How To Homeschool With Morning Sickness

If you find yourself here because you are homeschooling your way through morning sickness, you have my utmost respect and empathy.

We already know how challenging homeschooling can be but when invaded by the great villain of morning sickness, it becomes nothing short of a noble battle. Not for the faint hearted.

I’m not going to fill you with the momentary false hopes that some post pregnancy mothers may when their morning sickness memories have faded. While writing this I am battling through week 11 of my fifth pregnancy with merciless morning sickness.

But there is some hope.

Here I am sharing my personal 5-step plan that has helped me keep homeschooling while battling morning sickness.

• Identify your best time of day. Although the infuriatingly deceptive term “morning” sickness indicates that there would be respite for all mothers in the afternoon, I know too well this is not the case. Even if you are a mother who feels as though she is stumbling around the deck of a ship in rough seas all day long, you may find there is a time that the sea is just a little calmer. For me it has been mid-morning. As I become increasingly tired the nausea seems to get worse. So, this means that any demanding work, such as one on one instruction, has to happen during this time. Once you have identified your best time of day, you’ll be ready for step two.

• Prioritise the essentials. I’m a big advocate for making homeschool days less busy but most especially during morning sickness. When you have limited physical strength, you need to prioritise what you put your precious energy into. This will look different for different families. For us it has meant we have dropped everything except reading and maths (though I’m not reading aloud in the evenings because I’m curled in a ball dry retching at that time). Your children are learning so much just witnessing their warrior mother growing another human, you can definitely tick a few mental boxes for science there, and just drop the rest. Honestly, prioritising is essential for this season. It’s not forever.

• Use screens (or technology in general). This has been my go to for when I can hardly string a sentence without a quick bucket break. I repeat, USE SCREENS. They may be your biggest ally in this season. Please, don’t battle your way through something that is draining your limited strength (and therefore probably not that great for your children either). Watch a documentary, listen to an audiobook, pop on a podcast, play a maths game online or download some learning apps. There are even educational ways to use Xbox/Playstation games, so just go for it. There are so many great digital resources. Parents have too much social pressure to be “screen free” that we can actually miss the ways these resources can enrich our lives (or at minimum help us continue homeschooling during a very intense time of morning sickness).

• Outsource. It can be uncomfortable to ask for help, but if you have a spouse, family member, or friend you could lean on a little it is really worth it. Sometimes they are just waiting for the invitation. Baking with Granny is actually a priceless lesson. In my family there are science, drama, music, language, and maths experts, though unfortunately this pregnancy I’m oceans away from them all. If you are similarly isolated maybe there is a community playgroup or afterschool program you could enrol your children in. We live walking distance from one of my husband’s work sites. When I’m feeling particularly ill it helps just to send my older children out walking to interact with the other adults there and the office staff have been very gracious to their visits. If you’re not sure how you could outsource any of your homeschooling, or mother-on-duty time, grab a piece of paper and a pen and have a good brainstorm. Who do you know and what do they know?! Asking for help isn’t weak, it’s honest. Outsource if you can.

• Cut yourself some slack. This is possibly the most important part of your epic battle plan to homeschool through morning sickness. Your adversary is relentless. I’m not going to list the symptoms that morning sickness throws our way because I want to keep my lunch down, but it is merciless. You are doing an amazing job growing a human and caring for others. This doesn’t last forever and if some days the most you manage is to press play on a documentary, THAT IS OK. Your children will still be learning and you’ll all get through. Don’t buy into the pressure to overachieve. Rest. Cut yourself some slack. Go make yourself a sandwich, you’re amazing.

I hope you find some hope in this post and put something into practice. You can check out my posts on our favourite documentaries HERE and our favourite learning apps HERE. Please drop a comment, I would love to hear what works for you.