Homeschooling Plans Disaster

[TravelingChris]

I am so upset. My homeschooling group suddenly cancelled all academy classes. My girls were going to do most of their work this year at the academy. Now I have six classes gone for the older one and four for the younger. I don't know what I am doing. It is English, History and Science plus two electives, and History, English and two electives for the younger.

 

 

I am at a loss.

[Jennifer in MI]

Oh my! So soon to the start of the school year? That would seriously throw me for a loop too!

 

What materials had they been using in these classes? Can you buy those and just continue with them? Can you combine them in history? Maybe Sonlight - everything is spelled out and you don't need to plan a thing.

 

I'm so sorry!!!

[elegantlion]

:grouphug: I am sorry. I hope they had a good reason, I would be infuriated! :grouphug:

[Amy loves Bud]

I am so upset. My homeschooling group suddenly cancelled all academy classes. My girls were going to do most of their work this year at the academy. Now I have six classes gone for the older one and four for the younger. I don't know what I am doing. It is English, History and Science plus two electives, and History, English and two electives for the younger.

 

 

I am at a loss.

 

Oh, my goodness!!! I'm so sorry about this. I would be beside myself.

 

I guess you just have to start chipping away at it, one subject at a time. Perhaps something boxed - Sonlight?

 

I'm sending good planning vibes your way, Christina!

[JFSinIL]

That is awful!!! Why did they cancel the classes...and so soon to the start of the year??? Did not enough kids sign up? No one volunteered to teach? Insurance?

 

So - what grade/levels are you having to suddenly cover for those topics?

[Laurie4b]

So sorry. What a major pain. And so late in the game. I'd be overwhelmed, too.

[Happy]

Good grief! Did they say why?

 

Blessings as you cope and make decisions.

[WTMindy]

I am so upset. My homeschooling group suddenly cancelled all academy classes. My girls were going to do most of their work this year at the academy. Now I have six classes gone for the older one and four for the younger. I don't know what I am doing. It is English, History and Science plus two electives, and History, English and two electives for the younger.

 

 

I am at a loss.

 

Oh wow!!! I would be just a little ticked about canceling at this point in the year!!!

[Dayle in Guatemala]

That's frustrationg! I can't imagine why they would do that so close to the beginning of the year.

[H.S. Burrow]

:grouphug: Sorry, that is terribly frustrating!

 

I don't know if you use any kind of lesson planner program, such as Homeschool Tracker Plus or Homeschool Easy Records, but I believe both have lesson plans on the internet for a variety of curriculum that you can import for a ready made lesson plan. Maybe purchasing one of these programs could help you out.

 

For example:

English (Grammar) on Homeschool Easy Records (what I use) has 40 lesson plans available for these curricula:

 

Rod & Staff

Shurley English (grammar)

Wordly Wise

BJU

A Beka

Daily Grams

Sonlight

First Language Lessons

Seton

Easy Grammar

CLP Sunrise Language Arts

 

Here are the websites if you want to check out the programs:

 

Homeschool Easy Records (HER)

http://www.dataplus.biz/HER/

 

Homeschool Tracker Plus

http://www.homeschooltracker.com/

 

:grouphug: Hope this helps!

 

 

[TravelingChris]

The leadership made serious errors in judgement. I had planned that one or two classes maight not have enough enrollment but I was very flexible about what my girls would take. It was cancelled because they expanded too fast in a bad economic environment and there was not enough enrollment. WHat I really don't know is if they let us have second choices, there would have been enough. For example, my older chose American History but would have gladly done American Goverment or World History. My younger was going to do a unit study on Anne of Green Gables. That would have including history and literature. She was also going to do a separate class on missionary geography. The older would have done eithr Chemistry or Biology although her first choice was Chemistry.

 

I am just sick with this. I had a few reasons I was doing this. First of all, my life is so super hectic right now. I have a few chronic illnesses which one is not in good control. I am on serious medicines which means I need to keep going to the doctor every month and getting blood tests. That is if he likes what is happening. If he is not happy with the control, he may put me on medicines that involve even more visits. My oldest is suffering from major depression and has been hospitalized three times this year. My middle is going to have shoulder surgery next Friday and had a non-stop headache for seven weeks that is now gone but she still gets headaches. My husband just got on the promotion list and not only he will have more travel and more responsibilities but so will I (just responsibilities). That means we will likely have a short notice move. I needed some simplicity in my life.

 

Furthermore, older daughter really liked the organization of weekly classes to keep her on schedule. Since she is socially very shy and opened up some in classes, I liked it for that reason too. The younger one performs well for everyone but me which is why I wanted classes for her. She is an extrovert and really needed more social interaction.

[DB in NJ]

I am so upset. My homeschooling group suddenly cancelled all academy classes. My girls were going to do most of their work this year at the academy. Now I have six classes gone for the older one and four for the younger. I don't know what I am doing. It is English, History and Science plus two electives, and History, English and two electives for the younger.

 

 

I am at a loss.

 

It's ok. It's going to be all right.

 

1. Let's agree that this stinks, but what's done is done. We'll be mad later; right now we need to think!

 

2. We're looking at a 14 yo and an 11 yo, correct? (I'm assuming your sig is up-to-date).

 

3. Here's what you need and some possibilities:

 

14 yo:

 

History - I would choose Sonlight Core 5, 6, or Alt 6 to use w/both kids

 

Science - Choose one of the apologia courses OR buy a course from the Teaching Company OR (not my first choice - not even close! - , but it'll do in a pinch) use a set of Lifepacs from Alpha Omega.

 

English - At this stage, English needs to include Literature, Vocabulary, and Writing. Also include grammar if she needs it (Easy Grammar maybe?) If you use Sonlight, there will be a lot of reading, but little to no literary analysis. I would suggest going with one or two of Hewitt's Lightning Literature courses. If your dd needs more writing instruction (the high school LL guides include writing assignments, but no instruction), get SWI B (you do NOT need TWSS) from IEW and have her work through that. For vocabulary, there is quite a bit of vocabulary work included in the LL guides; if you want more, I'd get English from the Roots Up and do it with both dd OR get a vocabulary roots or Vocabulary workbook and have her work through it.

 

Two Electives - has she had logic yet? public speaking? art? music? Foreign language? I need more info.

 

 

11 yo:

 

History - Have her join your older dd on this.

 

English - for this dd, English needs to include grammar, spelling and/or vocabulary, writing, reading/literature. LLATL would cover just about everything, as would the Alpha Omega lifepacs (again, blech, but they'll do in a pinch -- which is exactly what you're in!). If I had to throw something together quickly, last minute, I'd go with Daily Grams, Writing Skills by EPS, a spelling workbook, read the Sonlight readers, and have this dd watch the SWI B with her big sister.

 

Two Electives - critical thinking? foreign language? logic? cooking? art? music? drama? sewing? life skills? study skills?

 

I know some of these choices aren't among everyone's favorites, and if we were in an ideal situation, we could pull out WTM and figure out what you could do if you had more time. But you don't have more time, so these recommendations are taking that into account. All of the above would be just fine, and the work would get covered. The suggestions were chosen for their ease of use - for both the student and teacher.

 

:grouphug: You'll be fine. Just breathe and do the next thing.

[laughing lioness]

:grouphug:Christiana:grouphug:

I am so sorry!! A thought: have you looked at any on-line academies? Vertias Press, Potter's School, etc? It would provide a schedule and could "move" with you. It might bring some simplicity to what sounds to be a crazy fall.

We are in the same boat regarding our high school support. I, too, am a little overwhelmed at "going it alone."

Praying for you right now, that God gives you wisdom and peace!

Blessings!!

[TravelingChris]

The fourteen year old turns fifteen this Friday. She is a good writer. She is going into 10th grade. THe two girls don't get along and don't want to work together. I should have said, DD 15 had another great reason for doing things in classes. She is a super auditory child. SHe has memory problems from remembering things she reads unless they are very interesting. She apparantly read all through The Tale of Two Ciities this summer and can't remember what she read barely at all. I am seeing this with the geography I gave her to do. SHe reads it over and over again and doesn't remember because she is so bored. She is managing to do math okay because I read it outloud to her. What is strange is she is an avid reader. SHe just has a hard time with boring textbooks and certain pondorous writing. She loves to watch Shakespeare plays and always reads the dialogue since she can't understand the English accents enough. So she has no real reading problems but she has a memory problem.

[AuntieM]

feeling disenfranchised by this sudden decision. Are there other families involved that are close enough to you that you would be able to set up a home-based coop for some of these classes? Do you know if any of the intended instructors would be interested in instructing any of these courses outside of that original group setting? These are ways that might provide some group interaction (good for your kids) and ease the burden of teaching (good for you) by either hiring a teacher or taking a rotation with other parents.

 

Take a deep breath - take a bit of time to think and plan - let your girls start their other subjects as you make decisions to provide for these new gaps. The beauty of homeschooling is that you don't have to start the same day as everyone else, and it's easy to still finish on time even if you start late.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Oh my goodness! I second laughing lioness' suggestion. An online school would provide a similar solution. I'm sorry you have to deal with this.

[sdWTMer]

Oh, I'm so sorry Christina. How awful! There are no words.

[Holly IN]

If you can perhaps you can check with Potters school. They are more of a Classical ed bent. Not sure if they are taking enrollements but you can call and ask them if they can add your girls on. I would explain what happened. They tend to be very very understanding. (very nice people!! )

 

Holly

[TraceyS/FL]

I'm sorry your plans are all mucked up this close to the start.

 

Maybe though it's a sign that you are going to move sooner than later? then you would have had a bigger mess?

 

May DD is enjoying the BJU Video classes - just like having a personal tutor!

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Your dd15 sounds like my dd7 with the selective memory. Letting her do some of her work on the computer or through video has helped a whole lot.

 

I am really sorry this happened to you. I would be a complete wreck. :grouphug:

[Kathy in MD]

To ease your load for your eldest, there are several good math programs that DVD lectures so you wouldn't need to read the text. Chalk Dust and Video Text have high quality teaching. There are many more. There are also several sources for DVD science lectures, including The Teaching Company. If you post on the high school board, you might find programs for some other subjects as well.

 

Also does she take detailed notes while she reads? That helps my ds with memory problems.

[Rhonda in TX]

I

May DD is enjoying the BJU Video classes - just like having a personal tutor!

 

In this situation, I would order BJU Homesat for those courses and call it done. Another advantage is that if/when you move, you can take it with you. It doesn't have the social aspect, but they will survive.

 

I am so sorry you are going through this. What a stressful thing to happen on top of all your other stresses.

[sleepy]

Oh Christina, I'm so sorry. :grouphug:

I hope you find a solution that will work well for you and your girls.

[Mosaicmind]

I have an auditory learner too and I would go with something that teaches online or dvds for the oldest.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

No advice except for breathe deeply and have faith that all will work out. :grouphug: