I don't want to

[cindergretta]

I am dreading starting up again. <sigh> I don't love homeschooling. I never have. I do it because I used to live in a district where I would have to be dead for my children to attend... :glare: Now I am still homeschooling because it really is best for my 2 with special needs and my almost 12 year old desperately does NOT want to go to the local public school. (It isn't too bad but she has been hs'd her whole life.)

 

So I am stuck, trapped into hs'ing. :( I don't like it. I get so overwhelmed. My 7 y/o needs to learn to read and she doesn't really care to. I am shocked at the amount of time we have spent on learning the alphabet and how to write it and the sounds the letters make and she has made almost no progress. I have taught the others to read and I will teach her, too. But I am weary and I haven't even started the new school year yet.

 

I endure hs'ing, like cleaning or laundry. I don't enjoy it. I don't love it. I just have to do it. :glare:

 

Just venting, I guess. (We are starting our 11th year this September, so I'm not exactly new to it, but I haven't been "in the trenches" as long as many here have.)

 

(And in all honesty, I suck at hs'ing. I am not good at it, if that makes sense.)

 

Soooo, I don't wanna. :(

[Dana]

:grouphug:

[Parrothead]

:grouphug:

[justLisa]

 

(And in all honesty, I suck at hs'ing. I am not good at it, if that makes sense.)

 

 

Stop saying that and it will improve. You just admitted you are doing it because it is best for your kids and you don't have to. So yes, you are good at it and stoppit right now :D.

 

You don't have to keep up with anything. Really, think in terms of how many *years* you have to do this! We all question ourselves.

[plain jane]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[kricau]

After Hurrican Katrina we lived with my parents for 9 l.o.n.g. months. And I HATED doing anything domestic(vacum, dishes, laundry). I just couldn't wait to get into my own house, and somehow though I would like doing all those things then. Well we have been in our own house now for 6 years and I still hate doing the domestic stuff LOL

 

Try mixing things up a bit. Join a co-op. Do unschooling for awhile. Change your curriculum. Anything to break up the monotony.

[MindyD]

:grouphug: I get you. You're not the only one that doesn't love homeschooling.

[cindergretta]

Back when I started, I was nervous but excited and enthusiastic. I had plans and tried stuff. Then as the years wore on, the enthusiasm waned. I learned that I really am NOT creative. :D (I never thought I was, but wow, it really became clear to me!) As I added more dc to the actual hs'ing, I got more confused in my daily life. :confused:

 

Now I feel like I am always behind. I feel like the children aren't getting as much. (They do in bursts; the house will fall apart but we do a lot of school and a lot of arts. Then the house is organized and clean and school is hit or miss. :001_huh: Never do the two happen simultaneously... )

 

I think I need to honestly sort out how to homeschool the two with special needs while keeping the 4 year old from being a wrecking crew. (And the almost 12 year old??? Good heavens and God bless her, everything single thing in her life is an imposition these days... <dramatic sigh from her> Girl Scouts, soccer, choir, school, chores, anything that doesn't involve sitting on her derriere. :lol: ) I just need to figure out how to compartmentalize my days so cleaning and laundry happen, the 4 year old stays fed and entertained without destruction, the 7 y/o gets the hands on help she needs, the 9 y/o - well, he is easy enough, and the almost 12 year old stays on top of her work. :confused:

 

I have a month to figure out a truly workable plan; one that I can do and stick with and not feel like a total loser every other day.

[cindergretta]

:grouphug: I get you. You're not the only one that doesn't love homeschooling.

 

THANK YOU!!!! :grouphug: (Kind of embarrassing to admit on a hs'ing board that you don't love it... )

[bzymom]

I don't love it, but do it out of love. My ds needs me to homeschool so I do my best, enjoy the little perks (like calling our own snow days : )), and hang in there.

 

You have your hands full. Be kind to yourself.

[justLisa]

Back when I started, I was nervous but excited and enthusiastic. I had plans and tried stuff. Then as the years wore on, the enthusiasm waned. I learned that I really am NOT creative. :D (I never thought I was, but wow, it really became clear to me!) As I added more dc to the actual hs'ing, I got more confused in my daily life. :confused:

 

Now I feel like I am always behind. I feel like the children aren't getting as much. (They do in bursts; the house will fall apart but we do a lot of school and a lot of arts. Then the house is organized and clean and school is hit or miss. :001_huh: Never do the two happen simultaneously... )

 

I think I need to honestly sort out how to homeschool the two with special needs while keeping the 4 year old from being a wrecking crew. (And the almost 12 year old??? Good heavens and God bless her, everything single thing in her life is an imposition these days... <dramatic sigh from her> Girl Scouts, soccer, choir, school, chores, anything that doesn't involve sitting on her derriere. :lol: ) I just need to figure out how to compartmentalize my days so cleaning and laundry happen, the 4 year old stays fed and entertained without destruction, the 7 y/o gets the hands on help she needs, the 9 y/o - well, he is easy enough, and the almost 12 year old stays on top of her work. :confused:

 

I have a month to figure out a truly workable plan; one that I can do and stick with and not feel like a total loser every other day.

If she does not love them all can you drop one? That would be total overkill for us. We need time on our derriere ;)

 

And you don't have to love it. Maybe try to get rid of that guilt and treat it like a job.

[CupOCoffee]

Can you utilize your olders to help with the youngers? Are the olders the ones with special needs? Any way that you can enlist them to help you in *any* area?

 

Don't try to do all the schooling yourself. Utilize on line classes; there are tons that are free. Check out freelyeducate.com and just start reading her links, it's fantastic!

 

Step back from anything that looks like schooling for a bit. Try to have some fun and maybe some learning will happen along the way. Let the children chose an area that interest them, and let them pursue learning about that until they hit a brick wall.

 

I don't love home schooling exactly either, but it's what we must do. :grouphug:

[cindergretta]

If she does not love them all can you drop one? That would be total overkill for us. We need time on our derriere ;)

 

And you don't have to love it. Maybe try to get rid of that guilt and treat it like a job.

 

It does seem like a lot, but when it is broken down, it works out to be one or two nights a week, except during the fall, when it is a *regular* two nights a week.

 

Soccer is summer and fall. Girl Scouts is 3 nights a month, Sept - May. Choir is once a week, Sept - June. (Soccer, Girl Scouts, and Choir all meet on Thursday nights, so she alternates those anyway.) The most time consuming activity she has is soccer and she loves it, but if we don't "make" her go, she won't. My older dd went through this phase, so I am assuming it can be a normal, tween/teen girl phase thing. We are an extremely laid back family, so derriere time is plentiful. (I am also extremely embarrassed to admit that... ::bag over my head::) But my 10ish - 13ish aged girls seem to resent any time not spent sleeping! :lol: (My oldest is male and I don't recall him ever going through this phase, thus my *assumption* it is a female thing, but I could be wrong! :tongue_smilie: )

 

I think my whole "issue" right now is teaching reading is my least favorite thing to do. I love the feeling of sheer exhilaration when the child learns to and I feel like "I DID IT!!!!!!" But the process is always daunting to me and I think it is adding to my already in place funk. (I am still struggling with feelings of loss and depression over the pg loss after 3 miscarriages.)

 

I've got to just buck up and plow forward. I honestly think if I start the process *now* when we don't "have to," I will be more relaxed and have more fun with it than if I wait until "school" starts. Does that make sense? Like doing it now when I don't have to but choose to will make my attitude better.

 

And as far as school goes for this fall, I think I need to find, at least for the first month or so, projects that are good for the 4-9 year olds. Science experiments, arts and crafts, that kind of thing.

 

Someone asked about the special needs - they are my 7 and 9 y/os. My oldest two are great and awesome helpers. I feel awful that I made it sound like I am the only one doing anything. Not true at all. Those two are amazing teens. They help with chores, cooking, cleaning, school, whatever needed, kwim? I can't say enough good things about them!!!! But I am the parent and I need to ensure that I am not relying too heavily on them. I worry about doing that and try to keep it in check, so to speak. ;)

 

Gotta go eat dinner! Thank you for the support and feedback and I will be checking out the link!!! :grouphug:

[lovemy9kids]

:grouphug: I can understand feeling that way. I think I would enjoy hsing more if I could figure out how to make it doable (is that a word?). I sat down today to try and write out a schedule for the upcoming year. I got so frustrated, because I could not make it all fit. It makes me want to just give up.:crying: