How's It Going - Oh, baby!

"So, how's Homeschooling going?  How are you handling having a new baby?"

Hold on...  I just need to answer this one other question about how long a piece of string is...  one sec....
okay.  Done.

Now, how are handling it with a new baby?  Yeah, you probably see where I'm going with this one.  There are countless blog entries, website suggestions, probably even books with information about how to handle a home education situation when you have a newborn and/or smaller children.  Which goes to show that there is genuinely no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges.

For example, today, since Lollypop woke up early when the other kids did, she's still playing.  And, within the next 30 minutes or so (from this minute that I'm typing this - it may not get finished and posted for awhile!), she'll likely want to go down for a nap.  That's when Poodle and I will get started on our lessons. Whether or not we get to finish "in peace" depends on:
~~how long Lollypop sleeps
~~how interested Tooter is in being a part of it
~~how quickly I can get Poodle to quit playing Alice in Wonderland and focus
~~whether or not we find ourselves chasing a rabbit trail because of something we read

And that's just today.  Everyone is in a pretty decent mood today.  There are days when one or more of us are tired and/or cranky.  There are days when I'm trying to read to Poodle while Lollypop fidgets on my lap and Tooter crashes his dinosaurs into each other; my brain is so full of distraction and noise that I quite literally feel my blood pressure rising as I sit.  Then there are days where Lollypop will take a brilliant two hour nap and Poodle and I get everything finished while Tooter quietly does his "lessons" at the same time.  (He likes to practice drawing letters on a dry-erase booklet that I found at Walmart.  He is SO not doing real "school stuff").

There are days where I get half-way through with things, realize that Poodle and I are totally at odds with each other, and I just stop.  Just plain stop.

You can see that every day is different and has its own "routine".  That original question up top there gets a different answer every day.

I'm one of those people who actually finds database entry a calming thing.  Seriously.  I like predictability and the status quo.  (Maybe not ALL the time, but I do find comfort in the same ole-same ole).  So, having to approach each day with a "here's what we have to do, but I don't have a actual method to complete it, because I don't know exactly what the day will bring" mentality is really hard for me.  Some folks bloom in that environment.  Me - I'm having to learn about flexibility and creativity.  I'm not that great at it, that's for sure!  And, it's probably a cause of stress for me that I don't quickly realize at times.  Eh - who knows.

It's a trade-off.  I'm not having to get kids dressed, fed, and out the door to the school bus by 7:15am.  (I think that's when the elementary kids get picked up around here.  It may be earlier).  That, just like what we do, takes flexibility and creativity also!

Yeah, things are crazy over here most of the time.  How do we handle it with the new baby?  We just go with the crazy flow and try not to drown!