Tips please - Returning to Uni

[teaparties]

Beginning to feel a bit nervous... I'm returning to Uni in March to finish my Primary Education Degree, have completed 3/4 so far and will be going back for the first time as a student parent, having taken a year out to have DD1. Am pretty sure I'll be in for a bit of a shock, as previously have only had to get organised enough to get myself out of the door in time...

I just wondered if anyone has any helpful tips on being organised/ coping as a student parent and wouldn't mind sharing their knowledge?

Hi,

My top three tips would be:

Prioritization, time management and list making.

Find out deadlines straight away and write them in your calendar or diary so you aren't trying to guess when they are...
Don't skip lectures/ reading thinking that you will catch up later... it will build up and you won't ;be able to catch up properly- at least not without some massive panicking.

Good luck!!

Hi teaparties...
Bit of a late reply but....could have written this myself!

I am returning in a few weeks. Primary teaching degree. I've done most of it, graduate in July. Took a year out to have my DD!!

Agree with PP, get all your deadlines down. I've got them all in my diary and a "timetable" - got 3 assignments left to do so tried to timetable them in according to priority.

I'm really lucky in that my OH's work means he's at home a lot during the week so he can look after her. My mum and him have both offered to take her out for a few hours so I can knuckle down with work too.

I'm not sure what to suggest apart from ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS!!!

When do you graduate?

Sorry, haven't checked back in a while- but thank you all!

I think timetabling sounds like a good idea, especially as in the past I had a tendency to leave everything until the last minute - I will have to teach myself to do 'little and often' as won't have time to set whole days aside for writing assignments.

sleeping I finish June 2014, have only a years worth of modules to complete but they have changed my course around so will be attending Uni for a year and a term in order to complete my remaining modules. Interesting to meet another parent doing a primary teaching degree! Have you done any placements since having your DD? These are what I'm most nervous about I think, I have a 3 month full time one coming up in October.

When you can't get back to sleep after a night feed, use the time to do some work and then MN, not the other way around

Oh and don't assume you will have time to do things later. Plan to get them done ahead of time because otherwise there will be a bug around the corner and you'll spend the night you were going to write an essay in holding a sick baby instead.

And make sure you have good flexible childcare in place.