Was planning to home ed from Sept but now pregnant

[Sothisishowitfeels]

I have 5 children, the younger 2 are 4 and 3. I was planning that come september I would withdraw the 4 year old from school (she has had some issues settling and although she seems not too bad now I think that it would be for the best. She is still wetting herself at school everyday despite being potty trained at home since 2). The youngest would simply not start nursery.

I have three older ones who are 10,8 and 6 who I was going to give the choice.

However, I am now pregnant, very exciting but unexpected! The baby is due november and it's somewhat messed up my carefully laid out plan!

I have no idea what to do now. I am concerned that with a new baby it will be too much but another part of me is saying that the older ones (especially 4 year old) still need this.

I was hoping to be very relaxed the first year especially and so was not planning to be sitting at desks for hours but I am so torn now!!

Any advice would be massively appreciated .

Whatever you do with several older children and a baby, your life is going to be carnage for a year or two. Well, you know that already, right?!

I have no idea how you'd find it. The mums I know with HE-ed children plus a babe in arms do struggle a bit to meet everyone's needs including their own, but I have to say I'm not convinced their lives would be any easier if some of their tribe were in school.

Sorry that's not much help!

I bet the 4 year old will be happier at home with you, regardless of whether there are two younger siblings around.

Ommm is (as ever!!) right on both counts...it's difficult either way, but choosing to HE with another little one might just mean that it looks slightly different to how you had previously imagined.

DS was 6months old when we decided to HE after a couple of disasterous months of reception. It's not so much about it getting easier as it is finding your own little ways as a family and things ebb and flow on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. It works for us!

Have you joined any local HE groups/meets or any FB groups?

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had a newborn when my older two were 5 and 3, and although it was difficult in some ways, I think HE was much easier than getting them to school/nursery on time would have been!

I bought a boxed curriculum, which in hindsight wasn't really necessary, but it did help me feel more organised and on top of things. I only did a small amount of 'school' each day - reading aloud, a bit of phonics and a bit of number work. The rest of the day was spent doing normal toddler/preschooler things - play dates, trips to the park and library, play doh, baking, playing in the garden etc. The hardest thing really for me was getting to places on time when the baby's feeds and naps were so unpredictable. When he started napping at regular times things were harder in a way, because I then had to decide whose need to prioritise - baby's need to nap, or the older children's need to see their friends or get to activities. Again though, this would not necessarily have been much easier if naps had had to work around school runs and after school activities. It would definitely have been easier if I'd mastered the moving-the-sleeping-baby-between-car-and-cot manoeuvre

My 'older' children were still very young, and I know that you have older ones, but I suppose what I'm trying to say is, where there's a will, there's a way! I've known people HE older children when they have a new baby, and there are plenty of blogs around on the subject. Whether it's right for you and your family is of course a different matter and will depend on all sorts of factors. You've said that you'd planned to have a relaxed year anyway, which I'm sure will help (maybe not so relaxing for you though!).

It'll be mad, but fine.