I feel like chucking the whole thing and just ordering dvd school...

[Kim in SouthGa]

I am so frustrated with all this planning! Where did my summer go? Why do I do this to myself? I recently talked to a fairly new homeschooler who was homeschooled herself using Abeka, and the dvds when they were available. She and her brothers and sisters turned out just fine, very intelligent, medical school and such. Someone convince me all this work is worth it!! And it's not even coming up with "lessons" per say that is the problem-many subjects are just do the next thing. But breaking it all down, making little folders for memory work and stuff, filling out the kids' planner sheets, making copies, etc.-it has sucked up nearly my whole summer! The only major planning has been TOG, the rest has just been figuring out stuff. All the while chasing a 15 month old...

 

Maybe I just need a vacation! I have been cleaning up puke for a week:ack2: My dh offered me the night out, and I'm too tired to do anything but go to bed.

[Trivium Academy]

I keep daydreaming about sending ds4 to preschool instead of keeping him at home. It is worth it though, not if you're looking at end-of-the-line results but in your day-to-day relationships that you're building with your kids, the time spent reading a book together, training them to plan out their days, etc. - it's all worth it. You're the most amazing person in their world. I wouldn't trade that for anything. Well, maybe on a bad day I'd trade it for 2-3 hours of silence, lol.

[Rhondabee]

she's graduated 4 out of 5, and though I'm sure none of them ever considered medical school, it is a bit demoralizing to visit her immaculate home. And eat her always-home-cooked meals. And listen while she regales me with stories of all the non-school and really exciting things she does while we're still finishing school every day. Not to mention all the church work she does. Or, that she does her hair and make-up to a T every day. Though, what's worse is having her ds call mine at 10am *every* *day* and ask, "Are you done, yet?"

 

Basically, there is *nothing* that I will win at if I try to compare my life to hers. And, yet, there is *something* very precious that is here in this house that isn't at hers. I can't describe it, but I know that I would be very loathe to trade places with her. I don't know for sure that it's due to a curriculum - though in the short while I used Abeka I dreamed of being just like my friend.

 

I'm sure there is something very precious at your house, too. Whatever you decide to do, keep that and never let it go.

 

:001_smile:

Rhonda

[magistramom]

There are pros and cons to whatever is chosen. The longer I homeschool, the more I realize that there are MANY, MANY options that are better than, or equal to or can greatly enhance the path we originally chose (WTM). I'm open to almost every option these days;)

 

Here are some pros about dvd/click schooling with those school at home options that are well known (BJU, Calvert, ABeka, K12, etc.):

 

-The "major" areas will be covered in each subject.

 

-Because the "major" areas are covered, you'll be able to be in a facilitator role more than a teacher role.

 

-Most states provide some sort of online learning under a charter school umbrella making the curriculum "free" (they get $ for every enrollment in the program).

 

-You don't have to take ALL of your classes online - you can take the hard core basics (LA, foreign language and math), leaving history and science for fun; or you can take history or science online if you feel the immense pressure to pull everything together for these vast subjects (you may already know that these tend to be subjects your child can pull you into different directions with their interests and if you are like me and indulging - well, you can get lost along "their" way with what you want to accomplish for the year).

 

-As a facilitator, you can bring the fun into the education by finding new interesting projects to support online learning, books that you can read together (and actually have time to read together that is enjoyable and not for "school").

 

-You will have time research and plan out extracurricular classes that cater to each child's talents AND be able to bring a laptop along for the other child(ren) to continue working (you can do this with books too, of course). but what I'm trying to say is that if you have a child with a particular talent - you can put all of your effort into things for that talent and feel assured that school was covered.

 

HTHs!

[JenneinCA]

If it makes you feel any better. I couldn't take the idea of all the planning that my guys needed this year. And so we are almost certainly going to use Calvert. I am relieved in so many ways.

 

And I think that a happier less stressed Mommy is going to be a better thing than a perfectly planned out curriculum. And that is assuming I were to get everything planned in the first place. And I wouldn't!

 

So using someone else's school in a box isn't the end of the world, it might even be a good thing. It definitely is here.

 

Good luck!

[Cindyg]

I am so frustrated with all this planning! Where did my summer go? Why do I do this to myself? I recently talked to a fairly new homeschooler who was homeschooled herself using Abeka, and the dvds when they were available....

 

I think you have the wrong attitude here. I mean, if you want to use a DVD program, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, if you want to use DVDs in your curriculum, then do so. But don't think of it as chucking the whole thing.

 

I use a DVD-based curriculum because I like it and chose it, not because I got discouraged and chucked my homeschool. I have used Homesat since we began homeschooling (Grade 1).

 

I like the fact that the curriculum is already planned (by professionals).

 

And, no, I don't feel like I'm not the teacher or not in charge of my homeschool. I'm totally in charge and totally the teacher. :)

 

Really, it's an OK option, not a cop out.

[Peela]

I like all the planning stuff, myself.

If I didn't? I would do the bare minimum, choose curriculum, including memory work, that is just pick up and go, and make it much easier for myself. I am not into that much self sacrifice, lol.

I also know from experience that a certain amount of planning during holidays makes the term go much more efficiently and therefore give me more "me time" during the term because I am not running around like a chook with my head cut off (maybe thats an Aussie saying? ). But, there is a whole world of compromise between intensive planning and a dvd curriculum. Maybe you are doing it harder than it needs to be?

[Lovedtodeath]

I think you have the wrong attitude here. I mean, if you want to use a DVD program, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, if you want to use DVDs in your curriculum, then do so. But don't think of it as chucking the whole thing.

 

I use a DVD-based curriculum because I like it and chose it, not because I got discouraged and chucked my homeschool. I have used Homesat since we began homeschooling (Grade 1).

 

I like the fact that the curriculum is already planned (by professionals).

 

And, no, I don't feel like I'm not the teacher or not in charge of my homeschool. I'm totally in charge and totally the teacher. :)

 

Really, it's an OK option, not a cop out.

 

I have to agree with Cindy. If you choose not to spend your time on planning it does not mean that you are doing a lesser job teaching your children. It means you are choosing to use your time for something else. It does not mean that you are not capable of planning your curriculum, or writing it for that matter. It means you are choosing to use your time for something else.

 

FWIW I have a 15 month old and we are barely completing 3 workbook pages a day if that. No read alouds or any social studies, science, art, or music are getting done, and I am really not sure how long it is going to have to stay that way. I have a baby literally holding onto me at least 21 hours a day. We are all sick over and over again and I keep getting breast infections. I have big dreams of science projects and culture studies, read alouds, music appreciation, foreign languages, etc.... all started before baby and on hold for a while.

 

So.... my point is you can scale back, down, switch, etc. for just a short time and the world won't end, and you are still a great mom.

[johnandtinagilbert]

I am also in total planning time...not chasing a baby, but schooling 5 kids 'til 12ish every day, working very part time, and keeping the air off this summer.

 

Be encouraged, it's a lot now, but when you're ready for the week come school time, you'll be so glad you've planned and daily life will be much prettier...:grouphug:

[PeterPan]

Carmen, with the things you listed you were dreaming of doing (and not getting done with baby), I thought for sure you had a junior higher! Your dd is only 6. She needs no more than 2 hours a day of "school" and an hour of that is just something for math, something for handwriting, and something for phonics/reading. Everything else can be reading. In your shoes, with those ages, I'd go hit the BED and do school in BED! Take a whole pile of books and just read aloud for an hour or two a day! You need to be horizontal resting to kick those infections (also take vit. C every hour) and the baby will benefit from the verbal stimulation. Or get some books on tape, put all 3 in your bedroom, lock the door, remove anything dangerous, and you sleep while they play. When my dd was that age I read to her aloud a ton and I also did that, locking the door to keep her in while I napped. I think all that reading aloud at a young age and the books on tape she listened to really set the stage for her to be a good reader.

[PeterPan]

I'm with Rhonda, that there are benefits to the extra effort we've put in, not only academic benefits but those special little things, that extra love of learning and the self-drive that you don't necessarily see in straight curriculum kids. I also agree with Magistramama that the further I go down this road the more open I become to ALL options. You've taken on TOG along with a toddler. Might be that your reality would have been simpler to have put everybody into a history textbook this year and called it good. Wouldn't have been as glamorous, but it would have been sane. I know it's definitely in the back of my mind, that this level of planning is NOT something I'm going to maintain forever for every subject. I think there will be some subjects where I continue to be ecclectic and some where I'll switch to a textbook and call it good enough. Ultimately, which would your kids rather have, the hyper-planned out, oh so amazing history year, or their mother? I'm not meaning to guilt-trip you, but it's something I thought about a LOT as I spent way too much time this spring and summer planning our history for fall. The ONLY reason I did it was because dd BEGGED me to, even when I explained it meant I would have less time to be with her, blah blah. But when these plans are done and it's time to move on around to ancients, I may very well get a textbook or something and be done with it. Sanity is a good thing, and yes, Homesat is looking pretty good come junior high!

[paula j]

I feel your pain! I just finished lining up SOTW Ancients chapters with MFW CtG as I plan to combine CtG with the first half of sonlight core 6. I have even picked out the activities and extra books we will do. You're right, it is exhausting. I sure do hope it is worth it.

[Lovedtodeath]

Carmen, with the things you listed you were dreaming of doing (and not getting done with baby), I thought for sure you had a junior higher! Your dd is only 6. She needs no more than 2 hours a day of "school" and an hour of that is just something for math, something for handwriting, and something for phonics/reading. Everything else can be reading. In your shoes, with those ages, I'd go hit the BED and do school in BED! Take a whole pile of books and just read aloud for an hour or two a day! You need to be horizontal resting to kick those infections (also take vit. C every hour) and the baby will benefit from the verbal stimulation. Or get some books on tape, put all 3 in your bedroom, lock the door, remove anything dangerous, and you sleep while they play. When my dd was that age I read to her aloud a ton and I also did that, locking the door to keep her in while I napped. I think all that reading aloud at a young age and the books on tape she listened to really set the stage for her to be a good reader.

 

I do not mean to invalidate your advice but.....

 

Putting DD and DS in the bedroom with me results in unpleasant screaming and wrestling with Jake always and Mommy usually getting physically hurt.

 

I was doing all of my wish list in the beginning of K. I just don't do it all every day, and always have short lessons. She hated the books on tape that I have tried.

 

I realize she is young and bright and will not be left behind, which is why I gave taking a break a positive note.:001_smile:

[Alison in KY]

I'm thinking that i've never done any cute planner pages or anything like that...what do you do with those :). I buy a Homeschooler Journal every year and just write in our school work that we do for that day. I do not plan ahead, but just attempt to go to the next lesson every day. I usually print out one simple "goal" schedule staggering my kids lessons so they will fight less. Then I just write it down in the journal after accomplished. I also put the school day out to the side so I'll know how many days I've completed. I've always envied mom's with their nice need checklists and folders...but I'm not one of them. Maybe you should try school my way for awhile and see if it helps you. I've been handling it this way for four years now.

 

Good luck and take a break.

 

Alison in ky

[Pongo]

I am so frustrated with all this planning! Where did my summer go? Why do I do this to myself? I recently talked to a fairly new homeschooler who was homeschooled herself using Abeka, and the dvds when they were available. She and her brothers and sisters turned out just fine, very intelligent, medical school and such.

 

I have a very close friend and she has used Abeka DVD's for ALL 4 of her children. The oldest two are now in college and her younger 2 are in 6th and 10th , they are ALL extremely bright children. She said she would get so stressed out when she ventured out on her own. She felt she was a much happier person when they had school all planned out.

 

With that said I think there are some trade offs. My first disclosure it that I have never used Abeka DVD's but I have several friends who do, so my comparison is based on what they tell me. :001_smile:

- I finish at 1:00 every day/They school sometimes up until supper 5pm.

-My children have no homework/ Many times they do

-I can school anywhere I want to, meaning we school many days at the pool, at the park, I just grab the books and go/They must school where they have access to a DVD player

-I love to venture off on "rabbit trails"/There is not much time for "special interests"

-I love to schedule/No need to, it's all done for you

-I Love using books that I choose/They do that for you

-I am not really thrilled about the TV time my kids already get 1-2 hours a night, I think I would pull my hair out if they were sitting in front of a screen for most of the school day/ This doesn't bother them at all

-I want HS to be when they find their interests and do what they love/They have a rigorous HS workload

 

These mom's are happy with how their homeschooling is going as well as I am. They could 't do what I do and I couldn't do what they do. There is no shame in either path. I think there are many "roads" to achieve the same result it's more of a matter of what's gonna make mama happy because you know, "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy":rolleyes:

[Myrtle]

I am so frustrated with all this planning! Where did my summer go? Why do I do this to myself? I recently talked to a fairly new homeschooler who was homeschooled herself using Abeka, and the dvds when they were available. She and her brothers and sisters turned out just fine, very intelligent, medical school and such. Someone convince me all this work is worth it!! And it's not even coming up with "lessons" per say that is the problem-many subjects are just do the next thing. But breaking it all down, making little folders for memory work and stuff, filling out the kids' planner sheets, making copies, etc.-it has sucked up nearly my whole summer! The only major planning has been TOG, the rest has just been figuring out stuff. All the while chasing a 15 month old...

 

Maybe I just need a vacation! I have been cleaning up puke for a week:ack2: My dh offered me the night out, and I'm too tired to do anything but go to bed.

 

 

Public schools turn out physicians and lawyers too! Lots of them.

 

Don't give up because you can't do it all at once. You don't have to do it all in one summer.

 

Plan out the most important subject and use videos or box curriculum for the others. Relax, and then pick the next important subject to work on. If you get burned out you are more likely to quit. The homeschooling police won't ticket you if you don't have all the details planned out by Sept 1st. It's okay if you take your time on planning out that last subject because you took a day off to go to the park.

[Titus.Two.Five]

These two articles bless me, year after year:

 

HERE and HERE

 

I am one of *those* boxed curricula moms, and it works great for my family (I school 5 children, and it does NOT take us until supper time, it takes us about 4 hours). We've tried other approaches, and while I certainly respect them/see the huge value in them, they are not worth what they do to *my* family.

 

I hope your able to find what will work best for you. ;)

[TracyR]

I'm not sure what state you live in. But many states offer cyberschooling. Which is basically school at home. But your curriculum is picked out for you. Some offer live online classes or they offer classes that you can access at your convienience.

Also its free. You recieve a computer to use while you are with the cyberschool and printer , and curriculum at no cost to you.

 

That is assuming something like this is available to you. This maybe a good way to find out wether using all of one curriculum and having someone else teach your child might fit you and your family.

 

Just sometimes it does. Not everyone likes to plan out their children's curriculum and that's ok too. There are as many different options as there are different families here on the board.

 

With that said , I'll have to joke here and say I though you were planning for more then two children when I read your post!LOL.

Anyways, I'll have to agree with the moms here. With all the time I've put into homeschooling my daughters and all the many different ways I've homeschooled my children a first grader only needs , math, handwriting, phonics/La and reading. If you are wanting to do history and science using Sonlight's, Ambleside Online , or Mater Amabilis for your list and just go to the library and read good books. This will combine reading , history and science all in the same breath. Now if a grandma or friend can come over and watch the kids for you for a little bit so you can sleep hopefully whatever it is you chose to do will seem more clearer.

Like alot of moms on here said , there is no right or wrong answer. Chose what you think will work for you and your child.

[threetreasurs]

Some years I am motivated to plan - others not. This is one of the not years!

 

But, my daughter does get turned off watching too many instructional DVD's.

 

Going with DVD school might not get you off the hook for planning and may in fact cause you more work in the long run trying to make them work.:)

[Guest]

I am so grateful for this post as I was feeling just like the OP.

[Kim in SouthGa]

I think part of the problem is that in the past I have kind of been a fly by the seat of your pants gal, and with the baby (now toddler) I've been trying to get super-organized so we don't fall behind. My oldest is admittedly behind in some areas because we had so much drama the first few years of HSing-babies, moving, job changes, etc. So now I am really paranoid and trying to keep that from happening again. I have made a few changes-I was trying to make out a master plan to show what we would cover each week in each subject for each child, even the "do the next lesson" type books. I'm not going to worry about this for my little guy, and just do the big stuff that I need to think through for my dd-I'm pretty much done for my 12ds. I made a good "To Do" list and have started working through it. It's amazing how much of a burden just getting things down on paper has lifted! I have also decided to buy my science through Covenant Home Curriculum, so I get the Day by Day lessons all planned out. I may go with Covenant Home completely for my oldest next year. And I will be researching virtual Latin, Logic, and Writing classes this year in preparation for next year (any ideas, ladies?).

Thank you all!!

[Tree House Academy]

I am not sure how long you have been homeschooling, but this is my first year, and this is EXACTLY why I ended up using Calvert for both of my kids. We are doing 4th grade with a spelling power supplement and Kindergarten with an ETC 2 supplement and some Horizons math supplements (ds is ahead of Calvert math, Horizons alone loses him...we meet in the middle).

 

But I am such a type A and so are my kids. This is really a perfect fit for us.

 

Best of luck to you. I am sure it will all be worth it. Of course, I also don't see anything wrong with the Abeka DVDs as I have a friend who swears by them and her kids are very bright.

 

ETA: I am super excited about Calvert after 6th grade! LOL Not only do they write the manual to the STUDENT, they also (for a small nominal fee :() offer interactive courses online twice a week which is just too cool for words in this technology era. I am waiting with bated breath for that 6th grade year! LOL (even though I might have to start saving NOW).