momee Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Not in terms of perfection and covering everything...I mean how do you switch from high school to preschool all in a day? I'm feeling o/whelmed at the thought of schooling my kids this year. Their ages are so varied and they all have such different needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I start one on one with the little ones while the older ones are doing independent work. After lunch the littles are done and I work with the older ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I start one on one with the little ones while the older ones are doing independent work. After lunch the littles are done and I work with the older ones. Yep. Me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Last year : I did math with my oldest(pre calc) a half and hour or so before the others started, they were eating breakfast then(yes, we got interrupted) then I did math with my 7th grader(Alg 1, usually only took a few minutes to teach him the new lesson) and 5th grader(she wass pretty needy the whole time). During the time with my 5th grader the following things sometimes happened – 2+ year old climbed into my lap and asked to do her letters, I go over the sounds with her; Pre K (turned 5 in May) sometimes got a few minutes with me to go over her sounds and do a little blending, if things were really going well with the 5th grader I started the 1st grader with math and went back and forth between them. After math with the 5th grader(and 11th and 7th working semi-independently), the 11th and 7th went to another part of the house and did independent work for the rest of the morning(with occasional checking in) I had the rest of the morning with the preKs, 1st, 3rd, 5th. In the afternoon I had a session with the two older ones (a 30-40 min session each) to do whatever needed done. If I didn’t nap, I would also try to meet with my 5th grader. The best case scenario was those days that I had gone over math with the oldest the evening before. I'm getting overwhelmed just thinking about it. Haven't made the schedule for this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smillard00 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I've been worrying about this very thing. I have a K/1st child, a 6th grader, and a 9th grader. I'm realizing that they all are going to need more help from me than they did last year and they're at such different levels. I'm planning to work with the little one first because she is up and alert earlier than the others. She only needs about an hour of focused time for her core subjects and a reading for the day. (She is read to at other times during the day as well.) Then I'll shift to middle school mode for a while, working with her on the things where she needs me and assigning for the afternoon the things she can do independently. Then we do Latin together for an hour every day. After Latin, I send them out to play for a bit and then we have lunch. I'm thinking we'll do memory work after lunch, maybe? And then I'll shift to high school mode and do whatever teaching I need to do there. My high school son isn't a morning person, so I'm hoping this will hit everyone at their best, most alert times of the day. I've always had everyone around the table helping them as they needed it, working together on a lot of things, but now that they're getting older, I think this is going to work better for us. Hopefully... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 (edited) Every year, a new "set" of children has at least one subject that is more independent. This year I was more involved with my elementary aged kiddos with science. Next year, they will be doing something more text-based that they can do on their own except for some experiments/activities. I try to let all kids join in with experiments or projects no matter what their age level--they WANT to join even if they've done it before! We all do math and grammar at the same time; I am usually walking back and forth helping, but doing these basic subjects at once is great because many times an older kid will help a younger one and give me a break! LOL Older kids take turns hanging out with the preschooler/now Kindergartener because he doesn't take nearly as long, but I try to give him a good 45 minute stretch with just me. The older kids are pretty self-sufficient and helping them doesn't take much time, so I've been able to help the middle ones do their science and history without much interruption. I have lots of tricks for keeping the youngest busy after he's done, and sometimes that does involve TV/videos! lol The hardest years are when you have 3+ in elementary or early middle school and younger for SURE! I just adjust my expectations every year--sometimes we've had a heavy history year and I put much more effort into that, sometimes it's been science or whatever. That way, beyond the basics, I can feel that at least I really gave my all to at least ONE other subject and the next year I can try to do more or put my energy into a different subject. I've never been abe to keep up with tons of science experiments, history projects, art projects and all that in one year. I trade off the focus of my energy and it all works out in the end. (This isn't to say we DON'T do science on the years when I'm putting energy into history, btw! But we may just do read alouds or something less structured.) Edited July 3, 2011 by 6packofun change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajudy Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I start one on one with the little ones while the older ones are doing independent work. After lunch the littles are done and I work with the older ones. :iagree:This is how I did it for many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 :iagree:This is how I did it for many years. :iagree: The high schoolers work independently in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 And I also cycle everything off of history. It's just too much to have everyone on their own currics so I combine where I can. So, say this year we did Medieval as a spine. I used SOTW for the littles and they each had their own corresponding readings, then the older used History of the English Speaking Peoples V2 (Medieval) and had HER own readings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I start one on one with the little ones while the older ones are doing independent work. After lunch the littles are done and I work with the older ones. Same here. And pray that the littles don't destroy the house. I used Leap Frog books, CD's, simple DVD's, workbooks, educational games, etc and tried to rotate those for when the younger one wasn't napping. imho homeschooling high school with a toddler is difficult. It just really is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 My older kids just have to be independent with some things. I'm a facilitator, rather than a teacher in the traditional sense. I've never been able to combine my kids in any subject. They get up in the morning, eat breakfast, get dressed and start math. My high schooler is completely independent, even for math (Chalkdust). I grade her work, and keep her accountable. We talk about her work throughout the day as it comes up naturally. Sometimes, it leads to rabbit trails for all of us. My 12yo needs a bit more accountability, so throughout the day, I ask her what she's done and has left to do to keep her on track. She does most things independently and brings it to me to check. My 10yo does math, handwriting, spelling, grammar and literature independently. He also has a daily journal that he writes in. Science and history are done with me a couple of days a week. He has plenty that he can do independently if I have running around to do. My 5yo has special needs and needs full-time care. He also has a variety of therapy and doctor appointments each week. He can't do anything independently yet, including get dressed or use the bathroom. He only does about a half hour of seatwork a day, and the older kids take turns supporting him as needed. I definitely felt much more overwhelmed when my kids were younger. Now that they're older, it's much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Well, I stay busy all day long. I used to think that homeschooling took "so much time" (said in a whiney voice) when my oldest kids were in elementary school. HA! That's nothing compared to how much time I spend on it now. So, I start with my youngest, move to the middle, end with the oldest. And yes, it takes all day long. This is how I handle it as well. I really need my younger kids to finish early so that I can get them to help entertain the youngest. My routine is laundry in the machine, make a cup of coffee, toddler in high chair with food, teach youngest, older kids working on math or reading or watching TC lectures, etc (whatever they can do on their own.) I do not cycle my youngest school age child in and out throughout the day. I sit with them and we do everything all at once and then they are free to play and help with the toddler. As for all of the above 3rd grade kids, I cycle back and forth between them all day long. I might work on math with one and while they sit and do their math, I might work on a writing assignment with someone else, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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