I've discovered my biggest problem (ramble time)

[Kathie in VA]

Yes I spend too much time here, but I do learn soo much, really benefit from the knowledge and really enjoy helping others when I can. I also spend lots of time deciding on what to use and how to schedule it. Another problem is in implementing my plans. That is, actually getting everyone to bed on time, up on time, and started on time. With kids in 6th and 7th grade we have lots to do so starting at 10:00 or 10:30 is a big problem here, not to mention the 2nd grader and the 3 year old. So are the unplanned interruptions like helping dh to build the deck or finnishe the basement or the rare but sudden need to help another by watching their kids for a bit. I never plan to work over the summer but we always end up doing that because we are sooo far behind.

 

As big as these problems are I'm beginning to wonder if these arren't my biggest problem. I choose, I schedule an order to the subjects to ensure I didn't over do it, but I don't read ahead. I'm a do the next thing for all subjects. I don't read the history till we start class. I don't read the literature, well sometimes we'll race each other thru the book. I don't even look ahead in math or spelling or vocab to see if I should be prepared for the lesson.... well I've done some for science but only to see what materials are needed. I thought it would be fun to learn with the kids and read it together but now I'm really wondering about this. Anyone else like this? I never seem to have time, then again my biggest outlet for 'taking a minute for me' is going online, reading here, checking email, surfing. I guess it's time to back off on all that, uh?

 

Thanks for letting me ramble.

[LisaKinVA]

I have a very busy schedule. Last year, I took a FT job from home, in addition, we have a retail store, plus we're homeschooling. My dh works in DC, so he's gone early in the am and late pm. In 2 months, we begin buildling a house:001_smile:

 

When I agreed to take the FT job, I told my husband there was "no way" I could do my job and have time to prepare for a day of HS with my children using all of the materials I had cobbled together. I needed something "better" and already planned out.

 

We went with K12 Independent for my oldest (plus LFC and VP Bible). My younger two use the Abeka phonics/reading programs, penmanship -- and I've kept it very light with them. They do history, art, science and music with their older brother via K12 (albeit, just the read aloud portion).

 

The K12 scheduling SAVED me for my oldest, and keeping the younger 2 fairly simple has saved me as well.

 

As painful as it was for me to "let go" of all of the different programs I wanted to do w/ my children, keeping things simple and easy for me has made school better for everyone.

 

Hang in there...

[Sue G in PA]

:) I've said it before: I am a planner. I LOVE to plan. I LOVE seeing our week/month mapped out on paper. I LOVE imagining us doing our work, enjoying our time together, reading great books and having cool discussions, building neat projects, etc. LOVE it!. What I am not is an implementer! :001_huh: The time comes to actually carry out my "best laid plans" and I freeze. OR, we start, raring to go and somebody has a meltdown. OR, I get attitudes. OR, dd11 has a hormonal moment and starts crying b/c her pencil broke. OR, all dc start complaining that they don't LIKE this subject or that. You all know how draining THAT can be. My good intentions go out the window. Gone. Bye-bye. And I want to crawl back into bed and cry. :crying: AND, I don't read much ahead either. It's been my downfall, too. Most of our curriculum is pick up and go, but some is not. Science. Hmmm...not good at planning ahead. Reading material to go w/ History. I have a list, but must get better at planning which to read and when. KWIM? I'm looking forward to MFW ECC for next year, hoping it will cure me.

 

Oh, as for K12...THAT was my lifesaver for the past 2 years. While we hated our cyber...I LOVED K12's OLS. Turn on the computer, go to the website and walah! Lessons right there for me (or for dc) all ready to go! Sorry no advice...just sympathy. I know there are some super-star planners AND implementers on this board so I'm hoping you get some great responses. :D

[kdeno]

:lol:

 

Kari

[Beth in Central TX]

Last year, when my oldest son was in 5th grade, I really saw a need to read ahead in the books that we were using. I developed a routine for me that has worked well.

 

Each boy has his own colored notebook that holds his work for the week and an in-box for work completed during the week. Usually on Friday after school, I print out the next week's schedule for each boy from Edu-Track. I gather all their completed work from their in-boxes and put it in their 4" binders. Then I look at the coming week's schedule and pull all of the worksheets, quizzes, etc. and put them in their colored notebooks. At a minimum, we are ready for school on Monday.

 

On Sunday, I set aside a couple of hours to look over what the boys will be doing that week. I pull out the schedules I printed on Friday. Based on their lessons that I have scheduled, I read through the teacher's manual for grammar, CW, LCII, math, and spelling. I highlight anything that I want to stress in our lesson. This is usually a quick glance through, unless I see something that I need to review or sometimes even learn.

 

I do try to read through their history and science lessons word-for-word so that I know what's going on, and we can discuss their lessons informally sometime that week (usually during dinner). I try to get the history read Sunday night or Monday morning, and I read through their science Monday and Tuesday night. I know this sounds like a lot, but since we focus on grammar, the weekly history and science lessons are not very long.

 

I don't do all of this every weekend, but I do accomplish most (if not all) for most of the school year. This is the system that works well for me and how I approach our homeschool. Of course, your system will look different, but hopefully this will help you as you decide what will work best for you.

[Jenny in Atl]

I always say.. life gets in the way when you are trying to school, or plan, or do anything! LOL

:willy_nilly:

[pixelroper]

but I do this so that when life does get in the way- I have an idea of whats been missed. It helps in deciding what actually needs catching up and whats okay to get back to at another time. So even with my best laid plans... in the end, reality hits here too. This did bother me in the beginning, over time I've been able to look at it differently. This forum has been a huge help over the years- I haven't posted much until this month because I've been chained to my computer (something I usually limit to income generating work only).

I do read ahead for some subject matter, especially when I have any doubt about my own knowledge in that subject or how to actually teach it, as dd gets older I know I'll have to do more of it. And sometimes...I don't get a chance to. I really admire those of you who have more than one child to hs, I can only imagine ....:001_huh: hs friends locally laugh at my wonderment. One hs comrade has just waited to teach dd(8&6)s to read together, she has 2 ds (1&4) that are quite the handful, all other subjects are group effort 'free for all'. I can't think of two families whose days, curriculum or approaches look exactly the same. That is makes homeschooling so fascinating! Remember, its your homeschool.

 

I always take a deep breath, set my eyes on the horizon & pray all will work out for the best.

[Frontier Mom]

Somehow I can't even post any more.

[Frontier Mom]

My great plans just aren't going the way I hoped. I start out the year determined to be prepared each and every week. They life gets in my way.

 

This year I took a PT job at our church as the Director of Children's Ministries K to 5. We started a brand new children's service in January which I design, act in and administrate. It is great fun but cuts into my time. I also prepare tax returns for individuals so I'm really busy this time of year.

 

Then, to make matters worse, I keep getting on here and see great books recommended. I get them from the library, get wrapped up in them and :tongue_smilie:, I am behind again.

 

As my kiddos get older, I realize they are doing OK, despite the fact that my wonderful planning often goes undone. Oh well, I have to go finish my latest book now!!

[...................]

wondering today how moms with older kids do it...especially between the ages of 7-12.

 

It seems to me as my oldest is now six, that having kids this age is really HARD. It's totally different than the 5 and under crowd. Now, my son has to be responsible for himself in many areas (albeit he's not doing it all himself but little bits) and I just begin to feel like a big drill sargeant.

 

When he was younger, it was much simpler. Everything (school and chores-wise and everything else) was with mommy. there was either direct obedience or a spanking.

 

Now I feel like my kids are just HUGE! THey are getting so tall and they seem to be tearing apart the house at every corner, even when they aren't playing wildly just their sheer size is enough to tear apart the whole house.

 

I always said I'd never be the kind of mom that says, "Go OUT! Get OUT and play!" and shoves them out the door and throws their shoes after them. But now I see why most of us are like that.

 

Anyway I don't have any advice because obviously I haven't BTDT, but the only thing I have to share is that with all my friends they moved their kids to virtual or independent work of some kind at that age and that seems to help.

 

The following have great self motivated, self directed learning:

 

K12

Florida Virtual School (although this is secular and not classical)

Covenant HOme(very challenging but 5th and up is mostly independent-based)

Calvert 6-8th is independent

Time for Learning (K-8)

 

Now to me, what I would ask the other posters is, sure you picked out K12, but HOW did you get your kids to DO it every day *especially* if you're not their to be the drill sargent??

[gardenschooler]

 

Each boy has his own colored notebook that holds his work for the week and an in-box for work completed during the week. Usually on Friday after school, I print out the next week's schedule for each boy from Edu-Track. I gather all their completed work from their in-boxes and put it in their 4" binders. Then I look at the coming week's schedule and pull all of the worksheets, quizzes, etc. and put them in their colored notebooks. At a minimum, we are ready for school on Monday.

 

I read through the teacher's manual for grammar, CW, LCII, math, and spelling. I highlight anything that I want to stress in our lesson.

 

 

Thanks for posting this, Beth. This is a formula that anyone can follow (whether they're a naturally organized person or not), and be prepared for the week.

 

I have to say, I thought I was organized! But you've got a great system here for being completely ready to start the week. I like the idea of reading through the entire week's worth of lessons beforehand.

[8filltheheart]

I came home tonight from a beautiful Holy Thursday Mass where the service ended with the lights being turned off and everyone leaving in total silence. A commemoration to Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane and the severe torment and death He faced because of my sins.

 

I came to the boards in an edified moment and am leaving deflated and saddened. I scanned the general board before coming to this one. I read your title and I was struck by it, b/c my soul responded, yes…..me, too. It is spending too much time on these boards. The feel of the boards is shifting and I am spending more time actually trying to find threads that I find valuable and worthy of time away from my family. After scanning some of the threads tonight……I was struck with physical nausea. What have I been doing with my precious moments?? How many minutes have I spent on the computer on this forum that I could have been giving more smiles, hugs, kisses, and stories to the little people right in front of me. (too many I am ashamed to admit.)

 

Thank you for your title, even though your thread wasn’t going in this direction. ;) Your question is really timely in making me face mine. As I reflect on the path Christ took for me…..I am sure the gift of my time is intended that I spend my minutes here in my home. Now….do I have the will-power to overcome this weakness? That is another question and one I will have to work on.

[melissel]

I'll just toss in another "You're not alone!" :D I definitely spend too much time on the boards, but being here is like a crash course in HSing. I'm always learning something that helps me, so I'm very reluctant to cut back my time here!

 

And as for being a planner, here I am at almost 3 a.m., making lesson plans for the next few weeks, but I guarantee that there were will be moments each week where I pull out our stuff and discover that I've neglected to make photocopies of the geoboard templates, or I'm missing a book I was supposed to pick up at the library, or I don't have an ingredient for a recipe, etc. But I also know that if I didn't do the planning, nothing at ALL would get done. I figure that it's a "one step back, two steps forward" kind of thing--a journey that we're tweaking all along the way, every day. Don't beat yourself up too much. Just keep plugging away toward the end goals!

[Another Lynn]

I could have written the orig. post too. And Sue also said it very well, I can plan, but I'm lousy at implementation. Reading Beth's methods was also helpful. My current situation is treading water until Classical Conversations is over. (I tutor and I'm preggo and losing Monday out of our school week has been a real issue). Two more weeks. Woo-Hoo! Then I'm giving us all a spring break. Then I'm *planning* a final term of school to help us end the year on a better note - school the way I wish we had done it this year.

 

So, I've been thinking about how to implement this *great* last term. I have a 9yo, 6yo, 4.5 yo, and 2.5yo. As I've made plans and tentative schedules it occurs to me that I need two scopes of vision. One is long term (what do I want to accomplish academically this last 10-12 weeks - what books will I assign, which ones will I read aloud, what will I combine, what will I separate, what days will we do this or that, how long will grammar take, etc?) The other is short term. I think for implementation I really need to take 1 day at a time. I can look at my "weekly" plan (and yes! I need to be looking ahead at spelling lessons, grammar lessons, math lessons and prepare myself to actually *teach*!!!), but then I need to schedule 1 day. And LIVE in that 1 day. Then that night, look back at my weekly schedule to plan the next day, etc.

 

I'm hoping that maybe changing my focus from the term/week to just 1 day will be a baby step towards better implementation!

 

Anyway, those were my thoughts during the night when I couldn't sleep.... so your post seems very timely to me!

[TMarie]

being here is like a crash course in HSing.

 

:iagree: These boards have been a wealth of knowledge & encouragement for me!

 

Kathie, I have the same problem!

Sometimes I have the FLL chant running through my mind..."Work while you work..."

[Christine]

Now I feel like my kids are just HUGE! THey are getting so tall and they seem to be tearing apart the house at every corner, even when they aren't playing wildly just their sheer size is enough to tear apart the whole house.

 

This just made me smile! I have to LOOK UP to my oldest two boys. My 3rd son, at just turned 6 yo, is 4.5 feet tall; my fourth is the smallest, and also the loudest!

 

but HOW did you get your kids to DO it every day *especially* if you're not their to be the drill sargent??

 

Ah yes. . .those years (out of them with the older two, and haven't reached them with the youngers).

 

A timer, became my drill sergeant. They were given a reasonable amount of time to finish a subject. If they finished in advance of the timer and their work was worthy, the rest was free time; yet, if they didn't finish it was directly into the next subject with the knowledge that they now had "homework". Amazing what a motivator that was.

 

I never seem to have time, then again my biggest outlet for 'taking a minute for me' is going online, reading here, checking email, surfing. I guess it's time to back off on all that, uh?

 

I have this problem as well. It's one thing to plan and another, altogether, to implement. And I find my escape on the computer.

 

It's a balancing act, for I certainly need my escapes, and my kids need me to be on the ball. I'm a work in progress.

[profmom]

Not having anyone to have to be accountable to does make this job more challenging! (I'm in a very easy state.) I'm certainly not perfect at this, but here are some things that help me:

 

 

~ Realizing that this is my dc's education we're talking about! It must be taken seriously.

 

~ Reality checks: Is this (what I'm doing right now) what I want my child's education to look like? I recently asked myself this question for each child and made some changes to my ds's schedule & focus.

 

~ Reminding myself to teach and conduct school no matter how I feel -- just do it! This includes "just doing" the lesson prep. and daily plans, which I don't always feel like doing over the weekend. (Thanks for sharing your planning routine, Beth!)

 

 

As a favor to a friend, I listened to a Mary Kay business CD this week. The lady told about growing up on a farm with cows. They had to go milk the cows at the same times each day, no matter how they felt. Even the day of her grandma's funeral, they milked before the funeral, dressed and went, and then changed afterwards to milk the cows again!

 

(ETA new slogan: Go milk the cows! :) )

[LisaKinVA]

Now to me, what I would ask the other posters is, sure you picked out K12, but HOW did you get your kids to DO it every day *especially* if you're not their to be the drill sargent??

 

I need K12 because it keeps me organized. It doesn't let me off the hook completely, but it saves me a ton of time. While the planning is something I love to do -- once I'm off a day, two days, week, -- I hate every tool I've used, because the dates are wrong, or I have to "move" things. K12's planning automatically bumps it to the next day. Don't get to science today? The science assignment just moves into the next day you plan science.

 

Say my son completes 4 math lessons in a day (not unheard of), we check those off, and the next day it puts up the next uncompleted math assignment.

 

I can check (at any time) our projected completion dates, based upon the schedule I have set (Math, 5 lessons M-F, History, M-W-F, Science T-Th, etc.). If we've gotten behind in Literature, I can go into our schedule and simply add an extra literature assignment for Saturday and Sunday, or do two Literature assignments on Tuesday. I can change this every day, or every week -- any time I want to make a change to the global schedule. No headaches -- just a few keystrokes.

 

We have 2 ways we do lessons. In the morning, my son works on seat-work that don't rely on the computer (literature, spelling, penmanship, vocabulary, grammar, Bible, Latin, piano), around 10:00, he joins me in my office, where he has a computer set up and does math, history, science & art. Later, we join the other children (who have been with the Nanny) for group music (about 30 minutes).

 

Yes, I usually have to be around so that the schoolwork gets done. Yes, there are interruptions to my work because of this. No, we don't always do everything -- but I always know where we are on lesson-by-lesson basis, and overall towards finishing a subject or the school year. It's easilly adaptable for me -- and that is what I need more than anything.

 

Next year will be a bit more challenging, because my younger two will start their own history, science & art -- but my oldest is also going into the 4th grade and is getting more and more independent in the majority of those subjects. But, at least I'll be organized for the 3 of them!

[Kathie in VA]

Thanks everyone. Although I'm saddened to hear others are having the same problem, I'm kinda glad to know I'm not alone in this.

 

 

I developed a routine for me that has worked well.

 

Of course, your system will look different, but hopefully this will help you as you decide what will work best for you.

 

hmm, a routine for me. The only thing I've done for that is to try to set up their subjects so I can bounce between kids and catch the beginning of each of their work when they might need me.... doesn't work too well. Setting aside time for "teacher duties" at night might help.... depending if dh needs something.

 

..... My current situation is treading water until Classical Conversations is over. ..... Two more weeks. Woo-Hoo!

 

So, I've been thinking about how to implement this *great* last term. .......

 

but then I need to schedule 1 day. And LIVE in that 1 day.

I'm hoping that maybe changing my focus from the term/week to just 1 day will be a baby step towards better implementation!

 

 

LOL, me too! I also tutor for CC-Foundations! I'm just waiting for all the extra time to catch up! ... like your idea on schedule the ONE day and living in that one day. Worth a try!

 

:.....

Sometimes I have the FLL chant running through my mind..."Work while you work..."

 

LOL, we sing that here also! {especially when they start goofing off!}

 

Not having anyone to have to be accountable to does make this job more challenging!

 

~ Reality checks: Is this (what I'm doing right now) what I want my child's education to look like? I recently asked myself this question for each child and made some changes to my ds's schedule & focus.

 

(ETA new slogan: Go milk the cows! :) )

 

Accountability??

 

Reality checks?... ouch. Your right.

 

LOVE the slogan!

 

-- I hate every tool I've used, because the dates are wrong, or I have to "move" things. K12's planning automatically bumps it to the next day.

 

 

 

I kinda wish K12 was just the planning tool... that part sounds great! I've checked out a few tools and your right, they stick too close to dates. ug.

[BizyPenguin]

I have no time to read ahead for lessons, so I've made it a point to pick curriculum that is easy to review on the day of the lesson. Doing the next thing works best for me! I'm not into all the planning. I firmly believe that the best plan is the one that gets the work done, which is why we do more traditional school stuff at my house. As for spending too much time on these boards...I've been guilty of that too, but I've gotten better. The internet is definitely a force to be reckoned with! Finding balance and simplifying my life are two big goals I'm working on. I'm doing a book study right now for "Mitten String For God" which I'm hoping will help me in this area. All the best!