Staying the course with younger siblings?

[JudoMom]

For those of you who have graduated 1 or more and still have younger children at home, how do you stay motivated?

I still firmly believe that having my boys home is the right thing for our family.  My goal has been to raise thinking thinkers who think, and I think I'm doing okay with that broad goal.  The problem comes in when I look back and realize how much time I wasted on things that I thought were achieving that goal, but in reality, they probably just ate up time and/or padded my homeschooling mom ego.  I've also realized how little control I actually have over these other human beings that live here.

I'm kind of looking ahead to the fall with my younger three (oldest will be completely at CC in the fall, second born will only be doing Old Western Culture at home, the rest at CC), and I'm just not inspired/motivated.  I really just want to chuck it all and watch them play in the backyard for the year.  But as lovely as that sounds, I also know it's not going to help us achieve our goals (thinking thinkers who think and who are college ready).  There's something angsty going on inside of me when I think about next year, but I can't let that impact their education.  I need to find a happy medium between what I did and doing nothing, I suppose.

So, if you've BTDT, how did you stay the course with purpose?  Maybe this makes no sense, but I figured it was worth a shot.  This was a lot easier when I knew it all when we first started :P.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I feel your struggle.  It is tough. I have a ten year gap between oldest and youngest.  I find that I am way more laid back with my youngest.  I was so stressed about gaps, etc with my older ones.  I felt this weight of responsibility that if I was going to do this homeschool thing, I wasn't going to simultaneously handicap them in the process.  I can't figure out if I am just more relaxed because I have been through it and I know what is important or if I am getting slack  :confused1:

[SkateLeft]

Like Attolia, I have ten years between the youngest and oldest. However, I know I'm slacking. :D

 

It's a challenge. My older two are away at college and won't be home this summer at all. Number 3 was just accepted into the dual enrollment program full-time at the CC next year. I'm down to working with my youngest, and he has some severe special needs, which makes it even harder to motivate to keep going. I bought 5th grade Calvert for him to use this year, just to make sure that I'm not letting things slide too much. I still tweak it a bit, but it's nice for both of us to have the structure.

 

I know it's just a different season of life, but it's tough.

[wintermom]

Maybe you'll have a different feeling about things after a summer break.  I'm finding that the opportunities to do some exciting experiential learning as my dc get older really multiply. The struggle is to get enough time at home to get in our basic academic subjects. :laugh:  

[Hilltopmom]

Im probably no help, but I'm actually NOT planning on homeschooling my littles. Big age gap (14 years between oldest & youngest) & I just dont want to do the whole homeschooling little kids thing again, truthfully. Finding friends, arranging field trips, setting up co ops, choosing curricula... Just no.

 

I will finish up with my 14 year old, or at least another year or two, she'll attend our local vo tech when shes old enough.

 

If things dont work in ps, I know I can always pull the littles & homeschool but at this point (ok, theyre only 2 &3), I hope not to.

 

For yours still at home- maybe shake things up (dystopian lit unit study?, etc), get tickets for a bunch of theater productions in the fall or join one, robotics club, a new outside class or sport, volunteering, I dunno- fun stuff. Good luck

Edited April 11, 2017 by Hilltopmom

[LisaKinVA]

My oldest will be a senior next year. My youngest enters 3rd grade. I do plan on staying the course, but no child's journey has been identical. I'm looking forward to having more time with the youngest two next year as well!

[madteaparty]

I'd love to, but DD loves school....

[Liza Q]

 Part of what has kept me going is knowing that my last one deserves as good a shot as my older ones. Yeah, it's hard.

 

ITA

 

[lllll]

nm

Edited April 13, 2017 by _ -_-

[8filltheheart]

What I turn to is them. I get them excited and involved in designing courses for themselves, and I let our mutual joy in finding materials they want to study and work through energize all of us.

[LinRTX]

Next year is my last year of homeschooling. I have a 14 year gap better youngest and oldest, so I have been schooling so I have been at this for 27 years now. My youngest is actually my easiest, but I realized that I could not force them to learn. I want to give them the tools and the love of learning. I see my job as one of encourager and mentor. I am here to discuss and tutor. There are some basic criteria, but some subjects we go in depth and some are just get it done.

 

I want children who can do math well and write a logical paper. We focus on logic, math, and composition mainly. All other subjects are means to these goals. 

[wintermom]

For those of you who have graduated 1 or more and still have younger children at home, how do you stay motivated?

 

I still firmly believe that having my boys home is the right thing for our family.  My goal has been to raise thinking thinkers who think, and I think I'm doing okay with that broad goal.  The problem comes in when I look back and realize how much time I wasted on things that I thought were achieving that goal, but in reality, they probably just ate up time and/or padded my homeschooling mom ego.  I've also realized how little control I actually have over these other human beings that live here.

 

I'm kind of looking ahead to the fall with my younger three (oldest will be completely at CC in the fall, second born will only be doing Old Western Culture at home, the rest at CC), and I'm just not inspired/motivated.  I really just want to chuck it all and watch them play in the backyard for the year.  But as lovely as that sounds, I also know it's not going to help us achieve our goals (thinking thinkers who think and who are college ready).  There's something angsty going on inside of me when I think about next year, but I can't let that impact their education.  I need to find a happy medium between what I did and doing nothing, I suppose.

 

So, if you've BTDT, how did you stay the course with purpose?  Maybe this makes no sense, but I figured it was worth a shot.  This was a lot easier when I knew it all when we first started :p.

 

If your goal for the past decade has been developing "thinkers that think," maybe you and the dc do need a year to be "do-ers that do things."   You may have a child or 2 who would really benefit from a more hands-on, experiential style of homeschool. You never know until to try different things.

[GoodGrief]

I've got two in college, and a seventh grader. I would love to continue to homeschool my youngest, but she wanted to try public school, and has happily continued there since 5th grade :-)

 

That said, my observation of homeschoolers through the  last eighteen years or so, is that those who stick it out long haul, be it with one or multiple kids through high school, tend to be the ones who keep it simple. When I see someone with an elaborate rigid schedule or grading scheme, loves unit studies (complicated prep) or relies heavily on co-ops (complicated networking with other families),  I find they are generally not doing homeschooling long term. They get weary! Not everyone, of course. Perfectionism is the enemy of longevity in homeschool, from what I can tell. :-)

 

(Spoken as the person who used to keep a list of every darn read-aloud, in case the homeschool police wanted to see my records.)

[MerryAtHope]

First, I think there's actually a lot of value in watching them play in the back yard. Give yourself the freedom to do some of that too :-).

 

I'm finishing up with my youngest, and there were some hard times when I was less motivated these last two years--but part of what kept me going was thinking about how I could have special one-on-one time with her. In other words, instead of focusing on how things felt so different and mainly focusing on the "loss" of that previous dynamic, to instead embrace the change and focus on what could be great about it. The younger isn't in the older one's shadow and has a chance to shine. The younger has different interests and tailoring some things to those interests. Occasionally adding in some different books for us to read and discuss together, rather than trying to do things the same--something new for mom to look forward to and enjoy as well. Looking for ways to treasure these last years together. 

 

It's near the end of the school year right now, so you may also be tired from the year--give yourself room for a break and then consider a few small tweaks or changes that could help you enjoy the new, changing dynamic as you coach these younger ones and watch them grow.

[FriedClams]

I'd suggest traveling a bit. It's not slacking, but it's not the grind. If you can plan something in another country, great. If not, maybe a good camping road trip and some national parks and history thrown in. I find it easier to grind (and honestly, high school does have more of that) when there's a good reward mid semester.