Preschoolers with high schoolers?

[Janeway]

OK, here goes.....

 

I am thinking of home schooling my younger children. I had said no previously. Please hear me out. I really would like feed back to my specific situation. Next year, I will have a 9th grade, 7th grader, 1st grader, and 4 yr old, and baby. This past year was harsh because I had the baby at the beginning of the year. It was a cesarean. Then I had complications. I had to be re-admitted to the hospital a few times as well as be on bedrest at home. I have become a very low energy person over the last while because of this. 

 

I have never home schooled kindergarten. I just have not had the desire. I have often thought of what I would do if I home schooled kindergarten, but I have never done it. I have grand plans. But it is all in the plans. My energy level just wants a nap right now. The baby is still where he gets up during the night. And here is a new one. He learned to rip his diapers off! So, he wakes up and rips his diaper off and then cries for us. This means, he wets before I can get him. Want to know the worst part of this? We cosleep. Yep, he is wetting us when he does this. And I am so tired that I am laughing about this! LOL. I am SO tired!!! LOL..We have become the walking dead. Maybe he should wear cloth to bed? Maybe he cannot get that off? Anyway...aside from that.....

 

Sir Lego does not like going to school. He says the day is too long and it makes him sad and he misses us and it makes him too tired. I can tell he is stressed at school. Princess Glitter LOVES preschool and would like to go more! Preschool costs a lot and I have been a little stressed over the cost of preschool. But she really is at a wonderful preschool. They focus on play and hands on. The preschool is amazing. It is worth every penny. But, money is an issue. We can afford it. But I keep feeling like the $3500 for next year, put in to an investment account, would grow to maybe be one semester of school tuition in college. But, we do have the money to pay for preschool. It is just one more year. I suspect if I do not send her, I will find myself piling on activities for her, and they won't be as meaningful, and they will end up costing at least half as much. So paying for preschool is not the end of the world.

 

Sir Lego has ASD. He has a hard time focusing and staying on task. At the public school, he has therapists and a special motor lab to go to every day and so on. And for 8 hours a day, I am free to teach the other children and do stuff with them. Ok, except Princess Glitter is only gone two days a week. But, but 3 of those 5 days, no arguing or anything between Princess Glitter and Sir Lego. Not that they argue a lot. It is just, she gets one on one time during those 3 days a week. We do not do much at all. She wants to go on play dates all the time and next year, all her friends will be in kindergarten so no one will be available on school days. 

 

So I am stuck. Sir Lego is asking to not go to school. I am afraid if I say yes, he will just sit around at home and expect the computer. That is what he does when he is out of school. He doesn't even want to play outside much. Princess Glitter will get sad if she cannot go to preschool to be with her friends. 

 

IF I home school them, I can do most subjects together. She is very smart. But he is starting to read and is on target in every subject. I could do Apologia Botany to start the year. I could put up a calendar and do circle time with them every day. We can do holidays around the world. We can learn about Pilgrims or even do "A Trip Around the World." I could maybe even join a coop. I do not actually enjoy coops, but it might be a chance for me to get in touch with other, younger, home schoolers. 

 

I hate it when people say they will "try out" home schooling. But, I could start over the summer and see if Sir Lego does anything at all that I ask. On the other hand, maybe I should just stay the path I am on and let it go. The current plan has been, and always has been, leaving them in school until they are ready for 2nd and kinder or 3rd and 1st and then home school.

[maize]

Is there a reason you want to homeschool them? You've listed your cons, what are your pros?

[Tsuga]

Caring for small children is a full-time job. I think $3500 is a great deal for someone to mind your kids while you home school the older kids who are at critical points in their educational careers.

 

How much does it cost for Prozac? I'm only half joking. You brought money into it but that money might indeed be better spent with the kids in a group if you need to be there to help the big kids through intense curricula.

 

Or you might consider home unschoolingg and hiring a mother's helper for the littles. More contact, less savings.

[Tsuga]

I should have known a double post was coming out of that thumb-seizure.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Tsuga

[Janeway]

He is in kindergarten now and LOVES science. They have science as a special pull out, like music and art.

 

Maybe I should just send her and keep him home. Her preschool is only two days a week.

[fairy4tmama]

I think you answered your own question perfectly- try HSing Sir Lego over the summer AND keep Princess glitter in Pre-school.

 

FWIW I don't really do kindergarten I keep learning materials on hand for a K age child and offer them when we are doing lessons but basically .they are free to go play.

[BlsdMama]

OK, here goes.....

 

I am thinking of home schooling my younger children. I had said no previously. Please hear me out. I really would like feed back to my specific situation. Next year, I will have a 9th grade, 7th grader, 1st grader, and 4 yr old, and baby. This past year was harsh because I had the baby at the beginning of the year. It was a cesarean. Then I had complications. I had to be re-admitted to the hospital a few times as well as be on bedrest at home. I have become a very low energy person over the last while because of this. 

 

I have never home schooled kindergarten.

So I am stuck. Sir Lego is asking to not go to school. I am afraid if I say yes, he will just sit around at home and expect the computer. That is what he does when he is out of school. He doesn't even want to play outside much. Princess Glitter will get sad if she cannot go to preschool to be with her friends. 

 

 

 

 

Two questions - I assume you are currently homeschooling your high schoolers?  How independent are they and how do you feel about how that is going and how they are progressing?  Do you feel they are adequately being prepared for adulthood?

 

Second - I'd change what is currently happening.  Kids this age have no control whatsoever.  They can do exactly that which we allow them to do and so I must ask - what limitations do you have?  If you do not feel strong enough to impose limits on him and fight the good fight a few  days each week, will you/can you do it full time?  I ask because you're right - sitting at a computer all day is no life.  And no little kid wants to go outside and play by themselves.  So you have to know that you will have to do these things - go outside, read aloud, engage, teach, inspire.    Did you school your olders when they were 1st/2nd grade?  My thoughts is that it would be far easier to school 2 than 1.

[wathe]

Diapers: duct tape the closures.  We also had success with a sleep-sack on backwards, (so dear baby could not reach the zipper) to prevent child accessing the diaper..

 

 

[Chris in VA]

Others have great input, so I'll just add---

 

I don't think you should homeschool your son this summer. (Wait--are you schooling year-round? That would change things a bit.)

I really believe kids need a time between finishing brick and mortar school and starting homeschooling. Take the summer off, regain some health, play, teach only that which a mom teaches (life skills for some independence, if needed; chore training; listening to Mom; reading aloud; etc.). I would actually encourage you to take the whole summer off and not do school with anyone, if you can. I don't consider playing games and reading aloud to be school, so yes, go ahead and continue board games, going places, reading time, etc but no formal curriculum. You need to take care of yourself!

 

Then, even though I don't think any child who has a healthy home environment truly needs preschool (coming from a preschool teacher), I would send your dd next year, and get your son up and running as a homeschooler. Bring her home the next year, and by that time you will have high school kids that are more independent, a "baby" who probably sleeps thru the night at that point, and a son who knows the routine and is used to it.

[OnMyOwn]

I don't know what I'd do, but there's no way I could juggle all of that. You sound like superwoman to me even with the first grader in school. My biggest concern would be about bringing your first grader home. Since children with asd need a lot of structure, will you be able to give him that? If it were my child, I'd have to evaluate how unhappy he truly is at school against how hard it may be to keep him active and engaged because there's no way I'd be okay with him in front if the computer all day at home. I'd definitely continue with preschool if I could afford it, because I think preschool is great and kids usually love it. Both my kids went and had so much fun even though neither of them has ever gone to public school. For me, the biggest struggle wouldn't be doing school with the younger ones since those ages shouldn't take more than a couple of hours a day. What would be hard for me is keeping up with the playdates and field trips and fun activities that I'd want them to have if they weren't in school.

[OnMyOwn]

Have you ever considered sending your older ones to school and homeschooling the younger ones? Then everyone could have a turn homeschooling. I have a 10th grader and an 8th grader this year and there are times I wish I'd have thought to encourage my older one to try school in 8th or 9th grade. It might have been better for him. Or not. I never gave it much thought because we'd always homeschooled and I didn't have any reason to change anything at the time.

[Janeway]

Others have great input, so I'll just add---

 

I don't think you should homeschool your son this summer. (Wait--are you schooling year-round? That would change things a bit.)

I really believe kids need a time between finishing brick and mortar school and starting homeschooling. Take the summer off, regain some health, play, teach only that which a mom teaches (life skills for some independence, if needed; chore training; listening to Mom; reading aloud; etc.). I would actually encourage you to take the whole summer off and not do school with anyone, if you can. I don't consider playing games and reading aloud to be school, so yes, go ahead and continue board games, going places, reading time, etc but no formal curriculum. You need to take care of yourself!

 

Then, even though I don't think any child who has a healthy home environment truly needs preschool (coming from a preschool teacher), I would send your dd next year, and get your son up and running as a homeschooler. Bring her home the next year, and by that time you will have high school kids that are more independent, a "baby" who probably sleeps thru the night at that point, and a son who knows the routine and is used to it.

We do school year round. The only thing I would do with him would likely be science. And I do not do workbooks for that. We would do astronomy or botany. So it would all be hands on and read from the book and stuff like that. However, I might work on handwriting regardless. The public school does not do handwriting it turns out.

[Janeway]

Have you ever considered sending your older ones to school and homeschooling the younger ones? Then everyone could have a turn homeschooling. I have a 10th grader and an 8th grader this year and there are times I wish I'd have thought to encourage my older one to try school in 8th or 9th grade. It might have been better for him. Or not. I never gave it much thought because we'd always homeschooled and I didn't have any reason to change anything at the time.

Yes, but that option has been ruled out. They don't want to go. And it would be very tricky with the oldest one anyway. He has already done some of the things, like algebra 1 and geometry and they would not accept home school credits. As a result, he would be expected to repeat it all. 

[wintermom]

Personally, I think I'd really struggle homeschooling with the age range of your dc, but that could simply be because I'm old and worn out from my own situation. ;) I thought things would get easier as my dc got older, and in many ways they have, but my oldest 2 dc are now doing so many more courses outside the home that are wonderful and amazing and eat up my days like crazy because of the driving. I can leave the younger 2 at home to do school work and music practice, but if I had younger ones they'd be in the car with me NOT doing schoolwork. I'm not sure what your older 2 dc are doing, and whether you spend most days at home, but these are things you may need to consider for the next few years.

Edited May 1, 2016 by wintermom

[Momto6inIN]

It meant that we all had to work together. 

 

You can do it. Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? A thousand times, yes!

 

Love this!

 

I don't have a baby, but I do have a 10th grader, an 8th grader, a 6th grader, a 2nd grader, and a 4 year old. It spreads me kind of thin some days, but it's so worth it and is such a blessing. Our family identity and unity has been strengthened like you wouldn't believe.