Has anyone been a relaxed homeschooler...

[HappyCrazyMama]

then changed paths and ramped it up for your younger kids?

 

When I started HSing my oldest two I was *very* relaxed, only had books for the three R's and everything else was pretty much delight directed until middle school / high school. My children have a big age gap and after hsing awhile I think my educational philosophy has shifted. I have been pretty relaxed this year for my dd K but I have had to work mornings and doing school in the afternoon has not worked out the best. Now that I get to quit in January and have been researching curriculums I really think I want ramp it up for my little ones, raise the bar and have a more rigous plan for their education. I have TWTM on the way! I am excited to read it!

 

Just wondering if anyone here had a similar journey.

 

Deanna

Wife to Rob

Mom to the fab five -

Alyshia 17, Randy 15, Miriam 6, Elizabeth 4, and Micheal 2

[Frontier Mom]

Yep, I have been exactly where you are.

 

When I started, I used FIAR and did almost everything hands-on. We did so much nature study and just read books!! I loved those days but, as we have progressed, I have become much more structured. Not really because of gaps in learning but because my older ones naturally progressed to a more structured type of learning.

 

Since my older ones became more structured, my younger ones just started out that way. They wanted to "do school" like the older ones and it just kinda happened. I did read TWTM and it helped me know where to go but I would say I still do "classical education lite."

 

I still enjoy the relaxed state of learning and try to allow it as much as possible. However, my dc's often just want to know what lesson to do next to finish for the day, IYKWIM. Then, they head outside and do relaxed learning without realizing it. In fact, one of my ds's, age 10, has learned to fix and run our leaf blower. A little small engine repair going on there initiating from his own initiative.

 

My other ds's have learned to set up websites and do other projects on the computer. However, please don't tell them they are learning or they might not find it so fun!

 

I would suggest you transition carefully or you can overload yourself. I do lots of things WTM ways but others are still informal. I think you have to find your own balance in there somewhere.

[hornblower]

Yes! I was an unschooler for quite a few years and the switched gears to the WTM. I've had to adapt a lot to make it work for my kids & their specific needs & issues, but we're definitely not unschooling any more.

[Jill- OK]

I believe in a more relaxed pace for youngers, and then we gradually ease into more 'rigor' in the later years.

 

Our high school plan looks the most WTM-like of any stage of our homeschooling.

 

I like doing things this way. I believe it fits, developmentally, and it allows for all of us to pace ourselves, so that no one's burned out, academically, by graduation.

[Ellie]

then changed paths and ramped it up for your younger kids?

 

When I started HSing my oldest two I was *very* relaxed, only had books for the three R's and everything else was pretty much delight directed until middle school / high school. My children have a big age gap and after hsing awhile I think my educational philosophy has shifted. I have been pretty relaxed this year for my dd K but I have had to work mornings and doing school in the afternoon has not worked out the best. Now that I get to quit in January and have been researching curriculums I really think I want ramp it up for my little ones, raise the bar and have a more rigous plan for their education. I have TWTM on the way! I am excited to read it!

 

Just wondering if anyone here had a similar journey.

 

"Raise the bar" for first grade?? Nope. Twelve-ish, yes; 6ish, no.

[Peela]

Actually in a way I have been the opposite. I started off very rigorous and after a few years I have changed my attitude, streamlined more, and relaxed! we still get a lot done, but I am no longer pushing so hard. We have had a pretty relaxed year...next year is looking like it will be more rigorous but no more time and hopefully no more stress.

 

I have just had a revelation in the last few days. I have headed toward CM and Ambleside because I wanted something different for my kids and it had always attracted me. I have next year all planned out using Ambleside for my foundation. Then a few nights ago I was looking up TWTM for something, and decided to just spend a few minutes perusing it, for the stage my kids are at now. What I found is that although there is focus on some different things (eg vocabulary and in depth logic program for logic stage) than Ambleside, the actual level of reading is lower than what I am having my kids do with Ambleside (actually, HEO year 7)...less books and less difficult books. So I took a big sigh of relief there and cut out some of our more heavygoing stuff from the reading list, and added in a good writing program (and a good logic program) and voila, a more balanced mix between Ambleside and WTM again. It was just interesting to me that I could read TWTM and feel that I was pushing my kids too hard by NOT folloing its recommendations and trying something else! TWTM feels quite age appropriate from my perspective right now...wheras in the past I always felt it was way too much!

Its interesting how my perspective changes as the years go past.

[Annie Laurie]

I unschooled for years, used to spend way too much time reading at Sandra Dodd's yahoo groups. Then I eased into a little more structure when my oldest started 7th grade, then last year started ramping it up, and now I'd say we are definitely CM/Classical homeschoolers. I didn't get formal with my younger set until this year, they are 2nd and 1st grades, and lo and behold, this fits our family so much better. We are all absolutely thriving on having structure to our day, on digging into meaty topics, on stretching ourselves a little. We started Christmas break this week, and already today, my little ds8 was asking when we are starting school again. He says he thinks he'll continue with his SL readers and his language arts and history pockets during his break. (His favs).

 

Having a period of focused learning in the morning and then lots of free time in the afternoon to focus on their particular interests more in depth has been a wonderful, freeing balance for us.

[swellmomma]

FOr my littles I unschool, once they hit elementary I moved from unschooling to relaxed schooling with particular attention to some courses, upper elementary(gr 4-5) is where I have decided to start ramping things up to be more rigorous. I find this is a great way for my family to do things and feel I will continue with things this way.

[Snickerdoodle]

I used to think that I wanted to be an unschooler. But reading the unschooling lists pretty much cured me of that. :lol:

 

That said, I am going light in the beginning and will ramp it up gradually over the course of the elementary years.

[HappyCrazyMama]

I am sure I won't be overly rigorous, just not in my blood. :) And I have never hesitated to toss something that was not working for my children. I am just thinking I would actually use a curriculum besides a math book. Perhaps "ramping it up" and " more rigorous" did not properly convey my thoughts, especially on this board. ;)

[KAR120C]

then changed paths and ramped it up for your younger kids?

It suited both DS and me to ramp it up a bit every year. Not to say I was pushy, just that we got more "orderly" as the years went on. We both work very efficiently that way, and there's still plenty of delight to go around.