TXMary2 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 We are about 8 weeks into our new school year. I really am praying to be content, but I feel like we are just checking things off on the to do list most of the time. I find myself telling my 13 yo that it isn't a race! It seems like we are just checking stuff off to get it done and not enjoying the meat of what we are learning. Does anyone else experience this? I am wondering what I can change, if anything. Right now what we do daily is: Math Spelling (5-7 minutes per day) Science Literature reading- but we don't do narration regularly History (supposed to be daily, but we sometimes cram 2 days into 1 to catch up)- history is the most time consuming and has the most materials since we are doing Winter Promise Quest for the Middle Ages. I am looking for ways to streamline this even though I already cut some things out! Bible study/devotions 2-3 times a week: Vocabulary Grammar Writing Once a week: Poetry Skills sheets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I feel exactly the same way, both about ticking-the-boxes and how much time history takes! What we are currently trying is to do only Maths and spelling daily (also a 10 minute "wake-up exercise" of either flashcards or a logic puzzle). On Monday we do 2-2.5hrs English. Tuesday is History, Thursday is Science, Fri alternates - Art, Logic, Music, Logic. Latin is done twice a week, for 30 minutes each lesson. The remaining "30 minute slots" are used as a catch-all for whatever needs completing. Only a couple of weeks in, but it feels like an improvement. It might still need some tweaking. For instance, as both English and History involve writing, it might be best to move them to opposite ends of the week. I'm trying to decide... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMary2 Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Here's my other issue. We rarely get to art and music - like never this school year so far. Until recently I covered art by having him in a once a week class, but the teacher is currently on break beacause she is battling cancer. I want to do more of an art history/picture study type thing anyway. I bought the artist and composer lapbooks from Homeschool in the Woods, but I am just too overwhelmed to even begin figuring out how to implement them. We are on a 4 day schedule for the most part. Friday are our light day with only math, science and history timeline. Plus Friday is makeup/catch up for stuff not gotten to during the week. Then we spend Friday afternoon at the park with our hs group for a social outlet. Then next year I am supposed to find time for a foreign language to boot! What's really important as far as history? Right now we have SEVEN history resources with 5 of them 4 days a week and the other 2 are done 2-3 days a week. Plus there is map work, an "investigation" of some sort and every 3 weeks is supposed to be a research project and we haven't done any yet! Add to that I have a Kinder I am working with as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 :grouphug:Why, yes I do. Today in particular. Some days I feel great about homeschooling in general and the atmosphere of both home & school. Some days...check those boxes! And no art appreciation (I can't renew the Rembrandt books again, and I haven't even opened them) or music (started out with a little Schubert once a week...and now nothing). :glare: So you aren't alone! But I don't have the solution either. We're learning, we're progressing, we're accomplishing, we're...not always enjoying ourselves though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 We do 4.5 days a week of schooling, as we have co-op Wednesday morning. We don't do either a "main subject" or Maths on that day. We are doing one art lesson (Meet the Masters) and one music lesson (an audio CD with music and biography) a month. It's not a lot, but better than nothing. One thing that has helped, is to schedule art and music with another family. It is a social event for the kids, and gives us some accountability to make sure we don't sweep those subjects under the rug for another month. Sometimes we do those on a Saturday. We break schooling into 4 week blocks, which makes planning easier. It is easier for me to be realistic about what we can achieve in the next month, rather than for six months. I am struggling to get all the history I want done. We are using SOTW, and I am starting to combine a couple of chapters for a quick read-through and outline, so we can do more additional fiction or fictionalised readings. Dd is 8yrs old, and her reading is still not fast enough to get through a huge amount, while ds2 makes long periods of read-alouds impossible, so we are still really struggling to get through everything I want in this area. I like the idea of a nightly bedtime read from our history reading list. Audio books are also a big hit with dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I sign up for those when they pop up on the internet. Then I pay for them. And then I feel that we must go. So they force interesting breaks on us, and also non-standard 'rabbit trails'. Recently DD has been to the Asian Art Museum twice on field trips. Once she learned about the Samuri period and experienced a Japanese tea ceremony. This prompted me to pull out three books on Japan and make her read and discuss them. And on the other one the group was taught Chinese brush painting by a master painter--it was really quite extraordinary! 2-3 weeks ago she attended a Shakespeare play (another field trip) and she is now working on a project to compare the two that she has seen this year with each other. These assignments and extras are in addition to her regular work, but she gets a half break on the field trip days. They kind of break up the monotany a bit, and are memorable and educational and fun as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMom2One Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 ...but when I do, then something cool comes up that makes me realize its worth it all. Last weekend, for example, dd spent the weekend with her bff who goes to ps. When dd came home she commented on how much she is starting to notice that her vocabulary exceeds her friend's. It was not a put down on dd's part, she just wanted to confide in me about how she realizes this more at their current age than she did in the past. (They have been friends since the age of 4.) Then there are days that dd opens up and engages in very meaningful conversations about the theology or the history she is reading. She is starting to connect dots, and she often just blows me away when sharing her insight. At moments like that, I am confident beyond words that we are doing the right thing. And then there's the pure JOY I experienced recently when I used SL's reading assessment tools and found out that dd's reading level is well over two grades higher than her actual grade. I try to hold on to these memorable moments whenever I feel anything close to "same-o, same-o" creeping into my day. Blessings, Lucinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J'etudie Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I feel like I'm just trying to get to the next thing (whether it's lessons, housework, meals, my very part-time job). The stuff that really enthuses the older boys is the stuff I'm not part of...their imaginary play, the books they read, the adventures with grandparents. I'm just the gear that keeps it all turning. I don't like that feeling. I hope this is just a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Yes, I do. I am new to hs and want to do so much. I do feel like I want to get through everything in one day, yet I never quite feel content with the amount of history or science we do. I would like to spend hours each day, doing each! :lol: Thanks OP for starting this thread. I'll be looking for some guidance too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 We're doing a lot of that checklist school this year, but I don't really care. We have things we need to get done to get to the stuff we REALLY want to do (sewing, etc.). Is WP QMA not lighting his fire and you're disappointed? Maybe you need a different spine or something. You definitely want to have SOMETHING you're enjoying in your day, but that isn't necessarily the same as saying you have to enjoy EVERYTHING. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macrina Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Yup, it's the October Homeschooling Blues. I've had it the past two weeks too. I think the trick for me, is evaluate what is bogging me down (so unhappy with our Nature Study program) and try something new. I need to choose a new program for that, and that will help. Also, DD is sick of plant studies for science. Time to give up on finishing that lapbook and move on to what she is excited for next- the human body. When the dc are excited and engaged, I am much more content too. I think I also need to step back and see how much they ARE learning, even if is feels like groundhog day to me. It doesn't always mean it feels that way to them. And sometimes I get so stuck on teaching to the book in it's particular order, I don't realize how bored they are becuase they are just too above the material. I MUST get better at skipping lessons that are not necessary. The OCD side of me HATES that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMary2 Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 Is WP QMA not lighting his fire and you're disappointed? Maybe you need a different spine or something. You definitely want to have SOMETHING you're enjoying in your day, but that isn't necessarily the same as saying you have to enjoy EVERYTHING. :) WP QMA is great, it's just that it seems there is never enough time to get it all done because there are so many components. We like all the resources too so considering dumping one would be a hard decision. Yesterday I changed up our routine by putting history last and I didn't feel as anxious. We were doing it first which I think was causing me to have this "hurry up" attitude because we still had so much to do. So, yesterday we did math and science first since they are the most academically challenging for my ds. Once those were "out of the way" getting to the other stuff on our list didn't seem so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Well there you go! I know it's a quandry, because if my dd had her way that's all we would do, the fun history stuff. We'd spend HOURS on it, lol. But meanie that I am, we do our LA and math first, leaving history for the afternoon. We've done it both ways, and I don't think there's harm in doing the fun stuff first for a season. You can even break it up, doing one component (read aloud while he does one of the hands-on) first, then do your math and LA, then do more history and leave science for afternoon, something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXMary2 Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 Well there you go! I know it's a quandry, because if my dd had her way that's all we would do, the fun history stuff. We'd spend HOURS on it, lol. But meanie that I am, we do our LA and math first, leaving history for the afternoon. We've done it both ways, and I don't think there's harm in doing the fun stuff first for a season. You can even break it up, doing one component (read aloud while he does one of the hands-on) first, then do your math and LA, then do more history and leave science for afternoon, something like that. Thank you for simplifying. Breaking history up- what a concept!:tongue_smilie: Sometimes it's just more fun when I complicate stuff. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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