How is school going?

[Pen]

If your dc have already started back to school whether homeschooling or not, or if you are about to, how is it going?

 

[scholastica]

School? What is this "school" of which you speak? 

I jest. We are getting started later than usual this year for various extended family and college children reasons and I'm feeling a tad under the gun. We are spending today putting the classroom in order and will start tomorrow. Everything is there, just not where it's supposed to be. At the beginning of August one of my dc asked "When are we starting school?" because that's when we normally start. "November at the rate we are going" was my response. It was just one of those summers and we shall begin presently.

[JIN MOUSA]

We sort of school year-round, though we did a lighter schedule over the summer and took off a few weeks in a row because of family visiting, VBS, etc. We've been getting back to our routine and slowly ramping up the amount of work over the last couple of weeks. 

I think it's been going well. I've worked on my expectations, realizing that the job of parenting and homeschooling at this point is just as much about character as it is about academics. 

A few minutes ago, DD had a major attitude breakdown/yelling explosion because I told her I was taking a break from helping her spell words (for her fun writing, nothing I had asked her to do). She just came bouncing down the stairs, as though nothing had happened.

So I guess the answer to, "How is school going?" might depend on who in my house you ask. LOL

[BakersDozen]

So far things are going very well! My littles are enjoying their work a lot (Wordly Wise is their favorite program this year). My middles are joining their older sister for some of their work which is nice. My olders are mostly self-sufficient and being challenged a lot with their classes. We're getting every subject done every day so fingers crossed that can continue.

[BarbecueMom]

We started at the beginning of August, and had one good week, then mostly took two weeks off (music, math, and reading only) while cousins were visiting before they started school, I had medical testing scheduled, and I was planning a girls retreat/winery trip for last weekend.

Got right back to it this morning.  Most of the morning work is done, but no one is melting down yet.  We're breaking for lunch, but are pretty much on track for the day.

We'll see how long this goes until I wish I was still unplugged in the woods, a stone's throw from a winery.

ETA:  And yes, I'm poking fun at the "kids make mommy drink!!" meme.  I don't even drink.  Being incommunicado for a weekend was quite nice, though.

Edited August 20, 2018 by BarbecueMom

[ScoutTN]

Well, so far! This is our third week of getting up and into the routine, our second week of real school. 

Dd still has a light load because two online classes, one of which is math,  don't start until after Labor Day. She seems to be enjoying most of her work, quickly getting used to some new routines and requirements. Her biggest challenge is organization! 

Ds is not generally a bookish or school-loving boy and has definitely hit preteen additude.  Last spring was awful. So far we are doing well together and he is making good progress in his work. He has outsourced, hands-on science this year, which is very fun. Reading Rethinking School was helpful in planning academics suited to him this year.

Our activities are starting gradually, a few each week. (We do have lots because that is just what my kids want and need right now. We may change up later this year. Lots of audiobooks and fun music for the drive time this year!)  Scouts and flag football are up and running. Piano starts this week. Wednesday night church is next week. Swimming is after Labor Day.  By the second full week of September, I'll be able to say what our schedule is really like and how we are managing! 

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2018 by ScoutTN

[MEmama]

DS starts his sophomore year at the local PS after Labor Day. He just told me he can't wait so he "can finally have real breakfast again"--currently he has XC practice at 8 am and eats lightly beforehand. Normally he eats a ton, and he's bored with his pre-run staples. Lol.

He's excited anyway--he loves school. Our high school is awesome. :)

[Tenaj]

We started this past Wednesday so two days in plus a light Friday.  I was so happy to get started.  One of my ds's turned 17 on Saturday so he choose Monday as his birthday day-off which is our tradition so I sat down last night to schedule out this week then I get the call that sent the train off the tracks for this week.  My dh's aunt is moving to our town or rather, has moved as the semi with all her earthly possessions arrived on Saturday.  We had been told that we didn't need to help because she had hired a moving company.  However, nobody thought through the process, that though the moving company very nicely packed up her old apartment and set up all the furniture at the new place,  that still leaves boxes and boxes to unpack.  Our dear aunt suffers from a problem with her shoulders that means she literally cannot lift anything higher than about elbow height.  So today I and two of my kids spent our "off" day unpacking.  Said aunt is also getting older so by about noon was exhausted so we stopped for the day and will return tomorrow morning and probably for the rest of the week which derails all my school plans for this week.  I could have the older ones working but the school year is still pretty new so no routines have been established and I know that things will get dropped or not quite done correctly without my supervision. 

So, probably no school or very little school this week after I just got them started and then we'll have to basically start all over again next week :)  Such is life.  I keep repeating to myself that people and relationships are much more important than getting school done this week but it is frustrating.   Every August is like this!  I should just not bother until after Labor Day.

[lavender's green]

We're starting B&M school tomorrow. The kids have gone haywire with excitement and end-of-summer craziness. We just got back from Open House. I liked the teacher personally (she was not the exhausted, ready-to-retire teacher I met on our tour in the spring; this new lady was teaching a different grade then), but then I turned around and read the announcement on the projector screen which had basic errors like "please place your bag's..." SMH. 

[AK_Mom4]

Day One Senior Year:  DD17 posted a pic to her facebook page of her dressed in pajamas holding her corn snake.  Labelled it First Day of School so all her friends could be jealous.

I'm travelling this week, so she is getting her school work done on her own and taking herself to class. Thursday she is flying with her brother to meet me at Disneyland for a couple of days.  

Life as a homeschooled senior is tough.

[JennyD]

I think it is going well but I am EXHAUSTED.  And it has only been 6 days!

I planned a challenging 8th grade year for DS13 and so far it seems manageable, but he has not yet started some outside classes that will add another layer of complexity to our daily schedule.  DS10 and DS8 are up and running with everything and I think they will have a good routine.  All three are running cross-country right now and doing lots of music.  

But why am I so tired?!  We've been homeschooling since the beginning, so it's not like I'm new at this.  And I don't have any high schoolers or toddlers.  But I feel like we've sort of stepped things up this year, and it's just taking a lot out of me.  Or possibly I am anxious about it all, and that's making me tired?  I don't know.  

Edited August 21, 2018 by JennyD

[ScoutTN]

2 hours ago, JennyD said:

I think it is going well but I am EXHAUSTED.  And it has only been 6 days!

I planned a challenging 8th grade year for DS13 and so far it seems manageable, but he has not yet started some outside classes that will add another layer of complexity to our daily schedule.  DS10 and DS8 are up and running with everything and I think they will have a good routine.  All three are running cross-country right now and doing lots of music.  

But why am I so tired?!  We've been homeschooling since the beginning, so it's not like I'm new at this.  And I don't have any high schoolers or toddlers.  But I feel like we've sort of stepped things up this year, and it's just taking a lot out of me.  Or possibly I am anxious about it all, and that's making me tired?  I don't know.  

((JennyD))

[Cecropia]

We have started week 4.  I'm really amazed at how my 9th grader is handling the long days/heavy workload. He is being such a trooper; I just want to squeeze him all of the time!  Some of his test grades are coming out lower than we expected, but he is getting an A for effort for sure.  My 6th grader is much more on task now that he's working in a separate room from his brother.  I'm feeling optimistic that this year will be better than the last one.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Cecropia
too tired to spell

[sangtarah]

??

I keep trying to slip in a subject ot two, but our days are full of appointments and errands and school just isn’t ready yet. After Labor Day officially, we will begin. I’ve signed up for too many things that start in Sep and I’ll have to evaluate that, but by October I should know what to drop, or if everything is going swimmingly. 

[SKL]

B&M school here starts this Wednesday.

My girls are excited to see their friends, but a bit nervous about the workload.

With 1 more day to prepare, I am in the process of accepting what didn't get done over the summer (I do this every August, LOL).  I still hope to do a wee bit of prep on Tuesday.

I have boxes of school supplies and clothes that still need to be given homes / packed for school.  I am still working on the online registration forms.

I think mentally they are primed, due to the busyness of summer.  They've had their sports physicals, 7th grade shots, and dental, vision, and hair appointments.  They've finished summer tutoring and vision therapy.  They have lots of experiences to talk about.

So ... here goes nuthin ....

[Megs]

I started yesterday with my 3rd and 1st graders. We had a doctor's appointment in the morning, and we all three have bronchitis - plus my 3rd grader has an ear infection! We came back home and finished school. Other than losing my voice, it went well. I'm very discouraged with my 1st graders handwriting and really wanting to work with him more on it. We love Saxon math so far! 

[Melissa in Australia]

school year here in Aus starts end of January, so we are just over half way through.

 things are going really great. Very slow and steady. but we keep plodding away

 Ds14 who really struggles ( profound Dyslexia)  is doing IEW.thanks to the people on this board who convinced me to try IEW) He has in the last few days started writing in code then emailing it to me. I have to copy and paste it into word to uncode it. And he is writing PARAGRAPHS. I am so excited. This is a new development. We have been doing outlining and outlining all year, and now he has started writing paragraphs. And they are funny. I don't know how he can type in code and get it all written in a logical order with hardly any spelling mistakes,  but for some strange reason he can get better results than when he can read as he types. 

All other subjects are slow and steady - we have switched back to Apologia biology ( which I hate) and are supplementing it with the Amoeba Sisters youtube clips.

 

Twins are making very slow progress. 

twin 2 is having such huge trouble remembering his letters and numbers I have added in more and more programs, ideas, activities and games. They are now doing 15 different workbooks/activities in their 3 hours of morning activities. most of it is review etc to try and find something that will help him. Strangely he can read simple books but cannot recognise more than 5 letters. He can do his math with extensive scaffolding but can only remember what the number 1 and 2 look like. He understands letters and numbers, can use them ie - count, add , sound out words, rhyme, etc but the abstract concept of this letter has this sound or this number represents this amount is something he is not getting. I have no idea how he can read simple books but not know his letters - he can sound out some words, but only if they are positioned in a sentence. If they are single words in isolation he is lost.

Twin one is trying really hard and very proud of his achievements. 

We are still trying to learn letter formation, are no way near writing words yet, and copywork is unreadable but they think they are doing great .  That is the beauty of homeschooling them they can feel pleased with their achievements without having to compare them with others of a similar age and find out how far behind they are.

It looks that they will achieve one year growth this school year. Which is very exciting. Homeschooling is not such a popular thing in Australia, but the Pediatrician told me in an team meeting the other day that there is no way that the twins would be able to function in a classroom and homeschooling them is really the only option. which was very nice of him to say.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Melissa in Australia

[JustEm]

Terribly! I have a fourth graders and third grader this year. At least one of them cries or talks meanly to me during something every day. And we literally do 2 hours of work a day max. I'm actually in tears right now because both gave me a hard time today. I can't keep this up for much longer.

[....]

3 hours ago, Megs said:

We love Saxon math so far! 

 

I have two that really like Saxon math!

We started our school year in April??  But, we had to take the month of July off, because dd16 has been having sleeping problems all summer.  Our neighbors are out partying all night and it really messed up her sleep.  All of their activities/classes started in August, though.  And I feel very overwhelmed.  I know it always takes a few weeks to adjust to a new schedule.  The biggest culprit is football.  Practice every day for 2.5 hours + a game every Friday night is rough on the parents.  I'll be relieved when football season is over.  My kids are really good about packing school into their backpacks and doing their reading at the park, etc while we wait for activities to end.  DD13 is taking a theater class and she absolutely does NOT like it.  I'm trying to talk her into dropping it.  There is absolutely no reason to take that class if you don't enjoy it.  The enrichment center offers creative writing and she loves to write, so I'm trying to talk her into taking that instead.  

[Pen]

@Melissa in Australia

I wonder if twin who cannot recognize most letters has another form of dyslexia?

Unless he can “read” due to having memorized the books. Otherwise what you are describing sounds like it could be a dyslexia situation possibly. 

[....]

1 minute ago, hjffkj said:

Terribly! I have a fourth graders and third grader this year. At least one of them cries or talks meanly to me during something every day. And we literally do 2 hours of work a day max. I'm actually in tears right now because both gave me a hard time today. I can't keep this up for much longer.

 

Hmmm...  What's going on?  Do you need to start a thread on the General Board?  Are you guys new homeschoolers?  What do you do for school?  That kind of behavior will burn you out very quickly!  

This sounds mean, but when my son (ds15) was about 6-7-8, he had a huge attitude (to put it nicely).  One day, we played at the park, I bought them all ice cream cones and we drove slowly past our elementary school.  Guess where you're going?!  He was apologizing all the way home.  Our very first day of homeschooling, he sat at the dinner table and I asked him to write something on paper.  A word...anything.  He screamed, threw his pencil down, jumped up and ran into the wall, ran down the hallway and into his bedroom and slammed the door, crying.  What JUST happened?????  I thought, if this is what homeschooling is like, we're in trouble!!    

He's actually a great student, now.  In one of his outside classes, the teacher was using his writing as an example for the rest of the class (which dd16 thought was hilarious, because he used to cry when he had to write something).  He also sat and memorized 8 type-written pages for a presentation in another class, which was pretty incredible.  There is no way I could do that.  He always finishes school before dd16, because he is more focused (they are mostly combined for high school).  Anyway, my point is, they change a lot over the years.                

[Sneezyone]

This is our first week without distractions (we hosted two little boys for three weeks) but it seems to be going ok. I’m not convinced that what I’ve got for DS’s writing is going to do the job so I may revert back to homegrown writing assignments. His stamina is just not where I’d like it to be. I have to spend all day at his elbow to keep him on task too. The way he can daydream/zone out in 5 seconds flat is both impressive and irritating. 

DDs homegrown ELA class is going swimmingly. I’m soooo happy we did the thematic studies. She loves the subject matter and seems to enjoy our afternoon conferences. I can’t say enough good things about Derek Owens for Algebra and the way it gives her some autonomy/choice in pacing too. I haven’t had to do any nagging at all. WOO HOO!

[lynn]

Rough start but she found her tribe for lunch table, afternoon break, and to walk the track during pe.  Oh and has a friend who rides the same bus home and they save each other a seat.  

[Rachel]

We don’t technically start until after Labor Day, the last of my books should arrive tomorrow. However, we will probably start doing some light schooling next week as my kids are craving structure. 

For the first summer in 5 years we have actually consistently done some school most days up until we took a trip at the end of July/early August. Activities have been starting and the state fair is this week so it has been hard to get into a consistent routine. 

[Mbelle]

My oldest is a freshman at college!  She texted that so far her classes are great.  We miss her.

DS1 and DS2 attend a hybrid school on Tuesdays for humanities subjects.  Today was the first day and they had assignments leading up to today.  It's a great place!  DS1 is 11th and DS2 is 1st.  Big age gap, but it's great to have a big brother to lead the way.  DS1 is going to another place for math/science, but it doesn't start till after labor day.  DS2 is doing math at home and whatever science we feel like.  He'll eventually go to the Thursday math/science at the hybrid school.  DS2 always gets sooo tired from writing! It's pretty cute and funny.

I was nervous about ds2 being ok because he's a very anxious kid.  I just decided to drop him off at carpool with big brother instead of walking in and I guess it's going well, because I'm drinking coffee and hanging out in the HIVE!

[JustEm]

27 minutes ago, Evanthe said:

 

Hmmm...  What's going on?  Do you need to start a thread on the General Board?  Are you guys new homeschoolers?  What do you do for school?  That kind of behavior will burn you out very quickly!  

This sounds mean, but when my son (ds15) was about 6-7-8, he had a huge attitude (to put it nicely).  One day, we played at the park, I bought them all ice cream cones and we drove slowly past our elementary school.  Guess where you're going?!  He was apologizing all the way home.  Our very first day of homeschooling, he sat at the dinner table and I asked him to write something on paper.  A word...anything.  He screamed, threw his pencil down, jumped up and ran into the wall, ran down the hallway and into his bedroom and slammed the door, crying.  What JUST happened?????  I thought, if this is what homeschooling is like, we're in trouble!!    

He's actually a great student, now.  In one of his outside classes, the teacher was using his writing as an example for the rest of the class (which dd16 thought was hilarious, because he used to cry when he had to write something).  He also sat and memorized 8 type-written pages for a presentation in another class, which was pretty incredible.  There is no way I could do that.  He always finishes school before dd16, because he is more focused (they are mostly combined for high school).  Anyway, my point is, they change a lot over the years.                

 

Well dd, 3rd grade, is a perfectionist and is under the impression that if she doesn't understand something immediately she's and idiot. She will start crying if she read(or I read to her) the instructions for a math problem and she doesn't understand what they're looking for right away. She is not working on stuff too hard or too easy, she just doesn't understand that she isn't expected to know everything all the time.

Then there is ds, 4th grade,  he is just stubborn.  If he doesn't want to do something or if he thinks he is right, there is no convincing him otherwise.  This turns into tears when he has to do anything if he doesn't want to, which is almost ALWAYS! If he does sit down and happily do the work, you better hope he got it all right or else your in for a battle with the kid who knows everything.  He knows that he's wrong, he just won't admit it.  And sadly, correcting the problem is admitting it.

They are really great kids otherwise.  It isn't like they speak to me meanly any other time on a regular basis. We certainly need to find a way to get over this.

[Pink and Green Mom]

We have only started four of our classes (co-op and FLVS), the other four start after Labor Day (WTMA and an AP class through PA Homeschoolers).  We are in week 2 or 3, but the FLVS stuff is driving me batty.  It is taking DS FOREVER to complete each biology lesson because after each sentence he wants to discuss something with me.  I guess I should  be glad he is curious/making those connections but the dude needs to speed it up.  Spanish is driving me insane because there are about 20 vocab words per day and DS does not like making all those flashcards/having to learn all those words. 

My older son is a junior in private school, and this year may be the death of me.  For his 9th and 10th grade years all homework was posted online so I at least knew (and could keep him honest) about his work.  They did away with it this year so we are flying blind.  He still needs this structure so I'm a bit worried about how this will shake out.

[Mbelle]

Picked up the boys from their school day.  Little guy did great, but I can tell his brain is about to explode.

Older ds only has 2 people in his AP English.  DD took this class last year with only 5 or 6 but 3 of them were chatty girls.   However this is 2 boys.  I sure wish a few more people would sign up.  On the upside, she is a good teacher and DD got a 4 on her exam. There are 20 kids in his history class though.  It's not AP though.

It's very quiet in this house without a daughter to tell me all the ins and outs of the school day.

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, WendyAndMilo said:

DS was exactly like this.  I had to start prefacing EVERY lesson in EVERY subject with something like:

"This is new. This is something you do not know and we are going to learn about it together.  Now, this is how we are going to approach learning about xyz.  First, we are going to read the instructions.  We'll read them a few times and if you still don't understand - which is totally normal - we'll figure out a different way to understand them....Now you are going to have three problems.  These are brand new problems, covering the topic we just read about.  If you use the method we just went over, you'll be able to do them.  We will do the first one together."

Etc.  He finally got over it about a year later, around 4th grade.

Thank you for this. I will try this out

[RootAnn]

Except for the high school senior who is outsourced, we are doing one subject per kid per day (plus a couple of outsourced classes that started already for dd#3/ds#1). So, yesterday, the four youngest (10th, 7th, 5th, 3rd) each had math with me. It went okay.

Today, two had math, one read to me, and another one started her informal logic class. One cried during math. The other three cried because of me at some other point in the day. And, I also made the high school senior upset enough to cry tears of rage & frustration. So, 100% on crying kids on Day 2 of the Easy Schedule (obviously not all school related). The cat was also not happy with me as I took him to get his rabies booster shot.

Most of the kids had forgiven me by bedtime for whatever my various infractions were. I still don't know why dd#3 cried. I got everyone else figured out. 

Tomorrow is a new day. LIkely there will be at least one or two kids who will cry tomorrow. Two of them start tumbling classes for the first time. I really, really, really hope it goes well. I'm the most nervous about class not starting until 8 p.m. when one of my kids is usually already in bed. She's going to be a bear on Thursday morning due to the late night...

[Melissa in Australia]

14 hours ago, Pen said:

@Melissa in Australia

I wonder if twin who cannot recognize most letters has another form of dyslexia?

Unless he can “read” due to having memorized the books. Otherwise what you are describing sounds like it could be a dyslexia situation possibly. 

Hmm. possibly but it is different to the type of dyslexia that I am familiar with. He also has real trouble remembering the names of colours, though he can use colours, match colours identify colours but not mane the.

I would really like to know how to help him with this. He appears to be sounding out some of the words he reads. I don't think he is memorising the whole book, and just in case he is I am doing 3 different reading programs simultaneously so that the same words are used across different texts.

He  and his twin brother are having extensive testing happening at the moment. so far  an ID, possibly ADD without the H,  a severe language impairment, possibly Aspergers ( brother possibly autism) and the pediatrician thinks the umbrella over the whole thing may be FASD- but unless the birth mother states she drank than there is no test that can confirm this.

[Pen]

4 hours ago, Melissa in Australia said:

 

possibly but it is different to the type of dyslexia that I am familiar with. He also has real

 

 

Rapid Naming Dyslexia?

also sounds a bit like some forms of dyslexia that later look like stealth dyslexia. 

 

[Soror]

I started hs'ing the girls at the beginning of July, we got 4.5 weeks done before we decided to put them in and things went crazy. So, dd2 and 3 are starting back where we left off now that they are back home. Dd3 is in K so we just do the next thing, her reading is coming along fabulously, she's been my easiest and quickest so far. Dd2 was(is) enjoying her work just fine. They are doing content subjects and electives together. This year they are studying Medieval History using SoTW2 but I've been thinking of buying Torchlight 2 when it comes out as a supplement. Her levels have been cheap enough I can pick and choose without any guilt!

Ds and Dd1 just started PS last Thursday. So far so good I guess. Ds' schedule got changed but it was for the better, he now has lunch and PE with different friends from Scouts. He is in all Honors Classes for his Core, I'm so nervous for him, he is bright but has his weak spots- I'll be holding my breath until I see his grades. Dd1 is in class with her BFF and has found friends to sit with on the bus. I don't think she is crazy about most of the school work but they are just getting started. She did say she was confused by some things but she did figure it out. 

Edited August 22, 2018 by soror