I could really use help planning quickly (please)...

[always cookin']

I realize this is a huge request. I could really use some experienced help. I have homeschooled my dc (6th,4th,K,2 years old) from the beginning. I did send each of the older ones for a year (or half a year in one case) for K and second grade when I really needed a break. I have been on these boards (mainly lurking) since I started.

 

I have seriously been considering sending them to p.s. for several reasons-

 

1. I am not the most organized person on the earth, and I am worried that if I continue without a better game plan, the education of my dc might really suffer now that they are getting older.

 

2. My daughter is especially difficult (argumentative), and the day to day battle with her wears on me.

 

3. I am worn out from the day to day responsibilities (that we all have) of cooking, cleaning, and mainly the education of dc. I am not an organized housekeeper either and really struggle in this area.

 

4. I really don't want to keep my oldest, especially at this point, from opportunities (scholarships, advanced classes, etc) that might open up to him in the coming years. I guess I feel like I am not doing a good job at anything, and he is getting to the age where I really need to step up.

 

 

My hope is to continue to homeschool and to have my dc start community college courses during the high school years. In the meantime, I need to come up with a better plan of attack. They do want to continue to homeschool. I suffer from lack of motivation. I am thinking that if I really commit to focused, morning studies and leave afternoons more open for independent reading, piano practice and free time, then we can really buckle down in the morning and it will motivate us all. I have never really used a schedule, but I am thinking that something like that might be necessary.

 

This is what I an currently considering:

 

Math-I use Singapore Math. My oldest is in 6th grade (and in the 6th grade book) and I am planning to continue with that.

 

English- I have Rod and Staff English. We are in the 5th grade book (didn't finish last year) and I will continue with that. I am looking for suggestions for report-type writing. I am not at all confident in teaching writing. My oldest has done a journal since he started writing. He writes fairly well, but needs more instruction in report/essay writing. I need help with that. I am not much interested in teaching creative writing at this point.

 

History- We have read/listened to SOTW all the way through. We did not do much with it. We did read some additional books. My kids are strong in geography. I would like to focus more on American History this year, but I am not sure what to use.

 

Spanish- I plan to use Rosetta Stone for this.

 

Science- I bought the Prentice Hall Explorer series, but have done nothing with it yet. I am not sure how to use these or if something else would be easier/more effective. I have not done formal science instruction yet, but we have read many science type books and dh is science-type and engages them in many science-related discussions.

 

I also use Spelling Power and handwriting is covered.

 

I am in a time crunch. I confess to both indecision and lack of organization. I really want to give it another try and try to to it better this time. I would really appreciate any advice any of you are willing to give both in terms of routine/schedule and curriculum. I really need curriculum that is easy to use (no huge teacher manuals to read through). I look forward to any suggestions you can share. Thank you so much!:confused1:

[mysticamethyst]

I am probably not the best person to give advice but here it goes. I am not very organized, I wish I were but I am not. The bonus here is that I know I am not so I have to try extra hard to get things accomplished. I have to make myself sit down and plan, when I don't plan nothing gets done. For Science Explorer I put those into unit studies so that all of my kids could use it. I would see what the section was about and then go to www.currclick.com and buy a study plan to go with it. That way it was all laid out before me and all I had to do is print. As far as the yelling and bad attitude from your dd, I would send her to her room till she was ready to do her part; I can't handle a bad attitude. Rod and Staff was so boring and dry for my kids; heck it was boring to me. We used Easy Grammar of varing levels up until this year. I would skip the spanish until you have everything else under control, don't put too much on your plate or your kids. I would think you are setting yourself up for failure if you do too muchl; this derailed me many times. I will be honest with you one of the most motivating factors for me was writing a weekly blog about what we got done. I gave the link to family and friends, whether or not they read it is irrelvant they might, and I better have completed stuff there. Does that make sense. These are things that I do, they might not work for you but I hope they help a bit, and remember keep it simple.:001_smile:

[JFSinIL]

I sent ,my oldest dd into public school a week into 5th grade for your reason number 2!!!! She had been homeschooled from the last quarter of 1st grade through the start of 5th...after an AWFUL fourth grade year with her fighting me tooth and nail with her Glare of Death and shutting down abruptly over the slightest perceived request that she do anything I was not about to put up with another year of being at loggerheads with her. I explained the reason for ,my signing her up to the school and was allowed to observe the classrooms and pick the best (strictest) teacher for her. DD has thrived in public school ever since and begins one our districts gifted high school academies next week as a 9th grader.

 

With her out of the house for hours a day,m we get along ,much better.

AND - I had more time to work with her older brother and younger sister (another kid goes to a school for "special" kids.)

 

You would NOT be a failure if you sent that one child to the local school. Is she the 4th grader? Of one of the younger kids? If she went, you'd have ,more time to work with the others. I'd send her for this year, and work with the other kids still at home,m and see how it goes before deciding to send ALL of them (well, not the toddler ;)) off to school.

[Sasharowan]

My ds12 in 7th is reading through the History of the US by Hakim this year as a additive to SOTW. I have him reading 5-6 chapters a week with the plan of getting through the 10 books in 2 years. Hewitt homeschooling has a packet for Jr. high ages that has tests and suggestions for reports based on HotUS.

[PeterPan]

Well I think this age (4th, 5th, 6th, starting somewhere in there) is really the argumentative stage, and it's one of those things that you either deal with or you don't. I'm starting to see it with my dd, who suddenly has an answer back for everything, a complaint for anything, and hates anything she used to love. Chris Perrin (of CAP) talked about this at the convention and said it meant it was time to start teaching them logic, the art of arguing. I also think as a parent it means we have to teach them how NOT to argue, to lay down some ground rules for how our house will work. I'm still working through this, but I just wanted to say you're not alone, that it's a stage of development and something you might be able to work through.

 

I'll also toss out that if you really have been so disorganized and descheduled (sorry), it might not have helped your boy feel confident, driven, assertive, and growing like he wants to. Kids that age have a strong drive to DO, to be independent, to accomplish, and he can't accomplish if he's having to hang on Mom's coattails to see what to do next, kwim? More work, a do-able list that he can do independently, might help his attitude immensely.

 

I think it's easy to read the boards and feel like you have to be doing more than you really do. You need to pick the most basic subjects and have a game plan for them. You have no game plan for writing, and that's hugely important. Get a SWI level of IEW and have your two oldest dc do it. Done. You really don't have that many subjects to plan, as some of them like the math and RS spanish are just do the next thing. Then make up a daily work checklist for each of your kids. It can be as simple as a list of subjects in Microsoft word with blanks to write in the lesson numbers. Each day print a new list and write in the new lesson numbers. The kids can use their lists to work through their subjects independently, especially the 6th and 4th graders. That way you don't have to schedule anything, just crack the whip.

 

You mentioned something about being at home and working in the morning. Don't mean to step on your toes, but have you been out doing co-ops, activities, etc.? If I could gently suggest, this might be the year to trim those down or only do them in the afternoon. It's EXTREMELY hard to get your schoolwork done if you don't protect those mornings. You know what you want to do, and it might take some rearranging to get there. Also, many families with multiple kids set a limit of *1* activity per dc. It's something to consider. You need to protect your school time if you want it to happen. Four days a week where you lose one day or morning a week to something else cuts it really tight and makes you feel rush. I suggest you try carving out all 5 mornings a week and shoving EVERYTHING else to 11:30 or later. Might make this a lot easier. And no tv during that time either. :)

 

Last, I don't know your budget, but could I suggest some cleaning help or something to help you with things around the house? You sound pretty overwhelmed, and that might be just the thing. Or make a list of basic things you want done each day and put it on your kids' daily work checklists, yes, their school lists. You shouldn't have to be doing so much cleaning and work, not with a 6th and 4th grader. My 4th grader does her own laundry and can cook all the means, I mean all the meals. If you rotate days and who cooks, you should only have to cook twice a week. Sunday they forage or dad makes homemade pizzas (our family treat).

 

On the cleaning, divide your house into 5 areas, so you can tackle one area each week of the month. You have 3 kids old enough to work and yourself, so I would list 4 things you'd like done in those areas. For instance, in the kitchen the 4 things might be: mop floor, wipe cabinet fronts, clean sink and counters (removing stuff), and clean frig. None of those things take more than 1/2 hour, and if you all worked together on a Friday afternoon, you could knock them out pronto, kwim? Then you rotate through, doing a new zone each week. Your house might not be perfect with that, but it's not going to be really bad, and it's not going to take too long to accomplish.

 

The other thing you could do is put some daily clean-up and helping stuff onto their daily work checklists. On my dd's list I put things like feeding the animals. You could go even farther though, putting unloading the dishwasher, etc. You could put at the bottom of the list that they are to pick up their junk around the house from the day before they are free to go play. Of course you have to enforce that. ;)

 

Make it work for you. Nobody is trying to drive you into a hyper-scheduled life if that doesn't suit you. I know it doesn't suit me, hehe. But a daily checklist for each of your kids will make it easier for you to be the taskmaster, and I think that's what you're really wanting. You want to get the things done, and that's how you get it done. As I was typing this out, I realized this really cool idea, hehe... I can load things into my dh's schedule on his email thing on the computer, and I could have it schedule and remind him of the cleaning I need done each Saturday to keep us on track! Hehehe...

[Once]

In reading your post I see alot of myself several years ago. On my bad days these things and concerns are still very real.

 

I can only give you ideas of things that worked for me, ultimately you need to make the choices about sending dc off to school. I think the pp that suggested sending dd that fights with you off to ps had a good point but I know how it would play itself out in or house. Dd would have felt slighted and hurt for being different. If it frees you up to do more work with your other more willing kids then great. (Between you and me I think you can just read to your Ker, do phonics with alphebet books and start handwriting in January when you feel more in control.)

 

We choose to keep dd at home. Like your daughter our Dd is a determined one and gets offended when I ask something of her. Recently, I realized that she needs to know the whole picture and then rise to the quanity of work. Previously, I had been *dragging* her through it one day at a time. If she had a good day it would ask her to do one more page and she would lose it. This past year, I stated that she only need to do one page of MUS each day and then she was done for the day in math. That cleared things up. My word was my word and I would honor it. A suggestion to you would be to sit down yourself and set a plan for the year. Decide what you expect from her and write it out in a colorful positive way. Think visuals here and do it up good. Then sit down with her and start...plodding one day at a time. It seems obvious to some but for it me it was life changing to realize that my expectations each and everyday had to be the same. No days off but also no mad rush to catch up and no feeling of being behind and getting frustrated and impatient.

 

After writing this I thought of something else that might help with your dd. When I stopped focusing on her (read pushing school) and started spending that extra time with another dc where she could be included, she began to realize that school was a way of life. Apparently, this had bever occured to her. The ages for my kids fit his solution better than your but it might help anyway.

 

As far as organizing your life. This is really essential as you move up the years. Try Flylady she has some answers. Managers of their Homes is good too. Get the kids involved one chore at a time. It is a great life skill and also helps you out alot. Is there one area it seem to be in control that you could spring board from? Look at that and find skills there then transfer them. A simple menu on the fridge for the week is a start. Shop once a week to fill it then stay home to do school. Start one load of laundry every morning and get it done or set one day a week where everyone helps till it's finished. It can be done but you have to plod!

 

The writing suggestion I have is Institue for Excellence in Writing (IEW). If your oldest likes to write you have won half the battle. IEW would help refine what he does already.

 

HTH a little. Sorry it got so long. Hugs to you. I looks like you have quite a few issues to work through and I hope you find a solution for you kids that honors you all. It can be done but it will require some offort on your part and lots of persistence. Forgive the spelling - I'm off to make breakfast!

[WTMindy]

Is there a way you can build in some accountablity to help you with your organization? I know my dh is a huge accountability to me. After all, he doesn't get to just decided not to do a good job with his work so why should I? Would it help to start thinking of it as a job?

 

You are not a failure if you send one or more of your kids to public school. The goal is good character and a good education, and if you feel that this is better accomplished in the public school, then go for it.

 

When I'm having trouble being disciplined to do something that I really want to do, I try and set up a system of accountability for myself. (I want to go to the gym early in the morning, but I'm not disciplined at all when the alarm goes off, so I tell my husband to kick me out of bed no matter what unless we have discussed it the night before.) I wonder what types of accountability you could put into place for yourself to help you in this area.

[Parrothead]

Last, I don't know your budget, but could I suggest some cleaning help or something to help you with things around the house? You sound pretty overwhelmed, and that might be just the thing.

That is what I though of too. The cost might be overwhelming at first, but in the long run when you are only having to to maintenance it will be an expense well worth it. I know I can't work in chaos. It makes things so much easier to get school accomplished if the house isn't on your mind too.

 

Your kids are old enough to have chores too. The first 20 minutes before school or the first 20 minutes after school are good times for getting those done. Even your 2-year old can pick up toys and put cups in the sink.

[RoughCollie]

Science Explorer is easy to use. Basically, you assign one section of a chapter every 2-3 days. My kids made flashcards for the vocabulary (in bold type in the chapters) and memorized it. They answered the review questions either orally or in writing, depending on their preference. To test a chapter, all you have to do is make up a test consisting of the vocabulary and review questions, or do it orally.

 

I had my kids read the chapter section and then we discussed the information in it before they answered the review questions.

 

We did not do the experiments.

 

**** Schedules

 

I do not like being tied to a schedule, but my kids thrive on one. I made a chart with 6 columns. The first column listed the times of day. The remaining ones were for me and the kids. I put in everything we had to do each day, and it helped me a lot because after I scheduled meals and homeschooling, I fit housework and cooking into the gaps.

 

We did not have anywhere we had to be before 2 p.m., so the schedule was consistent through that time. After 2 p.m., the schedule depended on the day of the week. I made sure to schedule realistic travel time and realistic time for the kids to get ready for their activities.

 

In your case, you will have to figure out something for your K and 2 year olds to be doing during each time slot while your older children are doing schoolwork.

 

Also, to save time I combined a couple of classes with meals: Breakfast & Bible, Lunch & Lit.

 

**** Behavior modification

 

To keep everyone in line, I set up a demerit system. Two demerits = 1 chore. The kids receive demerits for not attending to their schoolwork. In our case, kids would distract one another or sit there and do nothing when they were supposed to be doing schoolwork. The chores started with cleaning the toilets and the cleaning was done immediately -- that child's school day was longer so s/he could make up the work missed during the cleaning session.

 

I also schedule schoolwork so that the kids' tasks vary. Oral, reading, listening, written work are scheduled in a way that the kids would not be doing one type of task for more than an hour. That cut down on complaints about having to sit and write for a long time.

 

On our schedule, the most important subjects are done first: Language Arts and Math. That way, if something comes up, those subjects are done and we don't get behind.

 

**** Chores

 

I have a chart of chores that the kids do. They rotate each week into a different chore group. The chores are scheduled to be performed at certain times. This saves me a lot of work.

 

I also have a chart for myself for daily chores and monthly chores, and a list of chores that occur infrequently. I know how long each chore takes, so they are easy to schedule. If I don't have time for something, it does not get done.

 

**** Meals

 

I have a rotating meal plan for 3 meals a day & snacks, and a master grocery list. This makes meals and grocery lists a lot easier to come up with.

 

**** Sending kids to regular school

 

I have 2 children who, as they got older, became harder to teach at home. Both are extroverts and they needed to be around other kids at school all day, so last year we enrolled them in a regular school. They are a lot happier and our homeschool runs much more smoothly.

 

The key to that situation working is to make sure that the homeschool is finished around the same time the regular school is over. Once the kids get home from school I discovered that I didn't have time to do any homeschooling because I was too busy dealing with the requirements of the other school, driving to after-school activities, making dinner, overseeing homework, making sure the kids had clothes to wear the next day, and etc. It was an organizational nightmare for me to keep track of everything at first.

 

**** Sleep

 

No matter what happens, I make sure I get enough sleep. If I don't, then everything falls apart because I don't have the get-up-and-go to follow my schedule.

 

Good luck!

 

RC

[always cookin']

I want to thank you all for your ideas and give you additional information to help clarify a few things. My difficult daughter is the one entering 4th and she has been a challenge since about age 2-3. She actually has shown improvement though, and my husband and I have greatly improved in our handling of her (not as much yelling mostly). Of course, it still goes up and down, but for a while it was really bad. It has gotten better. I don't want to send her to school without giving this a fair try. If need be, I will send her during the year. I would prefer to try to work it out with her. I will not let her disrupt my son's learning even if I have to ignore her and let her read (and send her to school eventually). They both want to keep homeschooling.

 

Also, over the years, I have made improvements too, in housekeeping, etc. I guess I feel the need for a schedule now that my kids are getting older and I really don't want to mess this up. I do not have outside activities during the day. It was more that I would get distracted with the baby or cooking or cleaning. And because I didn't have a set schedule, things would drag out and we would never feel done. It was fine when they were younger. We read a lot, played a lot and did Math, the basics, etc. Now I feel the need to add more structure, and I need help doing it. I am working with the kids to pick up,etc every day. I need to continue to work on this.

 

I do think I need to simplify meals/plan menus. I end up making gourmet breakfast to order every day (my own fault).

 

Thank you for the ideas of scheduling the Prentice Hall series. I will look into that this weekend with my husband.

 

I was also thinking of IEW, but hadn't done the research yet as to which level I needed. I was thinking that I should do more writing myself first with Sentence Composing and Writers Express from Write Source. Do any of you have experience with these or do you think I should go straight to IEW?

 

Also, I think that the accountability and checklists are a great idea. We did checklists for a while. They really did help. I am the one who fell off the boat with those. I think I really need to sit down now and plan more than I ever have before (both school and housework).

 

Thank you for the Hakim recommendation. I will check that out.

 

Also, is Easy Grammar more tolerable than Rod and Staff? R&S is boring for me and the kids, but I was hesitant to change. However, if Easy Grammar is more pleasant and still gets the job done, maybe I should look into it.

 

Again, thank you so much for your thoughtful responses and ideas. Let me know if you have any additional thoughts for me.

[Mrs Mungo]

If you are having issues with planning and motivation you might also consider something like K12 or SOS. maybe even if you only do it for a year or even if you just do it for your argumentative daughter. Then it's not *you* telling her what to do, it's set up. Plus, they get instant feedback which some kids respond really well to. Just something else to maybe consider. I would try something like that before I put my kids in school.