This will be our first year homeschooling and we plan on starting the last week of August. Well, just looking into everything i'm starting to get overwhelmed, mostly with my 8 yr old. She has developmental delays and ended up being very behind in PS because they focused so much on reading (which was good) but now she's really struggling in math. I'm going to have her do 2nd grade math and it looks like she'll be able to learn it just fine as we go along. We're really doing a lot of work right now with addition and subtraction. But now I was looking at what my 5 yr old will be doing and i'm saying, oh boy, Lizzie (dd8) should be learning this too I feel like there is so much she needs to learn when it comes to math, I am feeling very overwhelmed today. I'm trying to just tell myself that if she stayed in PS they would continue on what they were doing and she REALLY wouldn't learn anything that she's missed..... I don't know. I just feel that as a homeschooler you need to show(on standardized tests, which are required here) that you have taught them everything they would need to learn, even though in PS she would be behind and nothing would be said or thought!!!!!!!! Does anyone else ever feel like this?
But the big difference is that you'll be able to adapt to the needs of your child instead of her being expected to adapt to the needs of the majority in a PS classroom. Reports show all the time that the smaller the classroom size, the more productive the learning - and you have the lowest classroom size, and hence the most individual attention, possible. Once you have a few weeks under your belt, everything will look different. At least, that's how it was with us. Our older daughter (the first we homeschooled) was so pleased to get special attention that she couldn't get enough learning - which in turn enthused us as parents all the more. All the best in the coming weeks, and it will be great to learn how things go.
Thanks, yea, that's true, she would have had such a hard time trying to adapt to the classroom. And because of the economy they got rid of a lot of assistants, she would have even less individualized attention.
Just take one day at a time. Do not think about the big picture. The big picture isn't going to help your daughter now anyways. One step at a time will. Every small thing she learns helps create the big picture. So if one day at a time seems to much, take one math problem at a time and don't think about what she needs to learn next or what she doesn't know. It will come soon enough. Just focus on the moment. Everything will come together eventually.
Yepper, agree with Patty one day at time, try not to look to far ahead and go at the pace you need, so what if it takes two days to get something done, next time it might take a hour. Thats the joys of homeschooling. Take as much and as little time as you need to do something. Relax, if things get bad or hard, take a day off go on field trip, take the books outside if the weather will let you. enjoy learning and teaching them.
I think last minute jitters are normal... this is my third year and I still keep second-guessing myself with my curriculum choices!
I had a similar situation with my oldest son. When we pulled him out of private school at Christmas break in third grade, I was appalled to find out how little he actually knew about math. (Still wonder about all those A's he brought home...) It was frustrating, and felt overwhelming at times, for both of us, but eventually we figured out where would be a good starting place for him and just built on that. His standardized test results for that first year weren't that great. But they've improved every year and at the end of last year (5th grade) he ranked in the 92nd percentile for math! I was so proud of him...and of myself! LOL Just sharing that because it's true: the individualized instruction is awesome for kids who are lagging behind, and it's totally possible to get them ahead of the game after a while. I, too, often wonder what would've happened if I'd just left him there; if we'd ever have found out how little of the basics he'd actually absorbed. He's a quiet kid and I think he just got lost in the chaotic classroom setting.
You can always have your DD8 near when you're explaining things to the 5 year old....then she can glean any info she might not know without even realizing it...lol. I do this with my DD9 with her younger brother.
My oldest also struggles a great deal with school. I often have her "help" me play math games with her two younger sisters. As she helps me teach and practice with them she also gets help without the frustration of being at the same level as the younger ones. It has been working very well for us.
I don't know if this will work for you or not but here is an idea: You can have your 8 yr old "teach" your 5 year old those sections you think your 8 yr old may need to work on. You would assume the position as "teachers assistant" for those sections so you can help the *teacher* teach the student. My eldest and second eldest get so much out of *teaching* their siblings. Not only do they learn what they have to teach but they also get a good foundation for leading & *public* speaking.
Thank you so much for all of your comments! I knew you'd all have had similar situations arise. I was at work tonight and as I sat there I said to myself that I would not worry about everything we need to learn. We have plenty of time to do it. I'm going to try to build little lessons in for my dd8 while we're playing or out too. And I LOVE the idea of having her help me teach my dd5, that's genius. I'll also have her beside me while dd5 and I are going over things I think she can brush up on. My dd8 also, like I said, has developmental delays and honestly I don't think she'd think anything of it if I was going over something with her and dd5 together. It would definitely come easier to her at the K level, so she would most likely enjoy it. She is the one that LOVES to do schoolwork. Thanks again!!!!
YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! Don't let last minute cold feet stop you!!!! Your daughter is going to be so much better off with the gentle guidance and constant attention rather than the public school approach. Like everyone's said. Take one day at a time, one hour at a time if necessary. I guarantee she'll learn more in 1 year doing almost nothing, than in 1 year of 8 hours a day in public school. PROMISE! (((HUGS))) You can do this!!!!! (do you see me jumping up and down cheering you on with my pom poms????)
