[stressnless9]

So i have finally picked something to study, which is a massive thing for me because i talk myself out of everything!!!

I'd like to know how other SAHM do it? Do you have a routine or just fit it in when you can? would it be any better/worse doing 1 whole day a week or a couple hours here and there over the week?? If i can avoid too much weekend study i would like to because DP works really really long hours during the week so i like to have as much family time over the weekend as we can, especially when my 2 SS are here.

It will take around 100 hours to complete the first cert. I have a near on 1 yr old he sleeps from 6-6 or 7-7 and has about a 2 hours sleep during the day. The 2 hour sleep is when i rush around doing dishes,washing,sweeping etc.

I have thought about a day at daycare so i can have almost a full day of study (i could power through it then) but i feel a little guilty/unsure of daycare. I do have a few family members more than happy to take him for a day each week too (means i have to do a total of 1.5 hours driving though) I am thinking either of these choices will be the best,rather than trying to do some each day as i do quite a bit of picking up,dropping the older 2 back and forwards from their mums & school.

[antsy]

If you are someone that can stick to a routine, then it would really help to make one. I am personally someone who hates routines, and I end up getting stuck with studying for the entire weekend because I couldnt commit to a plan. I wish I could change this about myself. So if you dont mind a bit of structure, make a plan and try to stick to it.

I also found it easiest to study at night after the kids are in bed - a couple of hours a night seems to work well.

As for daycare - I have been considering it too because I got a bit overwhelmed in the past, especially when the assignments were due. Give things a try without it first, and if you find it is too much then you can always decide to put him in. Good luck with it all

This post has been edited by TooManyToys: 18/02/2013, 12:21 PM

[Glorious]

Hey I am doing it at the moment. DD is 9 months old and it is a bit challenging getting the motivation to get stuck into it, but is do-able. I think the day in child care is a good idea, at the moment I study in dribs and drabs, and when essay/exams come around I rely on the grandparents to baby sit a day or two so I can have some undisturbed thinking/processing/writing time.
Next study period I plan on being more organized because I am doubling the study load.

[Beancat]

I got preg with DD in my first year of a grad dip ed. She was born 6 weeks before the start of semester 1 and I also had a 3yo DS. This is what I did and it worked ok.

Left DS in CC 2 days a week and studied when DD was asleep.

Once she was about 8 months old this didnt work anymore as i could only get short stints of work done. I had a lot of reading to do and really needed the time to digest what I was reading. From 8 months I put DD in CC 1 day a week to get the bulk of my work done on that one day (it coincided with one of DS's days). I'd then do another 3-5 hours on top of that whenever I could fit it in - usuaually from about 8-10pm.

Do you have to do placement for your course? This may be another consideration for CC if you need to.

[LovingTheBeach]

Hi,

Like you, my DH works long/odd hours and can't watch DS for me very often and I do try (except at exam time) to spend Saturday as a family.

DS is now 10months old and I went back to uni when he was 3 months. We had no routine simply because he refused to have one! I just studied when I could, whether he was sleeping (day or night!) and my mum and Nana would come over once a week or so and let me study for a few hours, it might be worth the travel for you once a week to get a few hours study in?

If your listening to lectures, I downloaded them and listened in the car or while out walking or even while your doing dishes.


DS has started 1 day per week of daycare as I will be returning to work next month, but on that day I get as much as I can done. He is quite happy to be left there and smiles as i leave. Depending on your course and other centrelink benefits you receive, daycare can work out quite cheap ($5 per day for me until I go back to work) and may be cheaper than using petrol to drive to your relatives houses.

Good luck!

[Studybug]

Hi there

When I returned to uni 18 mths ago I found having certain days to focus on study with DS in care to suit me best. We did have family lined up for care but they changed their mind at the last minute so the first 6 months was a bit all over the shop with me missing uni, DS in daycare a couple of days and my mum and SIL helping out when they could (Very much appreciated those two lovely ladies!!!!).

Also, during assessment times or when I'd fallen behind work as I'm the world's best procrastinator, I'd be at uni studying whilst DH and DS did whatever they did on the weekends. Studying at night when child in bed doesn't work for me unless I'm motivated by a looming due date.

You may have to try out a few options and work out what suits you best.

Good luck and Congrats on finding a course of study you're interested in!

Cheers.

[stressnless9]

No placement and mostly done by correspondence (except exams)

Yeh i think the drive will be worth it! I'm so easily distracted by him so i really think if im doing a bit each day i wont get that much done LOL hes too cute and funny not to be distracted by ha ha!

Nights is also another option too!

[MahnaMahna]

I started studying at Uni 2 years ago when my eldest 2 were 4 and 2. I now also have a 3 month old and will be returning to studying in just under a month.

I schedule all my classes on one day so I am only out of the house for a single day. (Some semesters this is not possible but more often than not it is).

I study at night once the kids are in bed and when needed I also study on the weekend when my husband can watch them for a few hours or my parents.

It is nigh on impossible to study properly if you are the one responsible for the children at that time.

I schedule as much as I can but always with the knowledge that it needs to be flexible. I don't think you can study and be a SAHP and try to be too rigid with scheduling at the same time.

If you use daycare then I think booking an extra day each week which you will use for study only is a really good idea.

The trick is to be prepared. Never leave what you have to do until the last minute. Start work as soon as you can in the week so if something does go wrong, child gets sick etc you have already started prep.

[HerringToMarmala...]

I think try our a few different routines and see how it goes. Personally I don't think I could focus for a whole day of study

[SarahM72]

My youngest is now three, but I have studied through three babies. I'm an external student with a few scheduled classes everynow and then.

I don't really have a daily routine as such - I just fit in studying whenever I am able to.

But I do make sure to follow a weekly study timetable that I make up for myself. I make sure I have all my readings and everything completed by the end of particular weeks, and planning for assignments and assignment writing planned for a particular week. Studying for exams etc. put down for particular weeks. Then as I get free time during the day or evening, I just work towards getting everything I had planned for that week completed.

I currently have two at home, the rest go to school. I haven't so far put the little ones into childcare, as I've always managed to study around them. And I also think by the time I organise them to go to childcare, drive them there, drive back etc, I've wasted a good hour of my day anyway. Then I have to do the same again to pick them up. Plus as a single mum, this year I when I went to enrol them I found the extra cost is now a bit too much for me with the recently raised JET fees.

Anyway, the three year old is now having a bit of a tanty, so I am using this opportunity while I can't study for the screaming about "Ironman isn't on tv right now and I'm devastated" to have a quick look at EB. It is all about learning to make the best use of your time.

Also I often put dinner on in the morning. I just chuck everything into the slower cooker, and it's good to go.

This post has been edited by SarahM72: 18/02/2013, 01:02 PM