Somethings missing in our homeschool,

[Alison in KY]

and I can't quite figure it out. It just doesn't seem as fun anymore, even though there is no reason it shouldn't be. I think I'm really missing having the time to have the children have a quiet time and go read or listen to history on the cd player. Instead I seem to be constantly going, going, and going, without a break. Is this just life when your oldest is in 5/6 grade?

 

I can't figure out if the problem is maybe with the program we're using for him...HOD's CTC. It keeps him so busy and I really don't interact with him that much in Bible, history, or science, so I don't know what he's actually studying. It's a great program, but I don't know what's going on. I don't have the time I'd like to just relax a bit...I have to keep that pace going or my oldest's day will go way to long. He's not an extremely motivated guy, so I'm constantly letting him know what to go to next and trying to keep him on track with time.

 

We rarely break for playtime/recess, but I know that I wouldn't like my children to not get a break if they were in public school, yet here I homeschool and we seem to stay busy for 5-6 hours without a true exercise or fun break.

 

I'd like to have my 5th, 3rd, and 1st grader together in a history and science program, but I just cannot find the one thing that really appeals to me. I also want my kids to have time to relax, enjoy a great book on the couch, have time to throw a ball to the dog for 15 minutes, do extras like typing or a floor puzzle, etc.

 

Is this just what happens as they get older? I'm not trying to blame HOD or anything else, it just seems like something isn't quite right and I just cannot figure out how to correct it.

 

Sorry, I know this sounds whiny :tongue_smilie: Any ideas? I feel like I need better balance, I need to help my son grow and have a good education, yet I'm tired of rushing through things and not having time with him.

 

Alison

[Ann.without.an.e]

It does tend to move toward less "fun" and more work. I love continuing History together, we can read some books and work on activities/field trips together that are history related.

 

We like Mystery of History.

[MerryAtHope]

I do think in part that this is just how it is when they get older. 5-6 hours is about what we spend too, and I too mourned the loss of the earlier, more casual days. I say mourned...I'm *mostly* but not completely over it, LOL!

 

However...there may be things you can do to be more involved. Maybe you could read either bible or history with your son? Or maybe you could have a set discussion time each day where you touch base & you ask him what's going on in his history or Bible or reader etc... Sometimes in the car or while you fold laundry etc... can be a time to discuss things.

 

We also don't work straight through--my kids like to take an hour at lunch and we play a short game together. We all look forward to this time. Sometimes we do a "Tuesday Tea" at this time, have a special snack & read poetry, though my oldest isn't into that (dd loves it though!). Generally we work 9-1, lunch until 2, and the kids usually finish up bt. 3 & 4. For us that does include a 30 minute exercise time though, plus music practice.

 

I don't know if you do a read-aloud with HOD, but we do lit. read-alouds before bedtime to lighten up the morning a bit.

 

You might take a look at whether any one subject is taking longer than you want to spend on it--I try to aim for 45 min. to an hour for the majors (math, science, history, LA--we go a bit more on LA here sometimes), 15-30 for Bible (we all do this together), 30 for music, 30 for exercise. I don't count our lit. read-alouds in that time though.

 

Nudging your son through the day--it could be that things are taking a bit longer than they need to either because of lost time transitioning from one subject to another, or because he needs something to motivate him to get through it (like a recess might do). One thing that relieved me from the job of having to push my kids through the day was to use workboxes. Now they know exactly what to do next--it's like a 3-D schedule with everything they need for that subject in the box. That might be an idea for you to consider.

 

Merry :-)

[Donna A.]

Maybe give My Father's World another consideration? I don't recall why you decided not to use it in the first place... But maybe you've read too many mixed reviews about it and should just give it a try to find out for yourself? :001_smile:

[5LittleMonkeys]

I'd like to have my 5th, 3rd, and 1st grader together in a history and science program, but I just cannot find the one thing that really appeals to me.

 

 

Alison

 

Have you looked at the Time Travelers Units or Trail Guide to Learning?

 

http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/TTS/

 

http://www.geomatters.com/learning_series/

 

I haven't used either of these but I have drooled over them a lot. I actually am going to be using the Time Travelers with dd8 next year. Right now we are taking a break from formal science and history in favor of a personal interest project method for those subjects. This may be an option for you as well.

 

When you think about it though, middle school and high school dc in ps don't get recesses or breaks throughout the day unless you count moving from one class to the next.

 

You say that you are doing about 5 to 6 hours per day. That is about what we do but it is broken up. We start at 8 and work for an hour or so and then the older dc take turns watching the 2yo for an hour each. (This is really like play time for them.) Then we do more work and take an hour for lunch. (They eat in about 20 minutes so they get a whole 40 minutes to spend as they wish) Then we do another 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the afternoon.

 

They get plenty of breaks really...most of the time when I feel like they are doing to much I look at their schedule and realize that its just me that is going all of the time. Because while one of them is getting a break I'm doing one on one with another one. With 5 dc I just don't know any other way around this part of it. I am fanatical about having my 30 minutes of uninterrupted time at lunch and for an hour after school is over, I dissapear to my (locked) room to relax until I have to emerge to make dinner. There are days I feel like I can't catch my breath but when I think about how empty my house would feel if they were all in ps I come to the conclusion that I'm okay with it.

 

I hope you find the balance you are looking for. I still haven't found the perfect balance but I'm okay with being lopsided.:tongue_smilie:

[mothergooseof4]

I started in the fall with HOD Beyond for younger kids & CTC for my 5th grader. I did the read aloud with CTC and briefly went over other work he was doing, but it seemed to take him all day to cover all subjects. I personally feel that he should be able to complete all school within 5 hours and that wasn't happening. Perhaps it was his fault.

 

I also was not getting Beyond done with the younger two. I need to be able to do bible, history, and science once and it cover all kids. So, while HOD is a great program and fit our needs for a while, we are starting MFW CtG tomorrow. I also streamlined LA by starting Phonics Road with them all aboy 6 weeks ago.

 

I am looking forward to having my kids study as a family. It should be fun learning together. I will do hist/science/bible once per day then they can go a little deeper according to their own interest and ability through book basket. I will not only know what each is studying but also hopefully see it acted upon in their playtime since they will be studying together. I think this is what I want my hs to be all about!

[Mallory]

I don't know if this will help, but I try to make a point of the kids having a break in the afternoon. So they can enjoy the day. I find if we do all of school, dinner, and chores then all of the daylight is gone this time of year. Then in the long dark evenings we can do chores and school.

 

I really have to make a point of kicking them outside and taking time off in the afternoon! Mine also get to rotate playing with the littles so those are nice breaks too.

[Alison in KY]

Yes, Donna, I've thought about it multiple times. My hang up is that I don't really care for SOTW 3 or 4, especially 4. I have not completed a history rotation at all with my oldest (or any of my kiddos). For the oldest, I want to complete a four year cycle before high school. MFW high school is what I am seriously considering for later.

 

I actually love alot of HOD's choices, but it just seems like to much for my guy, but he also needs to learn how to do more. He's finally doing it without complaint, although we haven't been doing the painting and we are way behind on the geography. It just seems that I am so disconnected with what he is doing...but maybe it's just mom missing the old days. I remember reading the WTM when she suggested that everyone have a quiet time in the afternoon....well is there time for that when your kids are in/approaching middle school? I miss that time for us to relax...instead it's go go go. I'm tired of it.

 

Back to MFW, I also don't like her choices quite as well in science for RTR, but it isn't so bad. I've thought about buying it later in the year and just trying it. How do you think SOTW 3 and 4 goes in MFW?

 

Alison

[Alison in KY]

It does tend to move toward less "fun" and more work. I love continuing History together, we can read some books and work on activities/field trips together that are history related.

 

We like Mystery of History.

 

I'm thinking about this one. I bought MOH 1, just to look at, but I don't like it as well as the MOH 3 kids reader...I love that book. I thought about using the cd's for next year also. I'll keep it in mind. Thank you.

[Alison in KY]

Have you looked at the Time Travelers Units or Trail Guide to Learning?

 

http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/TTS/

 

http://www.geomatters.com/learning_series/

 

:

 

I've not heard of these, but I'm going to check them out. Thanks for your advice.

 

Alison

[Alison in KY]

I started in the fall with HOD Beyond for younger kids & CTC for my 5th grader. I did the read aloud with CTC and briefly went over other work he was doing, but it seemed to take him all day to cover all subjects. I personally feel that he should be able to complete all school within 5 hours and that wasn't happening. Perhaps it was his fault.

 

I also was not getting Beyond done with the younger two. I need to be able to do bible, history, and science once and it cover all kids. So, while HOD is a great program and fit our needs for a while, we are starting MFW CtG tomorrow. I also streamlined LA by starting Phonics Road with them all aboy 6 weeks ago.

 

I am looking forward to having my kids study as a family. It should be fun learning together. I will do hist/science/bible once per day then they can go a little deeper according to their own interest and ability through book basket. I will not only know what each is studying but also hopefully see it acted upon in their playtime since they will be studying together. I think this is what I want my hs to be all about!

 

That sounds great. I keep thinking that in four years he'll be in high school and he'll have to do his own thing, so I don't want to miss this togetherness. I also see that middle school attitude coming on, so him running off to his room by himself to do his independent bible and history reading, etc, by himself just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel like I'm helping him mature, it feels like he's leaving the family way to soon and disconnecting from us. I want to reconnect with him and school...and not have it be such a negative. He already doesn't like school, but he tolerates it. I'd like to feel like he's a part of it.

 

No way could we do CTC in 5 hours. And we skipped all the painting and some of the other stuff. I also think she left a little more up to me than I wanted...I would love to see her have answers to questions in the TM...When I do CTC it leaves us just moving through the day at a fast pace, then adding in typing and piano practice...then I'm rotating my girls through also. And LA takes a long time for us here. I don't really want to go back and plan every single subject like I used to do. I actually combined mine in Beyond for history one year and we really enjoyed it. I have a habit of when it's left up to me, I will not get it all done, but with CTC, he's definitely getting more history and science done every day than he ever has. I have to give it credit..it's just the way it's happening. I have to figure out a new way or go to something else.

 

I also have a problem because so far I've been pretty happy with her choices, except for the cd with the scriptures, I don't really care for that. I'd like to be able to use CTC very flexibly with all my kiddos....but then that would be major tweaking and I'm not sure I'm up for it right now.

 

Thank you for your comments,

 

Alison

[Donna A.]

Alison, you know that I've tried CTD before. It's a beautiful program, there's no doubt about it. But I experienced all the same things you've described here, and I just had to let it go. The HOD setup just does NOT work for our family. I really wanted it to because of the age differences in my children, but the negative outweighed the positive once we were into it.

 

If SOTW is one of the main reasons you're dismissing MFW, I'd encourage you to reconsider. It's just one book out of an entire program, and I'm not sure what your reasons are for not liking it anyway, but if it has to do with the fact that it's written in a "neutral" (not specifically Christian) tone, it hasn't made any difference whatsoever in volumes 2-4. Volume 1 is the one that I had major issues with in that regard, and MFW doesn't use it. MFW definitely puts all its resources together in a blatantly Christian perspective, and SOTW 2-4 really are just "historical information" rather than legends and myths mixed with fact like volume 1.

 

I'm curious... when you say "especially 4", what is it about that volume that you don't like?

 

I wouldn't worry about the science in RTR until you get there. You can either decide to do it as written and end up liking it more than you thought you would (we did!), or you can replace it with something else. One of the beauties of MFW is the fact that you CAN replace "a subject" or "a book" easily (at least most of the time) without losing the main focus of the program, which is biblical worldview in all areas of life and academics. (This is partly due to the layout of the manual and how easy it is to write things in and rearrange subjects/days at a weekly glance.) I think if you mess with the Bible and history portions too much you'd lose something, but not the other subjects.

 

I remember reading the WTM when she suggested that everyone have a quiet time in the afternoon....well is there time for that when your kids are in/approaching middle school?

 

There is when using MFW. :001_smile: Part of the reason you DO have time for this is because the author intended it that way. For one thing, it's partially modeled after Charlotte Mason's methods which purposes to have focused mornings with short lessons and free afternoons. Obviously an older child may need to finish up their math or something like that after lunch, but the goal is to have most (if not all) of your academics done by noon. And some of this depends on what you're using for math and LA, too. The more you tack on in these subjects, and/or the more time-consuming materials you use, the longer your day will be.

 

The Hazell's also believe families ought to be serving in their communities, churches, neighbors, one another.... and so one of Marie's goals in putting together the program is to leave time for families to be ABLE to do that.

 

As well, whenever you do multi-level learning, you're cutting out a lot of the "waiting for my turn" that goes on with the kids, and Mom trying to get to everybody for every subject, as there's less followup to have to do with each kid (only the 3 R's vs. every subject) .... So you're no longer having to stagger ALL the kids' subjects throughout the day, but only the 3 R's. (And any extras you might have one child doing such as Latin or electives... but that would totally be on an individual case-by-case basis.)

 

 

Yes, Donna, I've thought about it multiple times. My hang up is that I don't really care for SOTW 3 or 4, especially 4. I have not completed a history rotation at all with my oldest (or any of my kiddos). For the oldest, I want to complete a four year cycle before high school. MFW high school is what I am seriously considering for later.

 

I actually love alot of HOD's choices, but it just seems like to much for my guy, but he also needs to learn how to do more. He's finally doing it without complaint, although we haven't been doing the painting and we are way behind on the geography. It just seems that I am so disconnected with what he is doing...but maybe it's just mom missing the old days. I remember reading the WTM when she suggested that everyone have a quiet time in the afternoon....well is there time for that when your kids are in/approaching middle school? I miss that time for us to relax...instead it's go go go. I'm tired of it.

 

Back to MFW, I also don't like her choices quite as well in science for RTR, but it isn't so bad. I've thought about buying it later in the year and just trying it. How do you think SOTW 3 and 4 goes in MFW?

 

Alison

[Donna A.]

Also, Alison, if your main draw to HOD is the book choices, why not just use those with MFW instead of MFW's Book Basket?

[Sahamamama]

:lurk5::bigear:

[crazymom4]

We are using HOD's Preparing this year and I feel the same way...she is doing her own thing and we lost our "togetherness." Our school day isn't much fun at all and at this point I feel we are just trying to get it done....as opposed to enjoying our day.

 

I'll be watching this thread and it's ideas...

[birchbark]

No way could we do CTC in 5 hours.

 

This makes me wonder if he was placed correctly.

 

I do think (depending on your educational philosophy) that the middle school years get busier, and tougher, and less "fun." There is a lot of skill-building going on. I have wondered if these years are the most important of K-12 as they provide the bulk of the skills used in life.

 

One of the more experienced homeschool moms on the board here (I think it was 8filltheheart) said something interesting. She differs from the usual pattern of focusing on her youngers and leaving the olders to work independently. She said she focuses on the olders, finding that is it easier to catch the youngers up when needed, than it is with middle- or high-schoolers. Or something to that effect. So one suggestion would be to scale back with your two youngers for awhile (maybe just 3R's or their program half-speed) and work more closely with your son and see what happens.

 

FWIW, my best friend uses MFW. She has five children, three in school, the oldest being eleven. I was just talking with her over New Years and she said their school day takes between five and six hours. I am sure it is not the same for everybody, but I would suggest finding some way to test run before shelling out more money for another program (if that's the way you're leaning) to see if it is what you really want.

 

You may be happiest not using a program at all for history and science. The curriculum catalogs are a wealth of book suggestion you could buy or loan for plenty of couch time together. The 3R's are the backbone of K-12 education; there comes a point where you can sweat your content programs too much. :)

[StephanieZ]

IME, it gets worse and worse. :ack2:

 

If you want down time, you have to firmly schedule it in. Block the time out. That's the only way to make it happen here. And, I rarely do, so it rarely happens.

 

I'm still struggling with this, but so far, my best solution is to firmly schedule vacation days & weeks. So, we can do the others/extras on those off times when time permits -- and so we all get a mental break.

 

If I want typing, etc, done regularly, I have to put it on the schedule or it gets squeezed out.

 

Listening/videos get relegated to car trips. . .

 

HTH

[Omma]

I could've written your post, except that my 5th grader has been busy with BJU DVD's. We are just now in the process of changing over to MFW, and I did their recommended English with him today and it was wonderful to reconnect with him again. I had really been starting to feel like I was just his school taskmaster and I think our switch back to MFW is going to be just what the doctor ordered (for my dc and for me). We are going to be using RtR and I thought their science looked good (we haven't studied the human body too much yet). I will likely keep a couple of subjects the same, but switch over on the rest.

 

I also think that the Christmas break is a season when many of us take time to reflect on what is working and what we may need to switch around. I look back and nearly every year around this time I do some major changes to our curriculum choices. However, I am hoping and praying that I will just stick with MFW from here on out! :D

 

Anyway, I understand what you mean about that 5/6th grade age, and also how it is worth it to make sure we continue to connect with our dc in some way during the school day!

 

:grouphug:,

 

Brenda

[katilac]

I have a 5th grader, and I can't imagine going for 5 or 6 hours without a break. Honestly, I can't imagine going 5 or 6 hours on a daily basis, period. I dont' think we have an exceptionally light schedule.

 

We use:

 

Singapore Math 5

Story of the World, with mapwork, timeline pages, extra reading, projects

Plato Science (online)

Caesar's English

Matin Latin 2

Growing with Grammar

our own writing assignments

memory work

varied art stuff

 

Am I leaving anything out? I know kids vary in their work speed, but 5 to 6 hours DAILY? without breaks? that seems like a lot to me, particularly for 5th grade, and particularly for mostly independent work. I'd want to make sure there wasn't a 'busy work' element involved. Honestly, my 7th grader doesn't work for that long on a daily basis, and she has a pretty hefty schedule. I do consider us academically oriented. We only approach 5-6 hours routinely if you include stuff like music practice, journal writing, lunch, and Wii PE, *g*.

 

I find it helps to keep programs simple and economical. When you invest in a hefty curriculum, it's only natural to want to complete it and not skip things. When you're on the 2nd go-round of history books you bought 4-5 years ago, using the same ol' maps and globes, it's easier to pick and choose ;).

 

Do you KNOW where your son's time is going? Is he dawdling? Having trouble figuring things out? Or pretty much going at it the whole time? It's worth timing him one day. It's also worth sitting with him, and seeing if/how much faster he finishes.

 

I know kids vary in their work speed, and families vary in their schedules. We don't take 2-3 months off in summer, for example. Everyone has to work toward a good fit for them. My preference is definitely for that schedule that allows for plenty of reading on the sofa, following their own interests, playing outside, and so forth. I think this is very doable in the middle grades, barring special needs or circumstances. I actually think these things are more important at this stage then anything they gain from the final 2 hours of a long schedule.

[Alison in KY]

If SOTW is one of the main reasons you're dismissing MFW, I'd encourage you to reconsider. It's just one book out of an entire program, and I'm not sure what your reasons are for not liking it anyway, but if it has to do with the fact that it's written in a "neutral" (not specifically Christian) tone, it hasn't made any difference whatsoever in volumes 2-4. Volume 1 is the one that I had major issues with in that regard, and MFW doesn't use it. MFW definitely puts all its resources together in a blatantly Christian perspective, and SOTW 2-4 really are just "historical information" rather than legends and myths mixed with fact like volume 1.

 

I'm curious... when you say "especially 4", what is it about that volume that you don't like?

 

I wouldn't worry about the science in RTR until you get there. You can either decide to do it as written and end up liking it more than you thought you would (we did!), or you can replace it with something else. One of the beauties of MFW is the fact that you CAN replace "a subject" or "a book" easily (at least most of the time) without losing the main focus of the program, which is biblical worldview in all areas of life and academics. (This is partly due to the layout of the manual and how easy it is to write things in and rearrange subjects/days at a weekly glance.) I think if you mess with the Bible and history portions too much you'd lose something, but not the other subjects.

 

.)

 

Everything you are saying sounds great Donna. I don't have any particular religious reasons for not liking SOTW so much. I have used SOTW 1 and really enjoyed it. I own 3/4 of the books and have intended on using them. I actually planned on using SOTW 4 a year ago...and I just didn't like it. To me it was just overwhelming me with dates, locations, and more dates and locations..I couldn't get into it at all and neither could my son at the time. I think I like MOH better...yet I want more planned out than MOH offers. I've come to enjoy being told what to do, within reason. It helps me stay on track with getting history and science done. Without guidance, I usually stray away from those subjects and just get English and Math finished.

 

Hmm, you are persuasive, and I'm thinking I should give it a go. As far as HOD goes, I do really like their read aloud books (boy interest sets) and I really like their book choices. MFW approach totally appeals to me, yet their selections do not interest me so much.

 

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

 

Alison

[Alison in KY]

This makes me wonder if he was placed correctly.

 

I do think (depending on your educational philosophy) that the middle school years get busier, and tougher, and less "fun." There is a lot of skill-building going on. I have wondered if these years are the most important of K-12 as they provide the bulk of the skills used in life.

 

One of the more experienced homeschool moms on the board here (I think it was 8filltheheart) said something interesting. She differs from the usual pattern of focusing on her youngers and leaving the olders to work independently. She said she focuses on the olders, finding that is it easier to catch the youngers up when needed, than it is with middle- or high-schoolers. Or something to that effect. So one suggestion would be to scale back with your two youngers for awhile (maybe just 3R's or their program half-speed) and work more closely with your son and see what happens.

 

FWIW, my best friend uses MFW. She has five children, three in school, the oldest being eleven. I was just talking with her over New Years and she said their school day takes between five and six hours. I am sure it is not the same for everybody, but I would suggest finding some way to test run before shelling out more money for another program (if that's the way you're leaning) to see if it is what you really want.

 

You may be happiest not using a program at all for history and science. The curriculum catalogs are a wealth of book suggestion you could buy or loan for plenty of couch time together. The 3R's are the backbone of K-12 education; there comes a point where you can sweat your content programs too much. :)

 

Thank you. I actually tend to focus on my oldest over the younger two. With my younger two I do work on my math basics and phonics, but I'm pretty light on the k through 2nd grades.

 

I couldn't tell you right now what he is learning in history, science, or Bible, and I miss that. Now I could spend my spare time reading over his required reading, but I'm just not going to do that. I think CTC is a great program, and I'm not trying to blame the program at all. I just think it's maybe pushing for an independent worker and I don't know how much I like that. I don't want to do everything myself, but I need a little middle ground involvement.

 

I'm not going to sell my CTC, I'll keep using it for this year, but I think I'm going to slow it way down and do more discussion with him, maybe rotate subjects and call it quits by a certain time. I think I need to make it work for us more than doing it as written.

 

Thank you for your advice.

 

Alison

[Donna A.]

I actually planned on using SOTW 4 a year ago...and I just didn't like it. To me it was just overwhelming me with dates, locations, and more dates and locations..I couldn't get into it at all and neither could my son at the time. I think I like MOH better...yet I want more planned out than MOH offers. I've come to enjoy being told what to do, within reason. It helps me stay on track with getting history and science done. Without guidance, I usually stray away from those subjects and just get English and Math finished.

 

Well, and MOH isn't going to have anything ready for that time period for quite a while yet, unfortunately.

 

About SOTW 4.... The dates are kind of important because SO much happened SO quickly during the late 19th and 20th centuries, it's quite staggering if you don't take the time to at least realize that this immediately followed this because.... and that this was also a result of that, but it took a little longer for it to happened because of politics at play.... So a good bit of this is due to the time period itself, not SOTW. It's very similar to how things happened in Ancient Rome, actually. :glare:

 

MFW puts everything in chronological order and adds extra resources for variety/differing perspectives, too. So while SOTW 4 and its AG are used a great deal that year, they're not the only books used. You're completing the second half of the states and presidents studies, AND you're learning the material in context of biblical worldview. So that's a major theme difference from *just* SOTW by itself. You're also being discipled in and learning a good bit about missions and serving in a modern (and postmodern) world, too.

 

One more thing and then I'll stop. :tongue_smilie: MFW Expl-1850 and 1850-Modern have that Adventures "supplement" package for 2nd & 3rd graders, so those younger kids won't have to listen in on all that material in SOTW. They have different books to focus on.... SOTW is for older/more mature kids. So you don't have to worry about the younger kids having to sit through ALL of it.

 

SWB has SOTW suggested for 4th graders (assuming you start her series in 1st as recommended), but I think most of it is too much for 4th graders. JMO. ;)

[littleWMN]

I'm glad to read this thread b/c I'm considering HOD for my oldest next year and the "togetherness" is something I'm fearful we'll lose. She'll be in 5th and my next child will only be in 1st. That's a hard age span.

[Corraleno]

My preference is definitely for that schedule that allows for plenty of reading on the sofa, following their own interests, playing outside, and so forth. I think this is very doable in the middle grades, barring special needs or circumstances. I actually think these things are more important at this stage then anything they gain from the final 2 hours of a long schedule.

:iagree:

A child who is doing 5-6 hours of work, much of it on his own, without breaks, in 5th grade is likely to be pretty burnt out by 8th. IMO, middle school is the key to HS (and beyond) not because of how much content you can cram in, but rather how much they enjoy learning. If education is an engaging, interactive process, then he'll approach HS with interest; if he's come to view education as a tedious and pointless process of ticking boxes on a checklist, alone in his room, then I think HS will be even more joyless, and far more of a struggle, than 5th grade is. And that struggle will ultimately affect your relationship in a negative way.

 

Jackie

[Alison in KY]

Jackie, this might be exactly what is going on. We do have a break, but it's at lunch time and not a long break. I sometimes let him slip away for 5 or 10 minutes, but he takes a huge advantage of that. We usually start by 9 and keep going subject after subject until lunch, then after lunch we'll go until 2:30 to 3:30.

 

This is the kind of kid who is easily distracted, so within his own school he's taking mini brakes all day long. I sit beside him through most of his basic studies to try and keep him on track. I don't know that he's a typical boy, but I know that while he's smart enough, he does not use maturity when it comes to school. He wants school over, but unlike his little sisters, that does not mean he pushes through promptly to get the job done...instead he dawdles and groans a bit. I've explained over and over how to solve this:001_huh:

 

He definitely does better with me interacting with him, but he also did really well at one time when he used Teaching Textbooks for math...so I think he enjoys working on the computer. Unfortunately we hit a block with that program, so we're back to something different.

 

I just know that at other years I've homeschooled it's been a matter of my schedule not working out so well...that that's been a problem with our school. But this time, the issue is just harder to put your finger on.

 

Thank you all for your comments. Yet again, this is a thread that I will visit time and time again.

 

If anyone uses HOD programs not as written, especially the upper level ones, I'd love to hear how you are doing that.

 

Alison

[at the beach]

and I can't quite figure it out. It just doesn't seem as fun anymore, even though there is no reason it shouldn't be. I think I'm really missing having the time to have the children have a quiet time and go read or listen to history on the cd player. Instead I seem to be constantly going, going, and going, without a break. Is this just life when your oldest is in 5/6 grade?

 

I can't figure out if the problem is maybe with the program we're using for him...HOD's CTC. It keeps him so busy and I really don't interact with him that much in Bible, history, or science, so I don't know what he's actually studying. It's a great program, but I don't know what's going on. I don't have the time I'd like to just relax a bit...I have to keep that pace going or my oldest's day will go way to long. He's not an extremely motivated guy, so I'm constantly letting him know what to go to next and trying to keep him on track with time.

 

We rarely break for playtime/recess, but I know that I wouldn't like my children to not get a break if they were in public school, yet here I homeschool and we seem to stay busy for 5-6 hours without a true exercise or fun break.

 

I'd like to have my 5th, 3rd, and 1st grader together in a history and science program, but I just cannot find the one thing that really appeals to me. I also want my kids to have time to relax, enjoy a great book on the couch, have time to throw a ball to the dog for 15 minutes, do extras like typing or a floor puzzle, etc.

 

Is this just what happens as they get older? I'm not trying to blame HOD or anything else, it just seems like something isn't quite right and I just cannot figure out how to correct it.

 

Sorry, I know this sounds whiny :tongue_smilie: Any ideas? I feel like I need better balance, I need to help my son grow and have a good education, yet I'm tired of rushing through things and not having time with him.

 

Alison

 

I don't think it HAS to be this way once your kids get older, but it often gets this way anyway because we are so worried about providing our kids a good/great education.

 

I am currently homeschooling an 11 and 14 yo. With my 11 yo 5th grader, who is the age of your oldest, I recently decided to go back to something that worked really well for us a few years back. I used Ambleside Online Year 1 in the past with this child and it was a lovely experience. She gained so much from it. I put together my own 12 week term recently, combining Ambleside and Mater Amabilis (Catholic CM site). I again feel like we're getting a lot done but that we have a lot of free time, too. I cannot stand feeling like we are never accomplishing what we need to or that we are rushing to get things done. Ugh. I ask myself, how much could kids in school possibly be getting done anyway? I mean, seriously. There are usually at least 20 or more in one classroom with one teacher. Homeschooling should afford us the opportunity to be way more efficient. And learning takes place all the time with kids, so we shouldn't feel like we need to have "formal" study for XX hours per day. We can get in the habit of really looking at what our kids are experiencing in the course of our lives and "count" those things as educational experiences for purposes of documentation. Baking cookies is educational. It involves math, home economics, and if we have classical music playing in the background, well, we've covered the arts, too. That walk in the park--science and nature study. Anyway, I am rambling. Just wanted to throw out there that education doesn't have to be a duplicate of what goes on in a brick and mortar. Really, all the better if it isn't a duplicate of that as far as I'm concerned.

 

Have you taken a look at Ambleside Online and read any CM books? I love For the Children's Sake. Other non-CM books I have loved are The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook--by the Moores and Homeschooling: A Family's Journey--by the Millmans. Ambleside Online has a wealth of information online for free. There are free schedules, yahoo groups, and all of CM's writings available.

[cakemom]

Hi Alison,

 

I think you got it when you said you need better balance. I think when we tend to get off track and just let daily life happen without actually making a daily plan for it, we tend to just drift around like a feather going whichever way we get called to next. That may feel free for a little while (like vacation time) but then a lot of times if we stay on that path, we start to feel out of sync in many areas of our life.....homeschool included.

 

I think having a daily plan (could be a purchased planner or a piece of paper), tends to keep everyone on track and each person can actually see what is next in their day. You can plan a quiet time into your day and even add in those extras like going out and throwing the ball around for the dog for 15 minutes or going for a walk or playing outside. I find that when even those things are planned as apposed to not planned, I will tend to do them just because they are on the schedule and I get to cross them off when completed.

 

Keep in mind that if you plan out your day and it somehow did not work.......maybe the kids needed more time for a subject, less time for another or you needed more quiet time in the day, you can always adjust for the next day. Play with it until you find a good fit that works for you and your family. The point is, you will schedule in a break for yourself and your kids will get the outdoor time they need or you want for them and they will also know what to expect when.

 

Hang in there and just sit down and think about all the things your family needs.......what is missing, and use that to create a schedule for yourselves.

 

Angela

[Alison in KY]

Thanks Angela. I actually use a daily plan. It's not down to the minute or anything, and our start time varies depending on how behind the house is and how much I do for breakfast.

 

I just think there is a lack of involvement with my son's subjects that feels weird to me, and I guess it's just not working out for me. I picked our HOD CTC back up today and I'm probably going to do it through this year, but I'm going to slow down and look over what he's reading, instead of just handing it off. I'm also just going to stop by a certain time and pick up on those missed items the next day. I know there's a name for it...a rotation of some sorts. I'm also going to change up the LA's a bit. I'll try not to get so wrapped up in that gotta do everything feeling.

 

Or, I've thought about having him join us for the MFW Adventures history RA's and just dropping the CTC history, then having him read through the history this summer...just not real sure what I'm going to do, but change is necessary.

 

Thank you all so much.

 

Alison