Which has been your most difficult year of homeschooling?

[Heather in Neverland]

I have been homeschooling k-5th grade. So far, 2nd grade was the hardest year (ds had real attitude problems that year). I obviously still have many years of this ahead of me so I thought I would do a little poll to see what I might expect! :D

 

ETA: I was limited in the number of choices so I lumped high school together. Please feel free to be more specific in your response if you'd like.

Edited December 22, 2008 by Heather in NC

[Tarheel Heather]

This year- 6th grade. I can see the emergence of hormones and tweeness.

[WTMCassandra]

I found the combination of teaching the nuts of bolts of reading AND handwriting to be nerve-wracking, not to mention working on having them obey me during school time like they had to obey me at other times. Several times I had to send them to the principal's office (DH) and/or leave the house right after he was finished with work to decompress.

 

School goes much smoother these days!

[Karen in CO]

That is the year when I had the budding adult, the towering teenager, the math I didn't understand, endless hours of literature that rhymed and that I didn't always understand, the science that made my head hurt, long essays that were better than I could write that I was supposed to evaluate, college applications, college visits, financial aid, girl friends, jobs, volunteer hours to account for, the deep fear that this was all a big mistake, and the realization that my baby really was leaving me.

[CAMom]

Definitely high school! I really feel the pressure now.

 

I have a full time job of searching college options, talking about what tests to take, creating course descriptions and transcripts, etc. I feel like it really counts now and I'm responsible for keeping all of his options open.

[Jean in Newcastle]

My oldest is only in 6th grade so my answer is going to reflect that. My most difficult year to teach was 1st grade for the younger child simply because she needed me for every subject still but I also needed to help her older brother.

[Tap]

I didn't answer because it isn't anything to do with the material that makes this year the hardest, but the fact that I am trying to hs with a 2yo in the house too. :smash::banghead:

[Heather in Neverland]

All those votes for the middle and high school years are making me a little queasy. :ack2:

[dtsmamtj]

For me it has been 7th grade for getting those hormones and the attitude in check. So far it has had NOTHING to do with the school work - UGH!!!!

 

 

T

[PariSarah]

. . . I don't know if that has to do with homeschooling itself, or life getting in the way of homeschooling.

:o

[Heather in Neverland]

. . . I don't know if that has to do with homeschooling itself, or life getting in the way of homeschooling.

:o

 

Have you not updated your signature line in a while or are you still musing over p.19? I am VERY interested in reading your dissertation so hop to it! :lol:

[PariSarah]

Have you not updated your signature line in a while or are you still musing over p.19? I am VERY interested in reading your dissertation so hop to it! :lol:

 

No, I'm still on p.19. I've spent the last month and a half filling out job apps and scholarship apps, and then the massive final grading project hit. First of the year, though, I hope that little number starts moving up FAST.

 

Hope your studies are going well!!

[Closeacademy]

If my county didn't require Kindergarten, I would not teach it. In preschool, they love to learn but K year is the year they decide they don't need to learn how to do any thing and you can't teach them. It is a year of trials and tears.

 

Personally, start schoolwork in first grade forget K unless you have to do it.:001_smile:

[Tabrett]

I didn't vote on the poll because my hardest years didn't have anything to do with my dc's grade. My hardest years were the years I was pregnant with my last child and nursing. I was the problem. Having a 2 dc under 3yo, being pregnant, tired and sick then nursing after the baby was born and trying to homeschool my middle schooler (at the time) was my worst 2 years. I bought SOS and pretty much let my dc schooled herself. I feel very guilt about that situation.

[JFSinIL]

I can't vote - for me, the most difficult was when I had all four kids at home at once - youngest was K, then two were about 3rd and 5th, and the twin of 5th, my autism boy, was 1st. AAARRGGHH!!!!!

[dirty ethel rackham]

First I was going to say any year when there is a toddler in the house:) Keeping those toddlers busy and out of trouble and getting face time with other children was very challenging. Then I was going to say 7th grade when the hormones affect the attitudes and when we want the material to continue to be challenging, but they want it to be easy.

 

But I am now homeschooling a 9th grader and it has been the most difficult year. He has lost his spark in learning and every assignment has been a struggle (see my prayer request for 15yos.) Maybe it is just him and his issues, but it is breaking my heart.

 

AI have heard moms comment about 2nd grade being tough. Although the emergent reader age has been to most time consuming, it is an age when they still have a sense of wonder about the world and can be a joy to teach.

[KJB]

one, do you think any year before high school was tougher than the high school years?

 

For now, each year has its own challenges, often due to life itself and not home schooling so much.

[JudoMom]

I voted 1st grade, but it was outside circumstances.

 

We sold our house on October 15th, closed/moved on October 31st, and we had our 5th baby on November 15th. Ds6 (our 3rd son) was a year into being undiagnosed with arthritis, and we were still seeing doctors regularly trying to figure out what was going on (it took 2 years to get a dx and help). It was also the year that the last major issue was addressed in our marriage and I stopped resisting making some major changes (things came to a head Christmas that year). I was teaching 1st & K that year, and my oldest wasn't the most compliant student. I was still ironing out reasonable expectations, and I was less than patient.

[Peela]

Well, you didn't give the obligatory "other" option so I couldn't vote.

The hardest year for homeschooling was the first and it gets easier as time goes on, even though the kids get older, because I am gaining experience. It doesn't seem too related to the level of difficulty of the work- as the work gets harder, the kids get older and able to do it- so it doesn't seem to matter too much.

I am kinda glad school taught my kids to read though- I think I would have found that tedious, although very rewarding.

[Susie in CA]

I chose 2nd grade but really it was first and second with my older son. I thought he would never read!!!! Thankfully, he is reading just fine now.

 

Susie

[elegantlion]

So far we have homeschooled from 1st to 5th. I voted 3rd grade. We had just moved to a new state. We also discovered ds was having real issues reading. It took a few months and many hours of internet searching to find out that he might be dyslexic.

 

It was a real struggle that year. I told my mom we were having some challenges and she told my sister. My sister in turn e-mailed me and told me that public school would be the best place for my son, so they could fix him. :glare: I felt like a failure as a parent and teacher when I realized some of his struggles had showed themselves as far back as kindergarten in the private school. We thought he was just being talkative and stubborn.

 

I also discovered our curriculum choice was not working. We were so broke I didn't have money to buy new material.

 

UGH, I'm getting stressed just thinking about it. Definitely our worst year.

[Laura K (NC)]

Not just because of academics, though academics are toughest if you're serious about them. They are physically toughest too because before a high schooler is able to drive, there's a lot of driving and activities that you're involved with, too. Mentally it's toughest, too, because they are tackling so many new problems for the first time. It's like being a toddler all over again, but with higher stakes.

 

I think high school years are tough no matter if you're homeschooling or not. The stress and work wears on you. But I've also got to say that I am enjoying these years the most. Your kids can really be a help and a joy when they're teenagers. I wouldn't get discouraged because we say that these older years are tough. There's a lot to look forward to.

[ereks mom]

credits-wise, and then... the ACT, the SAT, college applications, transcripts, and the scholarship merry-go-round (FAFSA, EFC, and all those other acronyms I never knew about until I went through it!).

[ereks mom]

Not just because of academics, though academics are toughest if you're serious about them. They are physically toughest too because before a high schooler is able to drive, there's a lot of driving and activities that you're involved with, too. Mentally it's toughest, too, because they are tackling so many new problems for the first time. It's like being a toddler all over again, but with higher stakes.

 

I think high school years are tough no matter if you're homeschooling or not. The stress and work wears on you. But I've also got to say that I am enjoying these years the most. Your kids can really be a help and a joy when they're teenagers. I wouldn't get discouraged because we say that these older years are tough. There's a lot to look forward to.

 

:iagree:

[ereks mom]

...do you think any year before high school was tougher than the high school years?

 

 

I think it depends on your life's circumstances, though. My dad died the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2001 when ER was in 6th grade & EK was in 1st grade. THAT was a tough year because it was hard to concentrate on school. This year (EK in 8th) has also been tough for me because ER has left for college and I am making major adjustments emotionally.

[Sunshine State Sue]

For me it has been 7th grade for getting those hormones and the attitude in check. So far it has had NOTHING to do with the school work - UGH!!!!

 

T

 

:iagree: We've hs'ed since K are are now in 7th. I can understand why people say middle school is not the time to put a dc in school. If they are all behaving like this, it must be nuts. I have to admit that it's probably not only his hormones that is making hs'ing difficult, but mine as well.

[Stacey in MA]

Seems like the novelty wore off, and there were lots of frustrations and attitude issues....That changes somewhere in 3rd grade. I still get plenty of resistence, but we are buckled down and committed to what we're doing...

 

:-)

[Cathy in TX]

That was the year hormones hit in a big way. Her attitude was just awful, and honestly, I didn't handle that well at all. Thankfully we got through the year. : ) She's a ninth grader now and an absolute joy.

 

The other day I was stressed about all that has to happen in her high school years, and she came up and gave me a hug and said, "We'll get through it together." With that attitude, I am sure we will!

 

Cathy

[siloam]

I didn't answer because it isn't anything to do with the material that makes this year the hardest, but the fact that I am trying to hs with a 2yo in the house too. :smash::banghead:

 

Yep that was my hardest year too. My ds liked to dump everything in the hs room on the floor just because he could. And he waited till I started reading so that I either had to correct him after we finished (and he had dumped several things) or interrupt our reading to correct him, which meant I never got anything done.

 

Oh I am so glad that year is in the past.

 

Heather

[Tree House Academy]

So far, I have not found any of the grades difficult to teach. Picking curriculum was harder for my 4th grader than it was for my younger, but the actual school year is going well. :)

[Kari C in SC]

I voted 8th grade. My ds was full of hormones and just impossible to work with. It has been 6 years since then and I still can feel how frustrated I was! I am so not looking forward to puberty with my other two kids.

[Lovedtodeath]

If my county didn't require Kindergarten, I would not teach it. In preschool, they love to learn but K year is the year they decide they don't need to learn how to do any thing and you can't teach them. It is a year of trials and tears.

 

:iagree:We did skip K! But we started 1st with a just turned 6 so we still went through some of it.

 

I was teaching 1st & K that year, and my oldest wasn't the most compliant student. I was still ironing out reasonable expectations, and I was less than patient.

 

:iagree:This is what I am going through, including the above, and I have a toddler. Feel sorry for me

 

Obviously, I could not vote.

[Barb_]

Having graduated one, I can offer an unqualified, "It depends on the kid."

 

Barb

[Parrothead]

. . . I don't know if that has to do with homeschooling itself, or life getting in the way of homeschooling.

:o

:iagree: That is so us. This is dd's 4th grade year and I'm so tired of it. I keep thinking about the beginning of 5th grade when I won't be needed for so very much.

 

ETA: Please, no one burst my bubble. I need the delusion to get through this year.

[CalicoKat]

the lack of consitency and focus daily is challenging. I don't know until I wake up what kind of a day it will be and that's frustrating for planning, etc. She's medicated but still her ability varies drastically from day-to-day.

 

Unpredictability is difficult.

[Bee]

This year my 12 yo has decided she doesn't need to put forth any effort to learn and is content to just skate through the year by the skin of her teeth.At this rate, she'll pass but only just.The quality of her work just isn't what it has been in previous years.

On the other hand, youngest dd has been a pleasure to work with this year.

But not terribly difficult...hsing is just part of life and we do it almost every day and it gets done (eventually,usually) and we deal with things as they come.

[Lovedtodeath]

the lack of consitency and focus daily is challenging. I don't know until I wake up what kind of a day it will be and that's frustrating for planning, etc. She's medicated but still her ability varies drastically from day-to-day.

 

Unpredictability is difficult.

 

 

:iagree::grouphug: This is exactly what I am going through as well. I am feeling very sorry for myself! :tongue_smilie:I have all of the negatives listed here. At least I don't have puberty to deal with as well!;)

[Jill- OK]

...but the year that my dad died.

 

Or the year we moved, dh didn't have a job, and we had (more serious than usual) marriage troubles. :tongue_smilie:

 

That was the year I called the local schools, and came thisclose to enrolling them.

 

Nothing to do with kids, attitudes, or material...just a bad time, in general.

 

(Just as an aside to balance some of the other opinions...I'm loving high school! Mostly selfish reasons; the kids are more independent, we're focusing in depth on fascinating things, having interesting (to me, lol) conversations...it's great. The pressure about record-keeping worried me considerably at the outset, though).

[WTMindy]

I'm going to reserve my vote for a few more years. So far, the years have all had their ups and downs, but none has been harder than others. But, I have jr. high and high school ahead of me, so I'm saving my vote. :-)

[Lovedtodeath]

Oh NO!!!! Second grade is moving up!!:eek:I was feeling good. Okay, get through first and its easier until 7th, it got the next most votes. I don't want to go through this again! I thought it would be easier until 7th.:svengo:

[Desert Rat]

I voted 1st grade but really, my ds5 is in between kindy and first. I love the age but I really don't have the patience to teach a little one how to read. I do fine with the math and science and handwriting. I guess it doesn't help that my oldest taught himself to read at 2 so I never had to teach him. I'll be glad when little man can read!

[CAMom]

 

(Just as an aside to balance some of the other opinions...I'm loving high school! Mostly selfish reasons; the kids are more independent, we're focusing in depth on fascinating things, having interesting (to me, lol) conversations...it's great. The pressure about record-keeping worried me considerably at the outset, though).

 

I just wanted to say that it's not that I don't love these high school years. I do! I love him working independently. I love having an almost adult with whom to talk about deep things. I love talking with him about what his life will look like in five years!

 

But, for me, it's still the most difficult because the stakes are so much higher than they have been at any other time and I feel the pressure to make sure he can take any path he chooses to take.

 

:)

[laurad1125]

For me, ds(10) in 1st grade. But I think that's because ds(5) was then a newborn.

[sassenach]

My most difficult year isn't grade related. It was the year of our cross country move. If I had to pick a year, purely based on grade, I'd say K. Not so much because it's hard to teach, but my consistency sucks.

[Jill- OK]

But, for me, it's still the most difficult because the stakes are so much higher than they have been at any other time and I feel the pressure to make sure he can take any path he chooses to take.

 

:)

 

...I understand the pressure part, lol! Despite my Pollyanna-ish post, I really have done some fretting since we've entered the 'home stretch'. Four years seems awfully short once you're facing graduating a always-homeschooled child. :tongue_smilie:

 

I know those that voted 'high school' enjoy this time, too...I just didn't realize how much I would love it, and wanted to encourage those that were reading and getting worried, lol. :D

[jail warden]

So far I vote for 2nd grade, but I have to admit my oldest is only in 3rd. However, 2nd has been hardest for both of my children so far, that seems to be the year that school becomes more time consuming and real.

[Testimony]

I know that first grade because I felt the pressure that we were in the actual years of schooling. I cannot really say that it was difficult. Every year presents its own challenges.

 

Blessings,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Moira in MA]

All those votes for the middle and high school years are making me a little queasy. :ack2:

 

Ah, yes. The middle school years and maybe even early high school *are* tough but they are also *very* rewarding.

 

I have 11th and 9th graders. I wouldn't change 'em.

 

~Moira

[dragons in the flower bed]

I found the combination of teaching the nuts of bolts of reading AND handwriting to be nerve-wracking, not to mention working on having them obey me during school time like they had to obey me at other times. Several times I had to send them to the principal's office (DH) and/or leave the house right after he was finished with work to decompress.

 

Yes, this was me too when my now big ones were little. Handwriting has been the most difficult subject for me to teach. Also, it took me a long time to learn and then accept that I can't school and parent three days in a row with no time out for me to decompress.

[Melissa in Australia]

All those votes for the middle and high school years are making me a little queasy. :ack2:

 

me too !