Any encouragement

[redsnapper]

With school days starting up in a few weeks I'm getting discouraged.

 

This will be our first year home schooling. I am pulling my kids from their public school to home school. They are 4th and 2nd graders. My DD (4th grade) is fine with it and looking forward to it. My more social DS (2nd grader) is having a hard time about not seeing ALL his friends again. In his opinion it's nice that he gets to see some of his friends, but what about the boys whose parents I don't know. He's gotten in tears about it a few times this summer. I just keep picturing him lonely and miserable this year, missing the camaraderie with his buddies each day.

 

Then, too, I've been working hard this summer to get scope & sequence figured out for each subject for the kids. But how do I translate that into each week, or even day? Is it as simple as looking ahead each payday to see what I need to purchase, borrow or check-out for the next two weeks? I was fine with the planning ahead, but actually walking it out day to day suddenly looks like a mountain.

 

Any encouragement for a new home schooling mom? :drool: :001_unsure:

 

Thanks,

Melissa

[LauraGB]

My more social DS (2nd grader) is having a hard time about not seeing ALL his friends again. In his opinion it's nice that he gets to see some of his friends, but what about the boys whose parents I don't know. He's gotten in tears about it a few times this summer. I just keep picturing him lonely and miserable this year, missing the camaraderie with his buddies each day.

 

 

With a kid like this you need to plan lots of social activities like sports or other neighborhood sponsored things. You might check with your local Y or your town's leisure activities, or even your local ps (sometimes, depending on your state and hs regulations, you can sign your child up for these types of activities). Otherwise, you can schedule a Sat. per month (or two or so) where your son and his friends get together to do something fun. My dd started her own club at around that same age, and every Sunday we met at a local park (or in the winter, the Wildlife Sanctuary - anywhere that was free) to do fun stuff that they planned themselves. The group grew to about 15 kids at one point; it was fun for her.

[Garga]

I can only tell you what I do and you can take it or leave it!

 

1. I have my books that I'm going to use for the year, and I'll make a rough estimate of how much I'll need to do in each book each week to make it to the end of the year.

 

2. Like you said, I only plan ahead about two weeks. That way, I have time to get books from the library or supplies for history/science/art projects from the store.

 

3. I use an excel sheet that I created for myself to write down exactly what I'll do each day. (which page numbers in math/which art project to do)

 

I've found that if I plan the details out too far ahead, it just doesn't work. Something always comes up to derail it. It's better to plan just 1-2 weeks ahead of time. (for me.)

 

 

I used to wonder (before I started homeschooling) why hs-ers weren't more forthcoming with exactly *how* they did this thing. Now that I'm on the other side, I realize it's almost impossible to describe how to do it...until you just Do It. So, don't worry too much--jump right in.

 

Oh--P.S. You'll probably plan out a bunch of stuff and then realize that it's ALL WRONG. The order that you teach things will be a mess. The amount of work you can do is either more or less than you thought. Some piece of curric. will just Stink. That's why I use an excel sheet. I change things All The Time.

 

Have fun!

[LauraGB]

Then, too, I've been working hard this summer to get scope & sequence figured out for each subject for the kids. But how do I translate that into each week, or even day? Is it as simple as looking ahead each payday to see what I need to purchase, borrow or check-out for the next two weeks? I was fine with the planning ahead, but actually walking it out day to day suddenly looks like a mountain.

 

If you can get an HIG or TG for the classes, that's great; then you can just open and go. If not, I'm still a fan of open and go :tongue_smilie:. I think you can overwhelm yourself when first starting a new thing, whether it's elementary or middle school or high school. Planning and researching is really the toughest part, IMO. Once you've chosen your curricula, and all the elements you need to round it out, just remember that it's not supposed to be perfect - there's always room for learning ;).

 

Some people are really good at planning and implementing from a plan they previously made, some of us aren't so much. It's okay. I decided a long time ago that this homeschool thing is all about how life actually works, and my life actually isn't that preplanned, but I have a really good idea how I'd like it to work out. So far, so good :).

 

Oh, and Welcome to the boards!

Edited July 25, 2010 by LauraGB

[Avila]

Then, too, I've been working hard this summer to get scope & sequence figured out for each subject for the kids. But how do I translate that into each week, or even day? Is it as simple as looking ahead each payday to see what I need to purchase, borrow or check-out for the next two weeks? I was fine with the planning ahead, but actually walking it out day to day suddenly looks like a mountain.

 

What are you planning to use?

 

The easiest way for me to do it is to figure out the number of lessons in the book, divide that by the number weeks I will be scheduling for school and then by the number of days of the week that I want to do that subject. So for example, there are 180 lessons in our math book. 180 lessons divided by 36 weeks means that I have to schedule math every day (or 5 days a week) to cover this book. In practical terms, we normally do math and English every day, spelling and religion 4 days a week, science and history twice a week, and most other things once a week or sporadically. I am sure the board can give you more help specifically if we know what you are using.

 

Once you break everything up into smaller bits, the mountain looks a lot more like a hill. One really good resource for this is the Simply Charlotte Mason planner, even if you aren't specifically doing Charlotte Mason stuff.

 

I like pencil and a teacher planner to write it, even if I have to erase a lot. But I know a lot of people do it on the computer to make rearranging things easier. I like to write all mine out so I can see the whole day in balance, and I also like to give some general times to it, just to make sure I am not planning 6 hours of work on a day we only have 4 hours to finish or something. I write in any extracurriculars (school-related or otherwise) so that I know what my timeline looks like for the day.

 

It really is not that complicated once you get started. It will take a few weeks to figure out some of the scheduling, because it really depends on what you are using, your kids and their learning styles, your teaching style, and what the rest of your life looks like. But you will figure it out! :)

Edited July 25, 2010 by Asenik

[Teachin'Mine]

Melissa you'll do great! Your kids are young enough that it doesn't take a huge amount of time each day to keep them advancing academically. As far as what you need to buy, most of that would best be done in time for the beginning of the school year, or as you're able. For checking things out from the library, you can plan a couple of weeks ahead of time, and can even do the reserving of materials online. Have you decided what curricula you'll be using? If you post that, people who use it can give you more concrete ideas on how to plan.

 

Are there home school groups in your area? It sounds like your youngest might really enjoy that as he'd be with other kids on a regular basis, and making new friends who are also home schooled. I agree that keeping up with his old friends is important too.

 

It's an adjustment for everyone. You may want to set aside one day of the week for field trips or some fun activity. Everyone likes to have something to look forward to at the end of the week. But these are all just ideas, and you'll find what works for your family. :)

[TCB]

This will be only our second year homeschooling so last year I was in your position. I did get really nervous and anxious just before the school year started and wondered if we were doing the right thing. I think that must be a fairly normal reaction to such a big life change.

 

i think it is quite difficult to plan too much the first year. I felt like I just did not know what was a realistic amount to plan for each day. I decided to go easy on myself and just take it as it came the first year and not get too upset if things were a little caotic. The year went pretty well and although probably not the most organised of schooling, I still think the kids learnt quite a lot. This year I feel much more able to plan, still an amatuer of coarse, but much better than last year. So try not to worry too much and enjoy as much as you can.

[Caitilin]

First, :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:. It's a little bit daunting to begin this journey.

 

For the specific "how to plan a week" questions, it's hard for someone else to answer that. What curricula/books are you planning to use? If we have more info, we can try to be more helpful. :)

 

Here's the way I do my planning (which some people would consider WAY too relaxed, but has been working well for me):

 

Before the school year, I take all the kids' books, look through them, and divide them up into quarters. I put little sticky flags in these spots, and mark them Halloween, Christmas, St. Pat's Day, and Summer. This helps both me and the kids see that we're making progress through the books. I chose these dates because they give me about 9 weeks for each quarter, based on when I want to start school. ;)

 

Then, every Sunday, I sit down for an hour or so and write out everybody's assignments for the week. I use this planner, just because I like the format, but everyone likes her own. :)

 

What else would you like help with?

[elfgivas]

it will be great! (most days ; ). why not plan a few fun fridays where you do some work in the morning and then have a field trip somewhere? it would give them something to look forward to.... and you, too!

 

we bake muffins on monday mornings, too, which is a ritual that let's us know its time to be together and do school....

 

have fun!

ann

[redsnapper]

Wow, thank you everyone for the good advice and the encouragement. These are definitely the last days of panic as I start out.

 

I finally figured out how to add info to my signature, so my curriculum choices will be viewable now.

 

FYI, I did choose LLATL for it's simplicity. It sounds like a good curriculum and I like having it all in one, to keep myself sane this year. I can always change later if it's not working for us. But I'm optimistic.:)

 

This summer I figured out my year plan for what to cover each week. I guess the daily stuff is what's intimidating. But as I think about your advice, and about taking it one or two weeks at a time for gathering supplies, etc. it definitely seems more manageable.

 

Thank you again. I'm listening! :tongue_smilie:

Melissa

[NanceXToo]

Homeschooling is a big change, when you've been used to having your kids in public school, and any change- even good ones- will make you nervous and anxious. It's normal to wonder if you're doing the right thing, if you're going to do well at it, if you're going to screw your kids up, and all sorts of things like that when you first start homeschooling.

 

I know, because my daughter went to public school for all of K, 1 and 2, and most of 3 before I pulled her out and began homeschooling. We just completed my first full year homeschooling her for 4th grade. And I'm very much looking forward to continuing to homeschool her for 5th and to start homeschooling my 4 y/o son, who will not start off in public school at all, the way my daughter did!

 

What I can say is: Relax. Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. Within weeks of homeschooling, I already felt more relaxed, natural, confident. I was thinking "What was I so worried about? This is great!" And it has been. That's not to say there are never any hard or bad moments, there are, as with everything in life. But overall, it's been great. We've really loved this process!

 

There are many social opportunities you can provide for your son. Scout and 4H programs, joining a homeschool/co-op group, library programs, classes, camps, field trips, YMCA's, sports, and so on. Reassure him that you can provide some of these opportunities for him, and that you can set up playdates with the kids he's already friendly with and so on.

 

By the way, my daughter, although she didn't even like public school, and loved the idea of being homeschooled, still got a little "school sick" and went through a "I miss my friends at school" phase, when she first left, and when classes were first starting up last year. It didn't last long, I've given her other social opportunities. It's one of those things that you just do your best with and in the end, it will work itself out.

 

This is an adjustment for you- remember, it's an adjustment for them, too! Not a bad one. But different. It takes a little getting used to.

 

As for planning, do it however it works for you! I bought the Oak Meadow curriculum (used) which is divided into 36 weekly lesson plans. I spent some time here and there at my leisure over the summer breaking it down into daily lesson plans that I type up on a wordpad doc on my computer. It's a bit time consuming, yes. But then all school year long, I can open up that document, copy and paste that week's lesson plan, and print it out.

 

But I like to be ridiculously organized with that kind of thing and I'm always writing things down and making lists and notes lol....

 

Anyway, you'll do fine! You'll figure out your own way and everything will fall into place. Just be willing to tweak as needed, try not to get too overwhelmed, and try to HAVE FUN with this!

 

BTW I spent an average of 3 hours a day, sometimes a little less, and sometimes a little more IF we were doing some sort of hands on project, doing schoolwork/curriculum stuff with my 4th grader. So don't feel like they need tons and tons of busywork or anything like that!

[Old Dominion Heather]

One thing we do every year is go on a picnic with friends or to a creek or somewhere really cool on the first day of school for everyone else. My kids call it our "We aren't in school day" We may have even started the week prior, but we ALWAYS take that day off.

[J-rap]

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Edited March 1, 2023 by J-rap

[Granny_Weatherwax]

You can do it! :grouphug:

[redsnapper]

Thank you all for the great advice and support. When I realized I was in a panic, I new this board was just the place to go.

 

I think I'm grounded again, thanks to you.

 

Blessings!

-Melissa

:driving: