| Author | |
LisaR
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2226
|
| Posted: Aug 14 2007 at 7:26am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Kathryn, I missed hearing that you are putting them in school! Is there somewhere I can read about what type of school it is, and why you chose it?
BTW the toddler plans for Naomi you have sound lovely! 
__________________
Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
Thomas 11
Dominic 8
Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bookswithtea
Forum All-Star
Joined: July 07 2005
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2621
|
| Posted: Aug 14 2007 at 7:27am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I just wanted to add that because we love our children and want the best for them so much, we often feel anxiety *no matter what* educational method we choose. Nothing is perfect. If you homeschool, your child will have good and bad years, and some gaps in his education. There is no getting around it. If you choose the traditional school route, he will also have good and bad years, and gaps!
Given that you said public and private schooling is out of the question financially, for now, I would say this:
Homeschooling a 5 yr old should not take more than 1-1/2 hours a day, tops. You must have done it right! Use that extra time to go to the library or on nature walks, or bake in the kitchen, or just let him climb trees in the back yard.
Oh, and don't feel like your child's socialization opportunities need to come from the homeschool world. He can join t ball, tiger cubs, the local Tai Kwon Do club, or maybe attend interesting one time classes at your local library. Socialization is overrated for 5 yr olds, imho. They need lots of mom and family and short get togethers with other children.
Mom isolation is another problem, altogether. Sigh...many many moms experience this to some degree. Pray for God to show you an avenue that will work with your situation, like a women's bible study, a MOPS type program, etc...
Hang in there, and say no to anxiety. I have panic attacks sometimes over the choices we've made. God is the author of peace, and I try to hang onto that and move forward.
__________________
Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
GraceandCoffee
Forum Rookie
Joined: May 24 2007
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 50
|
| Posted: Aug 14 2007 at 10:46am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Everything you all are saying makes sense. I told my husband about it, and he said the best advice I've received is to pray. Then we had a long conversation about education last night, and it was extremely helpful to be reminded that our own educations actually didn't fully prepare us for the calling God had on our lives. That not everyone is called to do the same thing, and the educational system we have in place in our country treats everyone in the same way. That's one major reason we like the idea of homeschooling. Our discussion was much more detailed than that, but holding a baby makes it hard to type... 
today has been slightly rougher, but not much. only in that I am learning what kinds of methods communicate Bible stories the best. :) And narration is a new concept for my kids, so it took most of the morning to read, and reread (I know Charlotte mason said only once, but we're just sputtering to a start here...) and then to convince my son to tell it back and not have to prompt him or ask him questions to get him to say anything. I turned to a story book, and he finally started telling it back, but he was making up his own new story. So I told him that was wonderful, but first he needs to tell me the one we just read as I write it down for him. Then he could tell me his own story.
Next is math. I have no curriculum due to lack of money, but we'll get one eventually. Right now, We're just doing addition with home made worksheets and manipulatives. He loves math, so that's easy.
Then there's handwriting. I believe it's important to work on good penmanship, and since he can already write all his letters, I want to work on perfecting each one. Maybe this takes years...
The little ones are cutting and pasting and coloring and learning a letter of the week and a number.
So really it's going well. We've done snack time and tricylces in the garage due to the horrific heat. Nature study will have to wait. I'm letting them watch Little Einsteins right now. I think it's a great show for exposing them to art, nature (in an abstract sense of course), fairy tales, and classical music. Plus they love it.
So I don't feel as panicked. I need to hear all the things you all are saying and I'm eager to hear more. It's all helping me to sort this out and shift my mental paradigm. Lisa, I am amazed at how you are relating to my struggles. It's so nice not to be alone! can I come for coffee? I guess Louisiana is a bit far away though. :)) Cay, I really needed to hear that part about living in the moment and brandishing the sword and moving on. That image is emblazened on my mind now. :)
Back in April when I was struggling with all this, I just decided to sit down on the couch and teach Benjamin to read. He flew through 17 lessons in one sitting of "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". He kept bringing me he book through about lesson 40, and now he can read quite a lot. We have more to learn in reading of course. And reading well is one of my goals for this year.
I am re-reading your comments. This is helping.
__________________
Wife to the most wonderful man in the world, and mama to 4 beautiful children: meteorologist age 7, naturalist age 5, ballerina age 4, and baby boy age 19 months
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Land O' Cotton
Forum Pro
Joined: July 02 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 251
|
| Posted: Aug 14 2007 at 11:01am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Here is a link on Cathy Duffy's site re: Math without a textbook. It has some great ideas you can put together on the cheap!
http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/math/working_without_text_a rticle.htm
Hang in there! It sounds like you're doing a great job, and I'm realizing myself that it's really a marathon, not a sprint. You are giving your children the best gift they can receive, and that is your love and direction in their journey through childhood.
__________________
Vicki
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
missionfamily
Forum All-Star
Joined: April 10 2007
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1859
|
| Posted: Aug 14 2007 at 3:54pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Phoebe-- I wanted to get to you all day yesterday but was full with our first full day of the learning routine too. All the thoughts here are wonderful and I don't want to be repetitive, so I wanted to add a comment to something I think I picked up on in your post.
You talked about accomplishing so much and yet feeling you had done nothing and about the comraderie when dropping off and picking up and going to school events. You also asked about socialization. Here are some things I thought about:
When Quinn was kindergarten age, for me, it felt like a miracle to have myself, the kids, and the house in order on any given day. It was something to applauded and marveled at, and there was no one there to do it! My dh, appreciative as he was, didn't come home and cheer every day because I had managed to do my job and there wasn't anyone else to proclaim the wonder of the day too. I am,by nature, an actor and a writer, I need a stage, and darn it, I need applause! I was relatively shocked when I pulled off something so wonderful and no one noticed! Over time, however, as I struggled daily to keep on without the awe of others, those once miraculous days began to seem normal, and I began to like their gentle rhythm and the quiet anonymity of it, and I no longer felt like the world was missing out on the miracle at my kitchen table. I still need an audience every now and then, so I get it for myself, by inviting people over for tea and to see a play the kids and I made up or reading their narrations to proud grandparents, or planning a weekend gathering for homeschool moms  ! The relative anonymity of motherhood takes some growing into for us artsy types who thrive on human relations. Give it some time, and al ot of prayer for the humility and fortitude it takes. And every now and then, treat yourself to an audience!
I wanted to also say something about socialization. I think we sometimes misuse the word. Socialization is the process by which our kids learn social norms and codes, like sharing, manners, taking direction, being obedient, communicating. All this can be learned from mom and siblings at home. Socialing is the process of enjoying another's company---and that's what we really wonder if we'll miss out on, not only for our kids, but for ourselves. Again, for some temperments, like mine, this is not just fun, it is an emotional necessity. Recognizing this, I seek out or create the opportunities for it as I can, being careful not to let it interrupt the real processes of socialization and education which are at their richest in my own home.
I hope some of this makes sense and is helpful, if not ignore me. 
__________________
Colleen
dh Greg
mom to Quinn,Gabriel, Brendan,Evan, Kolbe, and sweet St. Bryce
Footprints on the Fridge
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
SallyT
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 08 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2489
|
| Posted: Aug 15 2007 at 12:02am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I don't have much to add to all the wonderful things that everyone has said -- except that I will be praying for you as well.
I felt for your sense of panic and anxiety on the first day -- I have felt that way about every new thing I've ever done! I remember holding my first baby right after she was born and thinking, "Dear Lord, WHAT have I done?" Thirteen years later, I'm still really pretty glad I did it. Glad I didn't listen to those initial feelings! I have felt that way about new houses, I felt that way the day we were received into the Catholic Church . . . and I felt that way about actually making the step from THINKING about homeschooling to DOING it. That was four years ago, and I have never been sorry that we made this decision. But I was sorry that first day!
The moral is, I guess, that while peace speaks the truth, anxiety rarely does. I don't know how both of those things can be true, but I strongly believe that they are.
Also -- don't worry about getting "the method" right right away. I would not worry too much about narration this early and this young, at least not formal narration. Focus on enjoying reading together, looking at nature together, etc -- you can encourage your child to talk casually about what you've been doing, maybe over lunch, or let him draw while you read, or play something quietly. I often find that after we've read something my 5yo enjoys, later the same day he'll be "playing" it with dressups, lego figures, plastic animals, or whatever else comes to hand. That kind of "process-through-play" is a mode of narration, and fills the same bill, especially for a young child.
At any rate, it takes time to get into a new mode of doing and being, and maybe even more time to feel comfortable and confident in it. It also takes time to transition from one comfort zone to another. So maybe just focus on re-learning how to enjoy being together as a family, and give yourself time to learn to enjoy that way of being as much as you enjoyed the community feeling of the school. After all, it's not the case that you left off doing something right to do something wrong -- you left one situation to do something different and new, and it will take time for the different and new to feel familiar and safe. Maybe the answer will ultimately be school -- but don't let your anxiety make that decision. So in the meantime be easy on yourself, as well as praying!
"Not much to add" -- as if.
Praying for you,
Sally
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Kathryn UK
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 27 2005
Location: England
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 924
|
| Posted: Aug 15 2007 at 8:09am | IP Logged
|
|
|
LisaR wrote:
Kathryn, I missed hearing that you are putting them in school! Is there somewhere I can read about what type of school it is, and why you chose it?
BTW the toddler plans for Naomi you have sound lovely! |
|
|
The school they are going to is our local state (public) Middle school. It was more a case of choosing school rather than choosing a particular school, as there is only one possibility at this point. Catholic school simply isn't an option. Most Catholic schools here are state funded and there isn't a state Catholic school locally. The majority teach only a very watered down version of the Faith, so I'm actually quite glad I don't have to make the decision whether to send them to one or not (dh would leave that decision to me as he is not Catholic). Private Catholic school would be way out of our league financially.
Our local area has a three tier system - unusual for the UK- with Lower, Middle and Upper Schools (grade equivalents would be Pre-K to 3, 4 to 7 and 8 to 12). All the local schools have good reputations, and our reasons for homeschooling were always positive, rather than because we were not happy with the schools available. In fact the Middle School the girls will be going to in September is the least good ... I think it could be more academically challenging, and it is large and can be a bit impersonal ... but we don't have any major issues with it. In the past we could have chosen between this and another Middle School, but the alternative school is full for next year. Rachel will be moving on in a year to the Upper School which is excellent, and I am sure will be a good fit for her. With Hannah we are taking things a year at a time, with the option for her to come home. There is also the possibility that she might apply for a very academic girls school later on - it is also a state school but entry is by examination.
I wrote a bit on my blog here about why we decided to send them. Rachel is very social and we think will learn better with the stimulus of learning with others; Hannah is more like Cay's daughter and is school curious. As she will be starting in the first year of Middle School it is a sensible time for her to try it. Bottom line is that although it wasn't something we had been planning - at least, not yet - once the idea was on the table everything fell into place and we both felt it was the right thing. The peace I have about it was reinforced when they went to a taster day in July. Hannah has been put into a class with two sensible friends I think will be a very good influence on her - I couldn't have picked better if I had been drawing up the class lists. And one is Catholic too .
__________________
Kathryn
Dh Michael, Rachel(3/95) Hannah(8/98) Naomi(6/06)  (11/07)
The Bookworm
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: This is what makes me panic about hs
