, we are so busy and gone alot so she picked 3-4 books to read from reading list and history. We are doing alot of Math but that is about it.

dawn

Take as long as you want to. Think about this: your dd is at a GREAT age to learn about postnatal mama and newborn care - how she will feel, what she will need to do. This is a priceless opportunity for you to maximize her involvement and education for one of the most important roles she will ever play. :) You can always do math whenever, and at age 11, a lot of the math is repetetive/redundant anyway.

My 4th baby was just born in August, a week after we started school. We took the week off of his birth and then we were right back to business. The homeschooling was the easy part. It was keeping up with the 2 year old that was hard!:p