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What do you regret?


Tracy
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We are just finishing up our first year. There are already things that I wish I knew when I started. I am not beating myself up or anything. I am just trying to glean all the wisdom I can from all you veterans out there. Most say they wish they had been more relaxed and enjoyed the ride more. I have seen people say they wish they had addressed specific concerns in areas like math, handwriting and spelling at an earlier age.

 

So in hindsight, what specifically do you wish you had done differently?

 

What program did you use with your youngers that you wish you had known about with your olders?

 

What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?

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We are just finishing up our first year. There are already things that I wish I knew when I started. I am not beating myself up or anything. I am just trying to glean all the wisdom I can from all you veterans out there. Most say they wish they had been more relaxed and enjoyed the ride more. I have seen people say they wish they had addressed specific concerns in areas like math, handwriting and spelling at an earlier age.

 

So in hindsight, what specifically do you wish you had done differently? Read the WTM sooner.

 

Waited for my boys to be 6, nearly 7 before we even started school.

 

Educated myself sooner about teaching philosphies and how to teach. Theory w/o practice is useless.

 

Been more consistent.

 

Been more patient.

 

Catered to their needs more independently, instead of all doing exactly the same thing.

 

What program did you use with your youngers that you wish you had known about with your olders? The Phonics Road. Tapestry of Grace. WTM Science

 

What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?

Training them to pick up after themselves.
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Training them to pick up after themselves.

 

We are just finishing up our first year. There are already things that I wish I knew when I started. I am not beating myself up or anything. I am just trying to glean all the wisdom I can from all you veterans out there. Most say they wish they had been more relaxed and enjoyed the ride more. I have seen people say they wish they had addressed specific concerns in areas like math, handwriting and spelling at an earlier age.

 

So in hindsight, what specifically do you wish you had done differently? Not curriculum hopped. The grass is NOT greener on the other side.

 

What program did you use with your youngers that you wish you had known about with your olders? McRuffy Math/Saxon Math, Phonics Road or should have at least stuck with Saxon Phonics.

 

What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?Grammar and spelling. I'm still not into anything big and formal but I wish I would have introduced it a little earlier via Phonics Road or Saxon Phonics.

I stressed out way too much (I'm now more relaxed). Just because some dc read at age three doesn't mean mine have to (I'm more relaxed here too). Just have fun (this year I'm using McRuffy math, phonics & science with Lance because it's FUN!)

If it's raining outside, it's okay to stop school and splash in the puddles.

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So in hindsight, what specifically do you wish you had done differently?

 

What program did you use with your youngers that you wish you had known about with your olders?

 

What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?

 

I see these questions year after year, and my answer is always that I don't think I would change anything. Not that I was perfect -- far from it!! I've had huge fits of uncertainty and doubt, convinced that I have ruined my children for all time.

 

But for the most part I try to keep a Zen-like sense of peace about parenthood and homeschooling. Kids are resilient and generally not harmed by our mistakes. When I've been able to balance the big, long term picture of homeschooling with the individual needs of my kids, they thrive both in academics and life.

 

When my oldest moved to the other side of the country, the only things he hadn't mastered was driving (he doesn't have a license yet) and, this is a funny one, the ATM machine. He had to call me to figure out what one of the ATM prompts meant! It didn't matter that we basically had unschooled all but math until 4th grade, it didn't matter that we only did the WTM history cycle only once, or that I used 4 different math programs in the elementary years. He is a fine and capable young man, handing college and adult life very well. The thing I am most thankful for are the hours we spent reading aloud together, and the time and resources I gave him for exploring his creative interests over the years.

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I don't think I regret anything. But on my second journey there are things I want to do different or add. I will chase more rabbit trails. I will take time to study and be in nature. I won't worry so much about messing them up, I didn't do to bad the first time. Mostly I will take time to follow their interests and now worry so much about checking all the boxes.

 

I do wish I had TWTM from the beginning, we didn't find it till 1999. Back when TWTM was just basically a list. I love that PHP has the line of curriculum. It will save me tons of piecing, I just hope SWB keeps ahead of us. hehe

Edited by alatexan68
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I wish I'd made them hold their pencils correctly early on!

 

I also wish I'd started my oldest in SWO earlier, so she'd have been done already, instead of needing to finish out H in 8th grade. It'd be nice to be able to focus on vocab only instead of also having to spend a few minutes on spelling each day.

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I wish I'd been more relaxed about math. We still have issues we need to deal with, but in retrospect (you know, 20/20 and all that) I wish I could have seen that my oldest dd was a late bloomer in math and just needed a little more time. I was WAY to stressed about it and have managed to convince her that she is not good at math - which is not at all true.

 

I also wish I'd heard of Charlotte Mason sooner and had applied her principles from the beginning. Actually I lucked out with MFW for K and 1 and then with Living Books Curriculum, but I wish I'd had a better understanding of why we've been doing what we're doing. I'm working on learning more about that stuff now.

 

I would like to have not put the girls in preschool in some ways, but honestly, they were so close together in age that it saved my sanity. I'm really excited to teach Schmooey myself, although dh and everyone else thinks he should go to preschool. I am debating it, because it would be nice to have the 2 mornings per week to get some work done without worrying about him destroying something, but I just love having him home so much that it's hard to send him. Especially when he says "No wan' go preschool anymore!" :)

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I wish I didn't look at homeschooling as a "chore", but as a privilege. Most days I just wanted to get it done so that I could move on with my day. I truly desire to instill a love of learning in my kids, but I am definitely not going about it the right way. I am working on it though!

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Actually I lucked out with MFW for K and 1 and then with Living Books Curriculum, but I wish I'd had a better understanding of why we've been doing what we're doing. I'm working on learning more about that stuff now.

 

I wonder if you could elaborate on this more. (Why are we doing what we're doing? ;))

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I wish that I had stuck with Saxon all the way through.

 

I'm glad I used SOTW so much.

 

I'm glad I had DD participate in chorus and nature awareness classes for so long.

 

I'm sorry that it took me so long to start Phonetic Zoo. But I'm glad I finally implemented it. Ditto for Latin Christiana.

 

I'm glad I stuck with Science Explorer for middle school.

 

I'm glad I combined the best of TWTM and WJ for writing, while using Writing Strands a lot as well.

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I tend to not "regret" much as I believe most of life is just a learning experience. When we know better we do better... however, if I knew what I know now I would have spent more time researching math curriculum and math instruction in general. I went into homeschooling very afraid of math because of my experiences in my own education. I should have taken some time to research and overcome some of those fears.

 

The other subjects (for us) have been fairly easy to change curriculum in. We've changed at least once in each subject area. However, math has been the most difficult transition. We are doing it this once only and that's it! I don't care what else comes around and what it promises... we are not changing again!

 

Otherwise, I'm pretty pleased with our journey... it hasn't always been easy, but even from the rough times I've learned something valuable!:D

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I agree with training them to pick up after themselves at a much earlier age and learning to just sit and relax and play on the floor. I always felt like I should be doing something else; cleaning or laundry or some other "job". I'm still like that... I feel imprisoned by it. I hate when I'm like that.

 

Also, not worrying about what dd was not doing. It all came in time; no matter what "everyone else" was doing. I wish I knew what skills came in what steps; whether they should be doing or knowing this or that as well, only to find out that's the next step from where were at. So yep...relax, relax, relax.:001_huh:

 

I vow to enjoy this year and not worry about what's next or worry about what I'm missing or where we're at. We are where we are and that's the way it is.

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I regret:

 

* Ever having put DS in public school

 

* Not realizing sooner that you don't need special training to teach reading and math

 

* Not insisting on moving DD to a different class when I realized there were major issues with her teacher

 

* Not starting DS with Math Mammoth in 1st grade

 

* Buying a copy of pretty much every homeschool curriculum in existence when I first started :tongue_smilie:

 

Jackie

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I would have worked a lot harder to let go of my type A, anal retentive, perfectionist personality!!!! There are so many things (science, art, projects) that I didn't do with the first 2 because I couldn't do it "exactly like the book said" or "how it was supposed to work in my mind's plan". Go off an explore a rabbit trail....but we are supposed to have these things done by week 13.

 

I would have used a lot more Montessori and Charlotte Mason with my older 2.

 

Definitely more behavior training in the toddler years.

 

Actually let the children touch and use the art stuff I gather rather than it just sitting in the bin because of the mess it will make or I am missing one thing on the list (that perfection thing again).

 

Expand my "outside of the box" thinking skills which my children could then learn.

 

Enjoy the journey more!!! There is so much more to homeschooling than the curriculum.

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I regret:

-Not starting with RS math

-Using SOTW-I love the books, I just think it wasn't a good fit for my boys our first history rotation

-Letting my boys have their own computer and video game system. They have limited time on both, but I still wish they had not been raised to think that 'screen time' is more fun/entertaining than reading.

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I really appreciate all of the responses here. I think I do need to ramp up on teaching the kids to clean up after themselves. Cricket has a natural desire to clean up, so I need to take advantage of that now.

 

 

Well, FWIW, here are a couple things that I regret about my first year.

 

  • I regret not listening to the advice to reduce the amount of handwritng for my advanced dd. Luckily, I figured out fairly quickly that even though she could write well, she didn't have the stamina for the work she was doing.
  • I wish I had recognized the value in keeping a binder for Five in a Row. She asked for one when we started the second volume, and she still delights in looking back at the work that she has done. But now I don't have the whole year's worth.

OTOH, I did heed advice to do some child-led education, and that was wonderful. It was way out of the box for me, a complete paradigm shift. We did geography and some math that way.

 

Thanks so much for letting me glean from your wisdom, ladies!

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Do you have any resources/books you'd recommend for this? :bigear:

 

This book by Ma Liping has revolutionized my (and many here) thinking about teaching math. It's not a "how to book" more a philosophical book based on a study she conducted.

 

Now I'm beginning to go through her bibliography and do more reading on teaching math. Also I have read that Wu has interesting things to read as well...

 

I'm stuck on math right now... sorry, not much help with anything else!

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So in hindsight, what specifically do you wish you had done differently?

 

What program did you use with your youngers that you wish you had known about with your olders?

 

What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?

 

With my oldest, I did not care the tiniest bit how she held a pencil or shaped her letters. We used no special program for teaching letters. It was a mistake. Not that it makes a colossal difference, but her handwriting is still poor, even though she is very artistic.

 

I wish NOEO Science had existed in the beginning. I drove myself to insanity trying to piece together a curriculum that turns out to be pretty much what NOEO offers. I also wish I had known about History Odyssey, because ditto that on my piece-meal efforts.

 

I wish I had always continued Math throughout the year. No substantial break for summer = better sustained learning.

 

I know a lot of people say they were too structured in the beginning and wish they had been more relaxed, but I think I was too relaxed. I didn't see that it really will matter how far they've come in math by, say, sixth grade or if they've never heard of the Vietnam War. These things sometimes do matter more than the relaxed school of thought would have you believe.

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I regret not proactively teaching my older students a proper pencil grip around the age of 3-3.5. By the time they started school at 4/5, they both had developed their own pencil grip that was impossible to change.

 

To this day, it hurts me to look at the way my 18 yo holds her pencil. Her hand cramps easily. One could say that it doesn't matter, in this age of computers. However, she just completed her first year in college and often had to write in-class essays in various subjects.

 

I've also learned the hard way that it is never a good idea to go too long without checking/monitoring your students' work. ;) We never had too much of a disaster in this area, but I have homeschooling friends who simply didn't check their student's math work for three months' time, and then it turned out to be either not done at all, or done incorrectly.

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I don't want to use the word regret, I don't feel bad about anything we did or didn't do, but I will modify how I plan for the school year. Interruptions and my idea that I could plan a four week block, then plan the next four week block sometime later did not work.

 

Recovering from interruptions were by far the most difficult for me to overcome. Dear Loved One is running a small business from home and his need for help on some business related matter distracts me from homeschooling. The girls and I both need a daily list of subjects. I also found at the end of the school year just how little time my daughters and I have to homeschool on any given day. Outside activities eat up more time than I realized. I wondered why it seemed like we accomplished so little some months until I calculated the number of hours we had available to do school. I came up with too much school, even just doing the 3-R basics, and not enough hours in a day.

 

My curriculum choices remain solid. I spend an inordinate amount of time choosing curriculum because my funds are limited. That said, I wish I had stumble on Conceptual Physical Science last summer and not in the middle of the school year.

 

Art is a Big deal. The act of creating can never be underestimated. There are an amazing number of critical thinking skills involved in creating something. It makes me think of a line from The Shining, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." We need to find ways to create more than just a pile of papers.

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I wish we had started HWT sooner, and not tried to keep up with the amount of writing that SSRW required. Would have been fine for some, but not for my son! He doesn't like printing at all, and it's taking me some time to figure out how much to require of him as he has a motor skill delay, but I think we're settling into a groove.

 

Other than that, I think we did not too badly for our first year of HS'ing. I've spent a lot of time researching different philosophies throughout the year, and learning about learning styles. I've come away from it looking forward to continuing next year, though I must admit, I'm not quite sure where I stand yet as far as all those philosophies go! When I came across WTM, I figured I'd hit the gold mine, although I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed at the suggested schedule for the upcoming year, as I know that amount of time would be too much for my 6yr old son. I think I do need to take it down many notches in the younger years, implement as many games as possible, and although I know unit studies are quite opposite from classical education, I'm going to do some as we see fit on topics of his choice.

 

I'm quite relieved to hear that people often wished they had relaxed more in the younger years, as I was feeling guitly for making the decision to do so!

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I wish I had found a way to hold my homeschool hours more sacred and limited the interruptions. In a way it couldn't be helped as I was needed a lot to help with my elderly FIL, but by the time he passed away in April I looked around and had no idea where the year had gone or what I had accomplished. Fortunately, it does seem we got through the 3 Rs and maybe a bit more to boot, but not much.

 

I also wish we were in more of a routine with our chores and housework. I hope to create a flexible schedule this year that keeps us on top of picking up and cleaning up, gets our schoolwork done in a timely manner, and gives us some time in the rest of the day that remains for some fun time together playing, hiking, art, music, whatever strikes us.

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I regret doing seatwork with my preschoolers. I regret not having Kindergarten about circle time and play. I regret teaching phonics in preschool and Kindergarten.

 

I wish I would have spent some time on numbers and letters in K, started phonics and gentle math stories and experiences in 1st. And most of all I wish I wouldn't have worried so much about them not reading yet until after they turned 9 because it all clicked when they turned 8.

 

I wish I would have gotten rid of the TV when they were little. I wish we would have spent more time outdoors and less time with worksheets.

 

We would have waited on formal science and history and just did folk and fairy tales and lots of time outdoors exploring the world around us.

 

I wish I would have held them more and cuddled more. They grow up so quickly and the time passes so fast. Enjoy the early years and have fun.:001_smile:

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I could have relaxed more...focused on more appropriate things. I was excited about reading Montessori, Charlotte Mason, TWTM, etc...but I had to come into my own with teaching *MY* child.

 

I wish I had of started Happy Phonics at 4yo with my ds7, and waited to start SWR until 1st grade. I wish I had of done more concrete, 3D work with letters and numbers starting at 4yo (My gut told me to go with some Montessori language materials, but there was no way we could have afforded them - seminary budget:001_rolleyes:), and less getting sucked into *dogmatic* opinions on teaching reading that were not going to fit my sweet little VSL.

 

It's amazing how I can look backward and see exactly how I veered off-track, and yet move ahead with confidence. Denial or Optomism???:lol:

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Do you have any resources/books you'd recommend for this? :bigear:

Liping Ma's Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics

In Their Own Way by Thomas Armstrong

Recipe for Reading by Nina Traub (really rec this before teaching a child to read, along with any other OG books)

TWTM

The Well Educated Mind - I admit this was a tough read for me, but now that we're entering high school, I can't put it down. Read this when your oldest is in 5th grade, so you're using middle school as a springboard for high school.

Charlotte Mason Companion (the original is a bit wordy for me, the companion ironed it all out nicely)

John Taylor Gatto really inspires and motivates to step out of the school norm and taylor education.

 

Honestly, using 3 programs really educated me also: The Phonics Road WriteShop and Tapestry of Grace. PR and TOG stretched me as a teacher, but in doing so, I have been able to apply the techniques and model to all areas of school. I have grown so much and gained so much confidence. PR taught me how to teach spelling and combined with the Traub book gave me finger spelling and sentence pounding...huge difference from the follow along and read this programs I started with...huge difference for me as a teacher and for my students as learners.

 

TOG has really shown me how to put the pieces together. I was pulling, pulling, pulling materials before TOG, now I can pull AND put together with fluidity. TOG taught me how to do that. I'm confidently doing it for science this year (high school biology and K-8 physics) and its amazing!

 

WriteShop put together all I knew about writing, methodically, and has taught me to be a better writing teacher. I'm not missing the tiny pieces here or there. My children's writing has GROWN. (I made that large for fun, not shouting :))

 

Here are some threads with book recs. :)

grammar stage

literature

CM

There was one just a couple weeks ago and I can't find it :(

 

Take notes and keep them in a "Reminders" binder. Sometimes you'll read something that you know will help later, so keep it, and refresh your mind each planning season.

 

Read ahead in history using books you may use.

 

Really spend time on science. Science Truly can be CM, the key is teacher education. You cannot have a nature study if you don't know about that darn yellow butterfly that comes in your yard every day. You have to self0-educate. Comstock's,Handbook of Nature Study is incredible. You can get it for free online, but its a HUGE book to print from home. Def. worth buying.

 

Read books on gender so you can get to know the minds of boys and the heart of girls.

 

Whatever you read, implement consistently and you will be a better teacher. It makes all the difference.

 

When do you have time for this...when you're not on the forums :) :lol::lol:

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I regret doing seatwork with my preschoolers. I regret not having Kindergarten about circle time and play. I regret teaching phonics in preschool and Kindergarten.

 

I wish I would have spent some time on numbers and letters in K, started phonics and gentle math stories and experiences in 1st. And most of all I wish I wouldn't have worried so much about them not reading yet until after they turned 9 because it all clicked when they turned 8.

 

I wish I would have gotten rid of the TV when they were little. I wish we would have spent more time outdoors and less time with worksheets.

 

I wish I would have held them more and cuddled more. They grow up so quickly and the time passes so fast. Enjoy the early years and have fun.:001_smile:

:iagree:
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So far my only regret is ever having put my daughter into public school to begin with! She went for Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and most of 3rd grade.

 

It was at the end of 3rd grade that I finally pulled her out and began homeschooling. We finished up that year at home, and now we just finished homeschooling for our first FULL year, as she just finished fourth grade a month or so ago.

 

I have no regrets so far about the way I've chosen to homeschool the past year plus. We're doing a relatively relaxed method of homeschooling, we're using the hands-on/creative Oak Meadow curriculum, we're doing lots and lots of outings and field trips and fun activities and reading and spending time together and so on. We do school around life, rather than living life around school. We don't hesitate to drop school stuff to go do something interesting or fun or social and get back to it afterward. I feel like we've got a good balance. I'm happy with how things are going.

 

I'm happy that with my son, at least, there will be no public school. He's home with me right from the beginning. I'm glad that I read books about home education and childhood that came from a more relaxed viewpoint because it's helped me to be comfortable with my choices. I'm glad that I haven't felt the need to give my son any preschool "curriculum," and that he'll be doing a very laid back story, nature and art based Kindergarten curriculum rather than pushing worksheets and academics early on...

 

Things are good. :)

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There is a difference between "regret" and doing things differently if I had the chance over again. I did the best I could and all is well.

I would not curriculum hop anywhere near as much if I were to do it again. But that's because I have experience under my belt, and am familiar with a lot of currciulum.

If I were to start from the beginning, I might try to be a bit more child led, if I had the right sort of child. Because mine came already jaded from the school system, I never felt comfortable being an unschooler with them, but perhaps with the right child, I would be. I have standards though and if they werent passionate about learning, I would still make sure they got a decent education.

Overall, no regrets, but hindsight is a good teacher and i would have more fun with them when they were younger and worry a little less about the academics, but still cover things like grammar and Latin and spelling and handwriting.

The sense of perspective you get over time is very valuable. Maybe I will be of some use to my grandkids!

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My regrets, mistakes, less than perfects were used for good. Inspired from another thread about, how your home school has changed over the years, I left something on my blog. All this regret, thoughts of doing things differently did get us somewhere.

 

Perhaps, you'll start at your "somewhere" and see where your journey takes you, and I can read about it in your blog in a few, fly-by years!

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I regret not playing more. I mean using educational games. We own them but they weren't scheduled and they didn't get done. Yet, the few times we did the boys loved them. They learn and they create memories.

 

With my oldest ds16, I'm trying to grab a hold of the time left.

It goes by so fast.

 

Please enjoy your children. Make memories while homeschooling

 

For us, reading Farmer Boy, going out on nature walks, etc., that is what we treasure when we look back.

 

Like others have posted, I regret the pencil grip and not finding HWT earlier. My oldest started homeschooling in the 3rd grade---never was able to change that. He writes beautifully in cursive but takes extremely long and never does so. My youngest used HWT. Who cares about the perfect way to do cursive if it doesn't get done.

 

I would guard my time more. I would focus on why we do what we do.

 

I wish I would have found TT Math earlier.

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No real regrets here. I've really enjoyed our time spent homeschooling. I guess the only thing I wish I'd done differently is to make my dd master her math facts. I didn't want to make math drudgery by doing lots of boring flashcards, etc, but instead I made math more challenging now that she's about to start pre-algebra and still has to stop and think about some of her multiplication facts. But, the beauty of homeschooling is that it's not too late! We're working on it this summer, along with my nearly 8 year old. He'll know them much earlier!

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Most say they wish they had been more relaxed and enjoyed the ride more. I have seen people say they wish they had addressed specific concerns in areas like math, handwriting and spelling at an earlier age.

 

Absolutely, my biggest regret is pushing too hard too fast. I knew my kids could do it, but I didn't really understand that they shouldn't do it. I've seen their minds and abilities grow in leaps and bounds over the years. Finishing that math book or handwriting books was really not necessary.

 

Now, I must also say that I regret not pushing hard enough when it was truly time to push hard enough. By then, we were burned out. I learned that I didn't take the middle school years seriously with my ds13 who is now in high school. He is certainly not prepared to the level I would like for him to be, but he'll simply learn as we go along.

 

I get to do it differently with dd12 who is going into 7th grade. She's doing more. I have her working on vocabulary which is a weak area for her. She's doing Algebra simply because she finished the levels leading up to it. But I have Saxon 1/2 Algebra (or whatever it's called) as a backup. She's going to join us in Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings for literature. She's writing more than my son did. She's covering more science than he did. So all in all, I fully expect her to be ready for high school level work when she gets there. Plus, she's taking to working independently really well. Ds13 still needs me to sit with him for every subject and I'm trying to wean him off some. At the high school level, he should be able to do some assignments independently.

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I wish I could take the time to thank each one that answered this personally. I have really benefited from you veterans out there over this past year. It is no surprise that I have made many of the same mistakes, but because all of you take the time to share, I notice those mistakes pretty quickly. I pushed a little hard at the beginning of the school year, but by Nov. I figured it out and adjusted accordingly. I took to heart the advice to let dd lead the way and to listen to her when she said she wanted to study specific things that I didn't think she was ready for. But because I listened to you folks, I gave her what she asked for, and she blossomed like a rose. (I am still trying to deprogram my public school brainwashing!)

 

So, thank you, thank you, thank you for taking the time to share!

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I wish I'd sprung for PP earlier.

I wish I'd moved closer to work earlier (this is short hand for: cut out a lot of extras from your life, stuff, commitments, commutes, fussy hobbies, draining relationships...you can always add them back in once you are in the saddle with your two).

I wish there was less TV in the house, but short of divorce or murder, that isn't going to happen.

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yet another "if I had it to do over"

 

I would leave my middle ds in Saxon all the way through

 

I would not put my oldest in Saxon at all

 

Hindsight may indeed be 20/20, but we couldn't go back. However, we worked from where we were when we realized the issue and it has turned out fine.

Mandy

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Guest Cindie2dds

Hindsight ~ I wish I started "school" later. My oldest taught herself to read at 4, so we started formal school then. I am glad I backed off last year, but I also wish I had listened more to those moms who said, just wait.

 

~Less media, no computer, no television, more creative play time and trusting myself. I'm glad they are still young and we can go a different direction easier. I'm also having to educate myself more now. I would tell moms of kids under 6 to educate yourself first, then you won't feel so insecure about what you are teaching and why.

 

We are in a great place now, though. I'm not searching for the "perfect curricula" anymore either! Whew. ;)

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Guest Cindie2dds

I have no regrets so far about the way I've chosen to homeschool the past year plus. We're doing a relatively relaxed method of homeschooling, we're using the hands-on/creative Oak Meadow curriculum, we're doing lots and lots of outings and field trips and fun activities and reading and spending time together and so on. We do school around life, rather than living life around school. We don't hesitate to drop school stuff to go do something interesting or fun or social and get back to it afterward. I feel like we've got a good balance. I'm happy with how things are going.

 

Nance ~ you said it better than I could. Yes, what she said!

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What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?

 

Memorisation... it seemed like just another thing to have to worry about, but now I realise how important it is as an early skill.

 

Handwriting... ditto above. Now her handwriting looks set to be just as bad as that of her parents.

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What program did you use with your youngers that you wish you had known about with your olders?

 

What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?

 

I played more with my youngers, and I wish I had enjoyed my older more when he was still their age. I learned from him that the years go by too fast and you don't ever get that time back.

 

I wish I had understood how important it was for ME to understand math and understand how to teach math before I started experimenting with my kids. I thought that I if I could just find the right curriculum it would teach them the math. What I didn't know was that they needed me to be the teacher and use the curriculum.

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I wish I had given more feedback (in a timely manner!) to my high schoolers on papers and projects.

 

I wish I had always tried to look my kids "in the eye" more often when they start talking to me (instead of giving them only 1/2 or less of my attention because I'm working on something else).

 

I wish I had spent far less cumulative time on the computer! 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there -- doesn't seem like much, but when I start adding it up for the total day. Yikes! I think I was a better mom, in some ways, before the Internet.

 

I'm grateful to know there is hope for me! lol That from time to time I even surprise myself when one of my littles ask me to do something I really don't want to do (like painting -- ugh! it's a full body experience for them!), and I say YES! :D

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I must be particularly hormonal today... all this talk about the little ones growing up so fast is making me get really mushy.

 

My little 3 yr old decided to ride her bike with no training wheels today. Off she went into the sunset. What a star, but my oh my, they do grow fast!

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I wish I had given more feedback (in a timely manner!) to my high schoolers on papers and projects.

 

I wish I had always tried to look my kids "in the eye" more often when they start talking to me (instead of giving them only 1/2 or less of my attention because I'm working on something else).

 

I wish I had spent far less cumulative time on the computer! 5 minutes here, 15 minutes there -- doesn't seem like much, but when I start adding it up for the total day. Yikes! I think I was a better mom, in some ways, before the Internet.

 

I'm grateful to know there is hope for me! lol That from time to time I even surprise myself when one of my littles ask me to do something I really don't want to do (like painting -- ugh! it's a full body experience for them!), and I say YES! :D

:iagree:
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So in hindsight, what specifically do you wish you had done differently?

 

What program did you use with your youngers that you wish you had known about with your olders?

 

What did you think was "no big deal" but later learned that it was?

 

I wish I had used CLE math with my older ds. I wish we had found a homeschool support group - never did even though I tried VERY hard for many years trying one group after another. TWTM boards became my support group - still is.

 

Most everything is "no big deal" if you plan your work and work your plan; learning as you go, adjusting and being flexible with yourself and your dc. I kept school relaxed K-4 and then ramped it up slowly over grades 5-8. No regrets with that decision.

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I wish I had spent less time looking for the perfect curriculum. There is no such thing! My advice (to myself) would now be do a little research, pick something and stick with it. There will always be days when it's no fun, too repetitious, when the kids don't get it, no matter what the curriculum writers say!

 

Also sometime less is more. Sometimes the outline of history book that leaves time for free reading and free crafts is better then the all bells and whistles!

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