There's so much I want to share with all of you about how our first weeks of homeschooling have gone that I don't know where to start…
I'll begin by telling you about today, our very ugly day…
Behavior-wise the kids started off very well, but as the weeks went on I don't know if I allowed some bad habits to take root or what, but over time I found myself repeating myself more and thinking each day, “I have trouble keeping three kids from distracting each other, how in the world do teachers do it with classrooms full of kids?!” Their punishment is always to lose electronics — no TV, video games, nothing. But I wasn't seeing an improvement. Then today the kids were bickering over nothing and everything, not doing what they were asked, and their annoying little distractions toward each other pushed me over the edge.
I went into our room, shut the door, and bawled my eyes out. The doubts hit with full force.
I really thought God had called me to do this! Maybe He did call me, but because kids have free will, if education isn't a priority for them and they don't choose to help make this work, and punishments don't work, what do I do? I don't want to send them back to school, though! I love having them home with me where the pressure is off and we can all learn together! But if they won't cooperate, what do I do?!
Kent is a great support.
When all this was going down, I texted him and said, “I think other home schooled kids have a better Mom (at disciplining/keeping good boundaries in place, whatever) or maybe the kids are all easy and the tough ones go back to school and just flounder there.” He asked, “Is it the kids not listening and doing what they're supposed to? If so, I can take care of that one.” I said, “School is just not important to the boys and being respectful to me or each other isn't either. Grounding from stuff makes no difference to them.” He said, “It will when I'm done.” He followed through when he got home and it looks like the boys are going get nice and bored for a good long while. 🙂 Anyone have some discipline suggestions for me? Maybe make the boys run around the block next time to work off energy?
Anyway, I feel better now, and know it was just a bad day. (The picture at the top of the post was what I found on the frig from our 7 year old – we've still got some work to do on spelling, obviously!) I was surprised that the thought of sending the kids back to school brought on such deep sadness in my soul. I so badly don't want to go back to how it was. My sister sent me a cartoon in the mail (funny it came today) that says it all:
Since I'm not sure when I'll get around to another homeschooling update, I'll just share a few of the good things and not-so-good things with you from our first few weeks of homeschooling so far this fall:
First the not-so-good things:
- Seems funny, but I miss the people at our kids' elementary school. I've told you before that we really like our school district. The people are great and many are good friends. From the parents to the teachers and principal on up. As an example: our son still goes to band at the middle school and they called to let us know when the band times would be different due to MEAP testing – pretty cool of them, huh? They also haven't batted an eye at him riding the bus home from school every day. And when I had some curriculum questions both the middle school and high school counselors were very sweet and helpful.
- They haven't said too much about it (and we have regular play dates), but I miss the kids' school friends for them. Thankfully they're making new friends at their home school enrichment classes on Mondays. And we have loads of neighbor kids that they play with each day, too.
- Prepositions are definitely on the ‘bad' list. The kids were struggling and a friend suggested I start with just having them memorize the list, so that's what we're doing now. ICK.
- It's much trickier when I have to be gone now, obviously. I've had a business trip, two funerals and other stuff, and my teacher friend joked, “Ha! You had to make ‘sub plans'!” The flexibility in those situations is great though. I know I won't come home and find out that there's some big school project due the next day!
- All of the above aren't big things at all, but the main issue that's really tough is the same problem I've had for years: how to get it all done in the 24 hours I've got each day. That's an ongoing struggle. I knew that homeschooling and working full time wouldn't be easy, and I have to say that I don't feel any MORE overwhelmed than I did when the kids were all in school and gone for seven hours each day. So I'm trying to learn that it's all a mindset, and to just balance homeschooling, family/home stuff, work/blogging and friends as best I can, and that's all I can do. If I didn't need to sleep or exercise, that would help! Does anyone have suggestions for keeping it all balanced?!
The best for last – all the good things:
- I don't have to yell the kids out of their beds in the morning anymore! I work late and usually sleep in until 8:00 or so and then go climb into their beds to wake them up with snuggles. A much nicer way to start the day.
- I feel like my priorities are right now. I give the first several hours of every day to our kids. I love starting out with prayer time, saint stories or memorizing verses or whatever we want to do that day for faith stuff – we have had the BEST conversations and I finally feel like I have the time to help shape them into the people they were meant to be. I love it when our oldest hasn't left for his college classes yet and he soaks some of this in, too. Of course he acts like he isn't listening, but sometimes he'll pipe in with something that makes my heart jump for joy.
- Our kids are learning to do laundry and clean bathrooms, woohoo! Even our 7 year old! See: How I'm working myself out of a job.
- Our daughter (she's 10) loves to cook and helps me so much now. The other day, she made these brownies all by herself, and I was just nearby working on something else.
- I loooooove their math program, Teaching Textbooks
. Especially for our 13 year old, so he can go at his own pace with no pressure. Some days he'll say, “I was getting a lot wrong, so I'll just do it tomorrow.” The next day he watches the lecture again and it clicks that time and off he goes. Sometimes if he's stuck I'll have to watch the lecture so I can help him, and even I have been able to re-learn this stuff.
- Kent has been everything I've needed him to be. He loves talking with me about what we're doing – all the way to Chicago on our 25th anniversary we dreamed of where we want to take the kids with this, how we want to teach them to think, and what if something happened to me. (Have you read about the Robinson Curriculum?) He reads all the homeschooling books I want to read but don't have time to and gives me a synopsis. He asks me to get books from the library that he wants to read the kids before bed, books like Aesop's Fables and Edward Tulane and tonight it was Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I was out here working and overheard their conversations coming from what they were reading and was filled with thankfulness that he's the kind of Dad who wants to teach them these things about what really matters in life.
- We're planning a Florida vacation and driving to save money (only 24 hours or so – ACK!) and I'm excited about doing a special unit study on the United States. Hopefully that makes the long drive less painful. It's nice that we can normally vacation when others are in school too! Note: we didn't end up doing a unit study, ha! We just talked a lot about what we were seeing. 🙂
- When the kids are being good (which was mostly until recently), it's been a lot of fun seeing how far they've already come. I used to love playing school as a kid, and some days that's how it feels. 🙂 We've been memorizing all sorts of things like poems and prayers, and it's neat to see what that their brains can absorb fairly quickly.
- I also looooove our Story of the World
history book. Each day we all look forward to reading a chapter; it's so well written and really holds our interest. It's got bible stories mixed in as they fit into the historical timeline. We also have the activity book and usually pull something fun from there on Fridays.
- This book and method has been a fun way to teach them vocabulary: English from the Roots Up, Help for Reading, Writing, Spelling, and S.A.T. Scores
.
- I still have to fight the urge to not have the kids learn everything all at once that I want them to learn and instead to focus on the basics of reading, writing, and math. I want them to have some down time and not book up their every minute, but it's difficult because there's so much good stuff out there!
A few things I've learned:
- When they need a break, they need a break, send them outside!
- If we only get through one or two grammar lessons in a week instead of two or three, it's really not that big a deal.
- When our 7 year old really really can't get through writing three whole sentences, let him write only one and be done with it. Hopefully when he's more ready it won't be such a struggle. (As much as radical unschooling isn't for us, some of the things I've learned from the unschoolers helps me to relax! Now we're trying, “Handwriting Without Tears
” and that's better so far.)
- I want to do more of this stuff: Food as Science!
Priceless…
- Hopping on our bikes for a mid-day ride around the block or just making some strawberry ice cream together: priceless. The other day was going to be a gorgeous fall day so we grabbed all our books to do a few things on the way and headed off to a corn maze for a couple hours.
Making my kids a healthy lunch while the three of them happily make a fort together in the woods behind our house: priceless.
- Watching them curl up on the couch after lunch with a good book: priceless.
- Sending them out to play after their friends are home from school so I can get my work done: priceless.
- Not dealing with homework battles every night: priceless.
- Watching our youngest snuggle with our oldest before he leaves for his college classes: priceless.
lawl says
LOL I’ve heard of that Story of the World book. Some of the most factually inaccurate and oversimplified crap ever written. Shaping your children into what you want them to be – what, morons?
Jennifer says
I found it refreshing, sorry, that someone else feels like me! I am about to have our 7th child, due in a week. It’s Christmas. It’s a busy time of year and yet I want to just stop doing everything and relax. We have been having some stressful, trying, homeschool days but hopefully we can have a better year after baby is here and I get back on track with grading and home management etc….And most of all I hope we can keep homeschooling into the future! Thanks for your post!
Samantha Jacokes says
For your road trip, check out the game Spot It On the Road. It’s a cool game that has you “spot” things while driving. We have the original Spot It and the MLB Spot It. Fun for all ages!
Also fun are the Highlights “Which Way USA” activity books & maps. I bought mine on eBay for a fraction of the cost. You could get the states you are going to pass through.
I’m inspired by your homeschooling adventure. We are thinking about it for next year (boys will be in 2nd & 4th grades). WE LOVE our elementary school but do not love the large class sizes, the testing procedures, and all the time spent making sure no child gets left behind. Too much wasted time, and not enough learning time.
Karen says
I have great respect for Mothers who home school their children. It was never even a thought for my children, but we had a great school and that maybe that was part of it – also that was ~25 years ago. My daughter home schools her three: 13, 11, and 9. I’ve been privy to watch this process while they lived at our house for a while. I think those kids are getting the best education possible. If you’re interested, check out her blog, where she shares her home schooling tips, anecdotes, resources, has coaching available, etc. She’s passionate about it: it’s her life-career path for this time of her children’s lives. https://fimby.tougas.net/homeschool-help
Jennifer @ 20 something allergies and counting...down says
I have nothing constructive to add, but I feel the need to say LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! It sounds like the good is definitely outweighing the bad.
My 4 year old and I started homeschooling this fall, and it has turned into 100% unschooling based on her personality. I feel okay with that at this age until I figure out a more concrete definition of what works best for us.
Because we’re unschooling, we’re exploring topics that she’s interested in that go way beyond preschool level. We keep coming back to the planets and outer space, so we’re about to make a solar system model…just for fun.
There wouldn’t be time or a need for that if we were hyper focused on reading and writing (which she’s still learning to do at her own pace). I also find that she learns concepts lighting fast when it’s a topic she shows interest in.
I love homeschooling, and it’s a definite bonus when you work from home!
Sue E. says
I did read to the bottom, Kel! A miracle for me these days. Even now I am catching up on emails since I wasn’t on for 5 days, and still need to type up lesson plans…
There really isn’t any way to get it all done. I have learned to let some things go for awhile, and then every couple of weeks take a “Mommy day off” to get some deep cleaning done or catch up on a project that needs more than 10 minutes (!) to accomplish.
I am so glad you followed the Holy Spirit’s call to do this for your family. It is truly a blessing. My husband occassionally says, “so, do your worst days in homeschooling make you want to go back to sending them to school, or you go back to teaching in a traditional school?” My answer is always, “NO!”
Blessings!
Sue E.
Jo Schoeneck says
Kellie, I have never homeschooled but have had friends who have-hats off to you! You asked about discipline ideas–Have you ever heard of Love and Logic? I think their website is loveandlogic.com, started by Dr. Charles Fay and joined now by his son, Jim–both Christians. It is a wonderful program–I have seen it work as both of my daughters use it on their children, it works for me with my grandchildren and my one daughter has used it with tremendous success in her classroom. Combine it with emotional coaching and it is unbeatable. There is a slight learning curve but the website is rich in resources that are very helpful. Hang in there–you are doing a good and God directed thing. Prayers, Jo
Sharon says
You should try the Classical Conversations preposition song! Great way to memorize them all! Search for it on Youtube… hand motions and everything. We Love CC.
KitchenKop says
Oh, that’s a good one, too, my kids would love the motions!
Well, one of them would anyway. 🙂
Jenn says
I have home schooled my two kids (9 & 12) all along and we still have good days and bad days. We definitely have those days when the kids would rather bicker with each other than get their work done. I was just thinking today that I need to make time in our schedule for a midday walk or bike ride on the days they don’t have sports. It also helps when I separate them and have them work in different rooms when we aren’t working together.
I noticed you mentioned the Robinson Curriculum, I recently got it, but we’re still mostly doing things from The Well-Trained Mind (like Story of the World). Have you read A Thomas Jefferson Education? I really recommend it if you like the Robinson Curriculum. I also had my daughter read Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens.
Anyway, hang in there. There’s no one right way to home school, so give yourselves some time to adjust and figure everything out. I look forward to hearing more about your family’s journey!
KitchenKop says
I don’t actually use anything from the Robinson curriculum except maybe some of his book recommendations, but I just threw it in there because Kent & I were talking about what to do if anything ever happened to me. (That guy’s wife died and he just got all his kids going more on independent work.)
Thomas Jefferson Education for Teens – I’m requesting it from the library now, thanks!
Kel
Jacque says
I’ve been homeschooling for 6 years now and I can agree with everyone here that there are good days, great days, and some pretty darn awful days. I loved the analogy of it being like a marriage. Good days and bad days will come but that doesn’t mean you’re not called to homeschool and that fruit will come through some good old-fashioned hard work. Our schools around us are really great too which probably makes it harder but the great things about homeschooling definitely outweigh everything else. So glad to hear you’re on this journey with all of us. Can’t wait to hear more!
Amanda Dittlinger says
Okay, I had to stop and comment when you said prepositions… I’ll go back and read the rest of the post, I promise! But you hit a huge memory… I think it was in 7th grade my teacher made us memorize this song. Funny thing is, I still know most of the words all these years later. Even funnier… I was singing it under my breath JUST YESTERDAY for no reason at all. My kids are pre-k.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=986gWXSCarw
KitchenKop says
I’m using that, thanks Amanda!!
Actually I found one I liked a little better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt_QFqkeMB0&feature=related
Kel
haven says
I just want to encourage you by telling you that you are doing something amazing for/with your children. I was homeschooled from 5th grade through highschool and I am indebted and forever grateful to my parents for choosing that path for me. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world!!! I am 32 now and my parents are still my very best friends, my dad and I even took a couple of college classes together. Now they are my biggest supporters as I begin my own homeschooling journey with my little boys. So just hang in there, the rewards are so worth it!
Martha says
@Peggy,
Thanks for saying your kids slept in until noon. I’ve been feeling like I’m the only one who’s kids sleep in, and that I’m somehow failing for it. Our 5 year old gets up at a “normal” hour. I don’t see the 12, 14, or 16 before noon unless I drag them out of bed, if I even manage to wake them up. I’ve given up the fight.
KitchenKop says
I loved that too, and it made me wish even more that I didn’t have to schlep our son to band at 1:30 every day, because I have sort of a pressure to get through stuff before then. But I needed that reminder to let them just sleep more, it’s a great homeschooling perk!
Kel
Erin T says
My first year of homeschooling had me on the phone with my husband in tears. I felt like such a failure, especially with my boys. The girls were wonderful and loved to do their lessons but the boys just didn’t want to have to do anything that wasn’t a priority for them. Ever. So everyday was another battle. Taking away screen time as consequences and intensive character training has brought peace to our home. Adjusting from an institution to home is difficult for kids as it requires much more effort and self-discipline on their part.
The one piece of advice I kept at the forefront of my mind was from an empty-nest former homeschooling Mom, “The first year was h***, the second was so-so, and the third and every year after was bliss.”
J in VA says
Sometimes I send my dd out to run around the house or do a dozen jumping jacks in the house. We tackle math first thing as it’s her hardest subject.
It does take awhile to adjust. Mydd went to private school until 6th grade but has no sibs. Your children also have to get used to being together so much and will learn to get along better with the passage of time.
Shannon Rop says
Easy Grammar is a grammar system that isolates the prepositional phrases, thereby making it easier to figure out the noun, verb, etc. We’ve used it the whole time we’ve been homeschooling and it works, at least with my kids. There is a book for every grade level, 3rd-12th.
KitchenKop says
We’re using Easy Grammar but I don’t think it’s all that easy to teach so far!
Jennifer says
Kelly –
Easy Grammar combined with “Daily Grams” makes it easier, and even though Easy Grammar starts with the prepositions and makes it seem as though you cannot possibly move on until the prepositions are memorized, I assure you that you CAN.
“the box” idea has worked best for my prepositionally-challenged boy, and after a couple of days working to identify words in just a plain old text that could work with “the box”, we skipped the preposition portion of Easy Grammar, and he is doing just fine with identifying them without having them technically memorized.
And for the record, ALL of my kids learned more about proper use of grammar from my reading aloud to them than they EVER learned from ANY of the grammar programs we’ve used over the years. 🙂
Oh Lardy says
I wish I had the patience to homeschool my kids. Bravo, Kelly!
Elena says
The cartoon makes me really sad. That’s pretty much my family’s lives right now; I desperately want to homeschool my son but can’t stop working at this time. I would gladly take the bad and the ugly!
KitchenKop says
What would I do without all of you and your support and advice?!!!!!
Thanks so much for the encouragement and help. You’ve given me great ideas to try. 🙂
Those of you who mentioned ideas, jingles, etc. for learning prepositions, please share links or whatever to those, thanks!!!
Kel
Jacqui says
Barbie Polling just wrote some blogs called ‘let them play’ and ‘shower them with affection’ already has revolutionised the way we do things here 🙂 she’s linked with Marilyn Howshall
Jacqui says
https://www.lifestyleoflearning.org/
Check this lovely Holy Spirit led lady out – Marilyn Howshall. We decided to homeschool our sons (oldest is almost 6) and my friend in Sydney who’d been homeschooling her 3 boys for a while recommended me to look into it. I’m totally loving the blogs and whilst I haven’t bought any of her reading yet, I plan to very soon!
Cathy F. says
When the kids are acting up and distracted from their studies, sometimes it helps to take a short diversion…close up the books, put on jackets and rake leaves for a half hour (or some other outside task–not game, task). The brisk air and activity will help to burn off some energy, and they may be ready to calm down and focus. And, in the process, you’ve tackled a needed task as a family–shared the work, and the feeling of accomplishment.
I never home-schooled, but I so wish I had. Best wishes to you. It will be worth it!
Nina says
I’m so glad to be following you through this because we are in our first year as well. The rewards are great and the bad days are minimal. It’s so worth it, don’t ya think? It gives me comfort to read about your family having similar experiences and yet continuing down this awesome path. Keep up the good work!
Heidi says
I LAUGHED at your having to memorize the prepositions! I’m 30 yrs. old, was homeschooled, and still remember a lot of my prepositions because of the little jingle we came up with! Yep, we memorized them ALL.
JMR says
I really admire you for homeschooling. I don’t have children, but I wouldn’t even know where to start with that task. As for prepositions, in high school a substitute teacher mentioned using “the box” to identify prepositions (i.e. above the box, around the box, under the box). If it makes sense adding it to the words “the box” then it is a preposition. I wish someone had mentioned that in elementary school instead of waiting until high school.
Mindy M says
Don’t think you’re a bad mom because your kids are fighting. That is the nature of children. Because you are home with them, you get the opportunity to address these character issues. The character qualities that they will learn from being with you and your husband will benefit them in every area of their life and future. You said you are starting the day with Bible verses, now you can show them how it applies to real life. “Be kind one to another.” Eph 4:32
Peggy says
Hitting your stride is tough, and it’s never tougher than that first year. It’ll all settle down into a rhythm that suits your family soon. One suggestion: when Dad puts on his Principal hat, help him balance too, by giving him outstanding achievement, effort or creativity to recognize.
I liked the idea of Robinson, but not the method. I made booklists for the kids, things they could read for “school credit” on their own if the interest was there. “Read for the Heart” by Sally Clarkson is a wonderful help here, too. But, we’re a family of readers, and never had to push reading. Our “BIG” punishment was loss of the library card!!
We started learning prepositions with a game: a homemade “doghouse” and a stuffed animal that would fit in it. The dog is in, on, around, next to, beside, under, goes through, etc. the doghouse. The doghouse can travel through time (!) so the dog can come before or after it as well! After the idea of prepositions is cemented, you can expand into the more nebulous ones. That’s how we approached most subjects: game first, understanding concepts, then memorizing any leftover uglies that don’t fit the concept quite as well.
My youngest loves Teaching Textbooks too. She takes off with them, though, and has done the entire 7th grade course in about 6 months. We’re starting her on 8th on December 1 and just letting her run with it.
We didn’t have high-energy kids, but our medium-energy kids fell into this pattern that lasted many years: We would exercise together first thing in the morning after breakfast, a walk, a bike ride, dancing, whatever. When we were ready to sit, we did our hardest subject FIRST (usually math.) Then we’d do a hands-on, usually science, then another break. If they were behaving well up to this point, the break would be playtime, if not it would be a big-muscle chore like raking leaves, shoveling snow or sweeping the garage. Of course, we all did it together, so even the “punishment” activities were a chance to tell stories or jokes. Tired out again, we’d sit down and read and do one “book” class, like English. By then it was time for me to go make lunch, so the kids would choose one fun class, like music or art, something they can do without me. We’d eat, clean up and do the next hardest class, usually Bible. For some reason, they always handled the toughest classes right after a meal. Then, any “leftover” classes, chores and playtime!
The number ONE best thing for us about homeschooling was the sleeping in part. Only one of my six EVER got up before 8, and during the teen years, most of them slept until noon. There’s solid evidence that this is a physical need, not laziness or sloth, and the kids handled their days much better when they got enough sleep.
The number one worst thing for us was those moments when the book couldn’t teach a concept, my own methods failed to “reach” the child and no older siblings could explain it in a way the child could get. The frustration level rose at a meteoric rate, and a meltdown was inevitable. Oh, to have been a public school teacher and not so emotionally invested! Once we found a workaround for this, our days became very calm and learning progressed much better!
Tiffany says
Oh boy – the ups and downs on homeschooling. It is a great thing but not for everyone. I know if I tried to homeschool my 7 year old we would have lots of fights and tears. She does so much better at regular school than home with mom – she refuses to learn anything from me!
Sarah says
Oh Kelly, I needed to read this post today. Thank you very much!! I am struggling with discouragement on homeschooling. Thank you for your honesty and writing about homeschooling. Thank you for the reminder that it is okay to slow down, take a breath, and let them be kids. It is not all about the academic side of things. We are in 4th and 5th grade. We have only homeschooled so I don’t know the other side of things. It is good to get a picture that it is not perfect.
Melissa @ Dyno-mom says
Oh, I read this in my email this morning and I had to come comment. First off, I am so glad you wrote about a bad day because all too often people see bloggers as impossibly perfect. But second, I am so sorry you had a bad day. When I have bad days I try to remember Eisenhauer’s advice to Americans during WWII, “The important thing to remember at times like these is that there have always been times like these.” Try also to remember that nobody is perfect a parent, even those mothers you might know who *seem* perfect, and the end it is okay because kids come with on the job training. Hugs!
JoAnna says
It’s nice to know I’m not alone this year! We started out one way and then completely switched to something else, which is working quite well now. But after a while it became more about keeping on task with “the schedule.” So this week we are taking a break from organized book learning. Hopefully next week will be better! I don’t like having the “very ugly” days either!!
Stanley Fishman says
Hang in there, Kelly. You are just starting out One of the keys is to learn what will motivate each of your children to learn. The only way to get that knowledge is to keep doing your best, and notice what motivates each of your children. Then you can modify lessons to appeal to their interests. And you can negotiate, even with a seven year old. Learning to negotiate is one of the most vital skills in life, and one that is almost never taught in public schools. Learning this skill is a side benefit of homeschooling that is invaluable. The key is to offer them something they want, even something small, if they accomplish a school goal. Often children will learn something very fast and pay complete attention if it will result in a reward. The reward can be as simple as more time to play outside, going to a movie once everyone has reached a certain goal, earning points for success in class, and getting a reward once enough points are accumulated – the list is limited only by your imagination and knowledge of your particular children.
And when you think of it, most people work because they get a reward, usually money.
Kimberly says
You will constantly battle doubts as a homeschooler. Just know, they are better off at home…no matter how great the school system is. Also, memorizing prepositions is a good way, but I’ve got a song for that. Makes it a snap!
Allyson Bossie says
First of all, let me say I really respect what you are doing because I couldn’t. Literally. I taught school for six years and loved it. However, now that I am a mom of four, I seem to only have energy and patience for those four so I stay home and do the mom thing until the youngest goes to school. During this time, two years back I homeschooled my oldest until Christmas. That was it, and that was all. He had this online curriculum, and if the answer was snakes and you put boa constrictors because the story was specific not general, the answer was wrong. I almost pulled my hair out. When I coupled that with the fact that he was having to memorize no less than 5 scriptures a day, and there was more focus on the 7 days of creation in EVERY single subject and he was in the Fifth grade (as in he learned the 7 days of creation in Kindergarten so lets move on to greater subjects please) I was less than pleased. I want a quality education for him, not a biased one based on one book, not entire history facts.
As for behavior problems, grounding them probably isn’t working because they are already bored of inactivity after sitting and doing school work-all kids are, and now they are more bored than ever because they can’t do anything and into more mischief. Hey, boys WILL be boys :D. I like your idea of more activity. I also suggest more activity frequently. The beauty of homeschooling is that it Doesn’t have to be done in a straight 3 hour block a day. There’s a reason the school system breaks things up into 20 and 30 minute classes and then switches to something else. I used to do a lot of fun games and drills with my students to reinforce what they’d learned, but it also got them moving and less bored which makes it easier to concentrate. I would find physical hands on ways they can learn. I know you are doing a lot already, and maybe some of this, but I would take breaks every 20 minutes, or say, do math with all three at the same time. When math is done, take a break. Send them outside, go on a nature walk, whatever, get physical and fun, then come back and do another subject. It won’t be concise and over as quickly, but hey, really you can set the schedule yourself.
You will figure it all out as you go along,
Shannon McDonald says
Keep the course….No wonder the Bible compares life to a race, sometimes you hit uphill and then down hill is wonderful. I have been homeschooling for 16 years, with 8 boys and 1 girl. Sometimes I tell the boys to just run around the house 2x and then come in….you get used to the bickering and slowly things will get better. Its a different life than giving your kids to the publlic school system all day. I wouldn’t of traded it for the world. I love teaching textbooks, too. Well worth the money. God bless and take it one day at a time. Its a slow process and just remember that they are learning!
Melinda says
Sounds like you are doing great! Sounds like you’ve already learned some amazing lessons! Sometimes I think God calls us to homeschool as much for ME as for my kiddos. I still have lots to learn. Sometimes I’m too stubborn!
Maryjane says
In my mind, the “good things” you listed FAR outweigh the “not-so-good” things! And I think you’re doing a great job of keeping your perspective.
Hang in there, Kelly! I’m praying for you.
Beth says
After 12 years of homeschooling I’m still adjusting! We just dropped their high school speech class because we needed to pare down from overscheduling and it wasn’t a ‘requirement’ (plus they would have to take it again in college) and was a stressor for dc. They promised to do some 4-H speech competitions instead. So, what I thought was such a great idea… wasn’t.
Rosie’s Walk is my favorite prepositions picture book. After reading it together I took pictures of youngest out in the back yard going over, around, etc things to make a parallel book with her in it. Now it’s a keepsake for me! That became her anchor for future prep studies.
Jill says
Well, I’d say you sound like a very normal homeschooling family! We loved both Story of the World and Teaching Textbooks too, by the way! Sometimes you just have to let some things slide–don’t get hung up on every detail. It’s the forest, not necessarily every tree, that will stay with them!
Sarah says
You’re getting some good advice above. I’ve been homeschooling for about 11 years. My oldest is a Junior this year.
Prepositions: check out Winston Grammar. It’s a grammar program that builds on itself. Before you know it, the children are separating out the prepositional phrases and telling you what kind of phrase they are. We use the program orally and just do a couple sentences a day or maybe 3-4 sentences twice a week. Just starting out, I have them use the color coded cards to lay on the table for each word in the sentence. Soon after, they just tell me the part of speech. We’ve never memorized prepositional word lists, but they’ve learned them well.
My dh is military and stationed at Ft. Meade. The children and I are in W.V. We moved here before one of his deployments. We didn’t move back with him because shortly after his return he was deployed once again. The children and I have stayed put even though he’s been stateside for about a year now. We considered moving us back, but after 19 years (so close to retirement!) we’re putting down roots. We are slowly becoming farmers. We’ve got chickens, goats, and cows. Our son (15yr.) has matured, as we all have, so much while living here. Right now, due to the storm, we have no power and are using a generator until electricity is restored. This past summer, we were without electricity for two weeks. See? There’s been a lot of time just this year that we haven’t done book work for school, but learning never stops.
We have days where we set aside all book learning. Sometimes those days multiply when I don’t mean for them to, but nothing is lost. We just learn differently those days. I also stress to my children on a regular basis that it’s their responsibility to learn. They all know where their school books are and know what to do. I’m here to guide and teach what they don’t understand. My oldest has surpassed me in most of his learning. I still help, but most of my time with him is reviewing and discussing his work.
Take time and realize that with homeschooling there’s always adjustments. There are pros and cons to everything you do. Keep in mind the pros, fix what cons you can, and ignore the rest. 🙂
God bless…..
Andrea says
Kelly, I have been homeschooling for about 4 years now. In the beginning, everyone has this wonderful picture in their heads about what the homeschool day will be like….I don’t know any families that that came to fruition for. My advice to you is this. Treat homeschooling is like a marriage. There will be good and bad times but you will come to grow and get to know each other in a stonger and more mature way. Don’t worry about your kids education (book learning per say) to much for right now. A lot of homeschoolers advocate a period of deschooling time to decompress from the school years. That allows you to settle in as a family and figure out what to do and how to behave as a family. I promise your kids will pick up any book learning that you think they are missing out on while you decompress. Some families, due to lifes occurances (illness, injury, death, etc.) are unable to homeschool for months at a time but the kids still learn things from everyday living, playing, reading, watching TV and being with you. Just relax. You are only in your first week. It is far to early to have your break down now. You have to “earn” that after homeschooling for several years.
It might take some time to figure out just what curriciulums work for you and each child. They might not all be the same. The Robinson Curriculum is very heavy on the reading and not all children enjoy reading that much. However, their book list is very good and a great place to start. Read to your children and have them read to you. If you have not read about the Charlotte Mason type learning, you might want to research that learning style. Also, don’t worry about trying to do all subjects every day. As I stated above, your kids will pick up on alot just from everyday living.
Give yourself and your kids time to adjust. This will come, kind of like raising/parenting your kids. You don’t know all of the answeres right now. It takes patience, grace, prayer, attentiveness to discern what each child needs at this time and more. But, in return, you grow, mature and come to really know and love each of your children in a unique way that highlights their indivdualism and they will come to know and love you in the same way.
This is a rollercoaster ride…Enjoy it!
Shannon says
Great advice!! Wow! Thanks for this. I’m homeschooling a first grader with a two year old and a newborn. This advice is needed now.
Andi says
If there was a “Like” button for this, I would hit it hit it right now!
Heather says
Make a habit of that midday walk/bike ride. Then do the subject you’re having trouble getting done after it, with cocoa or whatever, when everyone is ready to settle down.
My folks were informal foster parents to several kids during my growing-up years. Most were teenage guys that had ADHD diagnoses at some time or another. Mom totally used to send them outside to run around the house 5 times or to split firewood or whatever else to use up energy! Children are not MEANT to sit in desks all day for 9 months out of the year–and no one ever thought that up till pretty recently in the large scale of things. Even back in the 1800’s, school usually only met maybe 5 months out of the year–and that was in a couple of shorter sessions, and the sitting still probably had a long walk at either end of it, as well as a long midday break outdoors.
And look what the kids were learning! I have a reproduction set of the old McGuffey’s readers. The last two books in the series, the Fifth Reader and Sixth Reader, are high school level at least–definitely not easy stuff.