Shelly in VA Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 OK, so we are moving to VA, which, while good in the grand scheme of things, is bad when we are trying to get the house on the market now, 2 weeks before the start of school. I had to list our last house starting in Sept. 2 years ago, and to say that it disrupted our schooling would be the understatement of the decade. I really wanted the house on the market over the summer, but dh's job transfer didn't get through all the HR red tape until 2 weeks ago, so here we are. So, now we have a huge list of items to do to prep the house in this bad real estate market. Nothing major, but lots of time - painting, mulching, pruning, rearranging, decluttering... particularly in the school area. And we have just a few days to do it, then we are supposed to be traveling until the day before school starts. Guess how much I've done to prepare for the year? Zero. Zilch. Nada. This is so unlike me, and a good indication of my state of mind! Normally, I pore through catalogs in the spring, plan everything in the summer, and frequently start school early b/c we're all ready. Not this time! So, anyone want to come over, lay out half a year or so for me, neatly put those books on a single shelf (4 kids by the way... ranging from a toddler to an 8th grader, so a single shelf seems, well, ambitious!), and box/label everything else? Anyone? I didn't think so. Haha. I'm going to pick up Arby's, because darn it, I have way too much to do and way too little time to do it and I'm tired of fixing 3 meals/day. So there. Thanks for "listening" online. I feel better venting about it a little! Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Make sure you get curly fries with that Arby's! I LOVE arbys! Ok, I loved it as a kid, and now I never get to eat it, go figure. But enjoy! On the schooling, it sounds like the perfect year to do school in a box. Call Calvert or K12 or Christian Liberty Academy and order it, have it come, and just do whatever it says. The lighter and less rigorous the program, the better. (Not that those are light, but don't knock yourself trying to find the perfect, rigorous approach for the year, as it wouldn't get done anyway.) That way you're doing SOMETHING, and it's planned and done for you, all on that shelf. You could even put each dc in a different company's program, since variety is the spice of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 Thank you, thank you, thank you! The Arby's was good; their jamocha shakes are fabulous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Well, here is what I would do. I would get canned curriculum for your middle schoolers and have them work as independently as possible. They can keep their stuff in a crate on their closet floor. For the elementary age I would focus on minimum days. All you really need is math and writing curriculum and lots of library books. Do Bible and math first thing in the morning. Then have your children read while you work on writing one-on-one. For history have them listen to SOTW CDs while they color the black-line maps, (in the activity guides). For science I would have them watch educational videos from the library. That should get all your curriculum on one shelf and you can put the library books in baskets by the couch. So cute! Can you hire someone to help with the repairs and painting? Our realtor had a great handyman and he gave us a good deal because he did a lot of work for the realtor. One thing that really helped out when we had our house on the market was that our realtor put a statement in our profile that we were a hs family and would prefer showings after 1:00 if possible. I know this is so hard. Hang in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 I forgot about the SOTW CDs. My dd loved SOTW 1 last year in 1st grade, so that would be perfect for her. If ever there was a time to spring for the CDs, this is it! I like the crate on the closet floor suggestion as well. Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosaicmind Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Can you pick me up some Arby's too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Dominion Heather Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 See, now, I would LOVE to do this. This is my favorite part of the whole process! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 We just moved - in the period of less than three months DH accepted a new job, moved half-way across the country, we bought a new house, sold ours, and moved three kids and three cats. My kids were 7, 3, and just 2 at that time. I had purchased a unit study for my eldest, anticipating for her to be more independent with a 'box kit' for a couple months. Unfortunately, she was just as anxious about the move, and having life disrupted, and change, that we ended up taking an unschooling approach. We continued with her daily devotions (as she loves them). Beyond that, we packed it all up! We used library books (had two big baskets) and did lots of reading - was great to just sit all together and snuggle with books. She had lots of opportunity to learn along the way, which I am grateful for. We have since unpacked all the school stuff we were working on, and picked up from there. I didn't worry about not finishing books by June 30, as many have been carried over into this school year. Good luck to you - hope you find what works best for your family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Canned curriculum sounds like the way to go...but I wouldn't call up Calvert just yet. I find that I am doing a lot of daily stuff to get ready for my kids' lessons and such. I am not sure it is an independent type thing...unless maybe 3 of your kids are 6th, 7th, and 8th graders! LOL (Calvert writes the manual to the student starting in 6th). Good luck to you though...I would, personally, put off school until you are settled, the maybe condense the lessons a bit, and finish the year maybe a bit later than usual, then get back on track next year. That is just me though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenadina Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 See, now, I would LOVE to do this. This is my favorite part of the whole process! Ditto! I love the planning stage...I can't wait to buy next year's books, lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 You *can* (usually) hire out a lot of those other jobs! Compared to the cost of private schooling, spending $1000 - $2000 or so hiring out much of the painting, mulching, packing, etc for a month or two is cheap! Depending on your local job market, it may be pretty easy to find someone who'd happily work at $8-$10/hr and help with a lot of that stuff. Maybe even a friend or acquaintance who's looking for extra $ and flexible hours. . . When my dh bought a business 4 yrs ago and went from working 35 hrs a week to 90 and then needed my help as well, I quickly decided to hire help. I easily found wonderful women to help with the cleaning, laundry, dishes, babysitting, etc and that allowed me to do what I had to do to school and take care of the dc. It is painful to pay that cash each week, but it is a lot easier than living with the knowledge that I was too cheap (my only excuse) to invest in being able to properly educate and care for my dc! I think of my $ outlay to my helpers as buying *time* for me, which is really one of the few things in life that is truly valuable (if well spent). So, anyway, remember what is *important* although not *urgent* and try to find a way to make or buy the time you need to do what you need to do for your schooling. Although it would be hard or impossible to hire someone to school, it is easy to hire out a lot of our other routine tasks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raini Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Wow! Talk about stress~ I think I'd do math and reading lists for everyone. Maybe History of US audio or SOTW audio. Then a half a year of school when you get there and regroup for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 You know, I may be a sick puppy, but this sounds FUN to me. Especially to do it for someone ELSE. But I love organizing things. Do you have a friend who's so organized she kind of makes you sick? If so, I would suggest asking her--she might be the very type who would really enjoy it. I just wish I didn't live 3000 miles away from you . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted August 16, 2008 Author Share Posted August 16, 2008 Just a quick note here on my break to say that we hired a high school senior to come do some odd jobs for us today and WOW!! It was some of the best $ I've spent. Now, granted here I had to pay $12/hour, plus I fed him lunch (although he offered to pay for his), but for ~$75 we got so much done, and so much of it was stuff I really couldn't help dh with (moving refrigerators, rehanging a cabinet), and just stuff that freed us up to do other things. I'm feeling pretty good about the house today, only because we made so much headway. I do need to consider paying someone to come in and do some cleaning, but first I have to get to the point where we can list (hopefully this week), and where I can at least order the SOTW CDs for my younger dd. Thanks! Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted August 16, 2008 Author Share Posted August 16, 2008 Good to know. Two of mine are middle school, but the other two are younger. One is school age, the other is just 2, which wreaks its own havoc on school, haha! Thanks for the input on Calvert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted August 16, 2008 Author Share Posted August 16, 2008 I may go this route, and throw in a Home2Teach class or something for my oldest. Thanks, everyone, for the input; it's all simmering in my head while I declutter and rearrange and pack things up! Shelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelly in VA Posted August 16, 2008 Author Share Posted August 16, 2008 Hmmm... so WHERE in VA are you? Parts of VA are just over an hour from me. And, of course, we're moving to VA, so once we get there, maybe you can fix whatever I've done badly! Haha. Just kidding! Normally, I love to plan, but the past 2 years have completely thrown me. We had a totally unexpected move 2 years ago, now this one, throw in several broken bones and skin cancer/surgery for me, and, well, I can't say we've been bored or stagnant. That's something, right?!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kailuamom Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Where in VA are you moving? :001_smile: Or did I miss that? Good luck! I moved to VA from HI last year, 28 weeks pg. Arrived in an ice storm. Fun. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hebrews3:13 Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 and I will do it! Me, ME, ME! :001_smile: I'll do it for free! Sorry, I just LOVE the planning. Planning the year with new curriculum- oh- I'm in heaven. My husband shakes his head. I am up late, losing sleep, lost in the world of organizing. It's sad really. I wish I liked organizing my dresser drawers as much. :001_huh: I'm like Monica on Friends if anyone ever watched that show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2boys Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I love planning too! My dh took the kids out of town and I have spent the last two days home alone, happily planning our school year. I'm disappointed that I am almost done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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