Michelle My Bell
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Posts posted by Michelle My Bell
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I agree with the others to get checklist made for all those kids PRONTO. It will be the best few hours you spend each week. And frankly, I'd think Buddy-System, a la Duggars. It's not a sin; it's learning to love and serve each other. So pair them up, help them make lists, and let the olders supervise the youngers. That leaves you free to spend your precious time doing the things they CAN'T do.
Put household chores and meal prep, laundry, etc. on that list too.
And this is none of my business, but I'd ask whether the university thing is really essential or something that could be dropped. Sometimes it helps with income, and sometimes it's distracting and dividing your focus. If you can get by with your small job and the child support and no university, might be better than the pipe dream that makes things fall apart. I don't know, I just know my mother went back to college when I was around that age (8-10) because she wanted to be able to get a good degree in case she decided to divorce my father (yes) and she ended up losing my brother. Her college degree and grad work left her in debt but spending so little time with her boy that he became rebellious. So that's just my two cents. I know in the moment you have a lot of things to consider. I'm just saying time with your kids for this fleeting season will be worth much more than you think.
Hi Elizabeth,
Yeah, university is pretty essential for me. It isn't about a career at all in fact, it is really about two things. #1 Fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine to get a degree. The level of happiness I feel while there cannot be measured. I feel so blessed to be able to be in this environment for the first time in my life. I am learning more than I ever expected and I love that I can share all that I am learning with my kids. #2 It is giving me the skills and focus I need in order to fulfill and second lifelong goal of owning my own business so that I can continue to be home with my kids and support us above the poverty level. My plans are to work for myself, at home, and it will be a business that has an education focus. I have tried doing this without a degree and while I had some mild success, I feel that I need this additional training in order to really flourish.
The extra blessing is that it isn't costing me anything. My oldest daughter, who graduated last year from homeschooling got a full ride scholarship and in addition to that, she has also gotten a few extra scholarships which result in "extra" aid that is reimbursed to her. She has graciously shared that with me so that with my own aid, I am able to go for free. I am planning on trying for my own scholarships (I ended up applying late in the summer so I didn't have time to get any scholarships) but for now this covers it.
So far, I am around the kids a lot. That is the main reason why I do that job so early in the morning, so I don't have to be away from the kids. This semester I have two classes and my younger ones are taken care of by my 16 and 13 year old daughters who are very loving and take excellent care of them. However I don't expect them to do school with my younger ones while I'm gone because they have their own school to complete. I may ask for the older ones to do a bit of school with the younger ones next semester as mentioned by someone else here. I don't think that would eat into their day too much and it would help me tremendously.
I just wanted to address that because I felt that in some instances, college would be a very bad idea. For years I never considered doing anything like this because my children are my first priority. But I felt that with the older ones care, they would be in good hands. They are really wonderful, loving kids and I think that part is A-OK. I just needed this kick in the pants to figure things out in my own heart. For so long I focused on homeschooling ALL THE TIME and now my focus is divided and I think it is making the actual work of homeschooling feel way to much like a chore and less like the blessing it is. KWIM? I really have appreciated everyones perspective and I am going to take all your thoughts to heart and hopefully find my way through this without any problems.
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Gosh I'm sorry you feel that way. But like all things I believe when you have too much of a good thing you don't love it as much.For me, I wasn't interested in homeschooling my kids, until the situation at their schools had changed them. My older son did well enough in public school and loved it. But my youngest son suffered from depression and bullying. He and my youngest daughters are homeschooling for 4th and 7th grades for the first time and we are never looking back.I work outside the home as does my dh, and I literally rush home to work to school my kids. It's the highlight of my day. No more picking them up from extended care, forcing them to do homework when they are burned out from sports, fighting and bullying at school all day and me trying to figure out what they heck they learned. Now I know what they are learning and they enjoy the much shorter days of schooling, and sleeping in.So I don't believe I will ever fall out of love with homeschooling my kids - maybe because we've lived the alternative and appreciate the gift much more.
Public or Private school has never been an option for my kids because I suffered so much as a child AND because the thought of being away from them so many hours each day would break my heart. I don't think my issue is having too much of a good thing and not valuing it. I don't want to send them to school. I just want to regain my love for the actual process of doing it. I have 5 kids and I have been homeschooling for 14 years. None of them have ever been to school and last year my oldest graduated and is now in college.
A lot has changed in my life over the last few years. I have been living as a single mom for 3 years now and I think sometimes it just gets hard to keep it all balanced. I started college this year and that has definitely added some additional time constraints, but these issues have been slowly building since last school year.
I rearranged my homeschool space today. I took great care to make it fresh and appealing. I am going to make a list of things they can do on their own when I'm not available and basically take all the advice offered here. I am also going to try VERY hard to change my sleep schedule. I just need to get to bed earlier if I am going to get up and stay up for the day. Thanks so much for your thoughts.
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Does the "little job" you have now pay enough to cover the $200 or so you need and maybe allow you to bring in an older teen/homeschool mom to come in 3 times a week and be there from 10:30 to 1pm to give you a little breathing room for a few months and catch a short reprieve?
No, it is a "lifeline" for me. I live on this money along with the little child support I receive. I literally barely make it financially all. the. time. Also, just to clarify, I make $200 a week at this job.
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I think you are both correct. I need to find a way to readjust my sleep schedule. It is so hard to be in bed by 8:00 so I can be up by 4:30 and stay up but I'm not a girl who can get by without 8 hours. I struggle to get out of bed once I've gone back to sleep. I just feel so exhausted. I think there are several things that need some change here. Thanks for your input.
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I really love your idea to look into something like Teaching Textbooks and audio books. I think you are right that I need to find independent work for my kids and to provide a list for them to work from when I can't be there. I need to brainstorm more ideas of things I could do.
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So I'm in my 14th year of homeschooling and I don't want to do it anymore. I am struggling to even sit down to work with my kids. The year had started out great but the last few weeks I have really struggled. I am not sure if this is a phase or what but I have never felt like this before. I don't want to send my kids to school. The schools don't line up with my educational philosophy/style. I don't feel like it would be good for them. There is a school locally that would work fantastic but upon further investigation, I found out it is $6000-10,000 a year. That won't work with a $22,000 income.
My kids have always been #1 in my life but I have started to do things for me now. This year I started going to University and honestly this is working out great with homeschooling, but my little part time job that requires me to get up at 4:30 every morning and work until 6:30 is really hard on me. I come home and go back to sleep till 9:30-10:00 and then I struggle to get started with school until 11:00 or so. Two days a week I have school so I have to do school when I come back at 12:30. Realistically, I don't start then because we have lunch. So it isn't until 1 or 2 that we start. All this weird scheduling is making it hard for me to stay on track.
I am thinking of quitting that little job, but I'll need to come up with an alternative source of income that I can earn about $200. Whatever I do, it can't be 20+ hours a week outside the home. I need to be here for my kids. With me being gone already for University, I can't also spend hours away at a job. My current job is good because the kids are sleeping but it is very hard on me.
Maybe I just need a swift kick in the pants to get to bed earlier? Maybe I just need to start unschooling? I just need some thoughts I guess. I need to rediscover my love of homeschooling. My kids love it and I know they don't want to go to school. I asked them. I just need to be the best I can be for them.
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OK so a slight spin off question. Has anyone here not gotten shot for their kids as babies but decided to do so after they were 7+ years old? If so, how do you go about it? Would you have a blood draw to see what they are immune to before getting vaccines? What about a much older kid, say high school? Does anybody know how a doctor might handle something like this?
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A friend posted this on Facebook today http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/08/courts-quietly-confirm-mmr-vaccine-causes-autism.html?m=1 . She has autistic children although I don't know if she vaccinated them when they were little. This led me to wonder if there were any families that did not vaccinate their children, but their children have been diagnosed with Autism. I have my own theories on all of this, but I would like to get some feedback.
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Thanks everyone! I'm off to request some great stories.
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Awesome! Thanks for your replies. Do you have any recommendations for any other books that you loved to mix things up a bit? May I recommend my favorite of all time, "Ox-cart Man".
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Sad but not unexpected. Their whole premise is to lift the man so high that he is king. He simply had the King complex.
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The kids and I had so much fun reading fall and Halloween picture books for the last few weeks that I am wanting to request a new slew of books for November. What's in your reading basket?
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I have to ask... do Christians have a religious obligation to like LotR? :p I mean, I think everyone has an obligation to like them because they're awesome. :D But I didn't realize some people watched it for religious reasons.
They don't like them for religious reasons, they like them for the "biblical symbolism' and "gospel parallels" that runs through them. Regardless, I found the stories boring. I prefer going straight to the bible. I like my fantasy to be fantasy and my Bible to be truth.
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I didn't leave because I was on a date with dh, but. I wished I could have. Movie was Lord of the Rings. I'm still mad I wasted three hours of my life. (ducking tomatoes)
Don't feel bad, I can't stand any of the Lord of the Rings movies or Chronicles of Narnia movies. I feel really bad too because I'm a christian, but I just find them insanely dull.
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What would this math class be about (in layman's terms) according to this description:
Mathematical modeling of data using linear, quadratic, rational, and radical functions in their numerical, symbolic, graphic, and verbal forms. Problem solving methods and strategies will be emphasized. Course is not applicable toward the undergraduate mathematics major requirements. Prerequisite: Satisfactory placement test score or satisfactory ACT score. Math core course.
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I would be more inclined to give him a padded safe playing area when I couldn't watch him, and watch him very well when he is out and about.
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Do you have more how-to video or posts for us? I am be inspired to try to make something like this!
Does your daughter use it?
Well it is looking like I won't have time to update this with any more videos now because I am in college now, homeschool 4 still, and working part time. But I would be happy to help guide you through it if you ask me some questions. Yes my daughter does use them and she loves them. In fact it inspired her to make her own version using some of the leftover wood I had. Here is a link to her blog so you can see her process:
Leave her a note if you find it helpful. I'm sure she would get a kick out of that. :)
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I am a lot confused about how to schedule and implement this program. I bought the TM & Student Workbook to use with my 7th grade daughter. I find it very overwhelming to figure out. I need a simple day to day schedule. Something like this...
Day 1 - Mom introduces activity, dd reads through words
Day 2 - DD does Activity 1a-1b independently
Day 3 - DD does Activity 1c-1d independently
Obviously I just made that up. I would appreciate if someone could break it down for me like that. Thanks!
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Thanks everyone for the great ideas. I am writing them all down. As far as the comment about just letting her figure it out for herself, I agree this is a time she should be transitioning into taking care of herself. But the way I look at it is she was homeschool K-12. She has just got her first job, her first car and her first homework assignments from her first classroom experience ever. Her life has changed dramatically in the last few months. If I can ease her burden and help her transition into adulthood gently, giving her a chance to adjust and master all the new in her life then I am blessed to do so. She is and has made meals for our family daily for several years now so I'm not concerned if she knows how to feed herself or others. I just want to take the pressure off her in this area and help her to be healthy so she can do well in all her other endeavors.
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Our old Brother Laser printer isn't compatible with our Mac, and since dd is getting some financial aid reimbursed from college, we are going to get a new laser printer. Any recommendations? Basically we want it for printing and copying. Fax and scanning are unnecessary. Thanks!
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My daughter has always been bad about making sure she eats breakfast and I see how much it effects her. She becomes tired, cranky, gets headaches, etc... but no matter how much I tell her to make some eggs, or toast a bagel she still puts it off and leaves without anything. So what do you give your family member who needs something grab and go. I want some ideas of things I can preassemble or even just purchase. I don't want her eating all carbs, it should have some protein it it as well. Any ideas?
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I love to listen to Ted Talks and homeschool conference sessions while cleaning and today I have about 8 hours worth of projects to tackle. Sooo I'm looking for some good online listening to play while I'm busy to keep my mind occupied and inspired. I would love to links to good free audio content. Anything is great but here are some things I would be interested in if it helps...
Anything to do with household management.
Really inspiring or practical homeschool talks.
Your favorite Ted Talks.
THANKS!!!
PS My daughter and I both start college next week so anything that will help us be better students would be great also.
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I used just such a place for a quiet study area. It is nice when you have to work with other kids in he school room.
Any fun plans, crafts, activities you are doing with the kids this week?
in The Chat Board
Posted
I want the next few days to be fun so I am looking for some activities to do with the kids. They don't actually have to be Thanksgiving related, I just want to have fun with my kids this week in a different way. A couple things we are already doing:
Reading tons of holiday related books
Possibly doing this craft with my 7 year old son- http://spoonful.com/crafts/park-and-play-garage
Thankful paper chain - Since I have 5 kids, I had each of them fill write on one link of a paper chain either a verse, or something they are thankful for today. I am going to have them do it everyday through Thursday and then we will have 25 links. Then, starting on December 1st, we will rip one link off and read it each day as a countdown to Christmas.
But I am looking for more MORE MORE fun stuff to do. Any suggestions from your pinterest boards or your Well Trained Minds? lol
From http://blog.reallygoodstuff.com/25-childrens-books-for-thanksgiving/
25 Children’s Books for Thanksgiving
1. A Turkey for Thanksgiving
by Eve Bunting
2. The Thanksgiving Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
(A Caldecott Honor Book – 1985)
3. The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving
by Ann McGovern
4. Thanksgiving Day
by Gail Gibbons
5. It’s Thanksgiving
by Jack Prelutsky
6. Squanto and the First Thanksgiving
by Joyce K. Kessel
7. Thanksgiving on Thursday (Magic Tree House #27)
by Mary Pope Osborne
8. Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade
by Melissa Sweet
9. Off to Plymouth Rock
by Dandi Daley Mackall
10. I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie
by Alison Jackson
11. Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving
by James Dean
12. ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
by Dav Pilkey
13. The Very First Americans
by Cara Ashrose
14. If You Were At the First Thanksgiving
by Anne Kamma
15. Junie B., First Grader: Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten (and Other Thankful Stuff)
by Barbara Park
16. Who Was the First Thanksgiving?
by Joan Holub
17. Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy
by Kate Waters
18. Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl
by Kate Waters
19. Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving
by Eric Metaxas
20. Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving
by Joseph Bruchac
21. Arthur’s Thanksgiving
by Marc Brown
22. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message
by Chief Jake Swamp
23. Mayflower Treasure Hunt (A to Z Mysteries Super Edition, No. 2)
by Ron Roy
24. A Plump and Perky Turkey
by Teresa Bateman
25. Corn Is Maize: The Gift of the Indians
by Aliki