klmama Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I know it must get better, or I wouldn't have kept doing it all these years, but right now I'm just... tired. We haven't covered all our subjects yet. Dc are struggling to focus. Every subject is taking much longer than it should. I have no idea if the detailed plans I made up for our entire first semester should be scrapped or if we might actually be able to learn how to get it done. Sigh. I hate the first week of school. It isn't any fun at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dayle in Guatemala Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 It takes time to get into your routine. Are the lessons really long, or are they just taking their time completing them? If they are long, you might want to consider shortening them if you can. If it's just that they're taking their time, it helped me to put a time limit to it and what was left over was "homework". If it's new stuff, that's different, but, when they are just procrastinating, that wastes my time as well. I don't like that.:glare: Just give it a few more weeks and see if it doesn't get better. It more than likely will.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepy Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Oh, it does get better! And then it gets worse... and then it gets better...and then it gets worse... and, well, you get the idea. :tongue_smilie: Here's hoping tomorrow goes more smoothly! :cheers2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenschooler Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Oh, it does get better! And then it gets worse... and then it gets better...and then it gets worse... and, well, you get the idea. Exactly! We had a good day today. We finished a week of TOG history! WOW!!! Yesterday....I was ready to kick one of 'em to the curb. It will be something new tomorrow. What keeps me going is seeing that we are actually making progress. These kids amaze me sometimes, to see how far they've come just from fumbling through some books with me. I never cease to be amazed that I was actually able to teach them anything. But I have! They know stuff. They can think, they can write, they can do all sorts of things!! Remember the good days, and keep a journal of them. It'll carry you through the bad ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I found in the beginning everything took way longer than I thought. then we all got into the swing, and after the first year we had it down pat. everything goes pretty well, they get through most things faster than what I scheduled, and we are enjoying ourselves most of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama jewel Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Oh, it does get better! And then it gets worse... and then it gets better...and then it gets worse... and, well, you get the idea. :tongue_smilie: Here's hoping tomorrow goes more smoothly! :cheers2: :iagree: That's spot on (right down to the beer-toasting smilies!). Maybe you're doing too much due to the excitement of starting the new school year? We hs yr-round & that helps some with the feeling of being overwhelmed. Taking an outside break for fresh air gets highly underestimated, but is Sooooo needed by all. And, we try to keep the lessons short (CM-style) to prevent the dawdles. Here's hoping things get feelin' better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 :iagree: That's spot on (right down to the beer-toasting smilies!). Maybe you're doing too much due to the excitement of starting the new school year? We hs yr-round & that helps some with the feeling of being overwhelmed. Taking an outside break for fresh air gets highly underestimated, but is Sooooo needed by all. And, we try to keep the lessons short (CM-style) to prevent the dawdles. Here's hoping things get feelin' better The year round methos is sounding more and more appealing. Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama jewel Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 The year round methos is sounding more and more appealing. Jen Kindergarten was the first yr hs'ling & the first/last yr keeping the same schedule as the ps. It was so miserable trying to backtrack and re-go over things we had already covered. So much better keeping the thread going. Quick synopsis of how WE hs yr-round, in case interested: School yr is broken into 4 quarters (by season). 13 weeks within each quarter. 9 weeks of instruction which leaves 4 weeks off per qtr for a break. Of those 4 wks off, sometimes I group two weeks together or sometimes I space the weeks off between the 3 seasonal months of the quarter. We take vacation, correct papers, catch up on home stuff, prep upcoming lessons, etc. After all these yrs hs'ling, the worse part of schooling this way (for us) is finding the time to plan lessons with a big chunk of time. There's no large 2 1/2 month time frame to really sink your teeth into the prep work. It gets intermingled with other tasks. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillfarm Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 This is the first year I have snuck up on homeschooling! Actually, in past years I found that it was really hard for me to go from vacation to a full school day in under 24 hours. So this year I decided to start with 1/3 of our schedule, then a week or so later added the second third, and next week will add in the last third. It makes it hard to be able to state exactly when we started school, but it has gone much smoother and easier than before. I think I like doing it this way and will continue it for future years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 This is the first year I have snuck up on homeschooling! Actually, in past years I found that it was really hard for me to go from vacation to a full school day in under 24 hours. So this year I decided to start with 1/3 of our schedule, then a week or so later added the second third, and next week will add in the last third. It makes it hard to be able to state exactly when we started school, but it has gone much smoother and easier than before. I think I like doing it this way and will continue it for future years. You are so smart! I always think I'll do this, but then I start planning and just jump in full force! Maybe next year I'll remember to ease into things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 I appreciate all the kind words and encouragement! I think the biggest problem is that we are using quite a few new materials - math, spelling, grammar, science - and the dc aren't used to how they work yet. I'm sure tomorrow will be better. Now, off to bed so I can have a good night's sleep before facing them all again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesa Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 This year we schooled year round, with several breaks during the summer. I am planning on taking the month from Thanksgiving through Christmas off. We schooled all of July because it was too hot to be outside anyways. We started back up last week after a week break and it was still hard getting back into the swing of things this week. It's partly from the break and partly because I recently changed curricula in every subject, (everything is new to us) and I've added a few things into the mix (typing, Scripture study, and some occupation therapy activities.) I think It'll be another few weeks until we things figured out..... *sigh* Just keep swimming, just keep swimming..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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