Does anybody else feel like they're spending so much time on planning lessons/activities, that it cuts down on the amount of time they're actually spending with their children?! This is my first official year, and that's how I feel. I'm trying to be organized and prepared, but I'm not doing too well so far...and while I try to get my act together, I'm not with my children like I should be. Has this happened to any of you?
It did when we first started too (we're in year 3). It gets easier as this is something you aren't used to. I've read that it can take up to TWO years for HS'ing families to really find a groove, and TBH, this IS our first year that we've really had a groove. A groove that we keep at each day.
Angelheart, I used my whole summer preparing, while Jeannie was away at camps and such. I mean, I used every day from late June to last weekend. She and I are joined at the hip, though, now that we started back up, lol. Can your kids help at all? Can they color a display or something? Jeannie likes to do that. I also use riding time to do things if husband is driving. I do my online stuff early, before she gets up. What all are you having to do? maybe if you're more specific about what you're taking care of we can help you better?
It will get easier. Last year I would spend days planning at a time, and in those days nothing else existed. I still put time into planning, but I have learned to plan a rough schedule then plan smaller blocks in that rough schedule one block at a time.
I do most of my prepping once the boys are in bed. The rest I do while they are doing "busy work" like coloring or cutting.
Whew! I am glad I am not the only one who feels this way. I just talking to DH last night about how much time I am spending on planning. Also glad to know that it does get easier.
It does get better. This is year two and I am so much more at ease with every aspect of homeschooling. I am way less uptight. I do love to browse curriculum though!!
Since it is your first year I would feel confident saying that it will get better. As time goes on you will be able to put lessons together quicker or know what works best for your children. Don't be discouraged...this is just part of the learning curve. Think about buying premade unit studies or a set curriculum in some subjects to give yourself a break. Doing it all yourself is a big job! You are learning as much as your kids. In time, this will all work itself out.
i plan mostly while they are still asleep in bed, Most of the currics I picked have some sort of organization to them or are easy to figure , so my sanguine side gets to do the morning ritual of write up what ds10 gets to do , and I worked up a plan for dd13 already last week or so so it lasts 6 weeks and we will go with the flow and see how it works out! I have learned not to stress over not being where I want to be, but instead to be happy with where I am.
I do all my planning on the weekend when dh and dd are having some daddy daughter time. I spend 3 to 4 hours writing lesson plans, making sure we have everything for the next week. At first I felt like it was really taking time away, but I got a good system down and have kept up with it this year. Basically on Saturdays dd and dh go do their thing for a few hours and I do what I need to then.
I do my planning AFTER the kids are in bed OR while they are doing seatwork...so I'm near but don't need to be interacting with them. I also try to set aside time each day to just play games with them. I do know what you mean...that's part of the reason i starte da box curricullum last year - I wanted someone to do my thinking for me! I'm realizing now what I want to do NEXT year! LOL!!!! You'll get your niche and it will settle into a routine...it's like swimming for the first time with flippers...seems strange, weird and outta place...but after a while, when you get in the groove, you realize just how much it helps to propel you further along! okay...it's close to midnight here, I'm speaking gibberish!
I find myself looking for things and then finding NEW things to go along with it all..sometimes it is just too much for my little brain LOL. and Shhh I print alot of stuff at work LOL we have 3 hole paper there LOL
The ladies gave you great advise. As time goes by, and it will fly, you will learn to adjust things as needed. Patty
Well I never sat down and prepared. I had a box and it was pretty easy to follow. I am doing most of social studies and science on my own. I have been printing out soo much because I have preschooler to some how entertained. It wasnt until this past month I went into 'preparing mode' Dh is like all you do is school. Well I do need to get everything before I start. There were times we started something and didn't have what I needed. That was grrr. 2 years to get a routine? By the time we get a nice routine going we be moving. It's nice to hear that it gets easier. We are seven months in to schooling (year rounder)
(((hugs to you))) It is so good to go with what works and cast out what doesn't. You are doing a good thing by homeschooling your children. Hang in there and keep communicating! Ideas will come and go... and keep loving your kids! Plans and lists are good things, but sometimes Plan B hasn't been made and that is the one needed to do!
Angelheart, the first year is the hardest so don't let it bog you down. The best thing to remember is this: YOU are in charge. You get to say "Free day!! Everyone get ready for the Zoo!" if you feel like it. Make sure you take those opportunities when you need them. Homeschooling is a process not a goal, you have time to figure it out so don't get bogged down in the details. I do all my planning when the kids are on "vacation" so when we start schooling, I just get the stuff out and go. It gets easier....:love:
Don't be afraid to let an educational video be part of a lesson. Schlessinger Video has excellent videos for just about every subject. I take prep stuff to appointments. My doctor has caught me cutting, coloring, reading, sorting. She laughs at me, but always asks how we're doing. My urologist will say 'What are we studying this week?'
My plan was to do it at night once she is in bed. Since she has decided who needs sleep?, that plan is up in the air at the moment. I am planning on the fly! I am worried as I am not organized at all. That is my concern. How to organize and keep records and keep her work together for each month or year. I keep imagining stacks and stacks of papers!
planning... Planning and paper work are never any fun. Hubby seems to think that since I taught Grade One, I should have had everything I needed for Kiddo. Sure...If Kiddo was FAS, ADHD, LD, yada yada.... Kiddo is not like any of the kids I have ever taught, though. He's reading at an upper Grade 1, early Grade 2 level...Spelling at about the same rate...His math skills are amazing (multiplying at 5 yrs almost 6)...His science is wonderful...I CAN'T use very much of what I had from my teaching days...Most of it is stuff he already knows and he'd be bored senseless. And so...back to planning and gathering and putting everything together for little man's learning. BUT I also know it gets better. Once you have a year or two behind you, you will know where your kid(s) are working and know where their interests are and their abilities as well as know where to find the particular resources you are looking for. Take it from me. I spent my first two years working as a teacher doing little else but planning...but by the third year, I knew where the kids were working coming out of this particular Kindergarten teacher's class or that teacher's class...and knew what to plan and where to find what I was looking for. I also had a lot of the resources that were adaptable for the next grade level and so that cut down on prep time as well.
