Friday, October 14, 2011

homeschool mother's journal...




In my life this week…

well, i've cried.
that's big for me since i'm not a crier.
but sometimes a mama just has to go take a bath at 10 am and cry her eyes out.
right?
right?


In our homeschool this week…
well, being the 'new' homeschooler i am, i was totally unprepared for columbus day.
sunday night i looked at the calendar and rushed to pinterest to find craft ideas.
at 10 pm , trying to print out columbusish stuff, i realized my printer was out of ink.
let's just say i'll be paying a lot more attention to the calendar in the future!
we did go on our first field trip!
we headed out to the fire station
(the oldest monkey chose not to go)

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
well, hhmmmmm.
i ran across this article last week. 
apparently it made several people angry, but i felt it was such a heartfelt and honest article, that i took no offense, just absorbed...



What’s working/not working for us…

well, my oldest is really fighting me on just about every aspect of school (and life, but that's not for now...)  so i am rethinking our school days.
i maybe switching it all up and having blocks of time for each student, otherwise, he absorbs so much of my time and energy, i have very little for the other kids.
he drags a 20 mintue lesson into hoooouuurrrsss  long.
my thought right now is to tell him "you have between 10-12 for my help.  should you choose to throw a fit, refuse to do your work, etc. your time is up anyways"
any advice?


Questions/thoughts I have…
if i should change history to more of a unit study approach?



I’m cooking...

diet food,
can you please eat a cookie for me?


I’m grateful for…a Heavenly Father who, despite my discouragement, questioning and doubts,
has a plan and a purpose for us that is being weaved to reveal itself.




I’m praying for…
wisdom.
hehe.
and for 10 lbs to be gone next week.
(kidding...kinda)



A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
***don't look if you are squemish or from PETA***



blessings,
mandy


10 comments:

Aloha Acres said...

My 16 yr old is showing a little resistance lately as well. It's hard to get the lazy, public school mentality out of him! And it's hard not to just SCREAM at .. I mean with him. :)

Just remember we are all in this together. I'll be checking back to hear if you've gotten advice from others that have also gone before us.

Andrea said...

Found you through the Homeschool Chick.

I'm so with you on the balancing time between children (I also have four :) ).

I have found that setting blocks of time does help. Setting the time to keep us to that block of time helps immensely - I don't always do this, but find I'm more committed to sticking to the time blocks when I do. A great resource you might want to check out is "Managers of Their Homes." It's written for homeschool families and it brought lots of encouragement and great ideas. I got it through Rainbow Resource catalog.

Andrea

Becca said...

I like your plan. At my house when I have a child not doing work in a timely manner, that child works until the work is finished and her sister gets to stop when her work is finished. Last week it happened with my 7YO working longer. When she saw her sister done, she scooted through her math right quickly!

Unknown said...

Oh, so sorry to read about your difficult week! Even us who've been at it for a while - this is my 8th year homeschooling - have weeks like yours! Hang in there! The first year is QUITE a learning experience for EVERYONE!

All kids and situations are different, but have you simply talked with your oldest about what's going on? Perhaps he can offer some insight into what you need to do to make days go smoother for all of you. Sometimes it's surprising what's going on WITHIN them!

And I found that as the kids got older, writing daily assignments in a notebook or white board for them to work through in whatever order they chose worked wonders (and didn't cost a lot of money or time). Sometimes knowing EXACTLY what they need to accomplished to finish the day makes a difference.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Kara said...

Hang in there!! I am sorry it has been such a hard week!

I read the article and thought it was really helpful as a parent not just a homeschooler! :)

katie at brighton park said...

I read the homeschooling blindspots article. thank you for sharing! re: history; we love doing unit studies. We do "theme unit thursdays" for a fun theme each month and I find other subjects (like history and science) lend themselves well to units! stopping by from the homeschool mothers journal. newest follower.

Anonymous said...

Hey there- thanks for your comment on my blog :) I am glad you found me, and I am glad I found you! Hang in there the first year is such an adjustment for you and your kids. I love your blocked-time idea. I do the same thing, only a bit differently since my two are back-to-back in school. I also like OSOTM advice on writing out your sons assignments and letting him finish them they way he wants. We do that and it has really made both my kids take the bull by the horns and run with their work! We use Epi Kardia for History. You might enjoy it if you are looking at unit studies. I am off to read the article you posted, I love a controversial not loved article :)

Rebecca said...

Sorry no cookie eattin' going on here either! ;)

As a person who has spent the last 20 years on a diet, I mean slim fast & starving were my constant companions! I've recently had this revelation, eat breakfast (duh) I eat 1 egg, 1 turkey sausage, 1 fruit. Then just meat, veggies & fruit for dinner & supper. I save pizza meals & such for when we have company or go out on occasion. AND, AND the best part I've lost 20.2 lbs since Sept 6th & I have NOT felt hungry!!! I took the lead from talesfromthecoopkeeper.blogspot.com she's lost like 60 or 70 lbs!

Just said a prayer for you! Have a GREAT day! :)

Jayme Goffin, The Coop Keeper said...

Oh my - I remember those days. My advice? Don't sweat it. Especially the first year, I think we drive the kids nuts with our 'schedules and routines'. The best thing you can teach them is to be happy, have peace - and you've got to teach them that by example.

Valerie said...

Hi Mandy. Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving your kind comments.

I wish I had some advice to offer...but as I've never homeschooled, I don't. I would agree with most of the other comments about not sweating it...sounds like maybe your oldest is going through some tough times and needs to sort this all out. Doesn't excuse him from doing the work but does allow you to approach him with grace!

Loved the article you linked to...we pulled Mary Catherine from public school this year and put her in Catholic school...and yes, I see bits and pieces of myself in that article. I truly believe that we want our children to be in this world and not of it...but sometimes we lose our way in our pursuit to raise Christ-loving children.

Thanks so much for the food for thought!!!

Valerie

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