How to Balance School With a Baby

Good morning readers! As you all may know, another school year has started for me. This school year is different though now that I have Maddie Bug around. Surprisingly, I am doing fairly well in all my classes so far. People are asking me how am I doing it or when do I possibly find the time to study or do my homework? Well I have decided to share some tips that are working out for me to help any other mommies who are in school like me!

Class Schedule Planning

Time management is key to being succesful in college whether you have kids or not. I used to not be so great in this area in my younger years. I was what you called a "planned procrastinator". I figured I would watch as much netflix as I want until the very last minute but you can't do that with kids. So when planning my schedule, I realized I needed to make sure I fit in some homework and studying time. I had to make a set time for me to be at the library away from all the distractions back at home. So my schedule consists of 3 classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays and 1 class in the afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday and Thursday mornings are my planned study days. I spend all morning in the library taking care of any assignments, typing notes, reading my books, and studying for any upcoming tests. I am focused on these days. I try to never do any homework at home. When I get home from school, my whole evening is dedicated to playing with Maddie, doing chores, and preparing dinner. No homework!

Study Along the Way

Everybody has a different method of studying that works for them. Some people read, rewrite notes, make charts and diagrams, etc. You have to find the study method that works for you! For me, it is flash cards! During class, I write my notes and vocabs on index cards that way I am not writing 3 chapters worth of cards right before a test. I have my study material all ready when they announce that an exam is coming up. I then look at them every chance I can get. In between classes, at study times, and before bed are when I look through them. I also sometimes watch youtube videos about the subject. This especially helped out in college algebra.

Don't Do It All At Once

Don't pracrastinate and don't try to do it all once. I work on my homework in sessions. If I try to do it all at once my brain goes crazy and I end up just rushing through it and making poor grades. I miss the little errors because I was in such a hurry. Take breaks and work on it day by day. I have to do this with my accounting homework. If I try to do it all at once, I get worn out. So just pace yourself.

Have Fun With It

Try to make fun acronyms or sayings with different vocab or important equations and details. Make flow charts and graphs. Make things colorful, bright, and exciting. For some reason I think colors play a part especially with index cards. On a test once, I remembered a vocab definition I was stuck on because of the color of the index card it was on. Weird but it worked. When you make things fun and interesting, it will make sense. Trust me!

Those are my tips for balancing school with babies and/or kids. It is all about Time Management!!!

If you have any other tips or tricks that help you out, comment below! I love reading your comments! Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday! Much love...,