Please, I Need Some Advice

[Hockey Mom]

DS is not having a good school year. We've been doing BJU DLO (our third year in a row), and this year it's just been a struggle. Dh wants us to switch to a different program, but there are several reasons why that just isn't possible right now ($$$ being the primary reason). His point is that when we do SOTW together, the boys retain it better, and they look forward to it each week (we do it once a week). I spend a LOT of time making sure that our SOTW lessons are full of enrichment and fun. I just don't have the time to do that for every lesson, every day. I work 72 hours a week on top of homeschooling. I know that sounds selfish...but I gotta keep the lights on and the kids fed too.

 

DS just took TWO and a half HOURS to complete his Math. He did the lesson rather quickly, and then it was time to take the test. He missed 6, making it a 'C' on his paper. He is very upset with this grade. VERY. The thing is, he's doing fine on the daily worktexts. But he has yet to obtain a 100 on a test. This is frustrating for both of us.

 

I just don't know what to do. This year has just not been fun for any of us (except when we do SOTW), and the testing has been subpar. Should I look into other options? What options are there that won't require too much of my time? <--I HATE the way that sounds, but it's where we are right now. :( I'm looking into sending them back to school, and I really, really don't want to do that. Should I not place so much emphasis on testing? Should I just let him retest and call it a day?

 

I feel guilty because I just don't have the time to invest in making the lessons more enjoyable (like we've done previous years), and I feel like I'm constantly watching the clock and making them "hurry and be done" so I can go to work.

 

I will say that allowing for them to run around and get some exercise throughout our lessons has been the ONE positive thing that we've done. But then, again, I'm always watching the clock.

 

Please give me some advice here.

[journey00]

:bigear: :bigear: I work from home & homeschool 3 kids and I constantly hear myself saying "Hurry up guys, I don't have all day, I need to get some office work done!" I feel your pain.....

 

Somebody on one of the forums, who works from home, will have her kids do time4learning during her busy season. I tried that but my kids are not that into time4learning, only sometimes. My 12 yo dd is works slowly, so frustrating. I wish I didn't have to work but we need to eat. Someone else had suggested doing some solid math then letting them read good books and journal the rest of the time...I'm very tempted to try this and using Singapore Math.

Edited November 7, 2011 by journey00
added more

[Hockey Mom]

:bigear: :bigear: I work from home & homeschool 3 kids and I constantly hear myself saying "Hurry up guys, I don't have all day, I need to get some office work done!" I feel your pain.....

 

Somebody on one of the forums, who works from home, will have her kids do time4learning during her busy season. I tried that but my kids are not that into time4learning, only sometimes. My 12 yo dd is works slowly, so frustrating. I wish I didn't have to work but we need to eat. Someone else had suggested doing some solid math then letting them read good books and journal the rest of the time...I'm very tempted to try this and using Singapore Math.

 

This is something my Dh suggested as well. Both of my boys read well, and they enjoy our occasional "Ready Friday". I've added it to my 'list' of possible changes. Thanks! :)

[acurtis75]

I also work while homeschooling. DH & I have our own business and I bring dd to the office with us and she "works" on school while we work. Our schedule is hectic and I don't have much time to make lessons fun. I was going through a similar spot with dd on her math and decided to make some adjustments. I didn't switch curriculums but I started getting library books about math. I searched this forum for "living math" threads and received some suggestions from other posters. I did this after a day where my dd spent 2 1/2 hours on her math test:001_smile: In her case, I realized she understood it and she was taking a long time and making mistakes because neither she or I was able to sit and focus on the work for 30 minutes straight. Now we do 15 or 20 minutes of focused math time together and then I let her read about math for the other 30 or 40 minutes we were spending on math. In some cases this means we take a few days more to complete a lesson but other times because we're focused she does more than one lesson a day. I also got the Life of Fred Elementary books and she's doing those on her own. She loves them. She also seems to have a restored joy for learning. I think I was killing her joy with my stress over "getting things done". I guess my main advice would be don't get overly stressed about what gets done on a particular day. If he's struggling with the test after 30 minutes table it for the next day. The next day spend a few minutes working problems together to check for understanding before you start the test. Maybe watch Khan Academy videos or find an online game to use for drill before attempting the test again. I've had to remind myself lately that the beauty of homeschooling is that I can take the time to make sure dd "gets it" before moving on. I don't have to be a slave to the schedule.

[Hockey Mom]

I also work while homeschooling. DH & I have our own business and I bring dd to the office with us and she "works" on school while we work. Our schedule is hectic and I don't have much time to make lessons fun. I was going through a similar spot with dd on her math and decided to make some adjustments. I didn't switch curriculums but I started getting library books about math. I searched this forum for "living math" threads and received some suggestions from other posters. I did this after a day where my dd spent 2 1/2 hours on her math test:001_smile: In her case, I realized she understood it and she was taking a long time and making mistakes because neither she or I was able to sit and focus on the work for 30 minutes straight. Now we do 15 or 20 minutes of focused math time together and then I let her read about math for the other 30 or 40 minutes we were spending on math. In some cases this means we take a few days more to complete a lesson but other times because we're focused she does more than one lesson a day. I also got the Life of Fred Elementary books and she's doing those on her own. She loves them. She also seems to have a restored joy for learning. I think I was killing her joy with my stress over "getting things done". I guess my main advice would be don't get overly stressed about what gets done on a particular day. If he's struggling with the test after 30 minutes table it for the next day. The next day spend a few minutes working problems together to check for understanding before you start the test. Maybe watch Khan Academy videos or find an online game to use for drill before attempting the test again. I've had to remind myself lately that the beauty of homeschooling is that I can take the time to make sure dd "gets it" before moving on. I don't have to be a slave to the schedule.

 

Great suggestions! I will definitely look into those as well. To the bolded: I am a slave to the schedule. I try not to be, but then I look at the rest of the year and think, 'we're going to be doing school year round at this rate'. And I get myself worked up about it. But you're right...we don't have to be a slave to the schedule.

 

Dh and I own our own business too, and unfortunately, I can't hs the boys at the store. It's too much distraction for them. So I'm "confined" to the house and working remotely while they do their school. Hopefully we'll get all of this figured out soon.

[PeterPan]

Ok, I'll just say it. In your shoes I would use CLE math. It's all there, not flashy, and kids that age can read it, do it, and be successful. (Barring LD's or other issues of course.) But I would only change what ISN'T working. The BJU reading and english are pretty good. Are the kids ok with that? Their science gets better in 4th. It sounds like the only thing that's really NOT working is the math. So look at CLE. They'll send you a sample light unit for FREE, and the cost is low. ($2.50 a booklet!) If you can't teach timewise, that's where I'd go.

 

The crummy thing is, by doing the DLO you have no tm's to stop and teach it yourself, right? If you wanted, you could do that. The tm's are inexpensive and readily available. But that would take your time.

[acurtis75]

Dh and I own our own business too, and unfortunately, I can't hs the boys at the store. It's too much distraction for them. So I'm "confined" to the house and working remotely while they do their school. Hopefully we'll get all of this figured out soon.

 

The reason I knew to mention being a slave to the schedule is because I struggle with it.:) DH has to remind me often to relax. Just this afternoon as we were leaving the office after a particularly hectic day where schoolwork was pushed aside he had to remind me of this. We didn't get to schoolwork until 5pm and then only worked together for an hour or so. She did Bible on her own this morning and we did math, cursive, latin & history together tonight. I've started working on more of a rotation. History and Science were getting skipped too much so based on recommendations from members here I'm starting with a different subject each day. That way if we don't finish the daily work we're still getting to everything during the week.

 

FWIW I have pretty much resolved myself to schooling year round. I don't do a full schedule year round and will often take a week or two break at different times of the year because of travel or other interruptions. When most people were starting this school year dd went to Colorado with my parents for 12 days. I just take a break when needed and pick back up where we left off. This has allowed me to relax a bit and think about getting subjects done over the entire year instead of stopping before summer. I also find that dd struggles with getting back in a groove if we take more than 2 weeks off. When things are really hectic I pretty much just do Bible & math and let dd read a lot. I make sure to have lots of varied books like WTM suggests and make sure at least 30 minutes of her reading is non-fiction.

 

Hopefully this message makes sense because I'm typing while playing Scrabble with dd and watching the football game.:)

[Cindyg]

We are also DLO users.

 

DLO is a very difficult curriculum. In many different ways. But, particularly difficult in that it's SO LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG.

 

I have complained about that since Day 1 to anyone who would listen (and particularly to BJUP). But we've stuck with the curriculum for various reasons of my own.

 

I recommend you not require your son to watch all the videos. That's what we do. I really think through the classes and contemplate which ones have terrific videos, which ones have terrific textbooks, which ones have terrific worksheets, and which ones are lacking in which areas. (I'm sure you've noticed they are not all equally terrific.) I don't ask my son to plod through the ones that are lacking.

 

Sometimes that requires me to bring in outside resources. We do stick to BJUP's scope and sequence, but I don't use the videos that I consider to be losers. And we don't do the workbook pages that I consider to be busywork. And we didn't take the time to take the tests in the 3rd grade. (I'm actually impressed that your son did the lesson AND the test in the same day. I never required my son to do that.)

 

So, sigh, I wish I had more encouraging advice for you. I just think the whole concept of DLO -- with videos covering everything a classroom teacher would have covered -- is flawed. It's too much and too long for homeschool. IMO.

[Guest]

I agree with OH, elizabeth about CLE Math. be sure to have the kids take the placement test. it is free.

[go_go_gadget]

I've never used your curriculum and speak to that aspect, but I did want to say that personally, I wouldn't worry much about testing an eight year-old. You know how he's doing in math from seeing his work every day, and the only thing the test will tell you that the homework won't is how well he takes tests. Test-taking is an important skill, but fairly low-priority compared to everything else, especially at this stage.

 

I also second the suggestion to look into some living math. Also, be kind to yourself. My situation isn't quite the same, but I am a full-time university student while homeschooling two little ones, so I know a little about what the juggling act is like. Good luck!