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Helen
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| Posted: March 18 2007 at 7:42pm | IP Logged
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Back in September I hoped that this year would be different. I hoped that by March I wouldn't be totally dragging.
I realize I need to get serious about trying to achieve this goal. So, I've been making some notes on what can help get through the Feb/March fatigue and what adds to the Feb/March fatigue.
I was spurred into posting here after Alice (who is taking a break and I don't want to impose on her) made this post on narration:
Alice wrote:
Whatever you do, don't write them down!
I've been re-reading (at Lissa's urging) Charlotte Mason's Philosophy of Education. What an eye-opener it is. CM never advised that narrations be written down (at least not until the children are old enough to produce written narrations themselves). Narrations are meant to exhibit comprehension of the material and help the child hone his memory and composition skills through the spoken word. The narration process and the knowledge acquired thereby is the goal in and of itself and no work product need be created. (Lissa has written quite a bit about this in the past few months, and I urge you to visit her blog, the Lilting House for more.)
Like you, I have seven children, and I've often joked that I would need a court stenographer to take down the narrations. For years, I would get them to narrate but little because I dreaded having to write or type every word (usually while losing the attention of all the others). Now that I am back to using CM's philosophy exactly as it was intended, my school age children (four of them) are giving me two narrations per day--each. That's right! This would have been completely impossible when I still labored under the yoke of recording narrations!
And you would not believe how easy and what a pleasure it is. I don't have to keep telling the children to slow down while I write, and so they are able to speak naturally and without interruption.
As for work product, that is exactly where it should be--in their heads! The process of narration helps the children remember facts and stories like nothing else in the world. I am so happy it has returned to grace our daily lives once more.
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This advice just shot up to the top of my "Avoid March Burnout" list.
Please feel free to offer any other suggestions or observations. Next year, I want to try to arrive at my goal.
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Joy in Alabama
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Helen,
Every year when I start out I've got wonderful, fun, and educational things planned for the year - I'm always SO excited - even after 20 years of hsing! But by the end I'm tired, the kids are tired and some years I end the year disappointed and feeling like the things I had really wanted to get done, didn't.
At our house we have a good many interruptions to my best laid plans. But I have a quote in my planner which says
"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's own or real life. The truth is, of course, that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending day by day; what one calls one's 'real' life is a phantom of one's own imagination."
This has helped me to feel differently about the "life" that happens in our home.
This year I was starting to feel disappointed that &n bsp; &n bsp; MY school plans have not all been accomplished. I decided to spend some time praying about the goals I had set and pick one or two things that I thought were REALLY important for us to finish this year. I chose one or two for each child and reflected those priorities in my planbook.
We have about 16 official days left and having these priorities has made a difference in my feelings of burn-out/disappointment. I've planned a couple of weeks after my official days are done to have "fun" school and accomplish some of the art projects and read alouds that I haven't had time for, too. I know the kids will enjoy that ending the year that way.
Hope this helps,
J  Y
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 18 2007 at 9:20pm | IP Logged
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We've had some of our best days yet so far.
Just take spring off, do some fun activities, and observe your own March Madness.
Easier said than done,  but each year I see more and more the wisdom behind taking spring time off. At least practice unschooling for awhile.
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Cay Gibson
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: March 18 2007 at 9:32pm | IP Logged
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I agree with Cay. We are having some great days here just taking in all that spring has to offer. MUCH learning going on, just a diferent focus.
Funny thing, if you are familiar at all with the comic Calvin and Hobbes, my husband just this evening commented that our "us-schooling" was the homeschool equivalent of "Calvin ball." It is ever-changing, but always a blast because we just make up the rules as we go along!LOL!! To me, that is a sure-fire way to avoid burn-out! 
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Karen E.
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"Life is what happens while you're making other plans." -- John Lennon
I enjoy the plans, and I enjoy the life. I don't always do it perfectly, but I strive to enjoy the balance.
Love,
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Karen E.
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Visit my blog, with its shockingly clever title, "Karen Edmisten."
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Helen
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| Posted: March 19 2007 at 7:59pm | IP Logged
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lapazfarm wrote:
I agree with Cay. We are having some great days here just taking in all that spring has to offer. MUCH learning going on, just a diferent focus.
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We usually do change gears in Spring. I more or less expect this Homeschooler's Feb/March feeling. I'm questioning my acceptance of this feeling. Should I feel like I *have* to change now.
Does everyone feel worn down (a little or a lot) by now? or are there many people who don't lose their edge by now?
Maybe I need to change the word burnout ... how about ...
Plan for next year: More energy in March
Is this an elusive dream?
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Mary G
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The funny thing is, and I think I wrote this somewhere for another post -- I seem to have more energy and be much more upbeat and "rarin' to go" when it's a beautiful day -- that's why Spring has always been my most productive school time (even when I was in high school and college and grad school and now teaching the kids at home). I just get so much done -- is it the longer days ... the sense of the whole earth coming alive ... I don't know.
I just finished reading The Secret Garden (pre-reading to see if it would be good for the kids -- I couldn't remember ). Anyway, the whole thing about EVERYTHING coming alive again in Spring is so true. Now, depending on where you live, Spring may not have sprung yet ... but Helen, just don't fall into the "real school" trap of trying to cram in everything at the end becuase your curriculum says you must finish this book or that book or whatever. Nature Studies, good books, poetry readings/writings ... these are the things Spring is made of.
You're in my prayers for a relaxed and joy-filled Spring!
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Tina P.
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Mary G wrote:
The funny thing is, and I think I wrote this somewhere for another post -- I seem to have more energy and be much more upbeat and "rarin' to go" when it's a beautiful day -- that's why Spring has always been my most productive school time (even when I was in high school and college and grad school and now teaching the kids at home). I just get so much done -- is it the longer days ... the sense of the whole earth coming alive ... I don't know.
I just finished reading The Secret Garden (pre-reading to see if it would be good for the kids -- I couldn't remember ). Anyway, the whole thing about EVERYTHING coming alive again in Spring is so true. Now, depending on where you live, Spring may not have sprung yet ... but Helen, just don't fall into the "real school" trap of trying to cram in everything at the end becuase your curriculum says you must finish this book or that book or whatever. Nature Studies, good books, poetry readings/writings ... these are the things Spring is made of.
You're in my prayers for a relaxed and joy-filled Spring! |
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Mary, I was looking for what I could cut out of your quote and found ... NOTHING! I love the whole thing.  However, when I shed my coat, I want to go outside. ALL DAY. Forget the books. Math? What's that? Literature? Never heard of it. Just let's get out there and climb rocks, explore nature, look at buds on trees, listen to, find, and try to identify birds.
Your reference to The Secret Garden has got me wanting to read it to the kids (I don't think, by the way, that there's anything objectionable for kids). Even when we *do* have math pages or grammar, when we're doing our spelling (which the kids love, believe it or not), we do it outside, at the picnic table. We *always* like to be outside, be it in the dead of winter or the heat of summer (or anywhere in between). In high school, my favorite runs were in rain or snow (now is that wierd, or what?). My family needs that balance that Karen speaks of. I could easily be knocked off course and be persuaded to lark with the kids in any natural environment. My husband, in strong relief, provides that balance. He stabilizes my outdoor interests. He's the indoor, get it done (and *it* (meaning keeping a perfect house and getting all school done) *never* manages to get done)) before you go outdoors type. Good thing he's not home during the day, eh?  We love him to death anyway! 
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Mary G
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Tina P. wrote:
| Your reference to The Secret Garden has got me wanting to read it to the kids (I don't think, by the way, that there's anything objectionable for kids). |
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No, you're quite right -- it is an excellent book and much better than any of the versions I've seen as movies! The book is so rich with action and buildup -- and even the talk about "magic" is very spiritual and almost religious. In fact, it's a great story about despair and coming back from despair!
Here's the version I've got -- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and illustrated by Graham Rust -- the pictures are glorious (except for those of the kids -- they look too simpy and their cheeks are always bright red spots!).
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hylabrook1
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Mary -
You are a better woman than I am! I love, love, love The Secret Garden, but the dialect makes it just too difficult for me to read aloud. But that gives me an idea - we're driving to Connecticut in 3 or 4 weeks. I can get The Secret Garden as a book on tape and someone with better dialect skills than mine can read it aloud to everyone!
Peace,
Nancy
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Bookswithtea
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I've got the end of the winter blues, and I always feel burned out at this time of the year. This is the time of the year when even a read aloud feels hard. 
I would love to avoid that feeling, but I'm not sure its entirely possible? I mean, there are things that have to be finished. We don't school year round (I think I would lose my mind if we did)and like to break by mid May, which means that now is that time when I start cutting back on things that aren't important and focus on getting done what I feel needs to be finished.
I've often thought that if I plan for a more relaxed schoolyear, maybe I won't feel so burned out. But I think I already do that. My 1st grader spends about 45 minutes total on schoolwork (phonics and math and bible) before read alouds. My 4th grader is done in about 2 hrs before I read history to her, and before her own reading time. My 8th grader works around 4-6 hrs a day including his reading time. To do less than this would leave the kids with too much free time during school days, I think. We only school 4 full days a week with Fridays very light, too.
And I'm still stir crazy, sick of looking at schoolbooks, not much feeling like cooking, and not much feeling like doing something about the laundry piling up, either! 
I'm definitely up for ideas to help avoid this horrible feeling. I do know its worse in years when we have strayed from CM.
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Tina P.
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Nancy, I love messing around with different voices and dialects. I'm reading Rolf and the Viking Bow aloud to my kids currently. I thought it'd be hard to slog through, but it's actually an excellent read. Besides the fact that I had a younger brother and sister to whom I loved to read and hammed it up considerably when I was younger, my background in Shakespeare and Chaucer lends to my great love of reading aloud. Maybe in time I'll be the feminine counterpart to Jim Weiss!
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Tina P.
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I think the fact that we completely started over in February helped avoid that feeling this year. It was a great leap of faith and a great monetary commitment to do it, but OOOOooooh was it worth it!
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JSchaaf
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Tina,
What did you change?
Jennifer
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Angel
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I always feel worn out by Feb/March. Then again, my oldest has special/high needs and my other kids tend to be kind of parenting-intensive, too, so by the end of winter -- after battling snow, cold, winter viruses/infections, and the way my son's behavior gets so much worse when he's cooped up inside for any length of time -- I am ready to run away.
This year when I got that feeling I realized something. The local schools up here in upstate NY have a short Christmas break so they can take a winter break at the end of February. When I started thinking about it, a winter break (especially in this climate) made perfect sense. So I called a break, and we managed to tag along with my husband on a business trip (where we were able to meet Dawn! ), and when we came home everybody felt better -- although I think our spirits are not *really* going to lift until it gets warmer and the snow melts. Our one 60 degree day felt like a little shot of happiness. When we got snow after that, everybody around here got a little grumpy again.
Anyway, I think next year I will just plan for the winter break. We will take off some time in Feb/March, and I will not feel guilty about it. (Honestly I'd just like to head south until June, but that's probably not an option. ) I'm not sure that will solve the cabin fever/exhaustion/depression problem I have this time of year -- which is most likely coupled with a lot of homesickness in my case, but maybe it will help a little.
--AngelaThree Plus Two
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Marybeth
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What about holding back some unit or fun idea for this time of year? We all have those folders or jotted down notes of things we want to get to eventually. Oh please tell me I am not the only one who does this??
My Mom would always have some new book or idea to do at this point in the year. She always said no matter what Feb. and March are the longest months of the year.
I am keeping a list of movies and books for this time next year. We will be homebound with a baby napping so this would be a good time to explore some new ideas or do those science experiments I keep thinking about but don't have a yard of aluminum foil at the time. I am going through my science experiment books this spring/summer...jotting down a supply list,purchasing and putting all the things in a plastic bin until winter/early spring hits. We do science all the time just some experiments are a bit more intense for Mom.
This is why in the classroom we always looked forward to springbreak...the best cure for spring fever.
Marybeth
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alicegunther
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We are putting on a full length production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and practicing throughout winter and spring. Believe me, it keeps the whole family from getting into the doldrums!
(But, then again, I am not the director, or it might be adding to my stress rather than calming it!)
Helen, thank you so much for your appreciative words about the narration post!
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Helen
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Bookswithtea wrote:
I've got the end of the winter blues, and I always feel burned out at this time of the year. This is the time of the year when even a read aloud feels hard. ...
I do know its worse in years when we have strayed from CM. |
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I'm wondering if it might be too much for a homeschooler to try to keep to 10 months of schooling the way the schools do. Schooling here meaning: lesson plans. This year I spent a lot of time with Sound Beginnings and Right Start Math with some special needs students. I don't think that is a good combination (in retrospect.)
Theresa has written on the board that she makes plans about six weeks out. Willa has been writing about her monthly goals at her blog. I'm wondering if planning to use something (like Sound Beginnings) for an "entire school year" isn't a practical idea for a homeschooling family like mine.
Angel wrote:
| I always feel worn out by Feb/March. Then again, my oldest has special/high needs and my other kids tend to be kind of parenting-intensive, too, so by the end of winter -- after battling snow, cold, winter viruses/infections, and the way my son's behavior gets so much worse when he's cooped up inside for any length of time -- I am ready to run away. |
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If a homeschooler has young children (who need a lot of mommy) and special needs students (who need a lot of mommy) then should the curriculum also include a lot of mommy?
I'm considering the importance of less dependence upon me. I don't think this means more workbooks but more of what I've been reading in vol. 6 of Charlotte Mason. Letting the books do the teaching.
Funny, I thought I knew this. But, this year I just haven't been putting the read alouds in first importance.
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alicegunther
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Helen wrote:
| Theresa has written on the board that she makes plans about six weeks out. Willa has been writing about her monthly goals at her blog. I'm wondering if planning to use something (like Sound Beginnings) for an "entire school year" isn't a practical idea for a homeschooling family like mine. |
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This makes a lot of sense. Charlotte Mason had twelve week terms, but I think six week terms might be energizing and and manageable for homeschoolers, perhaps with a week off here and there in between.
It would take a lot of planning, but I think it might be fantastic.
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Marybeth
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I was thinking of schooling for three weeks each month and then a week off at the end of each month. Does anyone else do something similar?
My thought being I could schedule our field trips and such for this particular week. I am tossing around this idea b/c it seems like we don't get to the museums and nature center like I would hope.
My dh is a wonderful man who is the biggest procrastinator. I try to combat this by scheduling outings and marking them on the calendar which makes them more real to him and then off we go. Was thinking of something like this for schooling???
Interesting thread Helen...it has given me much food for thought.
Thanks!
Marybeth
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Plan for next year: No Burnout
