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The worst school year ever, help!


Athena
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So, did you miss me?

 

My house burned down & my DH left. :banghead:

Yep, it all happened 2 weeks before Christmas. Its ok now, life is settling back down. But I stopped doing school with the kids back in December! Now that I have my head on my shoulders again I am panicking.

 

 

What should I be looking at for this spring/summer? The kids have been doing a few math worksheets a week. My oldest reads for fun so Im not too worried about him but my younger two only read when forced. And honestly my youngest needs more phonics. A lot more phonics. She isn't reading well enough to be heading to 2nd grade.

 

Oh, and the good news is that the kids don't have to go to school. Soon-to-be-ex said he supported hsing so as not to upset the kids. The kids will have to take some of thier work to thier dads house so I will need to stay with basic workbooks for language arts & math stuff.

 

Made it this far? Any thoughts? I'm leaning towards CLE or R&S just for the sake of simplicity.

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:grouphug:

 

I would ease back into work, whenever it fits. It's been only a few months. Being together and finding a "norm" is more important than schoolwork. Maybe stick the one that needs phonics help on Starfall and Game Goo. The dc that reads for fun, maybe require one science book and one history book a week. Check out lots of educational videos from the library, they'll get something from it!

 

Most of all don't worry!! What's most important is that the kids feel secure and loved. The rest of everything will just fall in line ;) Once you are totally feeling back to yourself and things are settled, then plan for next year. Once that's done, you can begin early (this spring or summer) or just do light work till your ready to start fresh in the fall.

 

We had a major life upheaval a few years ago...the first year we began homeschooling. I did school when I could, and didn't fuss when I couldn't. The next year things stabilized and we got on track. Dd caught up quickly when we got back to a routine and knew what to expect.

 

:grouphug: again.

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:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

I think your instincts are good--something straightforward like CLE or R&S. Perhaps even ABeka? Perhaps you could get a phonics CD for your youngest?

 

I think defaulting to non-teacher-intensive stuff is definitely the way to go for now. You need to find a new normal, and that takes a lot of mental effort.

 

Be really kind to yourself and don't beat yourself up if you don't live up to some kind of "WTM Ideal" right now. You've been through the mill! It will take time to recover.

 

I'm so sorry all of that happened to you. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

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I have 2 boys aged 8, now 9 who were not reading well, and also a dd-6...I started using Headsprouts phonics, and they love using it, and there reading has improved. When they are done, they are supposed to be at a 2nd grade reading level. It's done online, so your child could access it at dad's house, too.

 

hugs:grouphug:

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Between R&S and CLE, I'd choose CLE for your situation because it's more portable. You'd only need to pack the current light unit, not the whole book. If they lose it, you're only out $3 rather than the whole year's book.

 

I'd just start easing back to school slowly. You can always school a bit in the summer, at least the 3Rs and be caught up by September. If they were in school they would probably be distracted and miss material without the chance to make it up in the summer months, so be gently on yourself.

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I would say take a deep breath and relax. You've been through a lot. I can say from experience that not doing school for a few months will not put your kids behind. We move every year or two, so it takes me a while to get DD10 back to doing schoolwork each time. Usually, I find that her brain has grown during her time off and she is capable of doing even higher math than when she left off.

 

As long as you read to the little ones and give the older ones lots of books to read, they should be fine. Definitely keep it simple during this time of upheaval.

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:grouphug:

 

Here's a fun game they can all play together, it'll help with phonics for the youngest: http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

 

And, I would recommend your youngest watch my phonics movies. Her older siblings could watch, too, if they need spelling help, they also cover spelling rules. The link is below in my signature.

 

These are activities that they can do easily without help on their own. (You might need to help the first time they play the game, but after that, your oldest should be able to run the game and keep score.)

 

:grouphug:

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Those videos are awesome! I used to have the Leapfrog stuff but its not available to me till at least May. And honestly, the kids need drill more then anything else but that is just not much fun, ugh! Thank you!

 

You're welcome! Hopefully it will lighten your load a little.

 

The game is a fun way to sneak more drill in, too (and, like I said, after the first time, they can play on their own.)

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