Avila Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 (edited) What kinds of things are you working on improving or changing for yourself or your family for the new school year? They can be personal, social, academic, whatever. Please no bashing though! Just some positive things you want to start or continue and maybe even want support for. I will go first. I am trying to get a real, workable chore schedule in place for myself and my girls to have a more cheerful and livable home. I am going to start exercising while my kids are taking their classes at the YMCA, for my own health and well-being. I am also trying to be a more grateful and positive person. And I am going to read my one year Bible and start reading the classics again. Oh, and finish the crocheted afghan I started! For the kids, I want to finally finish Latina Christiana 1! I want my 1st grader to be reading chapter books, and I want my 3rd grader to finally finish speech therapy. Maybe if I go on the record with this, I will have a better chance at doing it! What is everyone else working on? ETA: Just wanted to add that I find it really inspirational to see what everyone else is accomplishing! Thanks for replying! Edited July 19, 2009 by Asenik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 We are studying Rev. War through the Civil War & I want to do it justice. I want my kids to really have a feel for the MEN who were our founding fathers and those who served their country in the Civil War. I want them to understand the complexity of the issues of the Civil War, the role of philosophy of North & South... and the history of reconstruction that is rarely taught. I want this to be a powerful year of history. We have a baby due in Mid October. I want to be able to handle this huge change & still keep kids doing well on school work. I really want to do a better job in science this year. I loved it in school... but absolutely HATE it in homeschooling. It is draining. If we can keep it a peaceful, smooth, and progress on schedule... we will be doing awesome!;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Enjoy every day with my children Encourage my husband more, both verbally and by respecting how hard he works (read = better money management! :D) Adopt a healthier lifestyle (both exercise and food) Finish the majority of my Henle Latin book Read more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed2fosteradopt Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 My goal is to concentrate more on developing character than academics. We have fallen very short this year. I have raised my voice (aka: yelled) more often than I care to admit in reaction to my son's mouthiness. I know this is the wrong way to combat the issue and I need to be the example which I am failing miserably at. My son has a tendency to be lazy and I have a tendency to just give in because I am tired and weary. I tend to get off track easily and not be consistent. I also want every aspect of my life, home and our homeschool to be Christ-centered. We have not been where we need to be in our walk with Him. If I do this, I am confident all the above will fall into place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 My goals this year are to be less goal oriented. I want to play more, laugh more, yell less. Academically, I'd like to catch Huck up in writing, figure out what's up with his math block, and try to learn Greek with him. For Tom, by the end of the school year, I'd like him to be well on the road to reading independently without crushing his love of learning. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Bear in mind that I have a toddler and a baby, so we're not actually homeschooling yet. I always have a few resolutions on the go, though :) ~I'm researching how to do the bronze coils to decorate my Livonian headscarf. (The top pic) http://aslaug.livejournal.com/38906.html ~Always researching food. Hope to be able to start cooking it again once the lad is mobile and finds better things to do than harass me for cuddles 24/7! ~Researching ways of keeping food cold in preparation for turning our fridge off next week. ~Still working on building celebration traditions. ~I hope to make a few more ornaments for my advent calender idea. ~Will start 3 yo kinder type things with dd next year. Looking forward to that. Not sure if she'll respond. She's more of a climber than a cut and paster at the moment. ~ Really want to sign more with the kids. The baby is receptive enough, lol, but dd is too busy running to pay much attention. I guess I'll continue signing with the boy and hope she'll take an interest as her busy schedule permits... ~I have great plans for being a better wife, but that will have to wait until the boy gives up night feeds. Dh understands, but we're both looking forward to me getting back to normal. ~If we are able to buy a house next year, I have grand plans of setting up a grey waters system so I can plant a garden. Food, glorious food! ~If I get the abovementioned garden, it'll include herbs so I'll have more avenue for learning some more herbalism. ~Oh yeah, and I should try and eat more fruit. *sigh* After four years working in a fruit shop, I really got over fruit. ~ Continue to memorise poetry. I'm on a break at the moment, but I should be able to get back to it later in the week. Sleep permitting... I can think with my hands full, so I do a lot of thinking. I'm hoping the next year, as the boy becomes more mobile, I'll actually be able to act on some of those thoughts... Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 My goal - survival! :001_smile: Seriously, a big goal for me is to not stress out. We have lots of extras next year - dance, gymnastics, violin as well as the "usual" like orthodontist,etc. I want to enjoy the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I want my son to learn to enjoy writing. I want my daughter to learn to love school and learning and appreciate how smart she is. I want us as a family to continue to enjoy each other and I want to stop visiting the doctors office so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I've had a horrendous three years but am thankful that homeschooling ALLOWED me to be able to care for my parents and help a dying friend. This year I'm THRILLED to give 100% to homeschooling, and simply focusing on being WIFE AND MOM. I am having SO MUCH FUN blessing DH, even in my grief, and just acting goofy and enjoying my kids while doing NOTHING. We are LOVING having our house back to ourself, when I don't allow guilt to creep in. We're also looking forward to getting our home church back in order. Simply focusing on marriage, family, school, friends/church. I'm still having a hard time getting used to my time being that - MY TIME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Enjoy every day with my childrenEncourage my husband more, both verbally and by respecting how hard he works (read = better money management! :D) Ditto to those and I add: Keep more on top of household work & laundry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 I'm hoping to add in more craft activities, projects, and experiments. My kids loved it when we did Konos, but I felt like we didn't cover enough actual material so I moved to SOTW and Apologia with very few activities. Hopefully, I'll find a way to afford the supplies and time to plan it. I'm also letting DD have a year off from formal language arts with the exception of some formal writing. The rest of her language arts will be creative writing, which I want to get more involved with in prewriting and editing, and writing scripts for stop motion videos and Webkinz "talk shows" to go with our history and science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Enjoy every day with my childrenEncourage my husband more, both verbally and by respecting how hard he works (read = better money management! :D) Adopt a healthier lifestyle (both exercise and food) Finish the majority of my Henle Latin book Read more :iagree: I love your list. Especially 1, 2 and 3. (not studying Latin so 4 does not apply). I will add one more: Since homeschooling is drawing nearing a close for me, I want to find and prepare for my next vocation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I'm bumping up the requirements more this year since the kids are in middle school. I'm going for more challenging goals. We're also going to work a little more on our schedule and trying not to get side-tracked. I also want us to work on diet, exercise and enjoying our time together. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patchfire Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Our big focus for dd, aside from academics, is improving her overall attitude, work ethic, and motivation. It sounds like three different things, but I feel like they all stem from the same source. I'm excited about the year we have planned for history - we're going to be tackling 1850 to the present, which is my personal favorite. We'll add state history at the end of the year, mainly through weekend trips around the state, and I am really grateful to get to do this - I never had state history. I hope to get ds reading but also more interested in books and reading. It's not that he doesn't like them, per se, but he'd just rather be moving! Personally, I'm really working at BALANCE. We got very UN-balanced as a family last year, primarily due to our heavy involvement in Girl Scouts, and I'm looking forward to a less stressful year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 My goal - survival! :001_smile: Seriously, a big goal for me is to not stress out. We have lots of extras next year - dance, gymnastics, violin as well as the "usual" like orthodontist,etc. I want to enjoy the process. So glad I am not the only one that considers survival to be their main goal. Add to that teaching my twins just enough K skills to keep them out of public school next year, and I am good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Survival is the goal here.....actually *enjoying* the survival would be good also. I'll have a very stubborn/gifted 13yo who still takes lots of hand holding, a stubborn/artsy/emotional 16yo who struggles greatly with math and tries to avoid hard work whenever my back is turned, AND a rising 18yo cc student living at home who will undoubtably be asking for help from me. Add in lots of extra curriculars, stir well. Theoretical goals? 13yods: get to the place of being able to actually get through a days work in a day. 16yo: finish algebra and geometry, somehow survive chemistry coop class. 18yo: help her manage school, learning to drive, and part time job. Me: work on keeping the house in better shape, consistency in Bible reading/prayer, good attitude when students have a rotton one. Sigh....I need lots of prayer this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Virginia Dawn Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 (edited) #1 goal: teach the 5yo to read. He will be my last one. Wow. Other goals: Get the 16yo ready for the SAT and help him improve his writing skills. Try not to freak out at the thought that he will be graduating in 2years. Try to transition my 10yo to more independent work. I shouldn't still be reading every thing out loud to this amazing reader. Try to be patient and understanding, and try to remain calm when someone completely forgets something they had known well yesterday. I would like to say: spend less time on line and in books, and more time cleaning and working on projects. But I don't know how realistic that is. Edited July 20, 2009 by Virginia Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 lesssssstress. Be supportive as ds14 goes off to public high school. Be supportive of dd10 and giving her more undivided attention for school. Me dealing better with dd2s behaviors. I think we are headed back to behavior therapy for her in the fall :0( . Right now I am seeing if lots of outdoor play wil smooth her edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avila Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 I really like the less stress and more time to enjoy goals. I have so much going on, that I am going to really have to watch this one! Anyone else want to contribute? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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