Tips to help me enjoy homeschooling?

[MommaOfalotta]

Yesterday was our first day back from a LONG break. (Christmas, pink eye, flu.. you name it.) So I'm using this as a fresh start. I want to enjoy homeschooling... I want it to not feel like a chore that needs checked off. I don't want to rush through each subject so that it's checked off and we're finally done, whew. I want to slow down and enjoy it. I don't want to be a slave to our curriculum but I fear getting off track. We are already "behind." We are only on lesson 29 of math and we started school in August. This leads to me just wanting to get that day done and checked off, so when there are interruptions that delay us, I get stressed and snappy.

 

Every break, every summer, every year I get so excited about homeschooling and all the fun we're going to have.. and then I get in the way. When we fall behind, I stress.

 

I want more unstructured learning. I want more FUN for dd. (She doesn't "like" school, surprising huh?) I want her to have an exciting and unique education. So how do you break free of boring routine without fear of being off track or not using your curriculum?

 

 

[73349]

Do you have an ending date in mind for your school year? If so, could you move it later--or condense some lessons--so you won't feel behind?

 

I've also built some catch-up weeks for each subject into next school year. If we don't need the time to catch up, we can use it for enrichment.

 

We are more than a week "behind" in math right now (according to my schedule, which was too ambitious). I'm letting DS skip some basic problems so that we can focus on the word problems within the limit of his attention span. That means we're not doing all the problems in the book, and we still might not "catch up" for months, and I am just having to cope.

 

 

 

[albeto.]

I want more unstructured learning. I want more FUN for dd. (She doesn't "like" school, surprising huh?) I want her to have an exciting and unique education. So how do you break free of boring routine without fear of being off track or not using your curriculum?

 

Find a hands on project that covers the same general stuff in a subject you feel comfortable doing differently. Enjoy the project. Enjoy the experience. Talk about it will naturally flow. You can add bits and pieces as an informed mentor if she's interested, or you can assign reading on the side. Don't lecture, lecture kills the mood. Follow her lead. When she shows interest in something, ask her if she wants to do a project about that next.

 

Good luck!

 

:)

[Julie of KY]

Pick something that is your priority - reading books on the couch or doing math. Make sure you do that every day or however often you set. Don't worry if not everything else gets done. Don't think of your curriculum as something to get done in a schoolyear. Just pick up the subject and do the next assignment. Does it really matter if you finish the book in Sept. or March? Just move on to the next thing.

 

Take mom breaks - "teacher in-service" days where you just spend time on you and rejuvinate your enthusiasm for homeschooling.

[Starr]

Is your info up to date? Your children are 7 and 2? If so, relax! For long term home educating you will have to stop all the interruptions caused by others. Maybe don't answer door, phone, help others during certain hours. Do math first. Sit and do it together. What curriculum are you using?   :grouphug:  Plan in some fun activities and projects, trips to museums etc. 

[JustEm]

I made homeschooling more enjoyable by throwing out the math book! It was getting done and ds was doing fine with it but it was boring. So now we play math games, read math books, and just talk about numbers and patterns. It doesn't feel like school because it's fun and all 3 of my children are learning in the process at the same time rather than working with them individually. My not even 2 year old can count to 10 because of sitting in my lap while playing games with his siblings. He can do puzzles above his level because he works on pattern games along side of us.

 

All I do is follow a rough scope or sequence of where they should be at by the end of the year and find games according to that.

 

For reading we just read and talk about what we read. I ask questions while reading regarding to bigger vocab words and help them figure out how they can guess the word depending on the context of the surrounding sentences. I'll add grammar in by asking how they could make a sentence more exciting or interesting for the reader and explain what types of words they are adding to the sentence (adjectives usually.) We do mad libs a lot! They act out stories with their toys.

 

We don't do science or history formally because they all have interests that I just help them explore deeper.

[Alte Veste Academy]

There are many ways to make school more engaging, but I'm confused. If you feel like you are too much of a box checker, too regimented and scheduled, how are you so far behind? Is motivation a problem? For you? For your student? Do you avoid doing school because it isn't enjoyable but then become "all business" when you do get to it? If that is the case, balance is what is needed, I think. I actually think if that's the case, you probably need a more detailed schedule to follow. Schedules/routines and fun are not mutually exclusive, but you will always be stressed if you are not accomplishing what (you feel) is necessary. To begin, you will have to resign yourself to being behind, avoid rushing (and stressing) your student and yourself, and work steadily toward the goal of forward progress. Slow and steady wins the race. The hare loses by racing and resting, racing and resting...

 

Ironically (or not?), my kids enjoy school much more when it is predictable. We schedule fun things. We have a slot of time called FLoop (stands for Fun Loop and includes extras that would otherwise fall by the wayside) in our daily schedule, and I occasionally schedule Rabbit Trails as an actual subject. But the bottom line for us is that a predictable schedule is more engaging for them than wondering whether or not we will get to x, y, or z on any given day. 

 

ETA: Agree with Kiara below, too, if fit of program and/or understanding is the issue rather than motivation. 

[Kiara.I]

So I guess I don't understand being "behind" in math.  You are where you are.  You are where your child has mastery.

If you're behind because you're just not *getting* to math, that's one thing.  But if you're behind because that's how fast it goes, then what needs to change is the expectation, not the progression through the book.  So...either slow down, take a breath, and work for mastery of concepts.  Or decide that this particular curriculum isn't the best fit for your child.  Or take a break and wait for maturity to catch up to child, with math games and activities in the meantime.  Or realize that while the level may be good, the child's attention span hasn't matured yet, and while a work in progress, it's just going to take more time for math right now.

 

What does your daughter want to do for school?  Could you let her?

How much time does school take of your day right now?

[HS Mom in NC]

Do you mean "not doing it regularly" when you say you're "behind" in math?  Do you mean your child doesn't have basic concepts mastered that many children his/her age have mastered? 7 isn't very old.  What skills has your 7 year old mastered?  What skills has your 7 year old got the right idea about, but still needs to practice more?  What skills have you introduced to your 7 year old that the kid doesn't get at all? Does your math curriculum have any hands on game suggestions for each skill set for practice or is it just worksheet drill? Has your child learned any skip counting and/or any math facts songs?  Are there hands on math manipulatives that go with your curriculum? Do you have any fun math story books? Are you doing drills with flashcards?  Does your child seem more right brained than left brained?  If so, is your math curriculum specifically geared to one brain type or the other?

 

What kind of interruptions are you talking about?

 

 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Sometimes I pick books based on the fact they look interesting to me. 

[MommaOfalotta]

I don't mean she is *behind* in Math, I guess. Just that we are off of the schedule in our curriculum.

 

I know she is young, but I don't want to ruin her love for learning when this should be the age that shes really having fun.

 

We do fun things, too. Our science is very hands on. We have more field trips planned. I tried to really pay attention to my feelings during school today. Being much more present and focused helped a lot with our school day today. Not focusing on how long a subject was taking, or the mountain of laundry, really helped me to not get impatient and snappy.

 

I felt myself getting anxious when reading SOTW (which happens every time) because ds loves to interrupt and dd already has trouble paying attention to the reading. But I found him something to do and we continued on (and when she missed review questions I tried not to lose patience, even though I could tell she hadn't been paying attention.)

 

Thank you for the advice. I know now to be on the lookout for the urge to rush through something when my anxiety gets bad. Sometimes I just get so bored and sick of our curriculum.. but too scared to scrap the lesson plan and just have fun learning on our own. Now that I'm a little more aware of my triggers, I can make more of a conscious effort. Also, in an effort to get "caught up" in history and Science, I've been trying to do a lesson of each EVERY day. I also feel guilty because although I have curriculum bought for art, music, grammar, writing (WWE & a handwriting book), History, science, math, spelling, bible... we obviously aren't doing all of this every day. There's not enough time.

 

I know it doesn't sound like it since we are so behind in math, but I think I've been trying to do too much, feeling stressed and defeated and as a result-giving up and not doing ENOUGH. I can see now when it's all typed out that I just need to CHILL. I'm going to take your advice and accept being behind.. work slow and steady every day. I'm going to stick with the basics so we can enjoy our days and not be rushed--also leaving more time to follow interests and take a subject further if she is interested. Its funny how clear it is to me as I type it out... typical me trying to do EVERYTHING EVERY DAY... and when I can't, I get discouraged and stressed.

 

Thanks again for the advice. I feel more excited for school already. :)