What do you do when you are struggling with hsing?

[Stellalarella]

What have you, personally, done when you are stuck?

We are stuck in a rut of working of basic skills and nuts and bolts with my grammar stage kids. I don't "feel" like I have had "time" for the enjoyable parts of learning like our FIAR or science study or our history spine (STOW). By the time we finish with WWE, AAS, PHonics, Reading, MUS, and FLL we all feel pretty worn out. I shouldn't even be on the boards here at the moment, but I just needed to have a five minute break from the intense 1:1 tutoring.

And then there's those 2 preschool kids running around and wondering how I can really give the best to the logic stage kids.

I think that we've had good times earlier this year, but for some reason we are just stuck-ola in the mire.

Ir you have any suggestions on how you personally reboot and get back to loving school, I would love to hear them.

[prairiewindmomma]

Eat chocolate and watch Downton Abbey late at night?

 

There's a certain amount of chaos inherent in teaching & parenting more than 2-3 kids. Add to that some parent intensive curricula and it gets even more crazy, because there is one of you.

 

For me, it came down to proactively scheduling in the fun stuff...rather than hoping we get around to it. You might flip your day and do the fun stuff first. Or, put your olders onto things they can do by themselves (reading, MUS after instruction, etc.) while you have time with your youngers in a different part of the house.

 

One year we listened to SOTW audio over lunch, and then our kids did their projects and coloring sheets, etc. while I put the baby down for a nap. I used a book basket concept for the extra fun books---it made for good bedtime reading or read-aloud practice. (My oldest read to his younger brother and sister a lot that year---he needed the practice reading and those two loved hearing stories...) I spent that time folding laundry, paying bills, making meals, etc.

 

Think about the flow of your day and give yourself some good breaks. Multitask where you can without driving yourself crazy.

 

I'd think about the flow of your day

[Sun]

I guess "cry" isn't the answer that you're looking for? :tongue_smilie:

 

On good days, we take a walk around the neighborhood together or go do some yard work together. A snack often helps us as well. On days where I haven't been taking care of myself and have less patience, I send DS to his room for a little quiet time while I regroup.

 

When I notice that we're not doing enough fun things, I take a look at the calendar and try to schedule a few in. It's fall, so one of the things that's coming up for us is a trip through a local nature preserve to look at the pretty fall colors. We're going to combine it with an art lesson on drawing trees.

 

I also look for ways to incorporate fun and movement into our daily routine. For example, a few times I've labeled sheets of paper with the various parts of speech (one part per page). Then when I call out a word (and use it in a sentence), DS has to jump on the correct page. Another thing I like to do is come up with a funny code for answers. For example, when working on positive and negative numbers, positive might be represented by jumping as high as you can with your hands straight up. Negative might be touching your toes. Zero could be making an O with your arms. Then I would call out a problem, and DS would do the appropriate "sign." We practice state capitals and state locations while jump roping. He jumps and I call out questions: What's the capital of Arizona? Which state is directly north of Oklahoma?

 

Does that help at all?

[Aubrey]

Have you thought about trying a loop schedule? That could give you a periodic break from the basics. Not so often that they get dropped, but often enough to make sure you've got time for the fun things & to keep the momentum/motivation up.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

I agree with the loop schedule! If you don't like the idea of that, could you schedule a "light day" on Wednesdays or whatever other day would work best for you? During that you could add in the things you struggle with getting in? Do math those days and 1 other core subject (this can alternate) the the extras.

[JessReplanted]

I have done different things.

 

I dumped some of our curriculum b/c I felt like it was too teacher intensive (WWE, Apologia Science,) & switched to HOD which intentionally has the kids working independently at different points during the day.

 

And, I also try to always start our day with prayer, Bible, and then our "fun" read aloud. Then, if the day goes downhill from there, at least we did the most important thing & something fun. ;)

[Oakblossoms]

There's a certain amount of chaos inherent in teaching & parenting more than 2-3 kids. Add to that some parent intensive curricula and it gets even more crazy, because there is one of you.

 

 

This is my mantra this year. Having a lot of children is chaos. It just is. Admit it now. And, don't let anyone with less children give you advice:tongue_smilie:

 

I change what I thought about curriculum. My olders are using some Oak Meadow. They don't do all the assignments. But, it gives us a nice springboard of ideas and something to stick to.

 

We do a lot less Waldorfy stuff then I would prefer.

 

I use a schedule. I don't beat myself up about it. But, it is nice when I feel overwhelmed to call everyone in and point and say..now go hither and thither an do thy assigned little scheduled block.

 

Coffee/tea break.

 

Kids work later if needed.

 

We at dinner at 630 or 7 now. I used to try and eat at 5:00 and then I would be rushed and trying to get school done. Around 5 I am usually drinking coffee and working with someone at the kitchen table.

 

I laminated my MOTH schedule paper. Then I move around the pieces to make it work better. I stapled the entire ugly thing in my kitchen.

 

I keep a spiral notebook and pen. I write down notes all day. Things I need to do, reminders, stuff I want to look up on the internet.

 

But, if today feels like an emergency...I pack us in the car and go to the beach because we have them close. I will sometimes go to the store for picnic food.

[scrapbookbuzz]

Take a break! Whether or not it's a full break, at least take a break from the day-to-day norm.

 

Is it possible to go to the zoo or a local farm? Figure out what you can do for a field trip and go take one!

 

It really does help!

[Tammyla]

When it was possible, I took Fridays off. I've got high school students now, and still try to squeeze these in at least one a month in the winter.

 

Popping onto the board has been a blessing to me more times than I can count. The support, btdt, sympathy and general feeling of not being the only person on the planet homeschooling is truly a blessing.

 

:grouphug:

 

When I had little ones running around, everything felt harder.

[Melis]

Hello there :)

 

WOW! You have your hands full! Something that has been very helpful for me is setting a time limit for each subject. What this does is allow me to work with them as they need me and then they can finish the assignment while I move onto the next one. The other thing I do is set a time expectation in terms of how much time during the day we will do work. If we don't get something done, I don't stress. We'll do it tomorrow. Before adopting this attitude, I would get totally stressed out and frustrated and we wouldn't do school at all because I need to figure out how to *fix* our problem. That never worked for me even though I tried it a million times. All it did was put us further behind where I wanted us to be. Someone suggested doing history and science FIRST and that ended up being a simple, brilliant idea! We do those subject together first. It's always light... maybe 20 minutes for each?... then we move onto our other work and I use the "work for such and such a time and if we don't finish, we pick up where we left off tomorrow rule" ;) As much as I cringe not doing it the way *I wanted*, it's working! :)

 

And by the time we are done... my brain is FRIED! :O

 

I hope that helps :) (((hugs)))

Edited November 3, 2011 by Melis

[Night Elf]

1. Come and get hugs from the boardies here. :tongue_smilie:

 

2. Take a little vacation and revamp my schedule. Maybe instead of trying to do all subjects each day, I might focus on doing some subjects on Mon/Wed/Fri, and the others on Tues/Thurs. Things got so much better for us when we dropped down to a 4-day school week.

 

3. Re-evaluate the materials I'm using. If they are not working, I would replace them if possible. If things are just boring, I might find ways to perk them up. This board always has such great ideas.

[Annie Laurie]

What have you, personally, done when you are stuck?

We are stuck in a rut of working of basic skills and nuts and bolts with my grammar stage kids. I don't "feel" like I have had "time" for the enjoyable parts of learning like our FIAR or science study or our history spine (STOW). By the time we finish with WWE, AAS, PHonics, Reading, MUS, and FLL we all feel pretty worn out. I shouldn't even be on the boards here at the moment, but I just needed to have a five minute break from the intense 1:1 tutoring.

And then there's those 2 preschool kids running around and wondering how I can really give the best to the logic stage kids.

I think that we've had good times earlier this year, but for some reason we are just stuck-ola in the mire.

Ir you have any suggestions on how you personally reboot and get back to loving school, I would love to hear them.

 

I'm not helpful, I don't have any suggestions. We are stuck in the same rut right now. But I had to say I was looking at your blog and you are awesome- any mom who will take a photo of herself with her unfolded laundry pile behind her and post it on the net is just awesome. It looked so familiar! :001_smile:

[Stellalarella]

Thank you everyone for sharing what helps you. The perspective helps me.

Andrea

[enviromommy]

This is my mantra this year. Having a lot of children is chaos. It just is. Admit it now. And, don't let anyone with less children give you advice:tongue_smilie:

 

 

This makes me feel so much better. I can never figure out why it always feels so chaotic here. I worry that it's bad for them to be in an environment where I can't teach for 3 minutes without being interrupted by someone who needs milk, or needs to be wiped, or needs to be changed,or is bored, or is fighting with someone else...

 

So not to hijack the thread, but can someone reassure me that this can still be an effective learning environment even with the chaos?

[LibraryLover]

Read and watch movies or YouTube vids.:001_huh:

[butterflymommy]

When things are REALLY bad we reduce to just math (daily) and geography 2-3X a week. But my kids are strong readers, and most of them love to draw and write, so a lot of language arts subjects they learn on their own, whether I teach them or not. We are strict about TV and VG (3 hrs TV and 1 hr VG, with limits on what they can watch/ play), which forces them to read and be creative with their time even when I am not being the best homeschool mom.

[Stellalarella]

This makes me feel so much better. I can never figure out why it always feels so chaotic here. I worry that it's bad for them to be in an environment where I can't teach for 3 minutes without being interrupted by someone who needs milk, or needs to be wiped, or needs to be changed,or is bored, or is fighting with someone else...

 

So not to hijack the thread, but can someone reassure me that this can still be an effective learning environment even with the chaos?

 

I can see that my children are learning even though we experience some of the chaos of a multi-grade home school. When we stopped for fall break, each one of my kids wrapped themselves up in a big project of their own creation. I remember talking to my husband about how I could see that they really are learning. My oldest son wrote an instructable on how to make an electric bike for instructables.com, my oldest daughter created a big artistic project, the other kids involved themselves in some major bug hunting and dramatic play. I see evidence that that they are building skills necessary to be creative, literate people who can express their ideas. HOWEVER, sometimes it doesn't FEEL like they are learning during our SCHOOL time because My feeling of stress override the positives.

 

We have only been homeschooling everyone for 1.5 years now. I don't know the long term outcomes of homeschooling a big family.

 

I do know that some of the wrangling of 6 minds and getting interrupted every 6 seconds is wearing me out.

 

The kids might do fine with hsing, but will I live? THAT is the question.

[lllll]

..

[MomsintheGarden]

Dh continually tells me that I'm doing a good job, and that homeschooling is very important for our dc. That really, really helps.

 

Other things:

- I try not to look at the dust and think I should be cleaning. I hate cleaning. I know I wouldn't be cleaning if I weren't homeschooling anyway!

- I realize that most of the challenges that come from parenting will not go away if I wasn't homeschooling. In fact, I believe that there would probably be more.

- I schedule our year out during the summer (I've done this for at least 10 years, and it works for us.) That way I don't have to plan and teach during the school year.

- I push hard to get a lot done M-W, so if we lose steam on Th-F, we've gotten a lot accomplished already.

- Once in a while we go on a field trip. Not too often to burn out on them and get behind in our lessons, but just enough to keep them special.

- I have a hobby (gardening :)) that helps me to do something different and get outside in the sunshine. If I couldn't get outside, I'd go crazy. Late afternoons usually find me outside puttering (sometimes with dh :)). The children play outside and sometimes help me.

- I eat a lot of chocolate. Good, dark chocolate that I try to hide from the children.

- I schedule the normal vacations, and look forward to them as much as the children. We have a camaraderie with that!

- I think ahead to 11 years from now when all of the children will be in college.

 

And:

- I try not to compare myself with others. It is hard not to, but important.

Edited November 4, 2011 by MomsintheGarden
Thought of more

[Princess Peach]

I posted a thread similar to this earlier this week, so I am right there with you. I have three children I'm hs'ing. I don't have littles, so you have it harder than me. However, this is what I've decided to do, based on the advice I received on that thread:

1. I took the afternoon off that day and baked cookies with the kids. The next day, we quit school at 2pm (not everything on the schedule was done-oh well!) and did an art lesson. For the first time this year. :blushing:

2. I revamped what we're doing without buying anything new. I need to work more on this tomorrow. But suffice it to say, we're skipping some things.

3. I am going to set a starting and stopping time for each day. If we're not done by then, we'll pick up where we left off the next day.

4. I told my DD she must do certain subjects independently. This is hard for her and something I've been trying to work on. But it has become necessary for her to do it now.

 

I know things are difficult right now. :grouphug: I hope you can get some good ideas here and try some new ideas that work out for you.

[Stacy in NJ]

history, science, art, music, I'd suggest setting aside a month - December is a great month - to just do those subjects and put aside the basics.

 

During the month of December, read from SOTW everyday in the morning, do an art project before lunch, and a science reading/experiment in the afternoon. Drop everything else. For your dc that are reading independently, have them continue with independent reading daily.

 

When January rolls around, you can return to the daily basics and possible slip in a little history or science when you have time.

 

Just a suggestion.

[TammyinTN]

A four day weekend usually does the trick for me. Sometimes we just need a break.:grouphug:

[saraha]

Andrea Lowry- Thank you for posting this. I have been in this place for a couple of weeks, and feel so in common with you right now! My kids are 12,10,8,7,4 and 18 months. My poor husband took the brunt of a terrible meltdown the other night after the kids went to bed and I am seriously doubting my capability to do this. My husband is begging me to keep going, and the stinky part is- he is right. The reasons why we homeschool haven't changed, so putting them into school would only help me, not everyone. It has been really hard to deal with my wounded pride (having to admit to how much I stink at this right now) and with the feeling of being trapped (because I KNOW homeschooling is a better environment than school- although I doubt the quality of education they are getting right now) I can't help but keep thinking "Other big families homeschool, so what is wrong with me." Thank you for having the courage to post this. I am so sorry you are feeling like this too.

[saraha]

- I try not to look at the dust and think I should be cleaning. I hate cleaning. I know I wouldn't be cleaning if I weren't homeschooling anyway!

- I realize that most of the challenges that come from parenting will not go away if I wasn't homeschooling. In fact, I believe that there would probably be more.

.

 

Thank you for reminding me of these

[Oakblossoms]

 

So not to hijack the thread, but can someone reassure me that this can still be an effective learning environment even with the chaos?

 

I think so. I think all the ages are healthier socialization. My olders get to see what little kids are really like. I hope they aren't so shocked when they have their own. I have been so shocked at every stage.

[mariposa]

I had a conversation with my dh just this week where I said many of the exact same things that you said in your post! I'm so thankful for the encouragement and truly helpful advice here.

 

I haven't ever heard of a "loop schedule" but I'm going to look into it. I also really like the idea of doing extras in December, which has traditionally been a really hard time for me to keep plugging away - that just might be the perfect solution!

 

Thanks for posting and thanks everyone for your ideas - just what I needed!

- Sarah

[hsbaby]

Like a previous poster mentioned, I often flip our schedules when in a rut. Do art first, or a history project, science experiment, etc. Anything but seatwork! This will often start the day on a positive note and we end up accomplishing more. For a short term solution, we will skip workbooks entirely for the day and play games for each subject. For example, math or grammar bingo, 10 Days Across the USA, story cards, etc. Good luck... I think we have all been there!

[nukeswife]

When we get in a "not getting to the fun stuff" rut I have.

 

1. Switched the day to start with the fun stuff and then get as much of the basics done later in the day as we can.

 

2. Make one whole day game day, and play some of our educational board games.

 

3. Schooled on weekends declaring them Super Science Saturdays or Super History Sundays. My kids don't mind school on weekends if it's fun things like that.

[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

Well, I only have 2 and I don't do WWE1 or FLL1 with my 6 year old! He will do grammar and writing next year. I would hold off on those until next year. A tiny bit less to do, but any bit less helps.

 

I teach a mixed age class of remedial students, it is tough to juggle the range of different ages and abilities and try to meet everyone's needs.

 

:grouphug::grouphug:

[laundrycrisis]

I only have two, and the youngest is still easy, but I definitely relate to being stuck in a rut with the basics, spinning our wheels, and then not having any gas or time left for science, history or fun stuff.

 

Every once in a while I let a day sort of uncoil..I just briefly touch some 3Rs and then either put in the School House Rock DVD, or pull up Brainpop Jr. and tell DS1 to "please go learn some stuff !" He will watch 3-4 of their videos and tell me what he learned - it's great ! I could not do school like that all the time, but having him do that while I get some sort of housework done and we both relax a bit is a nice break.

 

history, science, art, music, I'd suggest setting aside a month - December is a great month - to just do those subjects and put aside the basics.

 

 

Hmmmm, I may just try this. I feel like we've been pounding the basics for about 4 yrs :001_huh: