Hi! Wow, I am so glad I found this place. I'm a SAHM of 3 great kids. I'm homeschooling my 7yo first grade special needs son using K12 through Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA). I also have a 2yo daughter and a 8mo son at home as well. I love homeschooling my son, but am having a rough time doing it while wrangling the babies. So much so, that I keep being told by my family to send him back to school. I'm looking forward to reading more and hopefully finding some ideas I've been needing to get through the days. Jenny
Hello and welcome!!! I am Patty and I have been homeschooling Emma since day one. Sometimes it can get tough being a homeschool mom but, at the end of the day, I feel so good knowing that I spent this extra time and energy with her. The thought somebody else watching and teaching her for at least six hours a day is unsettling to me. Again, welcome! We have a group of great people around here and it is nice to be able to lift one another up when our homeschooling days get tough. I find a lot of great advice around here. See you around! Patty
Welcome, Jenny! The ladies here are great. As far as having trouble schooling with the younger ones, it will just take finding a schedule that works for you. I suggest getting the younger ones to nap at the same time (if they don't already). That way you can have one-on-one time with your son. I also keep some toys that can only be played with during our school time. If you let us know exactly what you are struggling with you'll get some great advice! I'm officially hs'ing 3 (K, 2nd, 5th) this year (also have a just-turned 3yo). This is our 3rd year.
Hello, Jenny! Where about in Ohio are you? I'm in the central Ohio area. We're in our 8th year of homeschooling. My girls are 12 and 10, and my son just turned 7 two days ago. We've got several Buckeyes that hang out here!
Welcome Jenny, I am homeschooling my 8 and 13 year old daughters. I have a special little boy who stays with us at least 3 days a week. He is almost 15 months old and is hearing impaired and wears glasses. I have to be careful to plan our math during Babyboy's nap or we can't concentrate. He wants to help the girls work! I give him books and sometimes let him mark on paper but he is still a bit young for that unless I can sit and hold him while he marks. I am interested in other ideas too, so I am glad you brought this up. Hope you like it here. Beth
I'm in central Ohio too. Go Bucks! My biggest obstacle is just getting through the day. My son just really wants to play rather than do any work at all if his brotehr and sister are up. Everything becomes a fight and by the afternoon when they are both napping, he's in such a surly I can't any cooperation. We've had a very rough fall as far as illness so it's been hard to keep any sort of regular schedule going, which I think is my biggest problem with keeping him motivated. My husband is going to take over a couple subjects in the evening, which I hope will help, but I'm still struggling just to get core work done during the day. It's not so much the babies distracting my son, as it is my son getting mad he's not playing like his brother and sister.
Welcome Jenny! I am hsing a 16 yr old dd for the second year and a 11 yr old dd for the 1st year. I know what you mean about the little ones as I have my dgd here most of the time and she is 11 mo old and a handfull! It makes it interesting some days. Quite a few of the gals have little ones so I'm sure you will get some input as the day goes on. Welcome to a wonderful site!
Welcome Jenny! Sounds like you got your hands full. But, in a wonderful way. I say give him things he can do by himself if you can like coloring and things like that until nap time then help him with math, reading or whatever he made need help with. Yes, there are some tough days, but what job do you take isn't tough and hard at times. Will the 8mo sit in a play pen or a swing then you can get the 2 yr. old to color while you are working on things with the oldest. Hang in there. Oh my name is Kris I have two dd's whom are 13 and 11 almost 14 and 12 I have been hs for 5 years now and wouldn't do it anyother way.
Jenny, my girls are closer in age than yours, which I'm betting made a difference. I can see how the older would resent having to work. Can you allow him to play more in the morning? Try doing a lot of reading during that time, running errands, going to the library. Concentrate on the more academic stuff while the younger ones are napping. I honestly think being in a charter school makes it more difficult, because you MUST accomplish certain things. Do you have a card for the Columbus library? If you do, there are SO MANY homeschool resources there! I know you said you use the charter school because you don't think you can afford to HS otherwise. I think you'd be surprised. Are you friends with other HS'ers in your area? If so, you might be able to borrow from them. And Columbus is going to a new check-out policy next month. The books can be renewed up to FIVE TIMES, as long as no one else has a request for them. I've gotten so many things from there. Then, after using it for a while, I can make an intelligent decision about whether it's worth buying or not. So many things I've heard people go on about how great they are, and I simply HATED it! Was so thankful I hadn't bought it first! There's also lots of used curriculum sales in the spring. You can get books fairly cheap there. I also buy a lot of used books on-line.
HI and WELCOME! I'm homeschooling my three: ds15, ds13 and dd9. We've been homeschooling for 9+ years. I was going to say the same thing as Jackie. 7 is still young enough not to push too many heavy academics. Go ahead and let him play in the morning, then spend time with the academics in the afternoon while they are napping! Just because public schools start in the morning doesn't mean you have to! You can get your school time in whenever it fits best for you and your children! There are many different schedules people on here use. Some start early and end up in bed earlier, some run close to ps school hours, some do work later and stay up later. It doesn't matter when you do it! We tend to start earlier because my dh leaves for work early, and we're able to spend some time with him before he leaves that way. A friend of mine here, that homeschools also, stay up late, cuz her dh gets home late. So they get up later and start their schoolwork later, and go to bed 2 or 3 hours after my kids do. But that's okay, it's whatever works best for the family! Anyway, It doesn't hurt the 7 year old to play either, then maybe he'd be more ready to sit and get his work done. That's one-on-one time, he's the big man, so he gets to stay up and have school time with mom while the babies sleep! If you put it in a way that makes him feel big and responsible and special, maybe that would help also! I also agree with Jackie about seeing if you can stop the charter schooling. That's stressful in itself, aside from having little ones and hsing a special needs child! I KNOW you can find enough materials free or almost free online and through the library! I'll admit it, I am jealous of the library system there. When Jackie talks about it, I so wish ours was that good! Maybe you can talk with her more, and she can detail all that's available! Best wishes to you! HUGS!
Well, Deena, if you'd just move down here!!! Then our two older ones can actually get to know each other BEFORE their wedding, lol!
Hi, I want to say that I ditto what all the women said and I think that if you and your husband are together on this and with prayer, God will give you the strength and you can get it done. I can say I have four kids. Now they are 12-9-8-6 but not long ago they were a bit younger and I was going through this same thing. I can say I made some school into games, Math we counted cars, (we used Saxon) but I would say 4 cars or what ever your son likes,( My son liked cars, my girls Polly pockets or beanie babies.)Drove into the store 3 more came how many are there now. When it came to reading, we did that during nap. The others I would read a lot to them. They were also allowed to play with legos sometimes and I would ask questions to make sure they were listening..(Books we picked out at the library or parts of the "Well Trained Mind" and Five In a Row worked great at that age.. If I am just talking way to much I am sorry, I just know that being home is the best place and he is young enough it is ok to slow down then pick up later. I use to freak I was not doing enough but God has really showed me it is all in his hands and I am to obeying him 1st. Well off to bake cookies. I hope I spelled everything right I was just typing away. I will be praying for you and your family. Blessings Lisa
HI Jenny. Welcome to the Hs spot. As you have probably figured out, you have found a great place to find all kinds of ideas and advice and encouragment! Hope you like it here!
Welcome. I am Lorna. We have homeschooled 8 years now. Yes, 8. LOL I have a daughter 14 and twin boys almost 10. Work during nap time worked well for me but some days I needed that nap too. LOL Lorna
Lorna, doesn't the time go by fast? When I say I've been homeschooling for 9 years, I sometimes stop and count to make sure! It's gone by so quickly! I just love being able to KNOW my children. I have TWO teenagers now, and they respect their parents, have not tried drugs, alcohol or tobacco, and are just good young men! Knowing my children as I do, I have a strong feeling that they wouldn't be in such good shape if they would've been in school, away from home so much of the time! At any rate, I'm babbling! Jackie, I just saw your post. I'll talk to dh, and let him know that it might be a good idea since they have such a good library system, and so that our ds can meet his "betrothed" before they get married! Those are pretty good reasons, wouldn't you say?!
