I feel like "life" is getting in the way of our homeschooling. Many things have come up around here, taking my attention away from school. I feel bad, but don't know what to do to keep focus on school. Examples: situation happened in church this last week that I spent most of my morning on the phone with others trying to determine what to do about it. had to do other church stuff before lunch stuff around here needed attention. the girls did school, but it seemed that I was not helping or montoring them I just feel like everything is taking away from what My main goal should be: schooling the girls...... have you ever felt like this?
Yep! And I can only see it getting worse for us. For now, I'm only HS'ing one, and his stuff usually takes about 30 minutes (more for my prep, of course). When there's two, and when they're in higher levels, I'll have to be more prioritized for sure!
I was going to say nearly every week, but Jen already topped that--actually, that is I used to feel that way.... I have no solution except this: I changed my expectations about what my homeschool should be to what it naturally just is. Many of us claim that homeschooling is a lifestyle, but I have had to remind myself that schooling itself is not. We are making home (real life) and school (learning) one in our lives and it is a more difficult marriage of the two for some. We, who were raised in schools, still tend to see schoolwork and home life as separate parts of our day, instead of really intertwining the two. I have learned something from my daughter and that is she can learn without me and has. That is she has taken things to the next step before I thought she was ready and even before I was ready. The girl could hardly subtract but she was learning multiplication months before the math curriculum I was using would cover it! She was not as good at spelling as she was making sentences and drawing, but she would still journal about anything we were reading, or a movie we had seen, or places we had gone and this before I thought she was ready to learn to journal; in other words, she somehow just started journaling and I did not teach her how, yet it was something I wanted her to do as an integral part of our homeschool! Surprise, the child can learn while I am not teaching! Having expectations that you are going to sit and "school" your children for x amount of time each day can be done if you do not let your life in: no phone calls, no talks with your neighbor, no TV, no internet. I know some homeschooling parents that do this, but they have NO time for their own friends unless they schedule that too. I had a friend who recently lost her mother and the time she needed me was just not something I could have scheduled and I would have felt horrible if I had not taken her call. I try to call one person from my church about every one to two days during the week, just to let them know I am thinking about them. It is important to me that my daughter knows serving others and relationships are worth taking time to do. Life really does not fit into schedules, at least my life certainly doesn't and that is partly because my husband never has had a 9 to 5 job, in fact he never has any kind of regular schedule the entire time we have been married so every day is different from the next (and this from a woman who used to HAVE to have everything planned out in advance). However, I have found that you can round the edges and still get really great results with teaching your children and be content with yourself in the process.
It can be very difficult to sit down with them and have an uninterupted day of study. Recently I have had to give them work they could do on their own so I could handle other things. I have been reminded by friends though that there is so much more to learning than just our textbooks. Having my girls help with chores and preparing dinner are other lessons they also need. I'm sure if you thought about all the other life lessons you are providing for your children you would be amazed by all the learning that has been going on even when you are busy.
Shelby, yes and its normal to happen that is life. thats the joys of homeschooling you do it when you want and where you want too. Some times things come up we have no control. But, hey school will always be there. Sounds like the girls are doing fine. Yes, they are old enough to do alot on there own. which is great for you and them. I know my girls do alot on there own. I am there if they need help or get lost. Or tell them which way to go or how to go, but they can do it if I need to go off make phone calls, run errands. Don't beat your self up againist a wall it happens to all of us and I am sure they are fine and you are doing fine. Hang in there girl we are here for you.
It happens all the time! Just yesterday we had piano lessons ( for 1 dd) , went to the gym ( w/ same dd) , then went to Walmart ( turned into ...lets try on some clothes), then grocery shopping...its was 12:45 by the time we got home! But you know what? My youngest dd ( 12) did almost all her schoolwork while we were gone, all on her own and did awesome, I almost cried! I have to say though my dd's do alone work everyday and its been that way for a few years now. The only subjects we really work on together are Science and History ( some Math and Social Studies every once in a while if they don't understand a concept). It teaches them independence, problem solving things for themselves and it really frees up time for me to get stuff done around the house ( laundry, phone calls, bills, etc) and/or get assignments prepared for later in the day or week. So yeah , sometimes life happens and they need to do stuff alone. Yesterday proved that my dd learned to take action and do what needed to be done...without me harping on her to do it in the first place. The beauty of homeschooling is that there is NO RIGHT WAY to do it. You also showed your children that your concern for your church is important to you and if something is really concerning to you you should take care of that first and everything else will fall into place. That is a valuable lesson for them that can't be taught in a book.
YES!!! This week we are taking a break from all but math, because we have several little projects that need to be done around the house. It's life lessons on organizing this week. Hopefully the lessons will stick with them!!
(((HUGS)))) I just had this conversation with myself a few minutes ago while I put in some laundry and started getting my breakfast and my son's ready. It seems I'm constantly trying to keep up with chores and daily things (such as getting my dd to and from public school and weekly grocery shopping). I try to combine my breakfast/coffee time or lunch and coffee time with computer time as to not eat too much time up during the day. Homeschooling my son seems to get pushed to the back burner. It's not fair to him. I know he is now "behind" his grade level. Last week I signed my son up for public school for the fall. I either have to work really hard to catch him up or I have to keep him back a grade. He'll have to take a test in September to determine his grade level. Sometimes I do give my son (9 y.o. 3rd grader) a math assignment and penmanship assignment that you can do on his own, so I can grab a shower or make a phone call. I'm lucky that sometimes when I have to run errands my mom will watch and teach my son math or language arts while I'm away. This week is a bit more difficult because my hubby is away on a volunteer business trip and I'm left to do some chores that he would normally do besides all the other stuff that I would normally take care of. I hope you find something that works for you and your family, Shelby.
When I seriously feel like we're getting behind, I quit answering the phone before noon. I leave a message on the machine saying we are doing schoolwork and I would be glad to return all calls after lunch. Most things can wait 4 hours till after lunch. I do have my girls trained to do some of their work independently, but if your children are under the third grade, that is a hard one, since they may struggle with reading. Also, if you can do your reading together after supper in the evening, that might help you squeeze it in. Sometimes you just have to squeeze school into odd times: in the waiting room at the dentists, in the car waiting at the pharmacy etc. Additionally, last fall I came to the realization, that if I had a job outside the house, nobody would be surprised if I was behind on the housework. So now I consider homeschooling to be a higher priority than housework. If the house is a dump and we got school done, well then we had a good day. Most people think that since we're home all the time the house should be clean. Yet, I find the opposite. The more we are home the messier it it, since we are there to mess it up! But, generally, if I prioritize, I can get most of the important stuff done. Schooling,cooking dinner, dishes, a load of laundry and picking up are my basic chores to keep the house livable. Scrubbing and deep cleaning can wait till a day when I am not swamped. Please don't feel that you have to be sitting at your kids elbow to have a good day of school. They can learn some stuff on their own. If you did not ever sit down with them to do school, then you might have some legitimate guilt, but having a week or two like that is nothing to feel bad about. You're teaching them that PEOPLE are more important that PLANS!
Shelby, I think that you are doing a fantastic job. You are schooling your kiddos but you are also making time for the Glory of God. Sometimes those things seem like they are interupting our day but look at the big picture, you are doing God's will. You are still schooling your kids, maybe just not on the schedule you would like at times but you ARE getting it done. Don't come down on yourself to hard, you're doing a great job. (((hugs)))
I feel that way a lot or the opposite. Is school getting in the way of life??? Well I just try my best to juggle both and what gets done that day is what needed to..... I guess.....
I've had days when I have to remind myself that life is school. Not everything is learned out of a book. sometimes it is a hands on project!
Yes, I feel that way at times. I have to then sit back and regroup and remember why I am home with my kids. It's so easy to get caught up with so many things. However, our lives are our classroom...so sometimes life does take over a bit and we all need to learn to be flexible. I think in the end, if there is a good reason for life coming before school...it will help our kids learn other lessons as well. The focus should not be that school is unimportant..but that we can adjust and adapt.
Here's my opinion- We only get one chance to educate our kids. Nothing should come before their education- not church, housework, phone calls, errands, nothing. It's one thing to wash dishes while the kid does a page of math, but school should never be put off to clean. I personally would never want to know my kid is behind because I neglected their education. To me, if the chilld's education can't take priority in the home, maybe homeschooling isn't the best choice for the family. I might sound harsh. I had to straighten out someone's view of homeschoolers yesterday, and the lax attitude some hsers have is where this person's misconceptions came from!
You're not the only one! I don't think you can separate education from life. We spent a year with our house up on stilts because we were building a basement beneath. Life got incredibly busy, and we didn't come close to completing our year's curriculum. But I still think my kids were well educated that year, even if a whole lot of worksheets were left undone, and some books didn't get read. They were 7 and 9, and they helped with everything - housework, building, errands, etc... I did make math and reading/writing a priority every day. So even if nothing else got done, at least they didn't miss out on that.
Hey Becky, thanks for being honest with your words... I had a friend who homshls get that same speech you just gave me! I made me do some thinking..... but we work on school and I try to get stuff done during the time they don't need me.... I just need to know that they come first!
I understand what you are saying and I agree with it when it comes to TV, video games, etc., but perhaps because I am nearly 50 with only one child and I have aging parents, aunts and uncles, and friends who will not be much longer on this earth that I have a somewhat different opinion about people. Someday, sooner than most others with an 8yo child, that will be me as the aging parent and being that she is only my daughter, I hope and pray that she feels I am a worthy interruption should I call to give her news about her father going into the hospital, if she decides to homeschool her own children. I expect a great deal from myself in regards to homeschooling, but there are times when other people in my life and my daughter's life have greater needs and her education, in part, is to learn that life is not in school work. Learning is what we do all our lives, but what good is that if the priority in my life, is not about serving my Lord and those he has placed before me in my life?
I'm 46 this year, so I'm nearly 50, too. Emergencies might be one thing, but for appointments, visits, anything else, that can all happen after school's done. And I can see shortening something to get done earlier. Not skip- shorten. It's not dismissing the person involved, it's giving education the priority. And honestly, Seeking, your young one isn't going to leave you high and dry when you're a senior unless she grows up cold hearted. I hope Jeannie will look out for me, too, even if it's only a daily phone call. My mom is 78 and having all kinds of problems. I'll happily do her laundry, run her to appointments, go to the pharmacy, grocery store, whatever for her. However- it has to be on my schedule with school. My mom gets up with the chickens, though, so she wants all super early appointments and my sister takes her. My sister really serves my mom. They both know we've got school, so they just go and do as they want. I might seem cold hearted, but I feel God gave me this girl to educate as best I can, kwim?
