sunnylady303 Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 My kids are 6 and 8. We started with unschooling, moved to Enki, moved to Sonlight, moved to complete following WTM (complete with OPG, FLL, WWE, SOTW), brief detour back to Sonlight then finally we are at Winterpromise. So I know that part of homeschooling is being able to tweak what is best for your children. But I think consistency at this point is what is best for my children. So I have Winterpromise....and their LA. But I'm like adding all this pressure to myself. Like if consistency is the most important thing I need to be sure this years is right (we start our year in June). So maybe I should check out HOD or a different WP core or back to Sonlight?!?! AAAH!! And math. Ugh. We used Singapore for like 5 minutes. We've been using MUS ever since which rocks for my older check. Not working so well for the younger. So do I consider LOF or something else? When and how do I stop tweaking for the year? Help! My girls need a year of consistency. I really think they do. But that puts more pressure on, blah blah blah. Help me save myself from the crazy curriculum hopping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HootyTooty Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. :iagree: I had research burnout and just stopped. Now when I find something I continue with it until I feel my kids need something more challenging or it is plain not working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. :iagree:(and I'm half :lol: and half :grouphug: about that) It takes a while to get to know yourself, your kids, your limits. You start to realize where you can compromise and where you can't. For me, it meant that for some subjects, I just picked the materials and scheduled them myself, a process which can be much easier than tweaking someone else's ideas...plus cheaper and free from the guilt of having spent $$$ just to make alterations to a curriculum so severe as to make it unrecognizable (aka my personal experience with WP :tongue_smilie:). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 I will also ask if you have ever made a list of goals for your homeschool (educational objectives, traits you would like to see in your children when they are grown, etc.). It helps to not switch things around so much if you always keep your eyes on the prize. I started out with a predominantly Charlotte Mason approach so using Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education was a tool that helped me start with end goals in mind. There are other resources for this that you can look for to help. Also, reading the logic and rhetoric sections of the WTM and looking at high school, college-prep course work helps me select and stick with elementary level materials. It helps me stay the course to realize where these materials will eventually take my kids. Something like WWE/WWS is a great example of that. Some people look at WWE1 and think it's not much more than narration and copywork. There is truth in that. But the entire point is that slow and steady wins the race! Look ahead to WWS and see where 4 years of WWE will get you. Then imagine the high school level writing that WWS will lead to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. :iagree: What a perfect description. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. :iagree: My seizure condition got worse again, and I had to get real about some things. Often the harder we try to do it "right", the less we get DONE. I made some big curriculum changes to "good enough" "open and go" that continues for multiple years. I know EXACTLY where the weaknesses in the programs are, and have no intention of fixing them. The programs have a reasonable amount of work assigned, and to add more means more hours to complete each subject, and somewhere along the line, enough just has to be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama25angels Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Often the harder we try to do it "right", the less we get DONE. I made some big curriculum changes to "good enough" "open and go" that continues for multiple years. I know EXACTLY where the weaknesses in the programs are, and have no intention of fixing them. The programs have a reasonable amount of work assigned, and to add more means more hours to complete each subject, and somewhere along the line, enough just has to be enough. :iagree: with this. I am ready to just move forward and teach my kiddos,learning how to work with the materials I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 My girls need a year of consistency. I really think they do. But that puts more pressure on, blah blah blah. :lol: Yes, the second layer of pressure. If I'm going to pick "good enough" it better be the "right" "good enough". I decided some of the "good enough" is about using what I already have. And I think that is what abrightmom is saying too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnylady303 Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 Wow. So much advice. I am getting tired of jumping and I have no money and I think I have discovered the dirty little fact that I like playing with curriculum more than teaching. I think too that I am seduced by different educational theories. Like WTM....the way she approaches LA and a history cycle. I'm like YES! Then I look at WP and think "huh. A year on animals might really foster their love of learning." Then I look at TOG and think, "wow...they really are great and cohesive with way more humanities than I would manage." And and and.... Maybe I need to narrow it down more. Hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. Yes. And one has five children and limited funds; all the sudden, what you HAVE looks great. What can get done without losing what is left of your sanity is wonderful. Even if it is not exactly everything you hoped for and dreamed of back when you started this whole homeschooling thing. :001_smile: We can't do it all. Embrace that. Then go embrace your children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Wow. So much advice. I am getting tired of jumping and I have no money and I think I have discovered the dirty little fact that I like playing with curriculum more than teaching. I think too that I am seduced by different educational theories. Like WTM....the way she approaches LA and a history cycle. I'm like YES! Then I look at WP and think "huh. A year on animals might really foster their love of learning." Then I look at TOG and think, "wow...they really are great and cohesive with way more humanities than I would manage." And and and.... Maybe I need to narrow it down more. Hmm... :iagree: with everything you said there. (Even the dirty little fact....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. Yep. Don't worry! But just as a side note stop trying to use all one method/program. Pick what you like fit each subject and use that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. :iagree: yup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuzor Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Wow. So much advice. I am getting tired of jumping and I have no money and I think I have discovered the dirty little fact that I like playing with curriculum more than teaching. I think too that I am seduced by different educational theories. Like WTM....the way she approaches LA and a history cycle. I'm like YES! Then I look at WP and think "huh. A year on animals might really foster their love of learning." Then I look at TOG and think, "wow...they really are great and cohesive with way more humanities than I would manage." And and and.... Maybe I need to narrow it down more. Hmm... It may be good to revisit your materials. Earlier in the year I started with STOW 1 and hated it. So then I ordered something else and really hated that. So I revisited STOW to see how I could make the resource work for me. Honestly, much of your journey will be taking a resource and using it in a manner that works best for your family. You may find that you will only use several chapters of a resource with additional library books and that's okay. The sooner you realize there is no one perfect curriculum the better. If it works for your kids then go with it. Lastly once you settle on something stop looking. Seriously, the grass will always look greener, the more you look the more you convince yourself what you have will not work. Stop torturing yourself.:grouphug: Yes. And one has five children and limited funds; all the sudden, what you HAVE looks great. What can get done without losing what is left of your sanity is wonderful. Even if it is not exactly everything you hoped for and dreamed of back when you started this whole homeschooling thing. :001_smile: We can't do it all. Embrace that. Then go embrace your children. :iagree:Love your signature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I have a new reason that stops us from tweaking. When we run out of money...like...completely :-) It's only the 17th and it's coming down to food vs books already. So far I've only dipped into variety, not volume of food. It is time to STOP right NOW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 We can't do it all. Embrace that. Then go embrace your children. :iagree: I am a recovering-tweaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Um. Stop breathing? :D Seriously, I think there is a difference between "tweaking" which I read as making adjustments as new data is gathered, and you think the change will get you closer to your goal (so yeah, that assumes you have one ;)) and compulsively trying out every new and shiny thing that you see when you log onto the Forum. I think that some of that grass-is-greener thing is almost inevitable for a newbie. You really *don't* know what's out there, and maybe there *is* something that would work better for your dc. But yeah, I think eventually you get into a groove that works, and you learn to settle and take a deep breath and not *jump* every time you see something new . . . and you figure out what works for your kid and you see progress and you stick with it. For now. Until something changes. Or until the next kid, who is of course *completely different* comes along! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icul8rg8r Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I remember tweaking Kindergarten so much, that it took all the fun out of it for my kids (and me). I was so frustrated! A friend told me to just follow the program as written, using the suggestions of the publisher, and sit back & watch the results. It worked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 Yes. And one has five children and limited funds; all the sudden, what you HAVE looks great. What can get done without losing what is left of your sanity is wonderful. Even if it is not exactly everything you hoped for and dreamed of back when you started this whole homeschooling thing. :001_smile: We can't do it all. Embrace that. Then go embrace your children. :D Are you really me????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 One gets exhausted and stops struggling for perfection. I wholeheartedly agree. I enjoyed our homeschool days more when we were plugging along with what we had....way more than the times I have researched and compared and compared. I have so much less time to actually teach due to the researching and learning how to implement new materials. Then, sometimes I can't decide, so I end up with too many resources in my hands from which to choose! I am so looking forward to finishing this round of research, committing myself to what I have chosen, then "settling in" to enjoy it with my children (while vowing not to look when the next "shiny, pretty" resource that pops up on the boards!;)). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorrainejmc Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 I remember tweaking Kindergarten so much, that it took all the fun out of it for my kids (and me). I was so frustrated! A friend told me to just follow the program as written, using the suggestions of the publisher, and sit back & watch the results. It worked! :iagree:It took me a few years to realize this, but this year I did. Follow the program as written and relax. It's been our best year yet.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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