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TriciaS
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I just have to scream and vent here because my husband just doesn't get how stressful this is for me!!!! :willy_nilly:

 

It's my first year, and I'm so afraid I'll miss something or forget something or just plain screw up something!

 

Not really looking for advice, just venting. :D

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Uh, sounds like it's time for JW's profound advice:

 

1) you need a sandwhich

2) you need a shower (this always helps me, long and hot!)

3) you need a nap

4) you need a walk.

 

Seriously, sometimes the answer really is no planning, put it away, take a long shower, go for long walks looking at leaves and clouds with your kids, eat something divine, and then when the sanity returns you go WHAT was I so stressed about! And if you don't, well remember some things weren't meant to be scheduled; they were meant to be piled. Make a pile and just work on it. Don't try too hard. Something is going to throw off all that beautiful organization anyway. It's like a good good quilt: there should always be imperfection woven in. Just plan on it. :)

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Uh, sounds like it's time for JW's profound advice:

 

1) you need a sandwhich

2) you need a shower (this always helps me, long and hot!)

3) you need a nap

4) you need a walk.

 

Seriously, sometimes the answer really is no planning, put it away, take a long shower, go for long walks looking at leaves and clouds with your kids, eat something divine, and then when the sanity returns you go WHAT was I so stressed about! And if you don't, well remember some things weren't meant to be scheduled; they were meant to be piled. Make a pile and just work on it. Don't try too hard. Something is going to throw off all that beautiful organization anyway. It's like a good good quilt: there should always be imperfection woven in. Just plan on it. :)

 

 

I understand, and :iagree:. This is excellent advice!

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Uh, sounds like it's time for JW's profound advice:

 

1) you need a sandwhich

2) you need a shower (this always helps me, long and hot!)

3) you need a nap

4) you need a walk.

 

Seriously, sometimes the answer really is no planning, put it away, take a long shower, go for long walks looking at leaves and clouds with your kids, eat something divine, and then when the sanity returns you go WHAT was I so stressed about! And if you don't, well remember some things weren't meant to be scheduled; they were meant to be piled. Make a pile and just work on it. Don't try too hard. Something is going to throw off all that beautiful organization anyway. It's like a good good quilt: there should always be imperfection woven in. Just plan on it. :)

 

Wonderful advice. I'm emailing it to myself to do tomorrow. And I *love* the pile idea!

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I

 

It's my first year, and I'm so afraid I'll miss something or forget something or just plain screw up something!

 

We all miss things--that's part of life. Even if you planned out the perfect education, it would have gaps--it's impossible not to have gaps because there is way more knowledge out there than any person can know.

 

One of my favorite quotes that encouraged me early on:

 

"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." (It's often attributed to Yeats, but an internet search reveals this is questioned. I've also heard it attributed to Plato).

 

Regardless, it's a wonderful saying, and one that often calmed my nerves. Your job isn't to be perfect. As a mother and teacher, your job is to impart yourself, to train and lead your children. Sometimes you'll do that well, and sometimes you may fall flat on your face. Give yourself that freedom to fail--because that is also the freedom to succeed.

 

I love encouraging my children to walk and talk. I absolutely stink at potty training. They still learned. Homeschooling is really just a continuation of what you have already been doing--you've been teaching them all along, how to get dressed and brush their teeth and how to hold a spoon and how to communicate--you'll keep teaching them too. This morphs into how to hold a pencil and how to read and write. Teaching about colors, shapes, counting, money, and simple games morphs into math and further concepts.

 

You probably already read to your children. Keep reading to them. Read all kinds of books, fiction and non-fiction. Gradually you'll introduce them to our world through what you read, and through what they read...

 

Don't try to be perfect. You can't anyway. Accept imperfections while pursuing excellence, and don't let failures and fear of failure keep you down. Your husband isn't worried--maybe that's because he sees a loving wife and mother who will give her best to her kids. Maybe he sees someone who already ignites their passion for learning, and he believes she'll continue to do that.

 

The best thing you can do is to learn alongside your children, and enjoy what you read together, and marvel at the world together.

 

Merry :-)

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Thank you everyone for all of the encouragement! It really does help for someone to say "It'll be okay". :)

 

I just need to breathe and relax, but some days it seems like it gets so hectic around here without doing school that I'm afraid if I don't have it planned right, I'll really mess up!

 

I think I need a vacation before we start!

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Thank you everyone for all of the encouragement! It really does help for someone to say "It'll be okay". :)

 

I just need to breathe and relax, but some days it seems like it gets so hectic around here without doing school that I'm afraid if I don't have it planned right, I'll really mess up!

 

I think I need a vacation before we start!

 

The weird thing that I have never quite figured out here is that things seem LESS chaotic when we do school, rather than more! I think it's just the lack of routine...

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Hi, Tricia!

 

As someone who is only 1 1/2 years into homeschooling, I can tell you that I was totally overwhelmed before we started. But it all worked out great for us (best decision ever), and I'm sure you will be fine. It's a sign of how dedicated you are to making homeschooling work that you are stressing over how to make it the best it can be. That bodes well for your homeschool experience, I would say, since you are doing the legwork to find what looks right for you and your kiddo(s) now.

 

But I agree with the earlier poster who recommended relaxing. Take a day (or two) off from planning, then come back to it. Yes, there is so much to look at and research, but you have plenty of time before the fall.

 

I was SOOOOO nervous our first day of HSing...and everything went wonderfully! My son actually said (a few months into HSing) in a panic that he wasn't learning anything! I asked him a few questions and figured out that he thought he wasn't learning because we were having so much fun doing school at home. My darling first-grade son had been so miserable in K and half of first grade that he could not wrap his brain around learning being fun. If he was having fun, how could he possibly be learning?? ;)

 

You can do it and it will be great! (I need a little cheerleader icon there, don't I?:lol:)

Christina

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