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How can you do a good job with high school and still have time for teaching youngers?


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Cathmom-

don't worry about being a downer. You are just sharing where you are honestly. This is a hard world to live in and sometimes it's harder for some than others - that's not a downer, it's just reality. I'm sorry that you are going through a rough time. We all have our times of despair and feelings of failure. I don't (and I hope no one does) condemn you.

I pray God's blessing on you and your family.

Jen

 

thanks:001_smile:

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Perhaps my perspective is colored by the fact that I've been in pain since my last pregnancy (and he is now 3), that I've had two major health crises this year, and that I've been in physical therapy since February. I've been overwhelmed for 3 years now, trying to get everyone's bare minimum done between multiple therapies and tutoring and feeling like I'm failing miserably. I'm tired of the constant pressure and guilt.

 

Sorry to be such a downer. :tongue_smilie:

:grouphug:

 

Cathmom-

don't worry about being a downer. You are just sharing where you are honestly. This is a hard world to live in and sometimes it's harder for some than others - that's not a downer, it's just reality. I'm sorry that you are going through a rough time. We all have our times of despair and feelings of failure. I don't (and I hope no one does) condemn you.

I pray God's blessing on you and your family.

Jen

 

:iagree:

 

I'm sorry it has been so hard. I hope the potentialities with the charter school turn out to be all you hope for. Charter schools are booming where I live, and the competition is proving to be a very good thing. Suddenly the school situation doesn't seem quite so bleak for everyone.

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I have been reading this post for a few days now...and I have been so encouraged by all of you ladies. (Even cathmom and her struggles). This topic has been on my heart a lot lately as I have 6 kids from 13 down to 2. We have just finished our 9th week of school and I have ended almost every day in desperation and despair that I just can't seem to do this anymore. Last year was a breeze compared to this! I only had 4 grades to teach...I find it hard to believe that adding Kindergarten to the pile has caused this daily turmoil.

And yet every door out (i.e. public or catholic school) seems closed to me right now. So I pray and pray aboout it and I found this post...and my wonderful dh keeps lifting me up everyday and encouraging and helping me...and I do feel encouraged to keep going.

I think my prayers brought this old memory back to my mind and I wanted to post it in case it might help anyone reading.

I remembered a talk I once heard at a homeschooling convention years ago when my oldest was only 5...the talk was about why homeschooling matters. And the speaker went on and on about how average he and his wife were at teaching math and writing to their kids since they certainly did not have PhD's and degrees in Education for each and every subject. He then went on to say that the most important reason to homeschool was to protect the child's inner eye. Here he started throwing in a lot of the Ancient's and it got hairy, but the gist was that this inner eye is able to see the truth that is written by God on the child's heart. That beyond the Algebra and Chemistry however successful we are at teaching academic subjects, our purpose in keeping our children at home is to shelter and nurture this inner knowledge of Truth. In school, and in our culture, children are taught over and over that they cannot know the truth...Which naturally leads them to think there is no truth, which leads them to be cynnical. The lens of their eye becomes clouded over by doubt and lies. If you cannot see Truth you cannot know God (who is Truth). This cynnicism pervades our society so profoundly and seems to eat at the natural goodnesss of people (weather they believe in God or not.)

That was my ulitmate goal when we started down this road and it has not changed.

So I am reminded why we started this thing and why we have to keep going. Weather I make it one more year or 18 years...their time at home is blessing not just to me but to their inner eye.

It is so hard in the thick of it to remember the goal when all you can see is your failures. The constant self doubt..."Is this just hard because it's hard...or is this hard because it is not meant to be?" I hope and pray that your posts and a rededication to the bigger picture will help me when the 7 year old won't sit for school tomorrow! :lol:

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Modern Scholars is another lecture company that my library carries.

 

They are an arm of Recorded Books and don't advertise like TC but some of the lectures have been very good. There is some kind of final exam for their courses online, but I haven't done an exam and can't say how good the are.

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I think it will depend on how your kids learn and other circumstances, but for us outsourcing has helped. My son, who is 15, really doesn't want me to instruct him. He gets impatient if I have to read over the material to figure it out (ala chemistry). His is taking some online classes through VHSG (free) and a Bravewriter class, and he is taking Spanish & Theater with our coop. His math is on the computer (Kinetic) and he rarely needs my help. So basically I am left to teach him logic, history, and Bible. They are all self-explanatory and he just comes to me for help. I am trying to catch up to him in history reading so we can discuss, but I'm having a hard time. But this works for him. Maybe it is just a teenage boy thing, but he would really rather have an outside teacher. He loves homeschooling, and we get along great, but he just prefers those other options.

Of course I am totally unqualified to answer this post b/c we are struggling even with the outside classes. My 4dd is not getting much attention, but she has naturally absorbed so much, and the older kids play with math with her, and she plays computer games. She is really fine so I am trying not to worry about her. But just the planning and grading alone for 4 kids is a huge job! :ack2: and then to add in driver's ed and studying for tests and volunteer work, etc, etc. I need a clone!

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Cathmom-

don't worry about being a downer. You are just sharing where you are honestly. This is a hard world to live in and sometimes it's harder for some than others - that's not a downer, it's just reality. I'm sorry that you are going through a rough time. We all have our times of despair and feelings of failure. I don't (and I hope no one does) condemn you.

I pray God's blessing on you and your family.

Jen

 

:grouphug::grouphug:

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- Start each day with the youngers, and get them squared away with all their one-on-one things with you in the mornings; release each to solo schoolwork, chores and independent time as they finish. Grades K-3 will be done before lunch; and grades 4-6 done by 1pm -- which leaves you 1-2 hours per afternoon to work with middle schoolers/high schoolers.

 

 

:iagree: This is the closest to what I do. My kids are in 10th, 9th, 7th, 5th, 3rd, 1st, with a toddler and another baby coming. I like to work with the younger three schoolies in the mornings - that work is mostly a mixture of one-on-one work and indpendent work, although my 1st grader does nearly everything with me at this stage. My olders work mostly independently at this time.

 

After lunch is 'teen time'. Youngers go and play, and I meet with my teens for reading, discussion etc. I prioritize this time. If the youngers weren't finished with me before lunch, then it needs to be picked up at another time because my teen time is important.

 

HTH :)

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Perhaps my perspective is colored by the fact that I've been in pain since my last pregnancy (and he is now 3), that I've had two major health crises this year, and that I've been in physical therapy since February. I've been overwhelmed for 3 years now, trying to get everyone's bare minimum done between multiple therapies and tutoring and feeling like I'm failing miserably. I'm tired of the constant pressure and guilt.

 

Sorry to be such a downer. :tongue_smilie:

Not a downer at all. :grouphug:

 

I lived in pain for years (bulging disks) and it changes you. You're not failing miserably, you're working where you're at. I'm sure you thought of everything you possibly could to make it go easier, do it better, and you're doing everything you can.

 

:grouphug: I'll be praying for you. That this pain is not forever.

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Perhaps my perspective is colored by the fact that I've been in pain since my last pregnancy (and he is now 3), that I've had two major health crises this year, and that I've been in physical therapy since February. I've been overwhelmed for 3 years now, trying to get everyone's bare minimum done between multiple therapies and tutoring and feeling like I'm failing miserably. I'm tired of the constant pressure and guilt.

 

Sorry to be such a downer. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

I don't think you're a downer. I think you're amazing.

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

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I don't think she is a downer either.

Pain is exhausting.

 

I don't think of this as a season either.

 

It's just my life. I don't expect it to get easier for at least another decade, and most likely never. In any random group of 12, one of them is likely to have their life in upheaval of some sort in some way. There are 12 of us, so that's just the way it is. Mostly I can accept that. And knowing that, I just try to keep us moving forward. Sometimes it feels like it is lightening fast. Sometimes it feels like eternity. But as long as we keep on moving forward, I figure that's the best I can manage even if I only had one kid.

 

So far the only thing I really feel lacking here is theatre or media production classes for my oldest. He loves that stuff and I simply can't even imagine enough money for it. That wouldn't change if he were in school. Most here don't have that for free. There aren't even that many option for cost and they aren't affordable.

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I think that we (as large family mamas) get randomly tossed in a group. What is hard to remember is that there are as many differences in our family dynamics as ANY group. A parent dealing with pain is going to feel overwhelmed.... one child or twelve! I have a friend who had been diagnosed with R.A. Pain is a horrendous burden. :(

 

To the O.P.

Can it be done? Yes. Is it easy? No. And there is no magic bullet. Managers of Their Homes type scheduling has worked for some. It constantly reminds ME that I'm not at my target place. We run on a routine.... up at a certain time, then doing things orderly with only set times. I've blogged on it before... if you search the word routine on my blog, a chart should come up illustrating it.

_

 

Truly there are those things you read or come across that make a lasting g impression. A Thomas Jefferson Education was one such thing for me.

 

I have tossed my hands up in the air and said,"I give up!" I just figured I was going to be forced to go to all textbooks. And a friend who has known me since my oldest was four said,"Kelly, you'll HATE it." She knew if I was feeling bur t out that going to a method I don't like would push me over the edge, LOL.

 

So I compromised. We don't do textbooks for K-3, except phonics instruction and we start formal grammar in third grade. Yes, we've simplified. Yes we've changed since Ana was little and we followed TWTM to the letter. But, I don't think we've compromised on our basic belief system as far as HOW we educate. Truly that book has had a HUGE impact on how I view MY role with my high school aged child. It has changed my goals for my middle school child. It has reaffirmed what I believe to be true for my elementary child.

 

My older kids use texts for grammar and math, sometimes spelling, and high school level science. We do not use texts for history or lit. We read from real, whole books for a HUGE portion of our school.

We write about what we study. I try to read about half of what my older kids read... Finished The Scarlet Letter a few weeks ago and I'm reading The Crucible right now. ;) But I can do this because I've simplified other things... like having the oldest do Life of Fred BEFORE we go back to Algebra...

I'm spending the same amount of time with them... 24 hours is still only 24 hours, LOL. However I feel confident (an unusual feeling for a homeschooling mom) that what I'm doing is the right direction. And I'm REALLY starting to see that slow and steady REALL does win the race. Generally I'm a sprinter. ;)

 

We've been doing this homeschooling "thing" for eleven years now. My baby is three MONTHS old. Potentially well be homeschooling for over thirty years as I'm not seeing this being the last baby... She's too sweet.

 

But I really did have to be content with long distance running. Sprinting leaves me exhausted. And I'm seeing that both kinds of running gets you to the finish line.

 

*Please excuse the typos. This is done on my phone. We cxl'd internet so that I master my time to the best of my ability. All of this typing is done on a tiny phone e, LOL. The grace extended to me is greatly appreciated.

Edited by BlsdMama
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My older kids use texts for grammar and math, sometimes spelling, and high school level science. We do not use texts for history or lit. We read from real, whole books for a HUGE portion of our school.

We write about what we study. I try to read about half of what my older kids read... Finished The Scarlet Letter a few weeks ago and I'm reading The Crucible right now. ;) But I can do this because I've simplified other things... like having the oldest do Life of Fred BEFORE we go back to Algebra...

I'm spending the same amount of time with them... 24 hours is still only 24 hours, LOL. However I feel confident (an unusual feeling for a homeschooling mom) that what I'm doing is the right direction. And I'm REALLY starting to see that slow and steady REALL does win the race. Generally I'm a sprinter. ;)

 

Awesome! Love this. I've just been reinspired.

 

We've been doing this homeschooling "thing" for eleven years now. My baby is three MONTHS old. Potentially well be homeschooling for over thirty years as I'm not seeing this being the last baby... She's too sweet. .

 

Yep! I know exactly what you mean :001_smile:

 

But I really did have to be content with long distance running. Sprinting leaves me exhausted. And I'm seeing that both kinds of running gets you to the finish line..

 

I like this too. THANKYOU!!!!

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So far the only thing I really feel lacking here is theatre or media production classes for my oldest. He loves that stuff and I simply can't even imagine enough money for it. That wouldn't change if he were in school. Most here don't have that for free. There aren't even that many option for cost and they aren't affordable.

 

Have you heard of Poetry Out Loud? There were several homeschool families doing this in one of our former areas. One ended up going to nationals to represent her state.

 

Not sure if this is an option, but the church we attend does a summer VBS that includes an opening and a story time that are performed by youth at the church who are into drama.

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I do see it as temporary, but I may be working with a different definition of 'season.' Justamouse has more children than I have, and she considers homeschooling to be a season of her life.

 

My homeschooling season is a quarter of a century. Right now I have 12 years behind me and 12 years to go after this one. I still think it is a season.

 

Here are my life seasons:

 

1. Child (1-12)

2. Teen (13-17)

3. Young Adult, working and studying (16-19)

4. Wife (20)

5. Mother of babies and toddlers (21-32)

6. Homeschooling mother (24 to 49)

7. Something productive, I hope? Most of my friends in their 50's and 60's are doing fulfilling and productive things with their lives. I have two or three ideas on how I will spend this time. (50-70)

8. Senior Citizen, Grandma, who knows? Maybe I'll write a book or take up painting. (70 to death)

 

So I might get 8 seasons, even with spending 25 years as a homeschooling Mom. Not bad for a life.

 

Love this! My "Homeschooling Mother" season is slightly later (32-53). I'm beginning to think about what it looks like to slowly prepare for the next season and am considering beginning an M.Div. program one course at a time with the pace picking up once the younger two are in high school. At this point, we are outsourcing with Classical Conversations. I hope we can keep this up. It's expensive, but provides the structure and support I need as well as the accountability and social interaction that the kids need. I write curriculum for the afterschool program I ran last year in order to pay for CC. It takes me about 5-7 hours each week, but it's worth it to enable us to have this outsourcing.

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