Caring for a newborn is an endeavor on its own but when you add homeschooling into the mix, it can seem impossible to manage. Despite its challenges, managing to homeschool one or more of your children when you have a newborn baby to care for is possible – you just need to plan, work with what you have and breathe!

If you are up for the challenge and you want to be the best at both then here are five tips on how you can manage the two, for better and saner days.

1. Plan in advance

You cannot determine exactly when your baby will come; whether he or she will be fussy or easy going, but you can arm yourself by preparing the homeschooling part of your days after the baby is born. Make time to research exercises, quizzes, stories and games you can assign your child for those days when your mind is too fuzzy and sleep deprived to think straight. You can also use self-teaching courses that are age appropriate for your child, so you can invest more time in your newborn, while knowing your child is not missing out on school time. Use technology to your advantage – great apps like Evernote will help you organize your child’s lessons (and your life if you want to) in the most efficient way.

2. Indoor vs outdoors

Some parents will avoid outdoor activities when there is a newborn in the house while others will use the outdoors for education. Determine at your own pace what suits you best. The outdoors is a great way for you to get out of the house with your newborn and your child can learn about nature − they can draw what they see, write the words of the insects and animals they witness and even learn to count. If you prefer to stay indoors, then determine a room that suits you best for homeschooling when you are caring for your newborn and bring all of the supplies you need in that room so you can teach and nurse as comfortably as possible.

3. Work your lesson around the newborn

Use this time to teach your child life skills so you can incorporate your newborn’s schedule into homeschooling time. Teach your child how to change a diaper, clean a baby, as well as educate them on how to do certain chores. In this way, you will be teaching them important skills. More than that, you will be able to use nap time in the best possible way. For example, you can choose to use nap time to teach your child more focus-oriented subjects like mathematics and science, or you can choose to rest together with your child, so that everyone is that bit more energetic when the newborn is up again.

4. Invest in a sling

As a mother, you already know how important and beneficial physical contact is for a newborn but when you are trying to homeschool another child it can be challenging. Investing in a sling so you can carry your child around while homeschooling your other one will make your life so much easier. The sling I found at Fertile Mind is a life saver! I can hold my baby close and move around with my other one so that I don’t feel like I have to restrict the animated side of my homeschooling because of my newborn.

5. Give yourself a break

Why is it that we are always the hardest on ourselves? Homeschooling is challenging on its own, not to mention how hard bringing a new child into this world is, so don’t feel bad that you aren’t being the best teacher for your child or the best mother for your newborn. This is a time of adjustment for everyone and if it gets overwhelming then you have to allow yourself to take a break from homeschooling temporarily while knowing that there will be other times when homeschooling will be more intense.

Author Bio: A parenting writer, Regina empowers women through her writing and modern parenting tips. If she’s not writing, you can catch her surfing the web for what’s new at Fertile Mind.