Moms going back to school.

I'm a mom going back to school starting in August. I have a 4 year old daughter whose favorite playmate is me. And I work two jobs. One full and one part-time.

I've been reading the study guide for the NLN recently and I find she is happy just cuddling up with me while I read. It's a little easier with a child that's a little more independent. But I am definitely going to be in the same boat beginning next month. My only saving grace is that my part-time job will be great for studying.

Good luck in School - You can do it!!!!!

I have a daughter who will be 4 in September, I haven't started my LVN program yet, I'm still trying to find the right one (AND possibly move out of state). I really don't know how I'm going to get this done, all I know is that I'm 30 and I can't afford to keep putting it off.

I have three boys and have just about finished all my prereqs. It's been tough, but doable. I have had semesters where the only time I could study was after 10pm. I would sleep 4 hours a night, but I eventually got used to it. I have found that I can sneak in little moments of study.

1. If you have an older child you can set homework time, and do your homework together. (you won't be able to do all of yours, but its a little time.) This also sets a good example.

2. Make flash cards to use while waiting at the doctors office, waiting in line, cooking dinner, using the toilet etc. (I am not kidding about the toilet lol)

3. Get a voice recorder and record lectures to listen to while driving, going to sleep. (You can get ear phones that you can put in while you and the kids watch a cartoon movie). They are so small these days the kids won't notice and you can be in the room with them. Remember to occasionally laugh so you look like your paying attention to the movie.

4. Have your child quiz you with your flashcards. My son started doing this when he was 6 and loved it.

I too am a mom returning to school. I have 3 kids ages 8, 5 and 2. This will be my first semister that I will be returning to the classroom as all of my other pre reqs I have taken online. I have 4 classes left - Chem, AP1, AP2, and Micro. I am nervous about this and how I will handle all of the study time that will be needed in these classes to keep up my GPA. My youngest is the only one who will be in daycare seeing as my middle child starts kindergarden this year. Its nice to know that I am in the same boat as others.

I am a mom of 2. I have a 5 year old and a 1 year old. I will be taking Micro and Nutrition this fall semester. I know this will take alot from me, but I need to get these classes done with good grades. It can be done.

My sister went back to school to finish her bachelors when her children were pre-schoolers. Her advice to me was that she had to put school first for the time being. It was only for two years. She had to put family on the back burner to brighten her families future. Like she said, no one starved, kids were clean, and happy. Her husband was very supportive which helped but if she didn't get those clothes picked up off the floor that day and into the laundry no one was hurt. She wasn't able to make as much family time as she would have liked but it was a short time and it was worth it. Best thing she said was so obvious, "putting school first IS putting your family first."

I have to say I wish I would have done this before kids, lol. When I spoke to my Nursing Director, she gave me the third degree about how hard Nursing Education will be raising two children. Saying things like, "if one of your kids is sick and can't go to daycare, what will you do? You can't miss class." This I know, but hearing it from her was almost like she was trying to talk me out of it. Oh-well.

Coopeach-great advice (and too funny)-

I have 4 kids. 7, 5, 3 and 15 months. I am working towards my ADN. Man is it hard with the kids!!! This semester I have Biology, Medical terminology and Nutrition. I am probably going to drop the nutrition until later as I doubt I can do 3 classes well. Two will probably be hard enough.

Like you, I am a SAHM and my DH works 60+ hrs a week. So my time is limited. Hopefully with the two older ones in school I will manage. What do you think, 2 or 3 classes???

Chantel

I have four kids, 9, 8, 3, and 15 months. I am hoping to start nursing school in the Fall of 2008. It is a 2 year hospital diploma based RN program. I just finished taking A&P I this summer and I have one more test to finish my A&P II class. I already took the NET so I just have to get the application out. I am going to CLEP out of General Psychology this Fall and then take my last two non-nursing classes; Micro. & Developmental Psychology in the spring. I then will have my Associates Degree in Allied Health. The nursing school only requires Chemistry as a prerequisite but I wanted to get all the other non-nursing classes out of the way so I can just focus on the nursing classes.

I am also planning on putting my baby in daycare next year and my one who will be four will be in an all day pre-kindergarten class. My older two will be in school all day. I figure I have been lucky to have been a stay at home mom all these years and I need to do this now for me and my family.

I pretty much study after the kids go to bed or if I need extra study time whenever my husband can watch them. I have a tape recorder that I use for A&P to tape my notes. One thing that I found is a time saver for me with my A&P class is that I make multiple copies of my study guide. Each chapter has 100 questions that I need to read the chapter and find the answers for. After I spend many hours finding the answers I then go thru all the questions and the ones that I do not have memorized I put a mark (highlight) beside it. I then can save a lot of time when doing my final review. I just have to go over maybe 20 or 30 that I am having trouble memorizing for each chapter. I also make up a word that helps me memorize an answer I am having trouble memorizing. (Ex: one of the answer's is medulla oblogata; pons / I will shorten it to mop) It works. I get A's.

It's comforting to know that there are others out there doing this and doing it well. I just decided to go back to school. I have a 1 year old and I've been home with her since she was born.

I'm just trying to figure out how we're going to afford to pay for my prerequisites.

Hi JBGC4,

I have 4 kids and have always been a stay at home mom. Here is what I learned when I went back to school last summer:

Make sure you spend time with the kids before you start studying because they will DEMAND your attention right when you are starting to understand a difficult concept.

Put your kids on a schedule that suits your needs. It may sound harsh to some people but kids need schedules and it's up to you to pick the schedule.

Find a comfortable place to study (your bed, maybe) where your toddler can sit beside you or on the floor next to you and play quietly while you study.

Most of this is just common sense mom stuff that you will figure out on your own. But get used to 11 o'clock study time because that is the exact time I hear from a lot of moms that are in school. Don't worry, you will figure it out.

Oh, yeah, don't forget your DH. Make time for him because this will be difficult for him also.

i am a mother of 2 children, my son will be 6 in oct and my daughter will be 2 1/2 in sept. my son is 1st grade, and the baby goes to daycare while honey and i work am shift at the state hospital (0630-1500). my classes wil be 1630-2130 (lecture and lab 2 days a week). so, they know they have to swing it on their own mon/wed evenings. luckily honey and i have great paying jobs--so no problems there, but i wil miss being around the kids as much.

so, with all this, i am grateful to have a honey who cooks and cleans, does laundry etc. mondays, i will go up to my son's school to volunteer or just sit around so i can still have time with him.

what's going to reallys suck is next fall when i being ns for reals---even though we don't seem to have class thurs-sunday...i will be working at least 2 or 3 of those days. if i pull 2 doubles, then it will be only 2 days i work for my 32hrs of work.

hey, it will be hard for all of us, but we must look towards the end of the line...we struggle for this one period in our lives (however long the period is) so that we never have to do it again,and never have to really put the family to the side like this again.

To the mom who needs help figuring out how to pay for it all - I can so relate. Since we had our 4th baby (a surprise), money has been pretty tight. We don't have health insurance, so if someone gets sick, we are in trouble. Another year and a half and the car will be paid off.... That will help. In the mean time we are struggling to get by, but school is important to me. I want my kids to see me going to school. I want them to be proud of me when I graduate. What an example I will set for them. I missed the fafsae (sp?) deadline, so I can't even apply for a student loan this semester. I think I can cover it though. I will make payments or put it on the credit card if I have to. I am taking online classes and evening classes so I don't have to pay for daycare. It just isn't an option. There may be a few hours that my husband can't make it home on time, so I have arranged for a teenager to come to my house at a reduced rate and watch the kids for an hr or two on the days I do go to school so I don't have to miss class. I know it will be hard and Christmas may be a big bust this year..... School just has to be a big priority for me right now or I will regret it later. Come January I will be one of the first to fill out my fafsae so I can get my student loan. YAY! You should do it too. Good luck!

Chantel