Does anyone succeed at this?

[dragons in the flower bed]

I'm trying to take in pre-algebra concepts I don't remember and work my way up through geometry, teach myself Latin and Greek, do literary criticism with the kids in a socratic way, learn enough physics to determine whether or not the kids' texts contain bad or outdated science, and keep up with the housework too. Oh, plus there's that childrearing thing that takes up so much time.

 

I feel like the dullest woman on earth when I can't seem to remember the first declension chant my 7yo has had down for months. I'm telling myself this is possible, I will do this, but tonight that's not penetrating my anxiety.

 

Has anyone else been there? Did you do it?

 

How do you manage your own education while children are laying a Lego obstacle course for you, and the dishes need to be done, then dirtied, then done, then dirtied, then done?

[teachmom3]

Trouble is, I've already graduated two and I only have one more left.

 

I realized I couldn't learn everything as much as I wanted to. While I had all three at home (including the youngest, who has special needs), it simply wasn't possible. Fortunately, I already had learned a lot (at least once) from high school (I actually went to a pretty good public high school), college, and grad school, so a lot of what I had to learn was simply remembering what had once been inputted several decades earlier.

 

The rest I had to outsource--like to the Teaching Company for lectures on Dante or Shakespeare, or to a knowledgeable homeschooling friend for American government, or to a tutor for Spanish.

 

Now that two are in college, I can concentrate on learning, e.g., I took a year of Spanish at our local cc so that I could help the youngest in his homeschool Spanish class now. I'm currently trying to relearn math; I went through a year and a half or so of calculus in college, but it's long gone, so I have to back up to somewhere in algebra 2/trig and start from there.

 

Don't get anxious; you'll do fine learning along with your children, especially since they're still young (I think).

 

And if I may make a specific comment about one or two of the subjects you're trying to learn:

• Don't bother trying to learn physics until you have more math under your belt! :)
  
• Greek is easier to learn if you have some exposure to Latin first. Vice versa is true, as well, but introductory Latin is, IMHO, easier than introductory Greek, even koiné Greek (which is easier than Attic Greek).

Best wishes.

 

P.S. It's also easier when the kids are old enough to help out with the housework and if you have a spouse who has kindly resigned himself to a not-exactly-tidy house and who also does a lot of what little housework does get done. :)

[frogpond1]

I'm there too.

[Melissa in Australia]

with my first ds 14, I have real trouble understanding some subjects, Latin has me stumped, Logic is something that I read aloud , and marvel that my son can work out the answers:001_huh:, Grammar is completely beyond me.:confused:

I am finding I am grasping things better teaching my second ds 12. I have a vague understanding of what I am talking about. with my ds 10 & dd8, I am really understanding and remembering everything. I am sure with ds4 I will have it all down pat. I might even remember my 8 times tables then.;)

 

MelissaL

[Jane in NC]

Thinking can be exhausting, but consider this. You are training your brain as though you are an athlete who trains for a marathon. You are not going to go from coach potato to 10K overnight (unless you are blessed with amazing genes). Just keep training...

 

Having a master's degree in mathematics has given me a distinct advantage over many homeschoolers who feel less than confident in that subject. Once upon a time, I think that I had a fairly well disciplined mind and a great memory. As I get older, my memory is just not what it used to be. This frustrates me, as I struggle to learn French with my son. (Miraculously I remember some Latin from high school. That, paired with logical grammar and the teacher's manual, is why I can keep my head above water in Latin.)

 

Part of what you may be facing is a symptom of a culture that tends to confine education to boxes. Practically everyone goes to school until 18, some go on. But look at how few people read books when surveys on reading are posted! How many people choose entertainments removed from the natural world and thus don't know basic natural history? You are now swimming upstream.

 

Personally I think that the journey is rewarding and your family should be very proud of you for your undertaking. :grouphug:

 

Another advantage that I have: my husband's father was a college professor. Their small home was stuffed with books. Tidy is not part of his expectation, only mine.

 

Be well and know you are among friends who share your anxieties.

 

Jane

[readwithem]

T

Another advantage that I have: my husband's father was a college professor. Their small home was stuffed with books. Tidy is not part of his expectation, only mine.

 

Be well and know you are among friends who share your anxieties.

 

Jane

 

 

:biggrinjester:

 

Loved your entire post - thanks for the encouragement Jane!

[Michelle in MO]

I'm trying to take in pre-algebra concepts I don't remember and work my way up through geometry, teach myself Latin and Greek, do literary criticism with the kids in a socratic way, learn enough physics to determine whether or not the kids' texts contain bad or outdated science, and keep up with the housework too. Oh, plus there's that childrearing thing that takes up so much time.

 

I feel like the dullest woman on earth when I can't seem to remember the first declension chant my 7yo has had down for months. I'm telling myself this is possible, I will do this, but tonight that's not penetrating my anxiety.

 

Has anyone else been there? Did you do it?

 

How do you manage your own education while children are laying a Lego obstacle course for you, and the dishes need to be done, then dirtied, then done, then dirtied, then done?

 

I've always been an early riser, but I've started rousing myself at 4:15 or 4:30 to listen to the Chalkdust DVD lesson for my oldest, and then start on the accompanying problem set.

 

We did Latin (unfortunately only through Henle I---couldn't persuade dd's even with "threats" to pursue it further!), and I too found the noun declensions tiring---and that was coming from a background in German (which still maintains four out of the five cases--nom./acc./gen./dat. German word roots are very different, but the grammar is closer to Latin). Then we hit the Latin verbs, and I'm like Jane---my memory is not nearly what it should be! Beyond the active voice I had huge troubles remembering things! And, we haven't even tackled Greek!

 

Keep on keeping on. The fruit is well worth it. Not everything is going to be perfect, but I believe your kids will still be further ahead than they would at the typical p.s.

 

If it's any consolation, I remember on the old boards once a thread by Lene Mahler Jacqua in which she was stating how very difficult it was to keep up with it all. Lene does the Classical Writing series, along with Tracy Gustilo, and has a Ph.D. in science. Yet, she has four children and probably finds herself scrambling every day to keep up.

 

In the midst of all of this, try to take time for yourself, just to recharge your batteries. I take a power nap every day (yes!), and my kids encourage me to, because by the time lunch is over I've already put in an 8-hour day and am whipped.

 

Hugs! :grouphug:

[Brenda in MA]

My oldest is almost finished with high school (11th grade), and looking back over the journey, I can definitely see areas where I wish I could have provided him more. I wish I had had the courage to teach him Latin back in the 5th grade after pulling him from ps. At the time, it seemed like too much when he had lots of trouble with basic math. I wish I had felt that we had the time to cover logic or to use a full Geometry text (he used Saxon with integrated Geometry). At the time, it was too much to add to our already full days, and I thought focusing on writing was more important. I wish we had done more literary analysis -- the kind where one really analyzes a book and learns literary techniques. Since literature is not my strong suit, we settled for reading lots of books and writing basic essays.

 

Fast forward to now -- I do have quite a few regrets about the education ds#1 received, however, I don't regret our homeschooling journey for a minute because success in my world is not wholly defined by how much academics we covered. What my son did receive, which I think is more important, is a thorough grounding in our faith, the chance to mature emotionally outside of immense peer pressure, and a great relationship with his brother and his parents. Today, I really enjoy talking with my teen about philosophical topics, and I appreciate the insight that he has. When I look around me, I don't see too many other teens in my community who are really willing to talk to their parents on a deep level, and I really think that I have homeschooling to thank for that willingness.

 

Yes, the journey is difficult, and it must be attempted one step at a time. There are good days, and there are bad days, but what helps me to keep going is to look ahead towards the larger goals I have for our homeschool. I do hope my sons will achieve academically, but more important for me is that they grow into faithful young men with generous spirits who love their family and appreciate other people for the gifts that they have.

 

Brenda

[Nan in Mass]

My husband does the dishes and a good part of the cooking and cleaning. When it gets done at all. Our house is a mess. My friends are neglected. I stick to the public school schedule so my self-discipline gets a boost and we have the safety net of equivalent time put into education (sort of). This isn't really true because we are more capable than anyone I know of studying something hard and getting nowhere, but it serves to pacify my brain when I panic in the middle of the night. I trust to the people here and TWTM to do the curriculum picking for me. And I only sort of am learning the things I'm teaching my children. In other words, I'm failing miserably GRIN. I get by because I've had some college math and science. I took a little Greek in college and I'm using a Latin textbook written by my Greek prof, and that is saving me in Latin, but I rely heavily on the teacher's guide for the answers because I'm not taking the time to properly memorize the stuff as we go along. I'm not properly memorizing the physics, either, but fortunately I either already know it or I can remember it long enough to do the problems at the end of the chapter (with the teacher's guide). I need the solutions manual for NEM, too. I guess what it comes down to is that if I look at the answers in the teacher's guide, I almost always understand why that is the answer, so I can "fake" knowing it fairly well. And I'm taking the time to read the textbooks aloud to the children. Otherwise I'd be totally lost. I like learning things, so I probably actually do better not knowing or remembering a subject than I would if I knew it. I get bored and have trouble making myself make the children do the subject if I already know it. Typical backwards me. Despite all this, the children seem to be learning and doing fine. For us, a bad education at home is still probably better than a good education at school because the older one can travel and has stayed sweet, and the younger one is still curious and enthusiastic and has time to teach himself lots of thinking sorts of things. I just have to keep telling myself that over and over again.

-Nan

 

PS I couldn't have homeschooled while I was pregnant because I threw up every time I spoke or moved for months. I waited until my youngest wasn't a toddler to begin. I have my nephew sometimes, but only in the afternoons when the children are doing independent things. Homeschooling would look very different at our house if I had a toddler or baby to care for in the mornings. The children would have to work more independently, so we'd have different curriculum choices. I think learning to work more independently has its advantages, too, though, so I wouldn't necessarily not homeschool, just not do it the same way or with the same goals.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Thank you all for your insights. You are the women with older kids I have looked at and wondered how I could do it, but I see from your posts that you're not that different from me. You've boosted my determination back into gear.

[Nan in Mass]

Hugs!

[JennW in SoCal]

I wanted to add another perspective to this discussion. One thing that has helped ease this kind of stress for me is that I don't feel the need to follow the traditional school model and be the "expert" teacher who is passing knowledge to my students. Instead I homeschool by being the experienced student who is modeling learning as we progress together through different subjects. It takes some of the pressure off of me and keeps the kids from being passive learners as they have to read and study and think for themselves just as I do.

 

In math, I've tried to keep a step ahead all along. I read a lesson in the morning before they get up, or I study in the car while they are at a class or rehearsal. I've also used tutors when I can't keep up.

 

In Latin, we just learn together, but it has to be fun, so we dumped Henle. I'm using Latin Prep with my middle schooler. It has a wonderfully dry British humor about it, so it keeps us laughing.

 

I don't read everything I assign to my kids, though many of the works I've assigned are ones I read in high school and college. Thank heavens for Sparknotes!! And by relying on recommendations I get here, and my own common-sense, I feel the science or history books we use are as good as they need to be.

 

The kids help, some, with housework, as does my husband, but we also just accept a continual state of clutter. We vacuum when the dog hair gets out of hand so it gets done regularly -- we have Golden Retriever! Oh, and we also have enough dishes and pairs of socks and underwear to slow the need for dish-washing and laundry!

 

I understand about the mind not being as nimble as it used to be, but I also like to think I'm staving off the on-set of dementia by keeping my mind in shape through all that algebra and Latin! There is an up-side to this beyond getting these kids educated!

 

You are most certainly not the dullest woman on earth! You sound like a great mom who could use a little down time with chocolate and a guilty-pleasure book or DVD while the kids keep themselves busy with their Legos! :D

[SkateLeft]

Has anyone else been there? Did you do it?

 

Smoke and mirrors! ;)

 

Seriously though, I try to think of myself as a facilitator more than a teacher. I've had to let go of the fact that I can't know everything and do everything. I'm honest with my kids when I don't know something or can't remember something, and we look it up together. I'm really glad that there are math programs out there now that don't require me to relearn Algebra. :)

 

Basically, I try to model the kind of lifelong learner that I want them to become and that's the best I can do. I also had to get over the fact that my house was NOT going to be the museum of cleanliness that I grew up in, since my mother sent both her kids off to school all day and didn't have the internet! ;)