Your worst year?

[johnandtinagilbert]

Was there a particular time or season when you were...well, kinda over it and while you really weren't considering Not home schooling, you treasured every break more than usual and felt generally tired (maybe a little sick and tired) of home schooling?

 

I'm fine. School is okay, I just don't feel my usual enthusiasm for schooling; more like, (huge exhale) yeah, the day is over. It is my 12th year, perhaps I'm feeling like everybody else?

 

Did you have this spell or these spells?

[yinne]

This year!!! We have 3 weeks left of school and I will be so glad to put this year behind us. I need a break!!

 

Yvonne in NE

[mom2paul]

DS is ready for summer. It's like pulling teeth to get work accomplished, so its been a little frustrating for me.

[Shelly in VA]

The 2 years prior to this one. While this year has been better, it has not been stellar. :001_unsure: For me, it is a combination of burnout (this is my 10th year of homeschooling), 2 teens and the related hormones, and 2 state-to-state moves mid-year over the past 4 years. Uggh.

 

I also think that while I have always tried to instill academic rigor, when all of my children were younger I felt in the back of my mind that if anything wasn't going well, I had time to work on it later. Now, I'm feeling a lot of pressure (read panic!) because I only have a short time left with my teens. That, and they just aren't as excited over essays as they were over Egyptian headdresses when they were younger! :D

 

Good luck; hang in there, and know that you aren't alone. Also, thanks for posting this. I know I struggle with wanting my days to feel a bit more rewarding and a bit less box-checking than they currently are.

 

Shelly

[Rhonda in TX]

Probably this year has been our worst. I am just going through the motions right now, trying to get through another 5 weeks. Other than math (which DS is way, way behind in), we are just going to shut the books and be done, whether we've actually finished or not.

 

Stick a fork in me. I'm done.

[rieshy]

Absolutely. It's why I'm on this board right now:) I'm at the 11 to 12 year mark too.

 

Actually things are better now. My worst year ever was 2 years ago. That year I never got more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night because of a toddler's health problems. Lack of sleep can really put you over the edge.

 

I've been working on regaining my enthusiasm ever since. I've also done some curriculum shake-ups. After 10 years, doing the same math with my younger crowd that I did with my older crowd was going to either bore me to sleep, or make me go ravingingly insane.

 

Put one foot in front of the other...

[elegantlion]

This year has been our worst. Dh's unemployment, a long distance move, and the fact half of the things I need for school this spring are 900 miles away in storage. Lends itself to some stressful days.

 

Thankfully I challenged ds is some areas this year, he has risen to the occasion, yet a few subjects we are going to continue with next year as we didn't get enough done this year.

 

We have six weeks left and I'm so glad. I've made peace with what we won't finish. We had considered letting ds skip a grade, but after this chaotic year we've (him included) decided that's not the best option.

 

We built and lost our momentum several times. Ds and I have had some great conversations, so most of the chaos has been outside the classroom.

 

This was not what I wanted for his 7th grade year.

[G5052]

But I work part-time and have always had hard periods with eldercare and the ongoing disability/medical issues of a family member for years now. So homeschooling at times because a stressor among many stresses. Sometimes it is much worse than others. Last summer was miserable, then the fall was a whirl, and I crashed after the holidays and couldn't get my enthusiasm up in January. Not that anyone knew, but I was flat blah at the beginning of 2011.

 

That said, it is not something I want to let go, so we've chosen to go to paid classes for more than I originally planned. That is hard on the budget, but it keeps us relatively even because there is accountability despite my lack of motivation at times. It is a trade-off, but it works.

Edited April 27, 2011 by GVA

[Janice in NJ]

Hi Tina,

 

The only difference between the two of us is that I actually DO consider NOT hsing. :001_smile:

 

Sometimes it makes me giddy..... which makes me nervous that I might actually quit.

 

Sometimes I WISH, WISH, WISH there was a psychologist I could talk to. I can't imagine it would work though. It would take DAYS just to get another person to the point where they could say, "Oh. I see what you are saying."

 

I TRIED to have this discussion w/ dh yesterday. I ended up comparing my problem to a parabolic downward-opening curve. When I suggested that I've decided on a parabola AFTER ruling out the notion that the problem couldn't POSSIBLY be asymptotic, he hugged me and told me that he loved me. In his best Brian Regan voice he asked, "May I still stand here?"

 

 

 

I can't imagine that there is a professional anywhere who will know what I'm talking about either.

 

No answers. Just sending hugs...... (I think I know what you're talking about. ;))

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

Edited April 26, 2011 by Janice in NJ

[Shelly in VA]

Susan, I just popped over to your blog after your post. Very helpful! You're right, the sleep deprivation is destructive to everything. We went through this for the first 5 years with my youngest (who is currently just 5 1/2). He had several health issues as a toddler, and sleep problems related to being on the autism spectrum (a diagnosis made last spring). As for the sleep issues, it was a forehead-slapping moment for me when the developmental pediatrician looked at me and said, "You know, it is considered a sleep disorder if a child isn't sleeping through the night by 18 months of age. And this is your 4th child?" I blame that [partially] on sleep deprivation!

[johnandtinagilbert]

Hi Tina,

 

The only difference between the two of us is that I actually DO consider NOT hsing. :001_smile:

 

Sometimes it makes me giddy..... which makes me nervous that I might actually quit.

 

Sometimes I WISH, WISH, WISH there was a psychologist I could talk to. I can't imagine it would work though. It would take DAYS just to get another person to the point where they could say, "Oh. I see what you are saying."

 

I TRIED to have this discussion w/ dh yesterday. I ended up comparing my problem to a parabolic downward-opening curve. When I suggested that I've decided on a parabola AFTER ruling out the notion that the problem couldn't POSSIBLY be asymptotic, he hugged me and told me that he loved me. In his best Brian Regan voice he asked, "May I still stand here?"

 

 

 

I can't imagine that there is a professional anywhere who will know what I'm talking about either.

 

No answers. Just sending hugs...... (I think I know what you're talking about. ;))

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

That is great! Thanks for the laugh. :001_smile:

[8filltheheart]

Was there a particular time or season when you were...well, kinda over it and while you really weren't considering Not home schooling, you treasured every break more than usual and felt generally tired (maybe a little sick and tired) of home schooling?

 

I'm fine. School is okay, I just don't feel my usual enthusiasm for schooling; more like, (huge exhale) yeah, the day is over. It is my 12th year, perhaps I'm feeling like everybody else?

 

Did you have this spell or these spells?

 

 

Last yr and the beginning of this yr were the absolute worst. I was so tired after the baby plus I ended up having an emergency c-sec b/c she was presenting shoulder first and compressing the cord so that her heart rate flatlined. Then our oldest was diagnosed with Lupus, got married when she was still tiny, and then he almost died from a pulmonary embolism during the summer.

 

When school started back in the fall, I didn't feel like we had had a summer vacation at all (which we really didn't b/c so much was consumed with our ds's health). I was inwardly in tears almost every day.

 

But, gradually things have gotten better. We have 3 weeks left and while I am thrilled that the end is approaching, I am not as desperate as I thought I would be!!

Edited April 26, 2011 by 8FillTheHeart

[Niffercoo]

This year!!! We have 3 weeks left of school and I will be so glad to put this year behind us. I need a break!!

 

Yvonne in NE

 

I could have typed this word for word!

 

I've been hoping mine is the result of the pressure of having a high schooler next year mixed with the stress of having the middle child hit puberty and adding in a smattering of autism and weaning off epilepsy meds and broken ankles.

 

But I am worn down and beat up. This was our 9th year of homeschooling.

[Niffercoo]

Susan, I just popped over to your blog after your post. Very helpful! You're right, the sleep deprivation is destructive to everything. We went through this for the first 5 years with my youngest (who is currently just 5 1/2). He had several health issues as a toddler, and sleep problems related to being on the autism spectrum (a diagnosis made last spring). As for the sleep issues, it was a forehead-slapping moment for me when the developmental pediatrician looked at me and said, "You know, it is considered a sleep disorder if a child isn't sleeping through the night by 18 months of age. And this is your 4th child?" I blame that [partially] on sleep deprivation!

 

 

Before my two were diagnosed on the spectrum, I would get the younger one to sleep at 8 and then the oldest would be up until about midnight. Then he would fall asleep and the youngest was up at 1. I had to stay up with her so she wouldn't leave the house. And then she'd fall back asleep around 5 AM, and then my middle child would get up around 8. So I would sleep from 5-8 AM and that was it. Our developmental pediatrician asked how I was still functioning! LOL But it wasn't until we started using melatonin and I started getting SOME sleep that I realized how utterly sleep-deprived I had been! The littlest one still has sleep issues but usually keeps to herself and we have special locks now so she can't leave, but when she does decide to wake me up - wow, it's unbelievable.

[Niffercoo]

Hi Tina,

 

The only difference between the two of us is that I actually DO consider NOT hsing. :001_smile:

 

Sometimes it makes me giddy..... which makes me nervous that I might actually quit.

 

 

 

 

Janice, if I had the money, my middle child would be in private school right now. Actually, she would have been there 2 weeks ago. I even made an appointment to get her shots up to date (since she is a 6th grader). Our local public school is scary, which is the only thing that keeps me from enrolling her. But there have been times in the last couple of months where I have told my husband that I don't care. I went to some scary schools and lived through it. But I know things are different now. And thus we keep plugging away.

 

And then with my spectrum kids, I keep telling myself that they are getting more at home than they would at school. But since they have never been in school (with diagnoses), maybe I'm just kidding myself?

 

I really want to enjoy being around my children again. I'm just so worn out from battling over math or having to hold onto my patience for the bazillionth time when my child can't remember something he/she did just the day before (because it's not their fault - autism just sucks!).

 

This thread is giving me a great measure of comfort. I've been feeling like a homeschool mom failure because I've been so BLAH about homeschooling this year.

[Susan C.]

I am in my 16th year, and actually called the technical college for dd's 12th grade year (next year). But we are finished next year for good (no more kids). I tell her all the time to stick it out, so why should I stop with only one year left? So I need to be an example to her. We still have things we want to do at home before college. But I am really tired too. Dc even say I don't have a life, wonder why (someday they will understand that for right now, they are my life).

[Beyondthe3rs]

I am right there with you ladies who are having their worst year THIS YEAR!! My oldest son is 11 and has fought me on everything this year. So much so that we toured the local public school in March and seriously considered enrolling him even if it was just for the remainder of this year.

 

My 10 year old has significant learning struggles and has all but given up on himself, making it that much harder to pull work out of him every day.

 

Because of the difficulty with my older boys, i feel like my daughter has completely gotten the short end of the stick and been doing her own thing most of the year.

 

My little guys are young enough that reading and playing make them happy and are plenty for me to try and work in with them.

 

All that to say, this is our 7th year and I am totally over this year!! We have done very little this month and I am searching for my motivation to get my mind refocused and encouraged once again.

[Kim in SouthGa]

this is our tenth year and my worst, I think because we have stayed so busy running to extra curricular activities and classes that I feel we haven't gotten enough done. Also, we have high school, middle school, elementary school, and preschool, so it is definitely a dance! Dh has had a very busy work-travel schedule, so I am single-parenting most of the time. I want to be done. now. but the high schooler must keep working and his outside classes go to the end of May. Then we have two weeks until we leave for a 3 week trip (24 hour car trip so packing is a huge deal and will take all of those 2 weeks). Then I will have about three weeks to get my act together for the next school year. So sick of dr. and dentist appt, too.

I just want to lay on the beach and not worry about what time it is!

[Shelly in VA]

I completely understand the balancing act; mine are high school, middle school, elementary school, and preschool as well. Plus, dh travels quite a bit for work, our closest family is 600 miles away, and we've only been here for 2 years. Are you sure you aren't me?! Ha!

 

I'm with you, too, on the doctor and dentist and orthodontist appointments, plus the oldest is 16 and learning to drive, and the youngest is autistic and going to OT every other week (it should be every week, but I was going crazy!).

 

I'm noticing, on this thread, a lot of 'worst years' for people who've been at it for 10+ years... that can't be coincidence...

 

Shelly

[Shelly in VA]

My profile picture was chosen because the juggling is what I feel like I am doing, all day, all the time... perhaps the Worst Year Syndrome is due in large part to mom having no margin!

[Mommee & Baba]

The kids have been so GREAT this year! They have really dug into their studies and enjoyed what we've been using for curriculum.

 

I am the problem this year.

 

I just have NO patience anymore. DS2 drives me up the wall so much by 8am that I'm ready to pounce out the window and run off into the backyard and take a huge 2 hour nap in the kids' playhouse! Isn't that just awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And when school is over for the day my kids are asking me why I was so crabby and why I'm mad at them, when in fact I'm not mad at them at all..I've just lost my barings and of course I feel awful! But when the day is over I can then focus only on the totboy and his next meltdown and his next moment to whack one of his siblings or the next thing he's going to ruin....:glare:

 

So for me it's not for school per say this year. It's juggling a 2 year old and 2 homeschooling children along with my regular housechores. This year I haven't been the funnest or best mommy or wife. :001_huh:

[mjbucks1]

I am feeling the same way!! We are finishing our 9th year of homeschooling, and I feel like I have been DRAGGING our oldest along. He has always been so easy to homeschool (compared to dd who has ALWAYS been a challenge), until this year. At times I want to pull my hair out :ack2:. And he is SO BEHIND that I will either have to 1) just stop the curriculum at some point in the summer, or 2) work all summer with him :eek:! He is a really good kid, but he has just not been as responsible this year. And trying to juggle a toddler has been challenging!!

Are we all just getting sping fever? Maybe just a break is all that is needed!!!!

[Janice in NJ]

Don't worry. I suspect I've got you beat for the "Mommy of the Year" award.

 

NOT! :001_smile:

 

sometimes i'm not very nice.... (lower case because i'm whispering....) :glare:;):001_smile: SURELY one of the toughest things to deal with!

 

Do you know what I hate? Yelling. I hate yelling. Really. You wouldn't know it because I DO it so much, but I really do hate it.

 

ds: "Why are you yelling at me? I didn't do anything?"

me: "Really? Nothing. How about the way you have been laying there like a limp rag for the last sixty minutes while I tried to work through this history discussion with you? Huh? What about that? It seems like the MORE patience I have, the less effort you produce. The harder I work at being patient, the deeper the coma! What's up with THAT!? What about the fact that I've had to tell you the same answer to the same question seven times, and when I ask you again you still look at me like this is a NEW question? What about when we have been tag reading for the last ten minutes and EVERYTIME it's my turn and I stop reading to check to see if you are reading along in your book, you comment that you don't know where we are. Never. It seems like you never follow along. You never know where we are. Ever. How about the fact that I have been trying to lay the foundation for this essay for the last sixty minutes through the most CONVOLUTED Socratic dialogue ever bantered because you can't seem to connect any of the dots because you refuse to SEE them as dots. SO NOW when it's time to write? Even though I've been laying the foundation for this essay with more effort than it takes to launch the Space Shuttle, you have almost been drooling due to lack of attentiveness so only NOW when you are in front of the screen and need to TYPE something - only NOW - do you realize that you don't understand what we've been talking about for the last hour!

 

You have been nodding for an hour so I will end this CONVERSATION! So yes, I agree. You are right. I am yelling because you haven't DONE anything!

 

WHY is it that the HARDER I WORK, the more you relax? WHY IS THAT! THAT IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!!!!"

 

My voice has reached airport-runway-levels again.

 

again.

 

Hate that!.

Really hate it.

 

Peace??

Janice

Edited April 26, 2011 by Janice in NJ

[6packofun]

The '08-09 school year sucked big time. Dh's grandmother moved in with us in November of '08, she had late stage Alzheimer's and I had to care for her while trying to coordinate home health aids, adult day care, finally hospice AND homeschool our kids. It was like we missed an entire school year. She passed away the next June so it pretty much WAS the whole school year.

 

This year is the second worst ever and it's simply because of finances. Dh doesn't (can't) budget for homeschool materials and I still don't have any history stuff for my 2 oldest or any materials for science experiments. It's exhausting trying to piece stuff together myself at this point, our library sucks, and I really need a simple PROGRAM. I'm working 2 days a week now, too, so I'm running out of steam. Dh just got passed over for THE job that would bring us out of poverty at long last and so I'm seriously considering doing k12 through a cyber charter even though that's not what my heart wants. :(

 

You asked! LOL

[Debbie in IL]

I was just thinking the same thing. We are finishing 11 years. I'll leave it at that. ;)

[iona]

Just wanted to say I appreciate all of you experienced homeschoolers, your wisdom, unique perspective and patience with asenine newbie homeschool questions(which i help clog the boards up with) on top of everything else you are dealing with. :grouphug:

 

(please don't cringe at my grammar)

Edited April 27, 2011 by iona
trying to save face

[Quiver0f10]

This has been our worst year. Between health issues, driving my sn son to therapies, appointments, co-op classes etc. I am running somewhere just about every single day and it drives me nuts. And I am simple burnt out. I can not wait for this school year to end.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Quiver0f10

[Guest]

It has to be the time of year.

 

My first two smart mouth constantly, or argue with me or throw tantrums. All out on the floor tantrums at 12! They do nothing without me in the same room with them or they sneak off to play LEGOs. My 7 year old tells me NO! every time I say it is time for school or even a story. My 5 year old is the only one eager for school as long as it is a math lesson. Anything else and he runs away. My 2 yr old dd is under foot or rather on my lap or screaming. AND everyone is constantly getting sick. We haven't had a week since Thanksgiving where everyone was well.

 

My 14yr old is supposed to be ready for high school in August and he is no way there in any subject. It takes him all day to do 3 subjects: a math lesson, a grammar lesson and a history lesson. All freaking day with me standing over him, calling him back, getting him to stay focused. ARGGG!!! How is he going to add in anything else?

 

And on top of that, I just don't feel like it anymore. I don't sleep well anymore. My house feels like a mess and I have very little energy for it. We have not had a real schedule since before I was pregnant with dd. I used to be super organized and on top of things. Honestly, the best years as far as work getting done were the years we used Calvert. Boring, nasty, school-in-a-box expensive Calvert School.

 

I asked my older 2 about going to ps as private is out of reach. They say they want to hs so why is it pulling teeth to get them to learn anything? Nothing motivates them at all. But they both say they like the books we are using now. So why is it so hard?

 

I appreciate the chance to vent. Sometimes we all make it seem so rosy colored and easy when it isn't. This is my 6th/7th year doing this and I don't know I want to anymore. I want to enjoy my kids, not scream and yell and fight all day for the short time we have left. When do I get to be just Mommy again?

 

For those who believe in a Source/God, we could all use some prayers. I know I am sending one up.

[Jonibee]

Yes, I'm tired. I thought it was because I turned 50 this year. But maybe it's the full-time job plus the part-time job I've been doing for 7 years. Or my husband who has had 2 shoulder surgeries and will probably never work again with no unemployment or disability income since a year ago January.

 

That sleep thing? I keep trying to tell myself it's overrated. I get 6 hours, sometimes 5. But I miss being a mom more than anything. It's when homeschooling becomes another job -- extremely high stress at that -- and stops me from being a mom just hanging out and loving on my kids -- that's when I tend to go over the edge.

 

I've been on the edge for years now. Sometimes I wonder how a person actually "has a nervous breakdown." Surely I feel like that on the inside -- you know, that wild-eyed panicky looking screamer there must be me. Or the silent one whose sighs cannot get any deeper because the energy is just. not. there.

 

But it's the best I can do. We'll get through this. I tell myself it's not my kids' fault and God knows where we are -- where I am. As much as I can, I keep myself from listening to the "you deserve it" thoughts and a hundred other thoughts I could list here, but that would make me think of them, so I won't.

 

As the previous poster said, I just don't feel like it anymore. Maybe because it's been so many years of homeschooling that I lost count. 16? Trust me, the excitement of it all wore off years ago. If anyone asks me why I homeschool, I don't have the answers anymore except that our PS is the most well-known drug school in the state. The thought of me having a life outside of homeschooling and work is foreign to me. I often pray that I have made the right sacrifice with my life. I'm not so sure it has been worth it to lose the mother job in exchange for the teacher/micro-manager job.

 

Sigh. Summer is coming. Repeat after me . . . Summer is coming. Life goes in seasons, I keep telling myself. Sunshine and flowers will be here soon.

[Mommee & Baba]

Don't worry. I suspect I've got you beat for the "Mommy of the Year" award.

 

NOT! :001_smile:

 

sometimes i'm not very nice.... (lower case because i'm whispering....) :glare:;):001_smile: SURELY one of the toughest things to deal with!

 

Do you know what I hate? Yelling. I hate yelling. Really. You wouldn't know it because I DO it so much, but I really do hate it.

 

ds: "Why are you yelling at me? I didn't do anything?"

me: "Really? Nothing. How about the way you have been laying there like a limp rag for the last sixty minutes while I tried to work through this history discussion with you? Huh? What about that? It seems like the MORE patience I have, the less effort you produce. The harder I work at being patient, the deeper the coma! What's up with THAT!? What about the fact that I've had to tell you the same answer to the same question seven times, and when I ask you again you still look at me like this is a NEW question? What about when we have been tag reading for the last ten minutes and EVERYTIME it's my turn and I stop reading to check to see if you are reading along in your book, you comment that you don't know where we are. Never. It seems like you never follow along. You never know where we are. Ever. How about the fact that I have been trying to lay the foundation for this essay for the last sixty minutes through the most CONVOLUTED Socratic dialogue ever bantered because you can't seem to connect any of the dots because you refuse to SEE them as dots. SO NOW when it's time to write? Even though I've been laying the foundation for this essay with more effort than it takes to launch the Space Shuttle, you have almost been drooling due to lack of attentiveness so only NOW when you are in front of the screen and need to TYPE something - only NOW - do you realize that you don't understand what we've been talking about for the last hour!

 

You have been nodding for an hour so I will end this CONVERSATION! So yes, I agree. You are right. I am yelling because you haven't DONE anything!

 

WHY is it that the HARDER I WORK, the more you relax? WHY IS THAT! THAT IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!!!!!"

 

My voice has reached airport-runway-levels again.

 

again.

 

Hate that!.

Really hate it.

 

Peace??

Janice

 

Let's go have some coffee and watch some horrible soap opera's and laugh at the unrealism of them. I think that would make me feel better for just a moment!!:lol:

 

I feel terrible for yelling. I don't like it and this year that's all I seem to be doing!!!! TERRIBLE I tell you..... TERRIBLE!!!

[Jackie in NE]

Was there a particular time or season when you were...well, kinda over it and while you really weren't considering Not home schooling, you treasured every break more than usual and felt generally tired (maybe a little sick and tired) of home schooling?

 

I'm fine. School is okay, I just don't feel my usual enthusiasm for schooling; more like, (huge exhale) yeah, the day is over. It is my 12th year, perhaps I'm feeling like everybody else?

 

Did you have this spell or these spells?

 

First of all, :grouphug: :grouphug:.

I thought that last year would be my worst year ever..... until this year. I. am. so. tired. I don't even have the "oomph" to explain the fatigue. 4 kids, basically single parenting, and trying to keep a marriage alive when dh lives 200 miles away. I actually dream about the day when I can just not worry about all the responsibility. I was actually looking on line at 2-room cottages, where I could just sit and drink coffee and look out the sunny windows, and not think about anything! I'm in my 11th year of homeschooling. And I am so tired of it all. Hopefully a summer break will make us all feel better.

[Tammyla]

:grouphug:I suffer this almost every year; the winter here is cold, dark and gloomy and I have to force myself to go through the motions. Having high school students really puts the pressure on me to work through it.

 

Big hug...

 

Was there a particular time or season when you were...well, kinda over it and while you really weren't considering Not home schooling, you treasured every break more than usual and felt generally tired (maybe a little sick and tired) of home schooling?

 

I'm fine. School is okay, I just don't feel my usual enthusiasm for schooling; more like, (huge exhale) yeah, the day is over. It is my 12th year, perhaps I'm feeling like everybody else?

 

Did you have this spell or these spells?

[romeacademy]

I also think that while I have always tried to instill academic rigor, when all of my children were younger I felt in the back of my mind that if anything wasn't going well, I had time to work on it later. Now, I'm feeling a lot of pressure (read panic!) because I only have a short time left with my teens. That, and they just aren't as excited over essays as they were over Egyptian headdresses when they were younger! :D

Shelly

 

Exactly! My oldest is finishing her 10th grade year and beginning to look at colleges. I'm working on her transcript and keep feeling that she's so BEHIND. She'd love to go to Hillsdale, but in the back of my mind I'm not sure I've helped her to get ready to go there, or anywhere similar.

 

It's still great with the twins, except that I don't feel like I have enough time with them, but younger ds throws a fit everytime I pull out his math book and starts going on about how much he hates school and whoever said he had to be educated anyway. Older ds is far more interested in programming his NXT than writing anything, but at least he's developed the maturity to understand the need to so it. Most days. Until the hormones kick in. Who said boys were easier?

 

perhaps the Worst Year Syndrome is due in large part to mom having no margin!

 

I was just thinking this the other day. Between dh being laid off earlier in the year (thankfully he's working now) and his dad passing away in Feb, and all the running with the various kids to classes, etc, there's no breathing room.

 

I'd say I'm looking forward to summer, but my oldest will have to keep working right on through. And I'm trying to squeeze in a class for myself. Still, warm weather and sunshine will help my mood and energy level I'm sure. :)

[Running the race]

The worst year was last year before I had my now 14yo son start taking ADD medicine. This year has been much better!

[Shelly in VA]

Who said boys were easier?

 

Still, warm weather and sunshine will help my mood and energy level I'm sure. :)

 

I'm finding that boys aren't easier, just DIFFERENT. And, yes, the warm weather and sunshine do help, so at least that is something to look forward to!

 

Shelly

[johnandtinagilbert]

My profile picture was chosen because the juggling is what I feel like I am doing, all day, all the time... perhaps the Worst Year Syndrome is due in large part to mom having no margin!

Def. the case for me. I don't mind busy, but all the busy is about somebody else. I enrolled in a class at the local cc and am hoping it will help me feel like there is something for me.

 

First of all, :grouphug: :grouphug:.

I thought that last year would be my worst year ever..... until this year. I. am. so. tired. I don't even have the "oomph" to explain the fatigue. 4 kids, basically single parenting, and trying to keep a marriage alive when dh lives 200 miles away. I actually dream about the day when I can just not worry about all the responsibility. I was actually looking on line at 2-room cottages, where I could just sit and drink coffee and look out the sunny windows, and not think about anything! I'm in my 11th year of homeschooling. And I am so tired of it all. Hopefully a summer break will make us all feel better.

That's funny. Yesterday, we were dreaming out loud and I can't believe I thought this: I am looking forward to being in the working world. Somehow, it seems easier than the world I'm in now and I'm looking forward to it! I've N.e.v.e.r. wanted to work outside of the home before!

[BlsdMama]

Three years ago. Year 7 for us homeschooling. I had a 5yo, a 3yo, a 2yo, and a baby and we were living in town. There were stresses - trying to run an at home business while teaching an 11yo and a barely reading 8yo, medical bills, etc. It was just an overwhelming year. It was the year I decided I simply could NOT follow TWTM and plan everything myself and tried to go to Sonlight and that just made everything worse because I wasn't thrilled with it. Nothing was really working the way I wanted it to work... My oldest was fairly self sufficient, but the 8/9yo absolutely was not. Because of his late start in reading (wasn't reading remotely up to par until 9-9.5) all instructions, etc. had to be explained, much had to be delayed, a lot of reading aloud, etc. My 3yo had food/behavioural issues... And I was running a business that was taking a good 30 hours a week between labels, online things, prepare shipping, making product, etc.

 

No, it wasn't a great year. To be overwhelmed and feel like you're falling short in so many areas all at once - not a good thing.

 

We quit the business.

We moved out in the country.

The 8/9yo reads beautifully.

We took soy away from DD. (And later found out it was also wheat, eggs, and nuts.)

The little ones grew older.

DD took complete charge of her own education and goes insanely above & beyond.

That non reader can now not only read, but write, and he's good at math. Still working on spelling, lol, but he is very independent of his mama.

The 5yo became 8yo and can read and do school work quite well with interaction with Mama.

The 3yo taught herself, with minimal phonics instruction, to read when she just turned 5yo and she is now reading at about a 4th/5th grade level. That took a LOT of weight off.

The move to the country definitely took the edge off of that 2yo's energy level. :)

The baby is now 4. God must have known I needed a REALLY easy one right about then because she's just sweetness in a jar.

And a 2yo & 1yo have joined us with the new baby coming in June. And I'm not half so overwhelmed as I was THAT year.

 

Just goes to show you - keep on keepin' on. Things are constantly changing. :)

[Mad Jenny Flint]

I think that says it all, but I will elaborate. My son is 16 and my daughter is 12 and mid-puberty. I am pretty sure I am smack in the middle of peri-menopause and some kind of mid-life crisis where I am questioning myself, who I am, what I am doing, and why it's important.

 

So I pick this year.

[Melissa in CA]

I've lost count on how many years I've homeschooled. Oldest ds is 22 years old and I have been schooling since he was in K...minus three years.

 

I've not had a REALLY bad school year in a very long time...and then it wasn't one year, it was several in succession. I finally HAD to put older ds in school (otherwise I would have killed him), shortly followed by younger brother who only went to school because he was bored at home with mom and lil brother.

 

Long story short. Putting them in school for a couple of years was the best thing IMAGINABLE for me. It not only helped them see how much better schooling at home was (Oldest begged me to bring him back home) but I got a much needed break. I got to be their mom. JUST their mom. The one who was fully..and HAPPILY...there for them when they got home. The one who was always in a good mood, who never had to run into her room anymore and scream into a pillow. I needed that break and they needed their mom to be their MOM. :)

 

Also, except for middle ds forgetting how to speak without the word 'like' inserted into every other word, school did not hurt them one bit. Our relationships were healed, and when they came back home to school it was SO MUCH BETTER! No more fighting me on school work. No more dawdling all day. They were very appreciative of being home again. It was a win win.

 

I got some slack from DS's family when I put them in school. Comments like I am lazy and not willing to put in the effort to school them, that I am just being selfish. Unbelievably hurtful and CLUELESS comments.They had no idea how damaged our family was due to the constant daily strife. It broke my heart to put them in school. I fought it, prayed about it, cried over it! I felt like a failure for having to do it! But, I knew I had to do it. My ds would come up to give me a hug and I would not want to hug him back because he had basically tortured me all day with his attitude. I couldn't love my ds like I needed to. I was in mommy failure.

 

Anyhow, I think DH's family was just afraid that my boys would change into monsters or something, but that did not happen. They were only in school three years total (oldest 3 years, middle 2 years). When they came back home we were all ready for it, and it went smoothly until they graduated high school. No more tension. No more tears. Lots of hugs. And after about 2 mths of being home again, middle ds relearned the proper use of the word 'like'. Ha!

 

I share all this to say that it is OK to take a break from schooling your kids for a while if you are really truly struggling year after year. It will not kill them. Yes, they may pick up a few choice things at school, but it. will. not. kill. them. ;)

 

Oldest ds tells me frequently that I should put youngest ds in school for at least a year. Says that he feels all homeschooled kids NEED to see what the real world is like. I say, naaaaa...I love this one too much to part with him every day. :lol:

Edited April 28, 2011 by Melissa in CA