So how do we stay on task when the baby is constantly trying to injest dangerous items from the floor? It’s not easy. And we don’t always do it. Sometimes we just concede that the schedule is out the window for the day and we’ll try again tomorrow. But does that stop us from trying? No, it doesn’t.

The baby crawled along the floor eyes darting back and forth. I could see the determination in her eyes. As she got closer, I could hear her heavy breathing. Exasperation bubbled close to the surface. But wait! She saw something. A small piece of grout that had come loose on the kitchen tile floor. It was perfect and she zeroed in. Her speed increased. She quickly reached out and tried to grasp the small piece of grout in between her 2 little fingers but her motor skills are still under developed. She tried again and again. Finally she got it. As soon as she had a solid grip on it, it went straight to the mouth. “NO!” I shouted. “Drop that!” Realizing her operation was compromised, she rushed to get the grout into her mouth and escape. But I got to her. I got her mouth open and despite her resistance was able to remove the grout. I turned to the older kids and ordered them to vacuum the floor again. “But Dad, we just vacuumed it an hour ago,” they protested. “I don’t care, she’s still getting garbage from the floor, vacuum it again!” I exclaimed.

We stay on schedule as best as we can by making conscious choices to do certain things when the baby sleeps.

Our Homeschool Schedule: How We Manage It All

How we manage our homeschool schedule with a 10 month old baby? It takes some planning and accommodation but it’s doable. Recently, the baby skipped her morning nap. I tried to put her down and she just wasn’t having it. I let her “cry it out” for a little bit like usual. Normally she’ll settle after a few minutes and fall asleep, but this time she wasn’t settling.

The older children were supposed to be getting their school done, and I had a long list of chores to get done. The baby going to sleep enabled us all to have some quite time to accomplish tasks free of making sure the baby stays alive and safe.

When the schedule falls apart because the baby doesn’t cooperate we all have to make concessions. The older children help with feeding the baby and changing her diaper as long as it isn’t #2. The dishes didn’t get done and now I don’t have a clean bottle for her upcoming feeding. Let’s take a quick step back and explain how the schedule is supposed to go.

Baby’s Schedule:

0700-Wake up—The whole house wakes up and starts our day. The baby gets changed and fed. The older children set out on their morning forage in the wilderness for their sustenance. Not really but sometimes it feels like that…

0930-Baby’s first nap—The baby goes down for her first nap and now thankfully goes down pretty well for the most part. After some difficult times, I am able to put her down in her crib awake, and she settles in a goes to sleep on her own. Usually. This has enable us to get into somewhat of a schedule on the days I’m not working. The older children bust out their school. I work on dishes/laundry/etc. Whatever needs to be done.

1100-Baby second feeding—Baby wakes up and eats her second bottle followed by a solid food whether it’s oats, green beans, peas, carrots, or whatever I have easy to prepare. Sometimes the oldest feeds the baby at this feeding so I can finish up something or to let me have a minute to do something else.

1230-Baby second nap—Baby goes down for her second nap and the chores repeat. Our goal is get the cleaning and school done early so we can transition to cooking and fun. Or outdoor chores like the lawn or garden.

1400-Baby eats 3^rd bottle—She wakes up and eats. Pretty similar to the 1100 episode. More cleaning and organizing.

1630-Final nap—Baby takes her final nap at this time though it’s a much shorter one at only 30 minutes. It’s mostly just to help her make it to bedtime as 1400 to 2000 is a long stretch. She needs a little buffer for her to have a better mood which helps the rest of us have better moods too.

1700-Wake and Eat—Baby wakes and eat’s dinner. Another bottle with solid food.

2000-Final Feeding—Baby eats her last meal of the day and starts bedtime prep. Bedtime prep usually includes a diaper change, bath (as need), some snuggles and a slow walk upstairs. By the time I get to her room and turn on her noise machine, she’s usually heavy eyed and ready for me to put her down.

Now how do we work homeschool around the baby’s schedule? We start the day with the kids doing any subjects they can work independently on. Once they get that done, we transition during nap time to the subjects that I need to teach.