What is "relaxed homeschooling"? How do *you* do this?

[KIN]

If you see my post below, I'm searching for... something. I'm not sure if I need different curricula or a different way to go about what I'm using. What is "relaxed homeschooling"? How does it look? I need to relax and have more fun in school, but it feels hard to do with Spell to Write and Read, Classical Writing and Latin. :)

[Jami]

If you see my post below, I'm searching for... something. I'm not sure if I need different curricula or a different way to go about what I'm using. What is "relaxed homeschooling"? How does it look? I need to relax and have more fun in school, but it feels hard to do with Spell to Write and Read, Classical Writing and Latin. :)

 

Hi Kathy,

 

I did read your other post. I'm sorry it's been a tough year for you. :(

 

I suppose I'm pretty relaxed at the ages my kids are. We do math, Latin, and some writing every day. My almost-6 year old does almost no school other than reading lessons and listening to books. I choose pretty open and go math and grammar programs (R&S for both) and only use a formal writing program sporadically. My kids read a lot, I read to them a lot, they narrate--orally and written, music and art happen when they happen, nothing very formal. I use AmblesideOnline for most of our subjects and have been assigning more of their reading to be done independently, that's working very well.

 

We're through our schoolwork before 1:00 (that's starting around 9) and then it's rest time (1.5-2 hours) and free time the rest of the afternoon.

 

You've chosen some teacher-intensive programs--Right Start (from what I understand), Spell to Write and Read (again, my understanding), and Classical Writing. Could you switch any of these for something less intense for you? Just for now? I have CW-Aesop and we've used it some, but honestly, my kids are writing really well with just basic instruction over their narrations and so I'm keeping formal instruction lite for another couple of years.

 

I really think that until age 12 or so, if you're covering the basics and building skills, that most of the content subjects can be learned through lots of great books and having access to nature and good art supplies.

 

 

 

Jami

[Guest]

I'm so sorry you're feeling so burnt-out and worn through. Curricula vary tremendously in how teacher-intensive they are, and also how intensive in terms of requiring a lot of seatwork and written work for young children.

 

One thing that changed my life was realizing that games and activities could accomplish much of exactly the same work a child would otherwise be asked to do sitting still and focusing on a piece of paper and pencil. For instance, Games For Math by Peggy Kaye allows kids to move around while learning and practicing basic math facts -- my daughter adored a game where I drew numbers on the patio with different colors of chalk and then gave her instructions to jump to the answer to problems, to to skip count by 3s or 7s by hopping. You could have different degrees of difficulty for each of your kids while they jumped around on the numbers. There are also a lot of good spatial games like RushHour, River Crossing, tangrams, pentominoes, etc. that develop geometric skills and spatial thinking. There is a geography game called MapTangle, made like Twister, with a huge plastic world map you set on the floor, and cards you draw and tell kids to put a foot or a hand on a particular country, river, or landmark. There are spelling games like Wheel of Fortune, WordFlip, or plain old hangman. Peggy Kaye also wrote Games For Reading, Games For Writing, and Games For Learning. All are for the elementary crowd and make sociable entertainment out of things that otherwise kids would face through workbooks and textbooks.

 

My daughter was also a lot happier in elementary school doing science rather than reading about it and taking notes. We did lots of experiments, from kits, books, and GEMS science -- see http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/GEMS/ Lots of these are aimed at a spread of ages and your kids could do them together. (Be forewarned: they are not "tidy" science.)

 

Some people on the boards make one day a week Game Day, where they break up formal curricula with more playful activities. But it also possible to make games and activities central to what you do, every day. Young kids learn through their bodies as well as through paperwork, so it makes sense to incorporate movement, action, building and making things not only at "play time" but in school as well. It will not be any more teacher-intensive than many workbook-based curriculum, and you might find your kids responding to it more happily (other kids adore workbooks, and you might have some of each kind of learner in a group just to make things more interesting!).

 

For many homeschoolers, relaxed homeschooling simply means moving away from the table and reading on the couch together, or reading aloud while you allow your kids to bounce on balls or play with playdough or build with blocks or lego. For many others, it means you allow kids to follow a "rabbit trail" away from the topic your lesson plan focuses on, when they find something of interest to them -- for a day, a week, or longer. It can take many forms, in other words. Mostly it means that you do not have to feel drive to follow a curriculum slavishly, but can feel free to depart from it to whatever degree suits your needs and those of your children.

[lovinmomma]

I'm so sorry!!!:grouphug: These are just my thoughts and I only have littles, so take it for what you will.

 

First of all, no curriculum will make you relaxed. Some will make you NOT relaxed, but it's really moer about a mindset.

 

IMHO, I would move AT LEAST the oldest child to a less teacher-intensive math. Probably Math Mammoth, because it teaches directly to the student and is conceptually similar to RS from what I hear. Then, I would consider moving all of my children to RS once they have completed RS B or C.

 

I would also think very seriously about SWR. SWR is amazing, and some people can do it relaxed, but lots can't.

 

So, first I would take a break to re-think things and let the kids play. There's a book called The Power of Play that you may want to read. Plus, I would read to the kids LOTS and do audio books.

 

After awhile I would add in math. That's all that I would do for awhile other than reading great books from the library.

 

Just my .02

[Ellie]

To get the best idea of what "relaxed" homeschooling is, you should read Dr. Mary Hood's books. :)

[ScoutTN]

Another possibly helpful resource is Raymond Moore's Home Grown Kids or The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook (terrible title, good book).

 

I agree with pp though - it's about your heart and mind more than about curriculum.

Hope it gets better soon!

[Lovedtodeath]

but it feels hard to do with Spell to Write and Read, Classical Writing and Latin. :)

Oh My! You just need to switch to Phonics Road. It covers all of those things and is easier to use than AAS!

 

Generally, when I am "relaxed" we will just use my outline to get what books we can at the library and we don't worry if we can't get them. Then DD will decide if she likes the project and we don't worry about skipping things.

[shinyhappypeople]

I'm so relaxed that onlookers think I'm semi-comatose. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just 'cause what we do doesn't usually look like school doesn't mean the kids aren't forever blowing my mind with how much they're learning.

 

The most important thing is for you to realize that it's okay if you don't get everything done. Really. Nothing bad will happen. You have years and years to accomplish everything. This is a marathon not a race. So what if you don't finish a curriculum according to plan? Start up again next fall. It'll still be there.

 

In the meantime:

 

* For math, play games. Card games, board games, sports (keeping score), whatever. If your boys like baseball, now's a great time to introduce statistics. Get a few measuring tapes and let them measure stuff and figure area. Teach them to cook (if you're brave). Is there room in your backyard for a tree-house or fort? Maybe they could design one

 

* For history, let them set up a tent in the backyard and tell them the Greek and Roman myths of the constellations. Read a book about explorers and then build some model boats out of whatever's handy. There are probably instructions on the internet for this. Watch cool videos. Talk about what life was like when their grandparents were young and when you were young.

 

* For science, get them each a good magnifying glass, a clean jar and let them loose in the backyard or a park.

 

* Never underestimate the importance of taking a day (or five) away from the books so you can go to the park. Most kids don't spend nearly enough time outside playing and observing the natural world up close. Call if PE or nature study if it makes you feel better :D

 

* Libraries are your friend. Let your kiddos run amok (quietly :) ) and pick books and videos about whatever they love (cooking, ancient Egypt, airplanes, butterflies, whatever). Learning this way has two big advantages: increased retention on their part because they WANT to learn it, and you won't have to deal with an "it's booooring" whine-fest. win-win :)

 

I hope this helps. Hang in there. Depression sucks. :tongue_smilie:

[Mom-ninja.]

I see you have a toddler. I have decided that having a toddler and trying to do lessons with older kids is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I keep telling myself it will get better. One day at a time. I congratulate myself for every little thing accomplished in a day.

 

I have to let it go when we don't get something done. I just pick it up the next day. I'm trying to figure out how I will add Latin in though next year. :001_huh: I have a hard time getting our German done. However, it is not open and go. I have to plan it. I do much better with open and go books.

 

As for teacher intensive...well yes. My kids need it. I think most elementary kids need teacher intensive.

 

We are a year "behind" in history but that fine. I just keep trucking along in SOTW and we'll finish when we finish. The same goes for science.

 

Art I mostly outsource. The boys take art at co-op.

 

Make sure you give yourself credit for every little thing you get done in a day. All those little things add up.

[TC5]

Kathy,

 

My children are similar in age to yours, and I, too, have been considering ways to be a little more relaxed.

 

Others have already mentioned RightStart and SWR. I used RightStart B with my second son for a while, but it was painful for us both. We started it in K and used it half way through 1st grade and barely got anywhere. I was going to use Math U See Alpha, but I was waiting for a revised edition. While I was waiting, we started using Math Mammoth, which I'd heard compared to RightStart and Singapore, and my son took off! It was much easier for us both, and I could tell he was really learning something (I never knew with RightStart).

 

We have been using SWR since last summer, but it is too time-consuming for us to use it as intended. I only ever planned to use it for spelling, not so much to write and read or for grammar, so that may be why I have less patience for it than I might. I have started changing the way we use SWR to make it better fit our family. For my 9yo, after having completed all the reference pages, we finger spell and dissect the word only if he doesn't know how to spell it, which is rare. My 7yo needs much more instensive word analysis than SWR suggests. For both of them, I find I am moving closer to the Spelling Power method (which I found used for $5), using SWR as a word list and resource on rules. This is more relaxing for us and the only way I can get spelling done right now. I'm still doing spelling only once or twice a week, but it's better than the nothing we were doing for months.

 

I haven't seen Classical Writing but keep being drawn toward it. But I keep hearing that it is more complicated than I might like right now. We use Writing With Ease at the moment, which is very painless with the workbooks (I didn't have time to do it without the workbooks). It takes only a few minutes each day with no prep time for me (except to prepare copywork pages for my 7yo, but I did all of that months ago for the rest of the year).

 

As for Latin, my 9yo is using Lively Latin, which is mostly independent work for him. I had intended to keep up with him, but I am on chapter 3, and he is on chapter 10. When he asks a question, we search until we find the answer. I thought he'd be closer to chapter 14 by now, but considering how little effort it costs me and how much I can see he is learning, I am not too worried about his pace.

 

I also think about how some of the subjects I really want to teach will be a bit easier when my younger 2 are a little older. I'm sure your young ones add to the feeling of not being able to accomplish what you hoped to each day. I have been trying to give myself permission to have more "reading days" and more "minimum days" with only a couple of core subjects. Those days are more relaxing to me than a day completely off, when I just think of all we should be doing and how far behind we're getting.

 

One of the biggest problems I'm having right now is that I am exhausted by 1 p.m., so I can't even consider doing the fun projects and activities I hear about others doing. On the bright side, for the past couple of weeks we were studying the explorers of the late 1400s and early 1500s. We read lots and lots of books and looked at maps, and I was too tired to think of doing any more. One afternoon, my sons decided to build boats and race them because they'd had so much fun learning about explorers and their ships. When they really want a project, they'll come up with one on their own. They're very creative and active in imaginary and historical play in the afternoons, so I have stopped feeling guilty for not initiating the projects for them.

 

I love the WTM methods and have been afraid to get very relaxed. But I am excited by some plans I am working on to try a unit study here and there and see how they go and to try some more child-led learning and see what I think. Maybe experimenting with different things, a little bit at a time, would help you, too. I don't see myself leaving the WTM way, but I do think I could be more flexible within it. And with increased flexibility comes decreased stress, I've found.

 

I hope something here might help you. Good luck!

[Lovedtodeath]

Others have already mentioned RightStart and SWR. I used RightStart B with my second son for a while, but it was painful for us both. We started it in K and used it half way through 1st grade and barely got anywhere. I was going to use Math U See Alpha, but I was waiting for a revised edition. While I was waiting, we started using Math Mammoth, which I'd heard compared to RightStart and Singapore, and my son took off! It was much easier for us both, and I could tell he was really learning something (I never knew with RightStart).

My daughter is also learning more with less effort with Math Mammoth. I did want to add a little more hands-on and time with teaching from me. I have been looking at Heart of Dakota for history and I am amazed that the guides include everything, even a hands-on lesson every day that would go along with the Singapore Math scheduled. I am thinking that Heart of Dakota might be what I need to reign in my ADD and natural disorganization to get everything in.

 

I also noticed narration, copywork and dictation is in the HOD guide, tying the history, science and LA together. Since I already have a complete LA program, I probably won't use it, but it is impressive.

[Irishmommy]

How about some Five in a Row lessons for a while (or forever)? It has great literature selections and would be great for all your kiddos. FIAR time is always my kids' favorite time of the day. You could just do all the work conversationally for a while. My ds loves conversational learning, he doesn't realize it is "school".

[NanceXToo]

I consider myself a "relaxed homeschooler."

 

I have a 9 year old daughter who I am homeschooling for fourth grade this year. We use the Oak Meadow curriculum, as I mentioned in the other thread. I chose it because it allows for a lot more creative, hands on activities, ESPECIALLY in the younger years, but even continuing into the older grades- it's not dry textbook stuff, it's not worksheets, they don't give "tests," and we really enjoy that curriculum here.

 

I supplement very minimally- I like to do some extra times tables review for one, but then again I try to mostly let her do that in fun ways like playing free math games online. We do typing lessons, but then again, that was at her request. I don't start going "Well I need to pile on extra math, and supplement with a second writing program, and she needs to learn a foreign language and she needs to do 'copywork' and so on and so forth"... ugh, no. I'd make her crazy and likely myself crazy, too.*

 

*Disclaimer: If these things are working for your family, great. I'm not trying to put down anyone's parenting or schooling choices! But when you're in a situation where the mother is miserable and the kids hate school- like this situation- not great. Then you really have to start evaluating what's important and what's not. And IMHO tons of worksheets and Latin (for example) are just not. Enjoying your time together and enjoying learning and having plenty of time to explore your own interests and for kids to just be kids and play- that's important (to me).

 

We do not spend more than 2 to 3 hours a day on our 4th grade curriculum stuff (if we're doing a particular project like when we did colonial times crafts and stuff, then it might be more like 3 hours. If there isn't a specific project going on, it's more like 2 hours). And I'll break it up and give her time to play and do her own thing in between.

 

We don't live life around school. We do school around life. We do lots of fun outings and activities and field trips and whatnot. If something fun or interesting comes up or is going on, we have no problem whatsoever dropping school and going to do that. We get back to the school stuff eventually. Occasionally I'll skip something or shorten it or modify it. Occasionally I'll extend it or add something onto it, if we're enjoying it. Sometimes we'll fit it in on the weekend or in the evening. In the end, we cover most of it.

 

I am confident that learning happens in other ways aside from curriculum stuff. It happens when I read stories for fun, when we sit down to watch "Planet Earth" together, when we play a game of Monopoly and she gets to be the banker, when we run errands together, when we go on nature walks, when she attends library programs, it happens in so many different ways.

 

We all have our stressful days, that is normal, of course! I am not saying every day of my life is perfect, by any means. But for the most part, we really enjoy homeschooling and the way we live our lives and it usually is not stressful and no-one is miserable and we're having fun and I wish everyone could say that about their days in general. It really does make me sad when I see people post about how they are miserable and stressed and want to quit and their kids hate being homeschooled and so on. I just think, it doesn't have to be that way!

 

By the way, I didn't have to do standardized testing with my daughter this year (I live in PA and we only have to do it in 3rd, 5th and 8th grades) but I had her take the 4th grade level CAT from Seton this year anyway ("for fun"- she actually liked taking it and I put zero pressure on her) just because I wanted an idea of where she stands, if she's doing okay despite my relaxed attitude and lack of rigor so to speak when it comes to academics. And she scored just fine. She's on target for her grade level. With the 50th percentile being exactly average, she was in the 63rd percentile- meaning she did as well as or better than 63% of students who took that test nationwide.

 

So she's fine. She's not behind. She's on target with where she's "supposed" to be. She's certainly better off than her public school peers around here since they consistently score "below average" on their standardized tests in my local districts.

 

As she gets older and it starts becoming clearer what direction she wants to go in life, I'll help her focus on the things she needs to focus on to make that happen. But in these young elementary school years- we want the emphasis to be on enjoying learning and enjoying childhood, not trying to cram as much knowledge as I possibly can into her while in the meanwhile she's becoming miserable and I'm becoming miserable. That's not how I would ever want to go through my days.

 

Okay I'm going to stop rambling- I really really hope I didn't offend anyone (I keep re-reading this to see if I sounded too know it all or if I was judging other people's choices too much and I really hope not!)- I don't want this to seem like I am saying that people who do the more "classical education" thing are all making bad choices or NOT enjoying learning or NOT enjoying childhood or anything like that; this is a response to a specific person who it apparently ISN'T working for and I just wanted to let you know that doing it a different way or having a different attitude about homeschooling can "work" too!

 

It is worth exploring and you can probably be confident that you won't ruin your kid's lives or put them behind without chance of catching up by doing so- like I said, after more than a year of homeschooling this way, my daughter is doing fine- I can SEE that she's learning, and she's on target with where she should be per her test scores :)

 

So yeah try easing up a little, having more fun, asking your kids what they want to do and learn and try, do things in a creative way rather than a textbook way, and see what happens. You might be pleasantly surprised!

[at the beach]

Another possibly helpful resource is Raymond Moore's Home Grown Kids or The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook (terrible title, good book).

 

I agree with pp though - it's about your heart and mind more than about curriculum.

Hope it gets better soon!

 

I suggested the Moore's books to you in the other thread. They are great and will help you see how others are homeschooling in a relaxed way and help you to relax about it, too.

 

I also suggested you look at something like Ambleside Online. Very easy to use, not overwhelming, and very rich.

 

ETA: How do we do this? We have used AO in the past. We also used SL, which I personally feel is less relaxing than AO. I try to find efficient things to use with the kids. I will not use things like Classical Writing, Spell to Write and Read, highly time consuming math with young children. No thanks. My kids are 21, 13, and 10. My oldest was not homeschooled and graduated from a public high school. My middle daughter is academically oriented but right now she's more independent so it's not that stressful. However, I want to make sure there is balance for her, too. I do not want her spending 10-12 hours a week on a class. She took an online mythology course this Spring that has been rather intense. Too much time spent on it IMO. Not what I want at her age. She takes online Latin, spends up to an hour a day on it during the week and that's fine. My 10 yo is not academically oriented at this point. She loves Teaching Textbooks math (she has struggled terribly with math and loves this). So, I'm going with it. She has been doing LLATL this year and she loves that as well. We are finishing up Core 1/2 from Sonlight that we started LAST fall but SL says taking two years is a common thing to do. So, I'm not going to worry about that, either. With TT and LLATL, I feel I am covering language arts. I know many here would not dream of using TT or LLATL, but for my kid, it is good enough. It's plenty at this stage and it's working. Also, I severely limit TV, video games, and computer games. This helps the kids gravitate to doing other things that are good for them but not necessarily highly structured or time consuming for me.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Violet

[Greta Lea]

Jacob, 9 yo RightStart E, SWR, First From Latin, Classical Writing Aesop B, Queen Homeschool Bible

Levi, 7 yo RightStart C, SWR, Classical Writing Primer, Prima Latina

Isaac, 5 yo Kumon workbooks, SWR, RightStart A, lots of reading,

Grace, 2 yo getting into everything

Everyone together: Biblioplan year 4, Apologia Flying Things, CLE Nature Readers, Suzuki Piano, Harmony Art

 

First of all, drop the Classical Writing. Kids this young, even your 9yo, are doing just fine with oral narrations and some dictation. I would only do dictation with the 9yo. That's THE earliest age I start dictation.

 

Also, drop the Latin. They will be JUST FINE without latin at this age!

 

If Rightstart is working, keep that. SWR...well, I've used this and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone whose child does fine with reading and spelling. Instead, I would recommend Explode the Code workbooks and teacher's guide. The teacher's guides for ETC really flesh out the program making it a full phonics and spelling program.

 

I'm not familiar with the bible program you mention, but my boys still simply read the bible every day and they are now 16 and 12 1/2yo. For years they loved "picture bibles" way beyond the years their peers still loved them. Go with what easily captures their attention in this area and just read to them.

 

Formal history and science? Not at this age for us. Just make regular trips to the library and simply read to them everyday. Let them choose the books even if you end up reading the same 2 or 3 books day after day.

 

I used to use FIAR and the SL catalog to get titles of good picture books. Oh, and your 9yo will be JUST FINE if you aren't reading some chapter book aloud at this age. The picture book stage of life doesn't last forever, so savor it while it does!!!

 

Drop the art lessons, unless this is some outside class you aren't in charge of teaching. Instead, just buy some fun and easy "how to draw" books and leave them out where the kids can get to them any time they want.

 

Keep It Simple. That's my motto, especially for youngers the ages of yours!

[Mommee & Baba]

I did consider myself a relaxed homeschooler until I started to plan next years schedule and realized that I'm cramming so much work into the year to complete curriculum books and such and didn't realize that I didn't really give much space for change or what not..so today after reading this thread I've realized I need to relax more for next year and go back over my schedule!

[FO4UR]

I'm a HS newbie, but :iagree:with the encouragement to take a break and weed down what you can from your curric.

 

I have SWR. It is too much too fast for my 7yo, and could drive us all mad if I let it. We dropped it for now. Consider another curric for phonics/spelling, or just a nice long break. Maybe have your younger ones just work on the phonograms and penmanship for now??? My 5yo is just doing penmanship and gleaning from the 7yo's lessons...my 7yo has been working out of Word Mastery reading first and then spelling SWR-style.

 

I've heard CW and RS are both very teacher-intensive...evaluate what needs to stay or go there. Meanwhile, take a break.

 

I am reading up all these threads on relaxed HSing myself. I resonate with the *real* tea time thread...focusing on the 3R's in the early years.:001_smile: History and science at our house are glorified read-alouds, and the kids learn best that way. We use Apologia Zoo I as mainly a read-aloud...the kids love it! We occasionally actually DO some of the activities at the end of the chapter, but even when we don't my dc are learning a ton!

[NanceXToo]

P.S. Here's what a relaxed day will look like in my house, today.

 

After this post, I'm going to wake my 9 y/o up and give her breakfast. While she eats, I'll probably read aloud to her as she usually likes me to do. We just finished reading "Caught In The Act" from the Orphan Train series (for fun, after learning about it for social studies and wanting to explore the subject further; for the same reason, we also rented a documentary about it from Netflix and watched that recently). And we also just finished reading "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" (assigned reading from Oak Meadow). So today, we'll probably pick up where we left off in the "Little House on The Prairie" series, with "On The Banks Of Plum Creek" and read from that. Next week we'll start the last "assigned" book for this year's curriculum (we do a new one every three weeks and at the end she writes some sort of book report on it).

 

After breakfast and brushing teeth, she will probably write in her daily journal. She does this in cursive, using proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization and so forth, recalling the events of yesterday and writing about them. She can illustrate the journal if she wants to (usually she does). She'll proof read it herself when she's done, and if she misses anything, I will point it out so she can fix it. If we happen to be learning about or focusing on something particular, like say 5 sentence paragraphs or dialog or adjectives or whatever, she'll try to use those things in her journal entry that day/week.

 

She will take a quiz on the ten spelling words I gave her this week. She usually gets to choose how she wants to review them over the course of the week, and then she gets a "quiz" on Thursdays. Sometimes she reviews orally, sometimes she likes to write sentences. Yesterday she wrote the words on construction paper (using different colors), drew shapes and pictures around the words (she likes to try to make the shape or picture pertain to the word), cut the shapes out and taped them into her book.

 

At this point we'll probably take a break, and I'll take a quick shower and get ready, because we have a scheduled outing at 11 A.M. I organized a "Community Helper A To Z" program for my homeschool group, and every month I find someone whose occupation starts with a specific letter of the alphabet and make arrangements to meet with them, and we learn more about what they do. Sometimes it's a tour, sometimes it's a talk, sometimes it's a demonstration or hands on participation or Q&A. Today we are meeting our "H is for Historian" person at the local Historical Society. They will, I imagine, talk about what a historian does, what the historical society does, and a bit about the history of our county. And there will be some collections for viewing, etc.

 

We'll probably grab lunch somewhere afterward and then come home.

 

I'll probably ask her to have a few minutes of silent reading time while I catch up on emails and stuff (she's currently reading "How To Train Your Dragon" to herself because she loved the movie).

 

We'll then do a handful of practice problems for math. We're currently doing weights and measures, pounds and ounces. Today's practice will be via story problems. Yesterday's was more hands on, she gathered and weighed a bunch of things on our food scale, and wrote down the weights, and I picked a few of them that were over a pound and had her convert the weight into ounces only. I don't overwhelm her with practice problems. We talk about the concept, do some practice, move on, and revisit it again the next day and continue on with the weekly lesson.

 

She'll have her typing lesson, which is something she had requested to do. She wants to be able to type like me, without looking.

 

At this point she'll have free time to play on the computer or with her Nintendo DS or with her little brother or out in the backyard or do do arts and crafts or whatever she wants to do. When her friends are home from school, she'll go out and play and ride bikes with them.

 

After dinner, we'll probably watch a show together from our DVR. It might be "Life" (similar to Planet Earth) or "America, The Story Of Us" (we watched episode 1 last night and may watch episode 2 tonight). Usually Thursday nights she has Girl Scouts but when she came home from last week's meeting, she informed me that her leader said they wouldn't be having Girl Scouts this week for some reason. So we'll be chilling at home tonight.

 

That's about it! Yesterday she worked on a pretend time capsule for social studies (describing and illustrating what she'd put into it and why) and wrote a book report on The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (in the form of creating a new ending for the book).

 

The things we do on a given day vary; earlier in the week we talked and read about light years and how light travels across the universe for science, which has focused on astronomy lately.

 

We don't do all subjects all days, we don't beat subjects to death, we don't pile on extra busywork, and somehow, in the end, it all works out. She's learning all the time, I figure! :)

[prairiegirl]

Kathy, I have had a rough year as well and have been craving a more relaxed atmosphere to our days. I know that the downfall has been the teacher-intensive programs that I chose. I love these programs but they are requiring so much from me.

 

I have been making some changes that have helped quite a bit. My dd remarked yesterday that there was a sense of peace in the house due to these changes. After the year that we have had, her comment made me cry.

 

Change #1--Math with my oldest has always been a time of tears and frustration. I finally gave the reins to her and told her that she could decide what she wanted to do for math everyday. I gave her a list of the resources that I had and she chooses what she would like to do. I have only started this (last week) but it is working out very well.

 

Change #2--Have ditched the grammar program for now and is now only using it as a guide. I am teaching parts of speech, diagramming, etc. through picture books. Yes, it is still teacher -intensive but it is fun teacher intensive that I can do with all 3 of them at one time.

 

Change #3-- Have instituted subject baskets. I have taken a topic and put things into a basket that pertain to that topic. For ex. a bug basket--I have put in books about bugs, field guide, a few types of bug catchers, magnifying glass, craft materials to make bugs, materials to make minit books. I also have a basket on Africa and art that is set up similarly. I put the baskets out and let the kids have at it. I also set out baskets that are tuned to each child's interests. Yes, it is a bit of work at the outset but, oh, it keeps them busy and excited for quite awhile and it is adding that element of fun into their day that has been missing for quite awhile.

 

I would seriously look at your curriculum and your day and see what you could do to lessen things a bit. That might mean ditching curriculum or just using it as a guide and implementing the information/knowledge in a more hands on way.

[Free Indeed]

How about some Five in a Row lessons for a while (or forever)? It has great literature selections and would be great for all your kiddos. FIAR time is always my kids' favorite time of the day. You could just do all the work conversationally for a while. My ds loves conversational learning, he doesn't realize it is "school".

 

:iagree: All you would need to add to this is a math program (or living math) and a phonics program. For a great, easy, open and go phonics program we use Reading Made Easy by Valerie Bendt. It is amazing. I have used it for years, and have taught several children to read using it, even some that are not my own.

Your children are only young once, enjoy them. All the family will enjoy the wonderful books, and Jane (the author of Five in a Row) has a post on the website about how to do FIAR conversationally. We have used it for 8 years, and it truly has caused my children to love learning and love books. :D

[ALB]

How about some Five in a Row lessons for a while (or forever)? It has great literature selections and would be great for all your kiddos. FIAR time is always my kids' favorite time of the day. You could just do all the work conversationally for a while. My ds loves conversational learning, he doesn't realize it is "school".

:iagree:I was just thinking taking a FIAR break might be a good idea!

[2squared]

First of all, drop the Classical Writing. Kids this young, even your 9yo, are doing just fine with oral narrations and some dictation. I would only do dictation with the 9yo. That's THE earliest age I start dictation.

 

Also, drop the Latin. They will be JUST FINE without latin at this age!

 

If Rightstart is working, keep that. SWR...well, I've used this and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone whose child does fine with reading and spelling. Instead, I would recommend Explode the Code workbooks and teacher's guide. The teacher's guides for ETC really flesh out the program making it a full phonics and spelling program.

 

I'm not familiar with the bible program you mention, but my boys still simply read the bible every day and they are now 16 and 12 1/2yo. For years they loved "picture bibles" way beyond the years their peers still loved them. Go with what easily captures their attention in this area and just read to them.

 

Formal history and science? Not at this age for us. Just make regular trips to the library and simply read to them everyday. Let them choose the books even if you end up reading the same 2 or 3 books day after day.

 

I used to use FIAR and the SL catalog to get titles of good picture books. Oh, and your 9yo will be JUST FINE if you aren't reading some chapter book aloud at this age. The picture book stage of life doesn't last forever, so savor it while it does!!!

 

Drop the art lessons, unless this is some outside class you aren't in charge of teaching. Instead, just buy some fun and easy "how to draw" books and leave them out where the kids can get to them any time they want.

 

Keep It Simple. That's my motto, especially for youngers the ages of yours!

 

:iagree::iagree:

 

I also agree with the sentiment that "school happens around life." My kids spend hours playing outside every day, and I think that is invaluable developmental time that they won't be able to recover. I think exploring with them, reading to them, and joining them in their worlds is so important. Those are the things we don't skip.

 

I personally love RS, so I wouldn't drop that. :) I've simplified our RS lessons to 15 min for level A and 30 min for level C for only 3-4 days/week. The kids are learning fabulously and we are making solid progress.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Thanks for the glimpse into your day, Nance!

[LibraryLover]

I thought I wrote this. lol When did I write this? Thgen I saw that I am not SHinyHappyPeople.

 

I'm so relaxed that onlookers think I'm semi-comatose. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just 'cause what we do doesn't usually look like school doesn't mean the kids aren't forever blowing my mind with how much they're learning.

 

The most important thing is for you to realize that it's okay if you don't get everything done. Really. Nothing bad will happen. You have years and years to accomplish everything. This is a marathon not a race. So what if you don't finish a curriculum according to plan? Start up again next fall. It'll still be there.

 

In the meantime:

 

* For math, play games. Card games, board games, sports (keeping score), whatever. If your boys like baseball, now's a great time to introduce statistics. Get a few measuring tapes and let them measure stuff and figure area. Teach them to cook (if you're brave). Is there room in your backyard for a tree-house or fort? Maybe they could design one

 

* For history, let them set up a tent in the backyard and tell them the Greek and Roman myths of the constellations. Read a book about explorers and then build some model boats out of whatever's handy. There are probably instructions on the internet for this. Watch cool videos. Talk about what life was like when their grandparents were young and when you were young.

 

* For science, get them each a good magnifying glass, a clean jar and let them loose in the backyard or a park.

 

* Never underestimate the importance of taking a day (or five) away from the books so you can go to the park. Most kids don't spend nearly enough time outside playing and observing the natural world up close. Call if PE or nature study if it makes you feel better :D

 

* Libraries are your friend. Let your kiddos run amok (quietly :) ) and pick books and videos about whatever they love (cooking, ancient Egypt, airplanes, butterflies, whatever). Learning this way has two big advantages: increased retention on their part because they WANT to learn it, and you won't have to deal with an "it's booooring" whine-fest. win-win :)

 

I hope this helps. Hang in there. Depression sucks. :tongue_smilie:

[Pam Wilhelm]

Another possibly helpful resource is Raymond Moore's Home Grown Kids or The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook (terrible title, good book).

 

I agree with pp though - it's about your heart and mind more than about curriculum.

Hope it gets better soon!

 

 

READ THESE BOOKS!!! I was so stressed because I wasn't able to do everything "Classical" ....... and had gotten rather aggravated with the whole concept. I read Ray Moore's books and wound up with a combination of Ray Moore Academy and Hewitt Homeschooling......... we are very mellow and happy now. School is done before lunch (usually) and the kids are doing tons better. The Classical Method just didn't work for us...... sorry, ya'll! I tried for 4 years and I wasn't happy and therefore the kids weren't happy.

 

Good luck! You will find a way that works for you and your family....give yourself time to find it.

[Ellie]

Another possibly helpful resource is Raymond Moore's Home Grown Kids or The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook (terrible title, good book).

 

I agree with pp though - it's about your heart and mind more than about curriculum.

Hope it gets better soon!

The Moores' books are good, but it was Dr. Hood who coined the term "relaxed homeschooling." :-)

 

Some of Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore's other books are Better Late Than Early, School Can Wait, Home Grown Schools, and Home School Burnout.

[Lovedtodeath]

LOL I put the tag in and it came up with "relax- we're just looking" :lol:

 

I love the reminder of funny tags/posts.

[Susan in TX]

I think this sums it up in a nut shell:

 

 

We don't live life around school. We do school around life.

 

I am confident that learning happens in other ways aside from curriculum stuff. It happens when I read stories for fun, when we sit down to watch "Planet Earth" together, when we play a game of Monopoly and she gets to be the banker, when we run errands together, when we go on nature walks, when she attends library programs, it happens in so many different ways.

 

...in these young elementary school years- we want the emphasis to be on enjoying learning and enjoying childhood, not trying to cram as much knowledge as I possibly can into her

 

Relaxed homeschooling isn't so much "do this", it is more of a way of looking at things, a mindset or philosophy that is "relaxed". Out of this flows a way of homeschooling that is "relaxed", although more for some than for others, and for us we go through seasons...there are times when we push ourselves and it doesn't look quite so relaxed. Other times we fall into what looks almost like unschooling.

 

Susan in TX

[kelouis75]

To get the best idea of what "relaxed" homeschooling is, you should read Dr. Mary Hood's books. :)

:iagree: I love her book The Joyful Homeschooler. It really changed the way that I do things. To the OP I send :grouphug: to you...

[kelouis75]

READ THESE BOOKS!!! I was so stressed because I wasn't able to do everything "Classical" ....... and had gotten rather aggravated with the whole concept. I read Ray Moore's books and wound up with a combination of Ray Moore Academy and Hewitt Homeschooling......... we are very mellow and happy now. School is done before lunch (usually) and the kids are doing tons better. The Classical Method just didn't work for us...... sorry, ya'll! I tried for 4 years and I wasn't happy and therefore the kids weren't happy.

 

Good luck! You will find a way that works for you and your family....give yourself time to find it.

 

I don't think "classical" has to be particularly uptight... I think the main elements: the three Rs, great literature, language study, focus on history... all can be relaxed... Even memory work can be fun if it becomes a game or song...

 

I think it's all in the way the goals are achieved... This is why I don't tie myself to curriculum that "locks" me into a particular schedule... Then I don't feel guilty if all the boxes don't get checked for the day...

[Evergreen Academy]

This thread is good for me to read, revisit, think about. We started as very relaxed homeschoolers 7 years ago, when I had one little one in K and one 6th grader schooling at home. Over time, we've added multiple kids through adoption, weathered surgeries and health issues, etc, and our style has changed; the past few years I've been more rigid, in an attempt to make sure I'm covering all the bases, but I miss relaxed! Here are some things we've done in the past and have been returning to, along with some new things.

 

- We used FLL followed by English for the Thoughtful Child for grades 1-3; easy, low pressure, fairly fun. Reading was Pathway Readers (simple, fun), and lots of good literature from the library.

- Regular copywork - poems, things from history stories, etc.

- We double up as many subjects as we can: copywork in best writing could count as handwriting; birthday cards well made with verses or poems could count as handwriting, etc, sometimes English depending on the day and length of the passage they've written.

- Delight/discovery led learning: if ds found a turtle, the turtle became much of the day's lesson: we looked him up in the Handbook of Nature Study or another book, drew a picture of him, wrote a few sentences about him, sat and watched him for a while before returning him. That was science, handwriting, English and nature study.

- If you didn't already get this, feel free to drop some subjects if you're covering them in other ways, and it's ok to skip some completely once in a while.

- Food prep: lots of lessons here and the kids LOVE it. At our house, if people like the food, they clap, and the cook is expected to stand ON their chair and take a bow. They are SO anxious to help me cook now!

- Lots of reading; cuddle-up, couch time, great books from Ambleside, Sonlight and our MFW curriculum, which brings me to:

- MFW - I have done Biblioplan the past few years and have just about exhausted myself and everyone else here trying to get EVERYTHING done during the day (although I adored the book choices). This year we did MFW Exploration to 1850 and it has so relaxed our homeschool! It is rich enough that it can stand alone on busy days and light enough that I can enrich it with extra books or go on a tangent with something else that interests us. I feel like I'm covering the bases in a relaxed yet thorough way. Whew! The kids are actually expressing gratitude for MFW as we finish up the year and reflect on it in comparison to past years.

- Lastly, CLE math. It has been such a Godsend for the three youngest in our little school - all but littlest can do it independently, and they are retaining it, hooray! One caution, it does run advanced should you decide to have a look.

 

Don't know if this helps at all. It's gotten me thinking, thanks!

Aimee

Mom to 6 great kids ages 6-19, schooling grades 1, 3, 3 and 6