Aaaand now I'm nervous. This newbie is scared.

[nikkistone]

Hi

 

I will be a new homeschooling mom as of this Fall to my older two boys. I just went to my first homeschooling bookfair this past weekend in the Dallas area. And now I'm second guessing my ability to do this! I wasn't overwhelmed by all the curriculum out there; I went with a list of things that I wanted to purchase or look at to help avoid feeling overwhelmed.

 

But I'm overwhelmed now at the prospect of teaching my kids. Juggling the kids (discipline-wise), teaching them enough (or not enough), and still liking my kids at the end of the day are all big concerns on my mind right now. Help!

[Alyeska]

There is a book called Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit. I highly recommend it. When I start to feel 'lost' I go back to that book to get re-grounded...and I've been hs'ing for 7 years!

 

You CAN do this!!! :)

[Veritaserum]

Deep breaths! :) You might want to ease into it over the summer. Do you have an idea for how you want your school day to flow? If you want to start with some kind of group activity like a scripture study, you could start doing just that every school day this summer. After a few weeks of that, add science or history or something. Then add another subject. Etc.

 

Other personalities do better to just jump in with everything. :D

 

Realize that you will need to tweak things as you go and that's ok. You may end up needing to add/subtract subjects or programs. That's ok. We are at the end of our sixth year homeschooling and I've changed at least one thing every year. It's still not perfect, but it's better than ever before. :) I do have some changes on the schedule for next year. ;)

 

Welcome! :)

[TXMary2]

:grouphug:Nicole. Take heart, we have all been there. If you go in knowing that the first year will likely be the hardest, it might help to remember that when a day isn't going as planned.

 

Be flexible and don't set yourself up for failure by setting the bar too high. I don't mean be a slacker or complacent, just pick your battles and don't set unrealistic goals.

 

Most importantly, have fun with your boys because the years will fly by.

[kalanamak]

Hi

 

I will be a new homeschooling mom as of this Fall to my older two boys. I just went to my first homeschooling bookfair this past weekend in the Dallas area. And now I'm second guessing my ability to do this! I wasn't overwhelmed by all the curriculum out there; I went with a list of things that I wanted to purchase or look at to help avoid feeling overwhelmed.

 

But I'm overwhelmed now at the prospect of teaching my kids. Juggling the kids (discipline-wise), teaching them enough (or not enough), and still liking my kids at the end of the day are all big concerns on my mind right now. Help!

 

Your kids are young. Wade in. Personally, I wouldn't wait until 1 Sept. I'd pick a topic to start getting to know each other with, perhaps reading for 6 and spelling for 8. And certainly some field trips. Not the lets go to the beach but lets read some books on the beach THEN go, and bring some containers and have samples to draw at home. Then we can write a paragraph about it. (And meanwhile, you've read up a bit, and while there can use some nomenclature while at the beach).

 

I'd also start some math games. Zeus on the Loose and some dice games for 8 and Sum Swamp for 6 year old. To get them thinking that math isn't a certain number of pages, but bothering to THINK about it outside of book time.

 

Homeschooling is curriculum, for us neoclassical types, but it is also a mind-set.

 

HTH!!

[BabyBre]

It's good to know you're normal! It can be a scary prospect, but you'll get your feet under you and begin to feel freedom and love in teaching your own kids.

 

I needed the chapter of the WTM that outlines the reasons to homeschool to make me feel more confident I was doing the right thing and was capable of it. Reading the WTM itself made me feel completely overwhelmed, but always remember that you'll adjust whatever program, curriculum, schedule, etc. you decide to start with to fit your family's and kids' needs. And there is so much quality homeschool curricula available that you can (and probably will) change it up, maybe several times, until you find the right fit for you and each kid. I started with the WTM approach to the letter as much as possible 8 years ago because I was so unsure I knew what I was doing and it sounded like a great place to start. Besides Saxon Math, I don't think we still use any of the exact recommendations we started with.

 

The beauty of homeschooling is its flexibility and how it puts you in control of what, when, and how your dc are taught. It can be fun and interesting, or trying and monotonous. You're in control. The quote in my signature came from my best friend's dh who was trying to help me while I was making the decision to pull my oldest out of ps. "It is what you make it."

 

You'll do great and you've got support here.

Edited May 8, 2011 by BabyBre

[EJCMom]

It's really overwhelming at first. This has been my first year. I started slowly. I started with one subject with each child for the first week, then added another the second week, and so on. That way we eased into it and it and I was able to feel confident with each subject before we added more. And, if I ever felt overwhelmed, we just took a day off. Simple as that.

 

It's funny because I was thinking just this morning how overwhelmed I was at first, but now that the year is over I look back on it and am so pleased with everything we've done. I feel so lucky to be homeschooling...so lucky to be sharing those lightbulb moments with my kids...so lucky to be the one teaching them to read (that feels like a real sense of accomplishment for me, even though I know it's really their accomplishment)...and, really, so lucky to be able to spend every minute with them that I can knowing that the time that they are little is passing all too quickly and they will be grown before I know it.

 

So, :grouphug:. We were all really overwhelmed at first. By this time next year you'll be looking back and feeling so proud of yourself and your kids. It's an amazing experience, and you can do it. In fact, there is nobody on Earth who could do it better than you can!

[Mom0012]

You can do it! Just start with one subject and once you are doing well with that, add another.

 

Lisa

[Twilight Woods]

That is why I am not going to the local HS convention this year. :)

 

It will be my first year. I am only worrying about the 3 r's right now. I know what I want to do with everything BUT I am slowly implementing everything. We are going to start Math in July then add a subject every week or so. :)

 

You will do great!

[kchara]

There is a book called Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit. I highly recommend it. When I start to feel 'lost' I go back to that book to get re-grounded...and I've been hs'ing for 7 years!

 

You CAN do this!!! :)

 

:iagree: I read it at least twice a year

[kama]

I have just finally made the decision to homeschool and sometimes it really overwhelms me too. I am thinking it is a pretty common feeling for a beginner. I don't have much advice just wanted to say your not alone :)

[nikkistone]

Thank you, ladies, for all of the encouraging words! I just ordered the Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit book and am looking forward to reading it. I hadn't even THOUGHT about starting a little bit this summer -- what a great idea!

 

Again. Thanks again for your support! :001_smile:

[*Lulu*]

You have received some great advice already, esp. about starting to transition in an unschooly way this summer.

 

I would also encourage you, (when you begin more formal schooling this fall), to focus first on the basics plus maybe one thing that really interests your crew. After a few months you'll begin to find a groove and can start to incorporate more of the extras. Also, do NOT feel discouraged if you have to take every single plan you've made and scrap it. The ability to change is IMHO one of the most wonderful blessings of homeschooling. If something isn't working you do not have to wait until next year, you can make a change/course correction any time you see one is needed.

 

Also let me suggest Homeschooling: Take A Deep Breath- You Can Do This by Terri Lynn Bittner. It really helped me when I was feeling overwhelmed in the beginning.

[*Lulu*]

Oops! Double post!

[Mom22ns]

I know a lot of people advice starting slowly and using your summer, but I just can't imagine how that works. For us, we take summers off (except for a little math) and enjoy the time. Then we jump in with both feet in August when public school starts (we did this even the first year we homeschooled). To my kids this feels natural because everyone is starting school then. They are very resistant to summer because their friends don't do it. I find them so eager and cooperative at the beginning of the year. We get more done in the first 6 weeks than in any other 8 week period after that!

 

If your kids are like mine and are willing to jump in at the beginning of the year, go for it and take full advantage of their refreshed willing spirits!

 

You CAN do this! I never thought I'd homeschool and now I can't imagine life any other way.

[....]

The first year we homeschooled, we also did a trial run over the summer. It helped a lot.

 

Routine and organization are my keys to success with homeschooling. :D I don't know what our school would look like without good organization.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Being nervous indicates you care deeply which indicates you'll try really hard, research and adjust which indicates you'll do fine. I was petrified so you sound perfectly normal to me.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Hi

 

I will be a new homeschooling mom as of this Fall to my older two boys. I just went to my first homeschooling bookfair this past weekend in the Dallas area. And now I'm second guessing my ability to do this! I wasn't overwhelmed by all the curriculum out there; I went with a list of things that I wanted to purchase or look at to help avoid feeling overwhelmed.

 

But I'm overwhelmed now at the prospect of teaching my kids. Juggling the kids (discipline-wise), teaching them enough (or not enough), and still liking my kids at the end of the day are all big concerns on my mind right now. Help!

 

I think you have the ability to do a great job. Slow and steady. Just keep getting better each day. Don't let the perfect homeschool be the enemy of the good homeschool.

 

And don't constantly compare with the people around you, the school down the street or the homeschoolers you meet online. It is easy to think that you have to be great at everything, because you'll meet one homeschooler whose kids are great at music and another whose kids are math whizes and another whose kids are out volunteering with the local nature center. And you'll think that you have to have musically gifted kids who are doing calculus while building birdhouses. It is easy to miss that individual families have to make choices and prioritize.

 

Don't expect that everything will be just as you envisioned it. At least not at the beginning. But don't get into the trap of thinking that you'll just let it wait until later. Sometimes later never comes and you look back and think, hey, we never got around to doing those things we wanted to do. There is a happy medium there between forcing too much and letting it slide too long. Keep seeking that middle ground.

[hsmykids]

I have to say, this was our first year hsing and I had the same fears. I have a 10 and 11 year old. Plus, I work outside the home. Two weeks before I started hsing my dh gutted my kitchen. :ack2: Then we had water damage due to our hard winter. Which took out 2 major rooms in my home. We had to bring them down to the studs and have a new roof put on. But, God is faithful......

 

I thing that I found. The first 2 months were hard. But, as time went on my ds looked at me and said, Ma~ I am stuck with her huh... Meaning his sister. Then the dynamics began to change in our home. We went from not playing together and bickering to playing together. They still bicker :D They are siblings. But, over all they have bonded in a different level. They work together to get their school work done and their chores.

 

Saying that, I may have messed a lot of things up and I am doing things different next year. But, it has been a blessing in many ways. Just wait and see how things change in your family life. It's wonderful!