Just going to "call it a year."

[Ting Tang]

My two younger children are "done" with the formal school year.  They finished their curriculums.

My second oldest has a few math lessons left in Dimensions 4B, but he still is struggling and keeps saying he is "bad at this."  He got an 89% on his final states and capitals quiz and should have done better, based on his grades throughout the year.

My oldest still has an entire light unit left from his CLE math, and I do not intend to use it again last year. He never finished his World Geography workbook, and he bombed his states and capitals test, also despite doing well on the regions quizzes throughout the year.  They've had some distractions since the littles have been done and Dad has taken time off for them to go fishing and whatnot.

They are just struggling to push through, but moreover, so am I.  

So I think I am just going to call it a year. I don't have a concrete plan for next year.  If there are any "gaps" from the end of the school year in math, I suppose I can address them next year.  At least for recordkeeping purposes, they finished math with this year's grade levels last year when they did Master Books math.

Yeah, I think I am done.  I am not going to pull out end of the year stuff for the beginning of next year.  Nope.  Done.  🙃

Have you ever just been "done?"

Edited May 17, 2023 by Ting Tang

[caffeineandbooks]

Last year, the kids were fine but I was "done" (burned out) by spring break, and we just... never went back.  They had a solid three months off to play and get bored, except that I tried to keep 5 minutes a day of phonics going for the youngest, and we did things that I find refreshing: spent time with families we all enjoy, went to the beach or for walks in a nature reserve... Sometimes I just binged Netflix 🤫  We started back early this year, but it was because we were ready to, not because we were trying to make up time or something.

I've made a few tweaks this year.  Realising the value of enthusiasm for something new, I'm planning school by months instead of semesters or terms.  Doing fewer things at a time but finishing them more quickly works better here than reading a page a day from 10 different books.  I've been careful to plan more short breaks - some where we go away for a few days but some where we just cancel regular school and do whatever takes our fancy.  And I'm making sure to spend time with other homeschoolers who are real about their lives.  You know, not the ones who are insecure and pretend that everything in their life is picture perfect, but the ones who let you see that they too struggle with this and that, and you can learn from and encourage one another.

I also got a routine blood test last year as part of checking there wasn't some medical cause for my exhaustion, and was surprised to discover my vitamin D was way low.  It turns out fatigue and low mood can both be symptoms, and taking a daily supplement has made a huge difference to me.

I'm glad you're giving yourself permission to stop and rest!  You've worked hard this year, and I do think there's a kind of cumulative exhaustion from living through all the Covid craziness the past few years as well.  Hopefully some good self-care routines will help you feel back to normal soon, and then you can think about what comes next from a place of strength and excitement once again ❤️

[Lori D.]

Yea! Congrats on being done with the 2022-2023 school year! 😄

It is absolutely fine to just call it done. NO reason to keep forcing everyone on a death march to finish a workbook or program, if it's just going to make everyone miserable and engender a hatred of learning. 😉

And, that's why public school textbooks are structured the way they are: the first 20% of the text is a LOT of review from the previous year; then the middle 60% is the new content meant for that grade level. The final 20% of the text is actually topics/material that is "working ahead" to be part of that 60% for the NEXT year.

So if you don't finish, NO worries. You just circle around again at a later time and fill that gap. And possibly use different resources that might be of more interest or a better fit. 😉 You have LOTS of time ahead of you still. 😄 

[ScoutTN]

Hooray for summer vacation!! 😎⭐️🎈🎉🌸🌼☀️🎂🥂⚾️🎈🎉☀️😎🎈⭐️

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I’m SOOOO tempted to do this. But we really are down to the last few pages of things. We’re on lessons 30 and 31 in MUS, halfway through the last chapter of science, writing the last paper, three and five days of history….I don’t think I can bring myself to stop now. We’ll push through and be done by the end of next week. Except DD2 who still has 5 MUS lessons to go. 
 

Next year I’m planning differently. I NEED a plan, but I’m going to try to aim for a certain amount of time per subject, per day, for a set number of days and not worry about finishing the books. Just need to come up with a system for making sure that happens. It’s too easy around here to not get stuff done. 

[BusyMom5]

Yes, and for my family we need to finish up by May 1 bc my kids don't want to do school when its beautiful outside!  April gets a bit hit or miss, too.  We start back in July, when its hot and no one wants to go outside :)  I figure that this is one reason I homeschool,  to give my kids more time to play outside and enjoy the good weather!  

Now, regarding older kids vs younger kids- my littles usually finish a math curriculum by February, so I have a second curriculum that we use as review or to work on units I think they need more time with.  The older kids tend to need more time, and they still don't finish it all.  I get close, but I don't finish it.  Science and History are done as a family, so they all finish when I say we are finished.  LA, I usually just keep them working on something until they have all finished what I think needs finished.  

[Ting Tang]

Thank you all!  @2ndGenHomeschooler  this is why I feel I need to minimize purchased/laid out curriculum so that I don't feel "married" to something I spent a lot of money on...  I'll need to get the youngest mostly concrete curriculum because he needs to continue learning to read and develop his handwriting.  Math, too, for everyone.  

[mom2scouts]

We are so close to being DONE, but I would like to finish the last chapter in chemistry, we have two art lessons left, and there's one short reading for literature. We're going to try to hang on and finish those things by the end of next week. I have a college bound high school student though. We did the chemistry test orally today and, although she seems to understand the concepts, she made so many errors that I was considering whether I need to lower her overall grade. Then I thought about how our local public school never finishes the textbook, gives tons of credit for homework, and curves grades and I don't want to put her at a disadvantage when she's done ALL the labs, will read the entire book, has done ALL the problems, shows a good basic understanding, and then just makes tons of little errors on the tests. The fact that I'm overthinking everything means we definitely need to be done by next Friday!

[Dianthus]

I don't ever remember finishing my math book in brick and mortar school as a kid. I do finish out our books because I'm type A. Dd has 10 more math lessons and we will keep on until done. Ds has about 8 lessons (weeks!) left in IEW. They have both just neglected their least favorite subjects and I refuse to reward them by dropping it. And I think the content is important. We will just push into the summer. Anyway, I try to keep them doing something in the summers so we have a little structure. But I try to make it more fun.

We will make the first month a break, basically the catch up, and also read The Sentence Family, LOTS of art, read alouds, and geography. And work on things like math facts flashcards and oral combinations. Maybe geometry.

Then we'll get back into an early start for next year so we can be ahead and not worry about taking or needing breaks.

Year round schooling makes things easier for me.

[Green Bean]

Just call it and then destroy, donate, or sell all that curriculum you aren't going to use. Make a bonfire and make s'mores over the glowing coals, let the kids help rip it all up and toss it into the recycling bin and clean those shelves. It's therapeutic to watch it all go away and start fresh next fall.

Have a fun summer!

[Ting Tang]

1 hour ago, Green Bean said:

Just call it and then destroy, donate, or sell all that curriculum you aren't going to use. Make a bonfire and make s'mores over the glowing coals, let the kids help rip it all up and toss it into the recycling bin and clean those shelves. It's therapeutic to watch it all go away and start fresh next fall.

Have a fun summer!

It’s still on the shelf. So tempting! I just wish I knew what to do next fall. 

[Green Bean]

The Green Bean's Advice: (which should always be ignored for whatever LoriD says)

Get rid of it all. You will feel better not seeing it staring at you and taunting you. From your many posts this year here and on the MP forum, I get the feeling you are seriously overwhelmed with too many options for curriculum and educational philosophies. I been there. It's tough to see through the dark forest. Sometimes climbing a tree, getting your bearings (ala Bilbo and the Dwarves in Mirkwood) and re-evaluating is the best way forward.

Option A: Back to Basics

Math:

Look into Teaching Textbooks. It is hands-off for you and great teaching for the kids. Have the kids take a couple placement tests and start where they place. You can't keep trying to move forward on a faulty foundation.

https://www.teachingtextbooks.com/

 

Language Arts Skills:

Hake Writing & Grammar is a great choice for everyone 3rd grade and over on your list. This is the main site with lovely full samples, but you order from Rainbow Resource Center. Hake has a link.

http://www.hakepublishing.com/

Hake not doing it for you? The materials from JacKris Publishing are a good choice, too. You might even like their spelling program. Nice, clean pages and an easy daily layout. Not daily death to get through.

https://jackrispublishing.com/

 

All That Other Stuff:

Pick a book, read it aloud, and talk about it with your older ones together. It can be from novels, history, science, books you loved as a child, whatever. Just read and chat over lunch. MP has great book choices so I would say start there. Don't use the guides!

 

If keeping it simple for a while does not appeal, how about Option B?

Use BJU online grade kits for each kid. They get videos with all the teaching and great content. You just supervise. Order from a Homeworks Consultant to save money. pm me and I can send you my gal's contact info and chat more about it, if you want to check this out as a possible option. [I've used pretty much all their stuff K-9 now, so can speak somewhat intelligently about it. :)]

https://www.bjupresshomeschool.com/

 

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Green Bean

[Nm.]

I’m right there ready to dump it all too.  Except for my math/LA.  I thought buying multiple things would help me choose 🤨

[Green Bean]

On 6/2/2023 at 10:22 PM, Nm. said:

I’m right there ready to dump it all too.  Except for my math/LA.  I thought buying multiple things would help me choose 🤨

That would be a no. BTDT!

Edited June 8, 2023 by Green Bean