New Here, Major questions!!

[honeymommy4]

I'm new here. looking for some homeschooling advice. We've been homeschooling for 2 years, K & first grade for my oldest, 7. I have 3 other younger children, the youngest is 8 months.

 

Ok so after a "year" of this I am now facing adrenal fatigue. My nerves are shot. I wake up every day with a feeling of jet lag. i am on a specified diet now to help with this, (scratch cooking, fresh veggies, etc.) but I'm unsure where to turn @ home.

 

some things have also made it harder:

 

1. My dryer broke 2 wks ago. waiting on a part.. Some days I dry things @ the neighbors' houses.

 

2. All my kids & I have to do a gluten-free high protein diet= lots of cooking from scratch.

 

3. My baby is EXTREMELY active - i would almost consider him high needs. he needs dark & noise machine to sleep - basically if I am holding him or changing him any time in the day I am using physical restraint to do so. DH agrees he is very active even compared to our other kiddos who were similar. he needs to be held a lot OR needs to be able to crawl around - he's FAST. he cries the entire time in a playpen - up to an hour...

 

4. We have tried do school in a number of ways but still haven't found anything I can stick with. if we start in the morning I don't know what to have the LO do. They get needy, clingy & fight constantly. i don't have time to do both preschool (fun games, songs) with them AND school with my oldest.

 

if I start first grade in the afternoon, DS is basically too tired to really learn (he or I) and it gets swept by the wayside. We need to start @ 8am but we both can't seem to get out of bed! :glare:

 

as for day to day, we have a chore system but I forget to follow it. I need routines for my oldest especially since that is the way he operates - very forgetful like me. We can really get lost in our own worlds.

I get overwhelmed easily by lots of STUFF yet I need stuff to make our days run smoothly. I feel like it s a catch-22. I have spent the last year simplifying/reducing clutter and it's working, but it has worn me out.

 

I am trying to figure out whether to do K for my 4yo next year who will be 5 in July. Lately he has had a lot of issues, getting very upset with everyone, being mean, etc. and i think he feels out of place @ home. When playing with his sister & brother he is very competitive and then other times very loving..

He has told me he "would like to go to school @ a building".

 

between cooking & basic baby/toddler care & keeping my LO from fighting, it seems there is little time for anything esle - or I am just plain exhausted.

 

i really want to homeschool them all, I know it can be done, but at what risks for my health? other things?

 

help. :bigear:

Edited March 22, 2011 by honeymommy4

[Mrs Mungo]

I have no suggestions, just :grouphug:.

[dm379]

Can you bring in a mother's helper for a couple of days a week? A pre-teen or early teenager to either help clean or watch the kids while you nap or clean. They usually work for cheap. Does your dh help a lot?

 

I have chronic fatigue problems along with other stuff. B12 helps some days. When dh is home, he teaches on the weekends or other days off. I'm working towards more independent curriculum for the kids. Your 7 yr. old should be getting just big enough to start taking on some responsibilities. Right now we're working on my 7 yr. old taking over most of the laundry.