HELP****I'm going in circles with this and need a fresh perspective

[brla]

Just a little background...I had all of the kids plans up and running.  Working decently but taking 8-9 hours of my time per day to just get school done with my 5.  Around Christmas I found out I had 2 tumors - one inside my brain and one on the outside near it.  Fortunately, it's benign and slow growing.  Had the outer tumor removed and have, finally, recovered (for the most part).  The other one is in a hard place to remove, so I am learning to live with it, for now, and working on trying to shrink it.  So, all that has led to some major changes in our home and school. 

 

The kids got very little school done during the 3+ months this was going on.  We are just now really starting back with everything.  The 7th graders were able to work more independently but they were having to help with everything else while I was down and weren't able to get much past their Language Arts, Math and music done. 

 

I have figured out the boys - put them (pk/k, 2nd & 4th) into MFW-ECC and their math and language arts has stayed the same.  The girls are where I am stumped.  They are 7th grade.  Currently, we are doing the following:

 

History/Geography:  BF-Early American & World

Lang. Arts:  Growing With Grammar 6, Lightening Lit 7, Jump-in Writing

Math:  their own grade appropriate/level appropriate thing

Science:  various reading and going thru physical science encyclopedia

electives:  2 instruments each, Spanish, cooking

 

OK, so on paper it's not too bad...BUT they don't like the lack of a spine, they are having a hard time keeping up with all the different writing assignments from history AND Light lit AND Jump-in, and they aren't liking Science too much (but are troopers).  So, after much thought and reflection I decided I needed to make things easier for them to get thru this year without starting over again.  I have done the following:

 

History/Geography:  Adding in Notgrass America the Beautiful for them to read with the BF Early American & World History (They have NEVER had American History, so I am really trying to bring out that focus without losing the world context.)  They really liked these at the HS conference.  They both want to continue with the BF as well - they love the thought-provoking questions and the global context of history.

 

Lang Arts:  Continuing with GWG7, Leaving my more creative writer in Jump-in as she loves the program, putting my other child in Essentials in Writing 7.  Lightening Lit - want to finish but maybe stagger?  not sure

 

Math:  Same

 

Science:  putting them in Apologia General Science w/ labs and letting them get used to structured and non-mom-directed science.

 

electives:  same since I don't really do much with these.

 

 

****So Here's where I need the help******

Is it too much to do both BF and Lightening LIt?  They like to read, but I don't want to overwhelm them with essays (unless that's normal for middle school).  I also don't want to do overkill on any one thing.  I want to them to work efficiently and, frankly, don't want to invest in something that isn't needed.

 

Now, to the rest of my frustration:  8th-12th.  I need some help thinking this thru - at least with the next couple of years worth.  I figure the rest of high school will be set with the pattern I establish in the next 2 years.  I will just keep going from there.

 

They really like Beautiful Feet and like how its laid out (except for the lack of a spine, which is why we are using Notgrass).  They would like to keep on with BF BUT I am not sure how to do that and get thru US & World history thru 20th century.  I was hoping to complete the "intro" years with them before high school so we can take 11th and 12th to delve into US & World on a more mature level.  If I keep going with BF, they will be in the high school US & World for 8th and 9th grade.  Then 10th-12th would be ancients-wherever and Govt/economics.  That sounds like a weird setup to me.

 

What I am thinking about doing is finishing out BF for this year and then just continuing on with the Notgrass Jr High history and just add in Kingfisher History Encyclopedia for the World content and add in some readers from Sonlight Core H.

 

OR*****

 

Should I just use the Notgrass with extra readers for reinforcement, set aside BF Early American and then use it for High school?  If I did that, I would then do the following for History:

 

7th & 8Th - Notgrass America the Beautiful & Uncle Sam & You (together), Light. Lit 7

9th-BF Ancients/ Notgrass World History, Light Lit

10th - BF Medieval/ Notgrass World History, Light Lit

11th - BF Early American & World, start on US & World/ Notgrass Us History, Light Lit

12th - BFUS & World/ Notgrass US history, Light LIt

 

Also, I have considered MFW for high school.  I am even ok with not going back and doing ancients again - we've already done it twice and already done all the compare and contrast of ancients civilizations and bible Old Testament, so ...

 

I KNOW I am making this harder than it needs to be!  I know this is probably not worth the headache I currently have.  I just can't seem to get my mind "unstuck" with the girls planning and I don't want to start over mid-year.  My main goal is to give them some kind of overview of us history before high school history.  We meant to do that last year, but got stuck on middle ages and renaissance era.

 

Please, if I haven't overwhelmed you, do you have any ideas or suggestions?  Things to consider?  ways to simplify?

 

 

[brla]

anyone?

[Shellie]

I really don't know much of the curriculum that you're talking about so I can't really offer advice on that perspective. But my thought would be that maybe something more simplified where the reading revolves around the history or science. Meaning something more all inclusive. Also, I just want to encourage you to keep tweaking until it works for you. As you said, on paper all looks good. So the tweaking might have to be done in the implementation stage. See where they are having the most difficulty and start there, looking for what could change in that subject area, what might work differently if I did it this way or that... As i said, i'm not familiar with the curriculum so I can't offer anything more specific.

[Pen]

I'm also not familiar with most of your specific choices.

 

My overall sense, looking at what you list is that it is already too much without adding anything extra. I think I'd be looking at what could be cut out if possible.

 

I also wonder if health could be the focus for science...research into what might be helpful for you all to be as healthy as possible.

 

I've been thinking about putting this quote in as part of my sig.

 

 

Without health there is no happiness. An attention to health, then, should take the place of every other object. 
Thomas Jefferson, 1787 

 

 

[Mandy in TN]

(((Hugs)))

 

Another vote to tweak until it works for you if that is what you enjoy doing.

 

If this is making you crazy, then I vote to simplify. If you really want to do literature-based, but want a spine, then order Sonlight. Muscle through the rest of this year, then switch. If not to Sonlight, then to something else that arrives in a box complete as is.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[happycc]

I just reread your post and I just want you to not focus on what curriculum the kids accomplished or not during this time but think of the LIFE SKILLS they have learned during this time and also perhaps science, anatomy, neuroscience, oncology.

 

I can;t tell you how many doctors I have met that were inspired or more like driven to passion and motivation by their parents illness. One best friend is an orthopedic surgeon because of his mother's cancer. He started out in Engineering and took care of his mother and after she passed, he went to med school. Is a great orthopedic surgeon in my opinion not to mention awesome bedside manner to patients and their families.  I know of several more stories like these. 

 

Here are some life skills they have learned which are often hard to teach:

 

Patience

Compassion

Humility

Thankful for life's simple things

Appreciation for life and people you love

The fragility of life

Perhaps they learned how to do more chores around the house too. 

The kids learned to work together as a team to keep the house going while you were ill. 

The kids learned to work a little more independently

Knowledge of the medical care system in the country

Health insurance.

Learning that there are other priorities in life such as health needs of self and others

 

 

So think about these things and don;t beat yourself up about what wasn;t done because A LOT was accomplished in those months! 

 

 

[happycc]

I would outsource writing and with ATTUNEUP she covers a lot of what you are doing already. 

 

You can pay what you can with ATTUNEUP. 

 

http://www.attuneup.com/

 

Then you can focus on the other stuff more. 

[SophiaH]

It sounds like MFW high school would be a great option for you. I've never used it but doesn't it have a spine + readers like you're looking for? They could do BF for 7th and 8th just as you have it listed above and then just jump right into MFW for 9th. Or you could combine all your kiddos in the 1850 to Modern Times next year and keep your youngers going on that cycle (skip ECC since they're doing it this year and go right into CTG) and your 9th graders would use the high school ancients. All your kids would all be on the same time period then, too, which makes my OCD brain happy. :)

 

Hope you come up with something that works for you and brings you peace!!

[Peaceful Isle]

I just reread your post and I just want you to not focus on what curriculum the kids accomplished or not during this time but think of the LIFE SKILLS they have learned during this time and also perhaps science, anatomy, neuroscience, oncology.

 

I can;t tell you how many doctors I have met that were inspired or more like driven to passion and motivation by their parents illness. One best friend is an orthopedic surgeon because of his mother's cancer. He started out in Engineering and took care of his mother and after she passed, he went to med school. Is a great orthopedic surgeon in my opinion not to mention awesome bedside manner to patients and their families. I know of several more stories like these.

 

Here are some life skills they have learned which are often hard to teach:

Patience

Compassion

Humility

Thankful for life's simple things

Appreciation for life and people you love

The fragility of life

Perhaps they learned how to do more chores around the house too.

 

So think about these and don;t think beat yourself up.

This is an awesome post.

 

I can relate to this when my dh was having a horrible time with his multiple sclerosis a few years ago. My kiddos are extremely compassionate towards others because of it.

Please be gentle with yourself. Hugs to you on your journey.

[happycc]

Many of us Well trained Mind moms get really caught up in giving our kids the best education we can but sometimes we need to sit and smell the flowers and see other aspects of growth and development. Some things just can't be taught with a curriculum or video or book. You have to personally experience it. 

[Professormom]

Unfortunately, I don't know much about the programs you mentioned. But if they haven't really covered US History yet, then your idea to focus on it for the rest of 7th and 8th might not be a bad idea. You can then follow that BF sequence you mentioned for high school. Focus on the events, personalities, etc for the 7th and 8th years. Get them familiar with US History, you won't run out of material, but you don't have to stress because know you will be coming back in another couple of years. Your plan for history looks good:-).

 

It seems like you may have quite a bit of writing between all of those programs. What you may want to do is look at all of the writing assignments for each week and pick one for writing and one for history. The writing assignment could be more intense and the history could just be a summary paragraph. Or align your writing assignments with your history content. Then, your girls won't be overwhelmed, but will be building skills steadily.

 

If you are really in a bad spot, the pp's idea to pick up Sonlight or something like it where everything is just there for a year, including writing, might be a simple way to ease your planning load.

 

Anyway, many hugs to you and good luck with your planning:-)

[scrapbabe]

I just reread your post and I just want you to not focus on what curriculum the kids accomplished or not during this time but think of the LIFE SKILLS they have learned during this time and also perhaps science, anatomy, neuroscience, oncology.

 

I can;t tell you how many doctors I have met that were inspired or more like driven to passion and motivation by their parents illness. One best friend is an orthopedic surgeon because of his mother's cancer. He started out in Engineering and took care of his mother and after she passed, he went to med school. Is a great orthopedic surgeon in my opinion not to mention awesome bedside manner to patients and their families. I know of several more stories like these.

 

Here are some life skills they have learned which are often hard to teach:

 

Patience

Compassion

Humility

Thankful for life's simple things

Appreciation for life and people you love

The fragility of life

Perhaps they learned how to do more chores around the house too.

The kids learned to work together as a team to keep the house going while you were ill.

The kids learned to work a little more independently

Knowledge of the medical care system in the country

Health insurance.

Learning that there are other priorities in life such as health needs of self and others

 

 

So think about these things and don;t beat yourself up about what wasn;t done because A LOT was accomplished in those months!

As a homeschooling mom who had cancer a few years ago, I totally agree with all of this.

[scrapbabe]

Many of us Well trained Mind moms get really caught up in giving our kids the best education we can but sometimes we need to sit and smell the flowers and see other aspects of growth and development. Some things just can't be taught with a curriculum or video or book. You have to personally experience it.

. Absolutely true!