bfw0729
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Posts posted by bfw0729
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I am struggling a bit with regards to having a "helping hand" in homeschooling. I am homeschooling three elementary school-aged children and have a 1 and 3 year old in the mix. The demands feel high and I am struggling with help. My husband fully supports homeschooling and loves it, but doesn't feel I need any help with the kids. I do all the homeschooling stuff, which I expected. I love teaching the children, working on projects, and doing all things related to homeschooling. My problem is sometimes I need a little bit of relief. I think I have high expectations. I think I need to just deal with these feelings. I just feel that if my husband is available to help, I would love for him to take the 1 and 3 year old and help (i.e. go into a separate room away and play with them). I can get so much more done in 15 minutes that way than with all the kids together, which could take almost an hour - no joke here.
Even as I type this I feel conflicted. On the one hand I get so mad at him for not taking charge of the little ones to help me out, but on the other hand there are far worse things in life.
Just yesterday, my husband went into the kitchen to do something, walking past me and the kids on the floor. I was trying to work on writing with the three kids and my 4th grader got mad at the 3 year. I had to deal with that situation - both kids crying and mad. Finally that de-escalated and I was back to teaching writing. Although, before the kids calmed down, my husband witnessed part of what happened. He walked past us as the two were crying, but he didn't know exactly what was going on. He was aware that there was a melt-down, and saw that I took care of the situation. Anyway, I then told the 3 year old to go to daddy and tell daddy what happened. I needed her to walk away from us for a few minutes so that I could finish up the lesson. Well, she easily returned a minute later and then something happened between the 3rd grader and the 3 year old. The 3 year old was mad and crying and I asked my husband to keep the 3 year old in the kitchen. He then told the 3 year old across the room to come here. She didn't really respond. With encouragement from me, she went into the kitchen..." Child's name, go to daddy and help him in the kitchen. Husband's name, can you try to keep her in the kitchen?" Husband's response, "I can, but if she walks back into the living room, tell her to come back to the kitchen."
I wasn't too upset about the situation at the time, until a little bit later. I was getting overwhelmed and wondered why my husband can't take charge and help me out when I'm homeschooling.
Anyway, I needed to vent a bit about this. I'm still feeling pretty overwhelmed. I need to be refueled, I'm just so exhausted - not tired, but running on nearly empty.
I am struggling a bit with regards to having a "helping hand" in homeschooling. I am homeschooling three elementary school-aged children and have a 1 and 3 year old in the mix. The demands feel high and I am struggling with help. My husband fully supports homeschooling and loves it, but doesn't feel I need any help with the kids. I do all the homeschooling stuff, which I expected. I love teaching the children, working on projects, and doing all things related to homeschooling. My problem is sometimes I need a little bit of relief. I think I have high expectations. I think I need to just deal with these feelings. I just feel that if my husband is available to help, I would love for him to take the 1 and 3 year old and help (i.e. go into a separate room away and play with them). I can get so much more done in 15 minutes that way than with all the kids together, which could take almost an hour - no joke here.
Even as I type this I feel conflicted. On the one hand I get so mad at him for not taking charge of the little ones to help me out, but on the other hand there are far worse things in life.
Just yesterday, I was frustrated because he went into the kitchen to do something, walking past me and the kids on the floor. I was trying to work on writing with the three kids and my 4th grader got mad at the 3 year. I had to deal with that situation - both kids crying and mad. Finally that de-escalated and I was back to teaching writing. Before the kids calmed down, my husband witnessed part of what happened. He walked past us as the two were crying, but he didn't know what was going on. He was aware that there was a melt-down, and saw that I took care of the situation. Anyway, I then told the 3 year old to go to daddy and tell daddy what happened. I needed her to walk away from us for a few minutes so that I could finish up the lesson. Well, she easily returned a minute later and then something happened between the 3rd grader and the 3 year old. The 3 year old was mad and crying and I asked my husband to keep the 3 year old in the kitchen. He then told the 3 year old across the room to come here. She didn't really respond. With encouragement from me, she went into the kitchen..." Child's name, go to daddy and help him in the kitchen. Husband's name, can you try to keep her in the kitchen?" Husband's response, "I can, but if she walks back into the living room, tell her to come back to the kitchen."
I wasn't really upset about the situation at the time, until a little bit later. I was getting overwhelmed and wondered why my husband can't take charge and help me out when I'm homeschooling.
Anyway, I needed to vent a bit about this. I'm still feeling pretty overwhelmed. I need to be refueled, I'm just so exhausted - not tired, but running on nearly empty.
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I would love more ideas, thanks.
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Take a look at Beast Academy.
We used BA last year as a supplement, she liked the comic books, but didn't want to spend the time working in the practice book. We do use Life of Fred on Fridays (we cover three chapters every Friday). She loves Life of Fred. There are two things that concern me. First, all three kids do LOF on Fridays with me. They all love it. We finished Books A-D last year and are almost in Farming - just a couple of chapters left in Edgewood. I like that they're together on Fridays, although it wouldn't be a big deal to separate them out. If I do LOF as the main math program, I really, truly worry that it may not be enough. Will they learn the depth that SM teaches? To be completely honest, so far I don't agree with how LOF teaches multi-digit addition. The author doesn't really explain the values of each digit, etc... We use a nice, big place value chart with SM, helping them to fully understand the value of each digit and what "carry" and "borrow" really mean.
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I have a third grader who really doesn't like math, to the point of nearly crying everyday. She used Singapore Math US Edition last year and is using it again this year. She practically cried daily last year, but I wanted to stick with SM because it's such a solid program and she does surprisingly well in math. I have two fourth graders who are doing well with SM and I wanted to keep everyone in the same program.
Anyway, I again am struggling with her and we are in our fourth week of school. I am crazy tempted to switch programs, but I really like SM. Both my husband and I did well in math and value it - we want all our kids to do well in math. Our fourth graders are doing well and even my 3 year old has shown some nice math skills.
My third grader IS math-minded - she can compute math problems mentally and learned the multiplication table at just seven years old. She works on standard multi-digit addition and subtraction numbers very easily. She conceptually understands math. She just has no interest in it, like none. She loves to draw and spends about 2 hours a day (at least) drawing. She fills up notebook after notebook with all her drawings.
If we decide to change programs, which math program is really solid? I don't want to give her "easy" math because she doesn't enjoy it, she's capable of challenging herself, but I don't know what to do.
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We will be a part of a Homeschooling Coop once a week this coming fall. We will be gone almost the entire day. I likely can get about an hour of our schooling in. We will be using MFW ECC along with all my language arts, math, reading, etc...this year and I'm worried that I won't be able to get in the basics with one day gone during the week. Also, there are two other days during the week that will be slightly shortened. I will be able to homeschool until about 1pm, then we need to leave. Is it possible to get in all our stuff and be done by 1? They can get their reading done after we get back from our day. I have two 4th graders, one 3rd grader, a preschooler and a one year old.
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In the appendix of the teacher's manual there is a recommended list for general reading. ECC is meant for 3rd-8th grade, but why do the recommendations stop at 6th grade and up? There is no 7th grade or 8th grade and up recommendations.
Also, with regard to the book basket, do you "fill" the basket every time there's a new country? For example, Japan is covered during weeks 27-28, would you exchange out the old books from the previous country to the new ones recommended for Japan and the science books surrounding those weeks?
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I had my kids assessed this year and was really surprised with the results. We worked hard in Spelling, Math, Reading, and Grammar. We also did other subjects, but these were done five days a week (although Grammar was done four of the 5 days).
We used the Spalding Method for Spelling, Singapore Math, and R&S English. We used Phonics Pathways to punch up the reading skills of two of my kids and read a TON. All three of my kids mostly scored in the 80s for everything, with a sprinkle of 90s in a couple of the subtests in Math and Language. I was pleased because they were in a private school last year and their scores were mostly in the 50- 60s. Even one of my children was in the single digits to teens in reading. Thankfully, he shot up to the 84%ile this time :)
What surprised me was the one subtest in Spelling. All of their subtests were essentially in the 80-90s, however, all three of them scored around the 60%ile in Spelling! We worked really hard on Spelling this year. 30 new words a week with about 10 review words. They pretty much aced or nearly aced all their quizzes, so why the 60%ile???
Anyway, I was planning to continue with Spalding next year, but if their spelling is really no different using Spalding vs. Rod and Staff Spelling, then I may as well pick the program that takes significantly less time. Using the Spalding Method on three kids takes a lot of time, so It might be worth it to just switch. I love the approach and methodology of Spalding, but I think it's time to try something different.
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Bump - looking for more input and possibly trying a different grammar curriculum?
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Someone I know will start homeschooling her 6th and 7th graders in the fall. She is looking for curricula that isn't teacher-intensive. I thought to tell her about VP. Her kids have been in the public schools and I'm guessing have had various exposure to the ancients to modern times. Which VP SP would you pick for this age?
Also, how is the Omnibus different? Is it for older children only?
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Does anyone grade their children's testing? I had my kids take the ITBS and I sat and "graded" their subtests. I am curious how these raw scores translate into percentiles when I get the results. They had anywhere from 1 or 2 to 5 errors in each subtest.
Does 99thile mean the child must get all the answers correct in all the subtests for language/reading?
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I really appreciate all this great information. I will definitely share it with her. She is willing to be involved with math, but she is nervous about grammar and writing. She wants those subjects to be student-driven.
I looked up Analytical Grammar and seems interesting. I have never heard of it. So this program is done independently and considered a "good" program?
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Someone I know is considering homeschooling her kids next year. Kids will be in 6th and 7th grade. The question is regarding which Rod and Staff English book for them? They have had an average public school education - no real sentence diagramming or explicit grammar instruction. Would you start them off with R&S 5 or 6 or go even two levels below grade level?
The mother wants the kids to be very independent with English and to essentially self-teach themselves the book. Is this realistic with R&S English at this level?
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Can you explain to me how you use notebooking in homeschooling? Is it mainly for projects like lapbooking? Can you use it for narrations as described in the WTM book? For example, you read about an animal (science) and the child narrates what you read and draws a picture on the notebooking page? Where do you get these notebooking pages?
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It's not. They refuse to honor credits and sometimes coupons. I've only had bad experiences with them and they refuse to return my emails. I will never order from them again. I don't feel this way about any other company.
Oh no! I hope there isn't a problem with using my personal credit card information. I double checked if this company was solid and found them on a list of recommended websites for homeschoolers.
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I just ordered the second of the four book series of Life of Fred for about $14.41 each. I used the promo code eduthanks and received 10% off my purchase. They are having a sale on LoF books.
Here's the website...http://www.educents.com/life-of-fred-sale
I never have ordered from this website before. I hope it's a reputable one. Wanted to let you guys know because any bit helps with purchasing curriculum.
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By the end of this school year, my third graders will complete around Lists Q/R in WRTR, which is equivalent to about a 5th grade spelling level. I purchased the R&S Spelling 4 for next year and it seems much easier. They are words the children know, although the program's approach is different. I feel I may be going backwards in Spelling. Hmmm, now I'm thinking to continue with WRTR and finish all the Lists for 4th grade. If I decide this route, I think we would be done after Christmas. I then could start R&S 4 until they are familiar with the program and then switch to a higher grade level???
Also, if I continue with Spalding next year, would I just test them again at the start of the school year to figure out which List to start with?
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We used the MP literature guides. I had three of my kids using them and it took away the enjoyment of reading and analyzing the books. I consider myself pretty Type A and don't want to create any gaps in learning, but this wasn't a good use of our time. Instead we read aloud and talk about what was read. We use WWE and really like it.
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Just seconding that you can do it either way. My kids have separate log ins, but my niece and nephew share. It works for each of us. We will both be doing it the same way next year.
I add the literature kits... My younger does level one and older level two. Next year they will both do level two.
Do your children read the literature kits on their own or do you use them as read alouds?
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I have two rising 4th graders and one 3rd grader in the fall. Here are our two options for curricula. Both options include daily read alouds and books they are reading for enjoyment.
Option #1
MFW - ECC
Spalding Spelling (considering to switch to R&S Spelling though)
WWE
R&S English
Latina Christiana
Singapore Math
Option #2
Science in the Beginning - Dr. Wile
VP Self Paced
Spalding Spelling (maybe R&S Spelling)
WWE
R&S English
Latina Christiana
Singapore Math
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I am getting confused again! I had decided to go with MFW and all our extras, but now there's a sale on VP Self Paced and I saw something about this Berean Science and it looks great. Ugh.
Has anyone used Science in the Beginning? Please share your thoughts and feedback. We have worked on BFSU this year and should be close to completing the book.
I was hoping to order ECC from MFW for the new school year in August, but now I don't know!
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So good to hear that I can have the three of them work together.
Do you use anything else in addition to the videos? I have a music CD from VP and the corresponding cards that we use alongside Mystery of History. They are the first set of cards - the ones that start from Creation.
Do you use a timeline with the VPSP?
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ohhh, I am now interested. I was never interested because of the price, but now I am.
I would prefer to order only one self-paced program, instead of three. I have two 3rd graders and one 2nd grader. They will be in 4th and 3rd in the fall. I have only one computer and no other electronics. I would prefer to have only one program for the three of them to work together. Has anyone done this, or is it worth taking turns using the computer so that each has their own program?
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I just want to be clear, but is the student going through the entire List from start to finish every year? It's then quite possible that a first grade child could complete the book through Section O and start again the following year, but this time complete the entire List - to Z?
Are the easiest/earliest Sections still dictated to the child or can the parent quiz 40 words a week until they reach words the child misspells? The misspellings determine a new starting point for dictating the remainder Lists.
Also, the Morrison McCall Scale link has a link within it, which didn't work. It brought you to a 404 page.
Thank you again, your guidance as do others helps a great deal!
Need more support/help from husband. Asking too much?
in The Chat Board
Posted
I will try to respond again later. But yes, he does work from home. We are good about leaving him alone when he's working. We are used to him working from home, so the kids know the drill.
He has directly told me that he feels I don't need the help, I look to have it under control. I tell him that even though it's under control, it would be very helpful to me if he could lend a helping hand. He KNOWS that I'm feeling overwhelmed. I am like a rag doll with the demands hitting and dragging me from all the directions. I have little breathing room to re-energize. Thankfully, I am able to take a deep breath and keep chugging along, but it is beating me down. I tell him this, I am a very open person.