Joker Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We just ended our third year and I thought it would be the smoothest but I think it was the rockiest. We now have five weeks off and I've already purchased all but two small things and I basically have everything planned. I'm feeling really good about this next go round...but then I think I felt this way last year. :glare: How long till you found what schedules and programs really work? (If you all say it was blissfully easy from the start I might have to hurt someone.:tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMom Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 4, but I'm stubborn! This is year 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Ya, I could reach that point if my children didn't age! :lol: Seriously it's tough because even when I find something I love -- multiple subjects even -- it doesn't always stay that way because they keep getting older and their needs change. Then of course there is the dynamic that even younger siblings don't always have it better because they might learn differently, the family dynamics have changed, *I* am a different person than I was 10 years ago, etc. But enjoy the "sweet spot" when you find it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 This is our 6th yr and I think last yr was the first year I was really comfortable with most things. Of course, there are still a few gaps but I'm happy with grammar, writing, math, and handwriting. I think if I would have stopped second guessing myself a long time ago I would have settled on these things a little sooner, but I was always in the "grass is always greener" camp with programs and had to look at what was out there. HS conferences were always very bad for me :tongue_smilie: Now I avoid them for the most part unless I just want to hear a certain speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We started with classical ed in our 5th year of schooling (5th grade). We're finishing up our 7th year this spring. That has been what works. I've tweaked constantly since with schedules. However, I'm planning for next fall and have spent the last 4 hours dealing with schedules. I don't know why, I know I'll change it before we ever start next year. I'll also tweak it after the first few weeks. On a good note, I crossed two things off the list I know we'll never get to if I buy them. I've been happy with a few publishers for a few subjects, others I'm still searching, just at a different level than elementary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 So...it never really gets comfortable and easy? :D That's better than thinking others might have this thing figured out and I'm still floundering after almost four years. What another poster said about the kids changing so I keep changing things is also true. I also find something that works really well for older dd and then it bombs with younger so I feel like I'm always racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 So...it never really gets comfortable and easy? :D That's better than thinking others might have this thing figured out and I'm still floundering after almost four years. What another poster said about the kids changing so I keep changing things is also true. I also find something that works really well for older dd and then it bombs with younger so I feel like I'm always racing. My issue has always been that ds doesn't develop incrementally in every subject. I can't always gauge what he can handle in six months. Plus he'll stall out in a subject that had been going great. Hence he's all over the board ability wise. It's a constant adjustment of the sails for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I have been homeschooling 16 years....and I still don't have it all together and I suspect I never will. Kids keep getting older and changing, new babies turn into new students, everyone learns in their own ways...my time available fluctuates with my work load and my illness, but my kids seem to be turning out ok anyway.....despite my shortcomings. This weekend, I dropped my younger kids off at grandpa's house for the first time ever with the intentions of coming home and writing out my lessons for our last quarter. When I got home, I collapsed into bed...and just.could.not. Do.it. I will try in the am...but come he'll or high water, we will be doing school come Monday morning.... Faithe.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Four or five. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Honestly, it was blissfully easy from the start. :001_tt2: The first year I bought a boxed curriculum. I used it for the second year but knew I would start to make different choices in the third year. The third year was much better but the following year was the best. It's been pretty easy ever since. I had a VERY hard time not using something that I paid good money for. I realized that it was actually better to waste some money than it was to have unhappy students or an unhappy teacher. If I don't like it, or if the kids don't, I find something better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Honestly, it was blissfully easy from the start. :001_tt2: QUOTE] :boxing_smiley: :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Honestly, it was blissfully easy from the start. :001_tt2: QUOTE] :boxing_smiley: :D sorry. I can't help myself. :blushing:;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 3 or 4 or more? I can't remember. I kept adding students for a while and that messed me up. I would still tweak curriculum. I hardly ever visit the curriculum boards anymore because I just don't have the need to change things up very often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 It took me four years to find the curricula that I liked. I'm still working on the schedule part; actually, I'm returning to an earlier way of doing things where I'm more hands off than I've been recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailofsparks Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 until I was shocked back to reality: I will soon have a 7th grader who really needs more challenges for the upcoming year! That changes everything :glare: But it's also exciting for me. I'm delving into unchartered waters, a new adventure. We were part of a coop last year and I thought we would be this year, but we're sailing solo now. . . and it's gonna be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I started the day after his 4th birthday, so we have been oozing ourselves in the pool very slowly. I had this wonderful board to reassure me we could take the time to let things "catch" and not panic about being behind. I often have fleeting memories of my past, visuals or sound, and often, for a moment, I'm a teen again, and riding my old Joker across the Flint Hills, bareback, and he is loping along, snorting and thumping and his grey neck is jerking in my hands. That wind and that rhythm, that long distance of grass, that is the image I have when I think of our homeschooling journey. Brisk but measured, and a long, long ways to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Ya, I could reach that point if my children didn't age! :lol: Seriously it's tough because even when I find something I love -- multiple subjects even -- it doesn't always stay that way because they keep getting older and their needs change. Then of course there is the dynamic that even younger siblings don't always have it better because they might learn differently, the family dynamics have changed, *I* am a different person than I was 10 years ago, etc. But enjoy the "sweet spot" when you find it! Like she said. Geo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 My third time through, I'm really happy with my K math. It's too bad that I'm outta of kids that would need that knowledge. :) Wisdom is not easily gained, and it certainly isn't bought. I may not know what works, but I'm okay with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I think I started feeling much more comfortable with what I was doing by about year 4. But if I was to start from scratch now, with young kids, I would probably do it all quite differently to how I did it- even all the way through. You learn through hindsight- even years later. And unless you have lots of kids or a big age gap, by the time you have got it together, they grow into the next stage and its all new again. Mine are close in age and were taught content subjects together- I could never really use my experience to benefit younger ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I was seriously very fortunate. I found the curriculum I wanted right from the start, and overall, everything has been going very smoothly for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 My third time through, I'm really happy with my K math. It's too bad that I'm outta of kids that would need that knowledge. :) Wisdom is not easily gained, and it certainly isn't bought. I may not know what works, but I'm okay with that. That's what grandchildren are for. Some grammas make cookies...we will read great books and ply with our cuisinaire rods and pattern blocks!:D. Oh, AND eat cookies. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We just ended our third year and I thought it would be the smoothest but I think it was the rockiest. We now have five weeks off and I've already purchased all but two small things and I basically have everything planned. I'm feeling really good about this next go round...but then I think I felt this way last year. :glare: How long till you found what schedules and programs really work? (If you all say it was blissfully easy from the start I might have to hurt someone.:tongue_smilie:) We're in our 7th year, and I think I've finally got a pretty good idea of what materials work for us now, and I've mostly run out of curriculum-hopping energy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Over a decade here, and I know what works. Of late it is managing their heavy workload and hormonal outbursts that gets me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 This is our sixth year and the first where I'm feeling good about everything we're doing. I think each year improved a little bit over the one prior, but everything really came together nicely this year. I think part of that is that we finally found a science program that we all liked and that got done consistently. But both the dc and I found our curriculum groove this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We were about 1 1/2 years into the hs'ing experience that I figured out what worked in every subject for every child. I struggled (no surprise) with my oldest hs'ed kid because I had not been down that road before. Language arts was the subject I just couldn't nail for him. We are pretty set now for a while, as long as SWB keeps writing grammar programs.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paisley Hedgehog Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We are in our 15th year and I pretty much know how I like to school now. :001_smile: It took until our 3rd year for me to feel like I knew what I was doing. I have to say that with 6 children, I have had to be flexible to some degree because they are all SO different (especially my oldest dd). Just when I think I have it figured out, I realize that I need to do something different with one or the other of them in a particular subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 The first year I made a couple of changes at Christmas, but overall I was happy from the start. Each year since I have made a few changes. Most have just changed because of the kids ages. We have loved what we have done every year though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginevra Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 It was about year 5 that I really hit my stride. That's not to say that I was unhappy or constantly frustrated beforehand; it was more that I didn't know what I didn't know. I started out thinking I was towards the unschooling direction, but in practice I applied structure first with Math and then other things followed. The more structure I applied, the better we all functioned. At this point nobody would call me anything like unschoolish. I'm also very happy with 80% of my materials, so I'm not likely to switch my core subjects up now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We are finishing our first year. Our first couple months had some rough spots just due to scheduling and getting the kids to their separate spots where they could work efficiently. There were a couple subjects that I switched things in midstream, or added to them, but I don't consider any of what we did a failure. Next year everything looks to be "perfect" and I know it won't be. But, I will adjust as I did this year and hopefully it'll be fine. Figure, the kids went through 3-5 years of a truly AWFUL math program, and still learned math. I can't really ruin them going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 We'll get to a good place and it will last about 6 months and then something changes and I have to search all over again. It's harder with my sn ds, but even my easy-to-school dd will need a change sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I've found bits and pieces every year. We are finishing up year six and many things are going well. I do, however, have changes for next year. :) I'm ready to let go of perfection as a goal and instead shoot for better. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.