Well finally after a few months we've got a system down and seems to be working. Problem is it's not something I'm exactly happy about though it works for dd lol. First let me say that we are very strict about the tv. But every morning dd gets up around 8 now. Feeds her fish and the dogs. Comes out here and watches cartoons for a half hour- that's all I'll allow in the morning. She NEVER used to watch tv lol but just has to have her morning cartoons now. What's funny, is if she doesn't have that half hour to wake up she's a real bear when we start school stuff but since I've been allowing this the past week she's been a angel!. I'm just used to getting up, gettting going. And she is easing into the day lol. I'm so used to so much structure around here, I guess I was too structured. So because of this school usually takes all day- which isn't a bad thing because we've been doing a lot of science expirements, art projects, ect. But the problem is we have other places to go to do things and we're not getting everything done study wise at home and that drives me nuts. I can't seem to get that "we have to get this done" mentality out of my head lol.
Well Kim maybe you need to start the day alittle earlier. We are up and moving around 6 here every morning. We get up walk the dogs, eat something. take showers and then school starts at 8 here and we are usually done early enough to run errands and things. But, it don't always work that way and if it don't I say oh well there is tomorrow.
see that's how I was doing it. She was up at 7 and we were starting school right at 8 or very close to it. She was such a monster though! She's been sleeping in till 8 the past couple of weeks. I'm up at 5:30 with hubby. If I were to wake her up at 6, we'd all be in trouble lol.
Your morning sounds exactly like ours. I forgot how many kids you say you have, because once mine get started they are pretty good about wanting to get everything done, because there is nothing electronic on until school and responsibilities are complete. This is my 3rd yr. hs'ing and I am just now chilling to the point I'm not stressed if a subject or two isn't completed.
Well, different things work for different families. I spent weeks getting up at 8am because I am a night owl. School wasn't starting until 9am and it was just hectic. So, I divised a new schedule. I am not very organzied but I crave organization. If I can see a schedule I can follow it...if it is in my head....I cannot....lol. So, I wrote down a schedule in my kitchen on the chalkboard. It now requires me to be up at 6am...the kids up no later than 7am...8am school starts...I even have math, history, english and so forth at allotted times. I also have allotted time for chores and quiet reading time. I had to be this organized with a toddler. Now, we get done MUCH earlier and get way more accomplished. Funny...after getting up only 2-3 hours earlier...I feel like I have two days in one. Once I looked at the counter and said...why are those pancakes still sitting there...I made those yesterday! My ds said, "mom that was this morning." LOL...LOL. I suggest to all to get up early!!!! It has made all the difference. I also say that kids will get used to it. If you child needs 30 minutes to get going...wake her up at 6:30 and start the day at 7am. She will adjust. Better yet, get up and walk on nice days...that always gets the blood flowing. Allow some adjustment time and she will be fine. My dd is the same way....now she knows the routine and had adjusted. Besides, a bad attitude just gets you more work...lol.
maybe she needs to go to bed earlier that is what I do with the girls, if they are upset the next morning. I found if the girls go outside even for a short walk before school they do alot better in school. I think it helps wake them up.
Ava Rose my dear sister we posted at the same time. I agree a good walk before school and getting up early always helps.
Yes, Kris....that is so funny! When you are walking on a nice morning...think of me because we will be walking together! (well, there still is a bit of a time difference.) LOL.
I'm afraid that I am kind of like your daughter...I need a little more time in the morning to get myself in gear. I'm NOT a morning person, lol! having said THAT, we wake up at 6:00 to have breakfast/devotions with Daddy before he goes to school. This is our third year doing this, and it DOES work much better for us! My kids have to be dressed and have their beds made by the time they come down for breakfast (by 6:30). Carl leaves about 7, and after brushing teeth, cleaining up the kitchen, etc., we're usually ready to go no later than 7:30. I usually have the main thrust of school finished before noon. I'm not one for TV in the mornings, but if your daughter works better that way, then I wouldn't worry about letting her. I mean, you can lose a half-hour to TV, or you can lose the same half-hour to fighting with her. You might want to plan out all the errands you have to do. Can you manage to do them all on just one day, and then plan your school accordingly? Just make that a day with only the "basics". I know that's not always easy. We have Staff Meetings on Tuesdays, piano lessons on Wednesdays, history/art on Thursdays.... I try to keep Mondays and Fridays free from errands, and have more concentrated school. (Plus Fridays is our Pajama Day, lol!)
Ours too Jackie, Your mornings sound just like ours. I have the big stuff done by noon. Ava Rose I will think of you too.
I am not a morning person, either. But, I will say it does help tremendously on the days we do get up and get moving early. I now have the kids set their own alarm clocks for 8 am (we were getting up between 9 and 9:30) and we like our TV time in the morning, too. We ususally watch it while we are having breakfast and I am at the computer checking in here!! LOL But like I have said so many times...I am not a structured person and can get off track very easily. When that happens, I completely lose all positive thinking and feel miserable! It is a HARD lesson I can't seem to learn. But when it is all said and done, the kids are getting their work done. And what we don't get done, they usually make up the next day.
She used to go to bed earlier, but it didn't leave much time for family. She goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 and falls asleep right away. We can't do the early morning walk thing because it's pitch black here if I were to get her up that early to walk and people drive like morons around here- not to mention we have narrow roads and no sidewalks. We also have a mosquito problem. We do however do some sort of workout/stretching before we start school- forgot to add that. But we usually do some yoga type stretching and a few other things to get the jitterbugs out. I hate to put her to bed earlier because it doesn't leave much time for her and daddy. By the time he gets home from work and we eat dinner, that wouldn't leave them but 15 minutes together and NO family time. I just wanted to know if I was the only one who did something like this. It's working well for dd, but I'm just used to everything running like clockwork.
My kids get up around 8, eat breakfast and play until 9. I start with my oldest at 9 usually. We do handwriting first b/c it's her least favorite and then it's done and not a fight later. THEN, I let her pick the schedule. If we are still working at 10:30 we break for snack. My middle - the Kindergartener - will sometimes do school in tandem with her - he likes to sit with her while he does it, sometimes that's enough to get us thru without a fight. We are usually done by noon at the latest. Lunch, naps for the baby and "rest time" for all of us. We do not allow ANY TV until school is done....my son would NEVER get around to doing school. Even then on school days I try to limit TV to one hour and computer games to one hour.
Oh, I agree that you wouldn't want her in bed any earlier! That "Daddy Time" is SO important!!! Sometimes we have to just let go of our expectations. It's so much easier to change EVERYONE ELSE rather than ourselves, lol!
I agree with Jackie! "Daddy Time" is very important. Change your focus a bit. Feel accomplished as long as everything is done by the time by dh gets home. Remember that our goal is to build strong families also...so just relax and try to not be so hard on yourself. Do what is best for your family. Every family works differently and has different needs. My dh doesn't get home some nights until 8:00pm...so the next morning does not go like clockwork.....but seeing daddy is more important than my routine.
Are you able to combine subjects? For example, if your child does creative writing, you can also count this as cursive if she writes in cursive. Reading is important and we do a lot of it but Ems reads during the day or before bed for the fun of it. So I count her leisure reading as her reading. She also does a lot of reading for other subjects. Can you combine language/English with creative writing? Possibly writing assignments for other subjects? I guess a lot would depend on what you use and how you use it. I wake up with Handsome at 3:30 and this allows for me to get things together for school. Although, I usually allow Emma to choose what she wants to do first. We usually run errands first thing in the morning and work on school when we return. I do not have much of a schedule, although I do keep things orderly. It is what works for the day because our days can change so often. I try to make school work with our lives rather then making our lives work with school. We often take school outside when the weather permits. It is a nice change of scenery. I also do not teach according to the book. It would take to long. I do not worry if we finish early or not, although usually we are done by noonish. I also make certain subjects part of family time. Lately we have been playing a game that involves the states. Handsome loves it and so does Emma. I will say a mountain, capitol, lake and they try to see who can match it to a state first. We have a blast especially when they are wrong. :lol: We laugh and laugh and it counts as geography. The one thing that never changes is that Ems has to be in bed by 7:00 unless she has a friend or cousin staying over. Patty
Hi, I've read everyones' posts and I guess my kids and I are out of sync. I am not a morning person, we tend to be up by 9:00 and ready to start our day by 10:00 a.m. We are typically finished with our school work mid-afternoon. We then do our chores and go play. I used to set certain time limits for certain subjects but after some trial and error figured out that the twins are happier having a certain amount of school work to do instead of time limit.
That's the beauty of homeschooling. You make it work for your family. For some, an early schedule works and for others, working in the evenings suits them best. Patty
That is exactly what I did pre-toddler days. Not sure if it is my toddler or my kids getting older that changed that schedule. I can't seem to start school at 10am and get anything done. However....even if you worked until 3pm...that is still 5 hours.
