I can't seem to fit everything in. I run a daycare in my home, so I work from 6:30 am -6pm. I write out a planner for my 10 y/o, but unless i sit with him he does not do it. My 5 y/o may get a 40 minute reading lesson 4 days a week and that is it. My house is falling a part. I have laundry that needs to be folded and I have not taken down all my Halloween decorations. I feel as though my 10 y/o is not getting the education that he needs because I can't be with him all the time. I can't stand to listen to ANY conversation about what kids are learning in school, because I think, "Oh my I did not teach that yet." :cry: I am just so overwhelmed. I have 2 kids in school and so it does not help that i lead this double life. Part of me wants to throw all the kids in school and stick my head in a hole. Then if my kids don't know anything, I can blame the school. All I do is yell at my 10 y/o because he has developed such bad habits. He is a slob, he does not wash his hair, put on clean clothes, do an chores, unless i follow him, complete any work unless i sit next to him. In school he did the work. At home he cries at the drop of a hat.He will throw tantrums when I ask him to write 5 sentences. I want a happier learning environment. Suggestions?
I have no advice, only hugs. All I can share is that I constantly feel like I'm not getting enough done, and I don't run a daycare from my home. <sigh> Good luck. Hopefully someone who can help will come along. SG
To help - what type of curriculum are you using? Workbooks? Anything he can listen to? I'm finding shorter subjects are working so much better - class shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes each day. Yes - some stuff might take us longer to get through (like into the summer) - but that's ok. Work hard 15-20 minutes - chores/break for 30 minutes (do the chore first CORRECTLY and then the rest is break time). Both my kids do their own laundry - my slob daughter <G> I help out more than my ds. But I am finding that a lot of the problem is she has too much stuff in her room period. So while she is away tomorrow night I might clean out some of her stuff. - but that's me getting sidetracked. I wish you luck - but there are a lot of times I feel like I have lost something as well and we are missing stuff.....
Absolutely no offense, but I don't see how anyone can expect to run a fulltime day care and homeschool properly. You'll shortchange either your own kids or the daycare kids. It's inevitable. You might as well pull your hair out from the getgo. Homeschooling and daycare each have their own frustrations as it is, and trying to do both is a lot of stress. If it were me, I'd be enrolling the child. Their education is too important. I wish you well.
Daycare...bad! I used to work in a daycare. The stress of that was interfering in my college work, so I can't imagine doing it while homeschooling.
I'm a list person....so I'd tend to say to write out a pros/cons list of why you brought your DS10 home....do those reasons still exist? Another list might be those areas that DS needs to work on and make that part of his list (clean clothes, chores, etc.). Might just be time to crack the whip on a few things....with discipline being a motivating factor....for my son (who's younger)....that is the loss of anything that plugs in or uses batteries I've never run a daycare so I can't help with that aspect at all but I know just babysitting other kids once in a while as a favor to a friend is taxing on me....so I know that it's a stress. I will say though, that at 10, your son should be old enough to work alone unless he has educational issues that need extra help (for example, my DD8 has processing delays so she needs more hands-on for certain subjects but not every subject). Are the 2 in school old enough to help out? Fold a load of clothes as a chore after school? Just a thought. BIG HUG!!! Take a deep breath! Honestly, if your 5 year old will sit for a 40 min reading lesson, you are doing a super job there. I can't hardly get my 6 yr old to sit that long for anything
Hi! I know there are moms and dads out there who work full time and still homeschool so I will not tell you it can't be done. However, I'm sure that you are going to encounter challanges that many of us don't. While I work part time it is for only 3 hours a day, 3x's a week so it doesn't really compare to your situation. What I was thinking is that with the 5yr.old (kindergarten?) the reading lessons you are doing should be enough....other stuff you can do like nursery rhymes, games, colors and numbers you may be able to do with the other children that you are caring for. So you will be doing school work and keeping some of the kids in the daycare occupied/entertained at the same time. For the ten year old it will be more challenging. You may have to do the majority of the schooling after dinner. It is going to be a big sacrafice on your part because I'm sure by that time all you want to do is rest......You could also check into some of the online curriculums and see if they might work better for your situation. I'm not really familiar with them and the only 2 that come to mind are Switched on School House and K12 (wich I believe is free but not available everywere). There is also Teaching Text Books; a math program that comes on dvd. Hopefully any of the programs I am getting wrong another hser will correct for me . Your ds may be more inclined to work on his own if he is on the computer and interacting with a program. As for the house work......let it go! Do what you can durring the week and if your weekends are free use one of the days to catch up. I try to enforce the "jeans can be worn more than once" rule. Basically if at the end of the day they look clean the clothes can be worn again. Go to paper plates or serve sandwiches (lunch) on paper towels to cut back on dirty dishes, and have each child use the same cup all day. I'm sure others have more and better ideas for keeping the house tidy but thought I would try and help. good luck!
How about this idea.. (Doesn't solve everything, but might help a bit) Pay the ten year old to be your helper... BUT! He cannot do the work that earns the money if he has not completed his school work or chores.... He can empty trash, spend 30 minutes running and chaing the young kids. The louder they scream and giggle the more he gets paid. (Wears everyone out and they will sit quietly for a short movie after?) (Idea?) Perhaps he gets hazard pay for changing diapers? Sounds genius eh? Yea, gotta go pat myself on the back.. (I am sooooo totally kidding!) Anyway, just a thought. You could get more done with the house and or the day care, while encouraging your son to get his school work done, while encouraging him to earn his keep.
He will throw tantrums when I ask him to write 5 sentences. Well....there's probably a reason -the stress you are feeling is absolutely being experienced by your kids. I honestly have no advice for you because I only have one kid (age 11) 2 dogs and work part time at night 3 times a week. I barely can do that! So homeschooling and running a daycare -I won't say it's impossible but it would be for me ! Something would have to give and I would probably go in the direction of what is best for your kids! Good Luck Jane
The 10 year old needs some responsibility and you need to be extra firm with him. If he knows he can throw a tantrum and you'll let it go he'll continue to do it. I work too, but 20-25 hours max, but I work nights when my dh is home and he takes care of math and P.E. So, do you have other help to be the other enforcer to speak. And maybe he's just not cut out for hmsing.
I was in your shoes last year, and this is probably not what you want to hear, but I chose to close the daycare. The turn around in my kids was amazing! I thought they would beg for the kids to come back, but haven't said one peep since I did it. Now, yes money became squeaky tight. We cut our budget as much as humanly possible, but truthfully, God is carrying us through. My oldest still has her lazy moments and closing the daycare did not remove that; but it does give me much more time to reinforce good habits. Just one last ramble - I do know of one daycare provider who homeschools quite successfully using Switch-On curriculum. It can be done, but not everyone can do it. Praying for wise decisions.
I ran a home daycare for 14 years. The last 3 I was homeschooling my son. My daycare childern at that time were at preschool age so they did school work at the same time. Coloring, name practice, number practice and such. We also had guiet time in the afternoon with a movie and my son did our one on one work then. So I know it can work but it takes a lot of planning. Wishing you luck! Saying a prayer and sending HUG! House work has always come last here. It gets done but usually on the weekends! My son also read stories to the daycare children. Maybe he could make a lesson plan and teach them something!
I feel your stress! I have both run in home day care, and we are homeschooling, but I never had to do both at once! They are stressful in their own ways! I have a daughter who is turning 10 this month, a 6 yr old boy, and a 3 yr old girl. I also work from home teaching online classes at our local community college. Luckily, I can "teach" my classes at any time of day or night but some weeks I have an extra heavy load. I decided it was completely worth bribing my oldest on those days to help out with the younger ones. If she does her school work without complaint, and helps out with the younger ones (taking little one potty, getting juice, entertaining etc) for a few hours so I can get some work done, I pay her $5. It's big money to a 9/10 year old! So if you are looking for suggestions here are a few... How many kids do you have in the daycare? Is it possible to scale back on the numbers even if you don't close? Have you considered decreasing daytime care younger kids and increasing before/afterschool care for older kids? Minimize all housework possible... paper plates, plastic forks, plastic cups, rewear clothes (as suggested). Find curriculum that is more independent for older child. Ask spouse for help on weekends. You can't do it alone. Move two days of hs to the weekend... ask spouse to help out here too. My hubby helps on Friday mornings often so I can work on my class stuff. Spread out your year and work into summer so you don't have to do quite as much each day. Have a "cleaning party" - crank up some music, turn off all other electronics, get out cleaning supplies, give a rag and an instruction to each kids and move! My 6 yr old LOVES to help me clean the bathroom.... He love to spray the cleaner, then I wipe it all down. Get the kids involved and have fun! All this said... I know how easy all this is to SAY and how overwhelmed you probably FEEL. Think hard, and if sending the 10 yr old back to school is best for all, do it and don't feel guilty. Good Luck! Edie
Thank you for the advice. I like the idea about paying him to help AFTER he finishes his work. I will try that. You are right when you say that i can't give 100% to both daycare and hsing. I wish that I could quit the daycare, but money is too tight. We live in a very large old house, that has no insulation and is falling apart. During the winter we have our heat down to 68 and we still pay close to $300 a month. DH barely makes enough to pay for the house and utilities. My daycare pays for food, clothes and our car. We have thought about putting him back in school on may occasions, but all the good schools are full right now. We have to make it through this year. We pulled him out because of his learning disabilities. He was not getting the extra help he needed in school. There were 30 kids in his class.:roll: My 5 almost 6 y/o does sit for 40 minutes, but part of the time is spent playing a word matching game. I wish i could do more with him, though. He is more unschooled I guess you can say. I am going to spend the weekend trying to rethink the way I organize my day. I am just too overwhelmed to think right now, another daycare kids is arriving right now. Robin
Don't know if this is possible - but our heat is down to 64 during the day and night - I like it warm though during certain times and have it up to 67 when I wake for an hour and when I get ready for bed. We have one of those things that monitors this stuff. It works great and does save us money (we live in a 30 year old house which at least has insulation but very drafty - we are still filling in spots) Switched on Schoolhouse might work for some subjects. There are also a lot of other types of "computer" programs which might help depending on his learning disabilities. We are using LifePacs for certain things and it works well. Maybe science videos? Bill Nye is cool - and the DVD's have worksheets on them I think - got them at the library I hope you find balance - I know it's tough as I run our farm and marketing it full time along with homeschooling. Just a different type of work load (animals vs kids - LOL)
I also would suggest checking out Jennifers free homeschooling page online, there are lots of things he may find interesting that will keep his attention. 5th grade work is not that hard for him to do himself, Math would need your instruction-- do that at NAP TIME< which I Hope you have? I worked day care for .. many many years! You have to have a schedule in order to work it out right but have lessons set up for your day care kids too. Coloring pictures, pasting pictures, stuff like playdough on tables, or better yet, Shaving creme! It cleans the table and the kids and freshens the home! I have baby sat and home schooled for two weeks, Lol -- thats how long it lasted till dh said no way! I was a wreck at the end of the day, ds11 threw tantrums, and dd hid out in her room -- she did school work but it was not the way I planned for it to work out--- and this was only two little ones! I am sure if I had to do it I could but I don't (thank the Lord) in your case, since you need to, then you just have to get organised sweetie! Start with a preschool schedule for your day care kids ( what ages are they ?) Print lessons from Jens page, that will save you money! If it is possible plan a library story time event once a week , the story person can do that while your ds10 and you look up books on history, US whatever you are studying, they hve great ones with many photos and little words that my ds used to supplement last year. Second make a schedule for ds for school. Give him check marks to check off and give him some sort of a blessing for the ones he completes in the right time period! Give him a cheap 97 cent clip board from Walmart and make that is School Board.. to keep any side sheets and his lessons on. It will mean you need to do up a lesson plan for him each day, or at least weekly, but it will help him feel like he is #1 helping, and #2 in control of his own school.. even though YOU are teaching him, This last thing helped my ds last year, and this year I found he still likes me to write up what he is to do, so I started yesterday at doing that again! I had just had a checklist this year.. but I see that he needs "my Daily Lesson Plan" to come off the computer again, so I will do it next week. He likes to read my little notes ( Math_ Do pages 3 to 4 - remember your flips on the 9 times tables!- English_ book report-- use the form Luke! You can do it! Science- What is a frog? Where did he come from? What does he eat? Do your worksheets on page bla bla bla You get the idea? COlor a map of the area you are wokring in, mark the mountains with tri angles, etc... If you write that out type it up or wahtever for each day of the week, you will save yourself a LOT of problems! Then schedule in time when the Preschool/prekers are doing either video music, or movie time on thier level ( K girl can join them btw) Teach Math concepts, and then let him go sit to do the work, make a special "SCHOOL STATION" for him and lable it! Let the day care kids knwo that is his zone! For K _girl have her do worksheets with preschoolers, doing coloring is good for kindergardeners, Then give her extra work "home school work for big kids" with writing her letters, numbers small words... that she can work on on her own--- the K homework the kids have at our church's school is pretty basic, addition and writing out words. When the out kids come home from school, CHANGE SCHEDULES! Ds10 does home work when the older ones do--- anything he did not do y et! Have the older ones help with this at times, like schedule in half hour as a chore to help little bro. Then have them do thier chores before they are free to play whatever they do... depending on thier age and thier abilities they can do laundry and dishes, and sweep up.. you could pay them at the end of the month for thier chores work, this would be good for them as well as show 10 yr that doing helpful things earns $. I understand you are tight with money thats why I said at the end of the month... make a PAY DAY on the calendar? then take the kids someplace they can spend thier hard earned cash! whatver store, Wal mart or whatver that you have. btw----How many kids do you have in Day care? And I hope it is legal amount os you dont get yourself in trouble?
Also, my suggestion on a weekly schedule is this... Repeat yourself. Even older kids like predictability. For example.. My 3rd graders know they have a check list like this.. Journal writing Typing Spelling Reading Math History Science Now each week the details change, but for example... In spelling the only thing that changes is the actual words... the schedule remains the same... Mon - Write words 5 times each Tuesday Write one sentence for each word Wed - Play online game with spelling words (I have to set that one up a head of time, but an hour once a month is all it takes to enter all the spelling words) Thursday, Write the dictionary entry (Simple format) of each spelling word Friday, spelling test. Now, you see how each week would be the same? The only thing I would need to come up with each week are the actual words. And if you need a list for 5th grade, I got that for you too! http://www.zaner-bloser.com/spellingconnections/practice-pages.html Do the same with other subjects. Making YOUR scheduling relatively easy... you will have a scaffolding of a planner to build on each week.... Make a check off list and he is going to have more structure from which to build off of each day, and he will KNOW if he is done or not and how far he needs to go.
Here is my Twin;s Wiki page, where their schedule is... http://empyreanacademy.pbwiki.com/Twin%27s-Page
