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time4tea
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| Posted: March 03 2009 at 2:13pm | IP Logged
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Hi All,
While I truly love having my 5dc home, and while they love it too, I must admit I have never been a "natural" when it comes to homeschooling. I love having discussions with my dc and sharing learning experiences with them, but I am no good when it comes to artsy-craftsy kinds of projects, planning lessons, and I just seem to continually suffer from a crisis of confidence when it comes to being comfortable and having a sense of trust that we are on the right path curriculum-wise. On top of all of this, I am horribly, terribly, severely burned out due to several stressful situations that have occurred for our family over the past several years. In order to mitigate some of the stress and burn-out, we enrolled our family in MODG this past academic year. I wanted to be able to take advantage of their TA/TD program for our two oldest in 10th and 8th, and all in all it went pretty well for them. The program has not been a good fit for our younger two dc, one of whom is dyslexic and absolutely cannot use WRTR or Sound Beginnings, and really struggles with keeping up with the reading they want done for a 3rd grader. I know that the simple answer is to just read the books to her, but quite honestly, I can't always do that and I can't always read everything that she needs to have read because I have 3 other dc to school plus a very active toddler to chase. On top of all this, we are in the midst of a financial situation here that may make it out of the question for us to register with MODG again next year, because we just may not be able to afford it. I am currently trying to research what other curricular options may be out there for a mom who is just so burned out that everything seems so overwhelming. Our oldest will be in 11th, and I want to make sure that that student in particular gets a good, solid year of schoolwork, particularly preparing for the writing assignments needed for college (dc will most likely attend our local community college). Our next in line will be in 9th next year and then I will have one in 4th and one in 1st/2nd grade, plus the toddler. I am considering Five in a Row for the two in grade school, and have already been able to confirm that our library has most of the books required to do Vol. 1. I do not know what to do for the older two, but am considering purchasing IEW's Teaching Writing Structure and Style, because the two older dc and then eventually all of the other dc can use it. A homeschooling friend gave me an Apologia Biology book, so I will use that and we also have some Earth Science materials for the 9th grader. I have a Saxon Algebra 1 book for the 9th grader as well. Does this sound like a good start? Can I really do this?? I know that probably sounds so ridiculous to many of you here, but I really do - and always have - struggled with confidence in the area of feeling comfortable with my curricular choices. I wish I could have the sense of security that many other moms have, but I just don't  .
Please tell me that this is doable. Share with me your experiences with IEW if you can, for high schoolers, and whether or not you have found it helps prepare them for college writing. I really need something that will hold my hand, because I don't have the energy to do endless research or invent my own lesson plans, or synthesize something from a variety of different sources 
For those of you who have done FIAR, or other similar literature based studies - what do you supplement phonics/grammar/reading for grade schoolers? I have Primary and Intermediate Language Lessons - will they work? I was going to use CHC spellers, because we have had good experience with them so far.
Thank you all in advance for sharing your wisdom here. I am feeling rather discouraged right about now , and so looking forward to hearing from you 
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Blessings to you!
~Tea
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: March 03 2009 at 2:54pm | IP Logged
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I have two minutes before the baby will certainly cry again.
you can do this.
IEW is awesome. Really awesome. Furthermore, I honestly believe that if your children are well grounded in the faith, if they can read, if they know and do what is taught in the IEW courses well, and if they can do math (I'd choose Teaching Textbooks over Saxon), they'll do well in college. IEW will teach you how to teach in great detail. it's all there and it's practically scripted. So, how's that for my two minute vote of confidence?
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Carole N.
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| Posted: March 03 2009 at 3:36pm | IP Logged
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It is close to my bedtime, but I just wanted to say that you can do this.
I have used the IEW program and I have met Andrew Pudewa. The program is great and he is down to earth. My dc love him and look forward to the class.
And I agree with what Elizabeth has written. It is not always about curriculum although having the right program for a child helps, but about teaching the children to want to learn.
And I have been where you are in trying to decide what to do and how to go about doing it, so I can understand how you are feeling. I pretty much go through this every spring when I am making choices! 
So you have my vote of confidence as well. 
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 Carole ... in Wales
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time4tea
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| Posted: March 03 2009 at 3:37pm | IP Logged
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Elizabeth,
Thank you! I needed to hear that! Do you use just the Teaching Writing Structure and Style, or do you also recommend any other IEW products to use as well, such as the History writing or the intensives?
Thank you again!
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Blessings to you!
~Tea
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stellamaris
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| Posted: March 03 2009 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
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My dear sister in Christ, you CAN do all these things through our Lord who gives you strength. I have been schooling my own children for 22 years now, and there has never been a year where I have not had a "crisis of confidence"! So you are not such a failure at all! A few years ago, I also had a period of severe burnout, physically exhausted with failing adrenals, my husband working away from home, 3 of my eight children in high school, a pair of 3-yr old toddler twins (one with special needs), and a one-year old plus menopause...and financial troubles,too! At that time I sat down and listed all the pros and cons of putting my children into a public/private school, because I really was struggling with the homeschool demands. There were many reasons pro, but really one outstanding reason that spoke against it...their eternal salvation. I decided then that my stewardship of their souls was the primary goal, and that academic success would be secondary. The older children are all in (and one graduated from) college, and have done quite well. The younger ones are slightly behind in their grade levels, but we have a more "whole" life, using living books, nature walks, and a more family-oriented approach. They love the Faith and really I am amazed how much they know! So God has been good! I have used IEW (Teaching Writing Structure and Style) for the older children last year and also I used the Ancient History IEW for my 8th grader this year (She did TWSS last year). It is a good, foundational writing program and TWSS has CD's so the kids could work on their own. My daughter scored a 10 out of 12 on her SAT writing test, so I think that's a good testimonial! I will say that it focuses mainly on expository writing, so if you want to do creative writing, poetry, or persuasive writing,you might have to address that separately. Also, you will need to work on mechanics separately. We do this by just addressing the spelling, punctuation, and word usage issues that are in the children's rough drafts. One last comment, try to take care of your own health. Stress is a serious health threat, and the best antidotes are regular sleep, regular exercise,regular meals, and prayer! You will have more time and energy for your family if you can slowly begin to make your health a priority. God bless you; I will offer my Rosary tonight for you and your family.
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: March 03 2009 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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time4tea wrote:
Elizabeth,
Thank you! I needed to hear that! Do you use just the Teaching Writing Structure and Style, or do you also recommend any other IEW products to use as well, such as the History writing or the intensives?
Thank you again! |
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I wait until they are narrating fluently in writing and then I use Teaching Writing Structure and Style.This year, I'm using the history writing. It teaches the same things as TWSS, but the content dovetails with our history. I used the high school course with Michael and a friend's son with great success.
__________________
Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: March 03 2009 at 6:01pm | IP Logged
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Tea, I can really relate to all that you say. I think we are similar. In fact, I think I have probably written almost the same post before!
This has, in a way, been my first year of fairly successful, relaxed schooling. I could certainly tweak some things, but overall we are doing well. It is bittersweet because it took letting go of my hopes for my oldest to do this.
Anyway, for your younger, I think that FIAR might be too open-ended. I have a hard time following through with it.
Is Sonlight an option for you? You could do the two younger, and maybe even the 9th grader, together just by picking the same history and using different readers for them. I always go back to Sonlight because it gives me structure and helps me keep a semblance of a timetable for our studies without locking me into a rigid schedule of daily assignments. Really, I just use their booklists. For ds 11, I try to ask him discussion questions because he hates narrating.
The one thing I am finding out this year is that I need some "busywork" for my middle kids because almost everything we are doing we either do as a group or I help them with (especially ds 11). So, the mornings I can't get moving or get tied up with someone else, I have a couple of kids who roam around without direction. Of course, there is always something to read and that is what I tell them to do, but it does help to have a workbook or two for them to work on. For us, this has been Explode the Code books, or handwriting, and now we are doing MindBenders which ds 11 loves. Very little writing and interesting work, a good combination for him.
Big hugs to you! You can do this!
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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time4tea
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| Posted: March 04 2009 at 9:02am | IP Logged
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Thank you everyone for your encouragement! Molly, I was thinking of you as I wrote my post! I have seen you post the same kinds of concerns so many times. It helps to know that I'm not alone with my fears, that other moms struggle with the second guessing, too.
I had really hoped we would be able to keep our oldest ds with MODG through high school, and that has also been a let down for me. He really liked his teacher, and she really was a source of encouragement for him. He is mildly dyslexic and attended public school before we began homeschooling. He really struggled in ps and had some teachers who literally tormented him to the point where he began having panic attacks as a 4th grader. While he knows I am always supportive of him, having his MODG teacher send him encouraging notes on his compositions, etc., really boosted his morale and made him ve been looobelieve in himself. I am grieving the fact that he will lose that relationship with this teacher who has been such an encouragement to him. We just cannot afford the $$ to keep him in the program.
I have been looking into TWSS. I would be using it with the two oldest in high school only. I really like Primary and Intermediate Language Lessons for the younger ones. If anyone has any tips for streamlining the day, things that have worked for you, please share, I would love to hear your wisdom in these areas.
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Blessings to you!
~Tea
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: March 04 2009 at 10:18am | IP Logged
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Tea,
I wonder if MODG has any sort of assistance for already enrolled families. Obviously, they can't help everyone who would want to enroll and can't afford it, but maybe since you are already part of the program. Can't hurt to ask.
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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hereinantwerp
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| Posted: March 05 2009 at 12:29pm | IP Logged
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My very dear friend/Catholic neighbor simply uses Seton. I realize that is not for everyone, but in a way I see that they "get the school done," and are freed to focus on other areas. They are extremely involved in 4-H, animals, sewing, lots of community service and church. That is where their REAL interests lie. She feels the whole teaching and choosing curriculum stuff is just not her, her interests are elsewhere. So, I don't know. It's a whole different way of thinking. Sonlight can be very "programmed" for you but is still living books. Looking back I think one of my best years of hsing was when I used Sonlight 4 and actually stuck pretty closely to the IG. Although that wasn't "the ideal" for me, we had a relatively peaceful and productive year! I also looked into K-12 and a very similar state-sponsered option based around the computer--we might have gone for that if my oldest son didn't have "computer abuse" issues, if I could trust him not to wander to game sites, so that we have to literally sit next to him whenever he uses the internet . I've known moms who used these K-12 and Sonlight options (meaning Sonlight "by the IG") and felt really freed up by them. I also seriously considered Calvert and think it may have been a great option for my oldest if I had found it earlier--He loved a level of structure that was just NOT in me to provide!
I have always had the "living books" dream, but sometimes planning it all has simply felt overwhelming. Especially as the kids got older. For some people, figuring out all the planning feeds their creativity and they love it. I have found some freedom in the ideas that, 1. Much as I might want to, I can't do EVERYTHING, 2. Sometimes something (like, even a curriculum choice), can be "good enough" without being IDEAL (a really, really hard thing for me to accept, but a reality that is bringing me a lot of peace!!), and 3. Sometimes it is really freeing to be able to just delegate an area and have it off my shoulders--or two or three!
It also helps me to get out of the "have to" rut. "I HAVE TO do it this way, it's the only choice . . .". It helps me to step back and try to look objectively at--what serves this child's needs best right now? What is best considering the whole family? And for me?? (because if you're burned out and overwhelmed the whole family picture goes askew). "School"/how they will be educated, is just one piece of the picture, homeschooling one way to go about it, different homeschooling methods are one tool, but the OVERALL PICTURE is of a family living in peace, growing in faith and love, and serving Christ. That can happen in so many different ways and the "answers" that work for people are so very, very individual.
Sometimes for individual decisions, when I am overwhelmed, just relying on dh's opinion and going with it has helped me, too :)
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Angela Nelson
Mother to Simon (13), Calvin (9), and Lyddie Rose (3)
my blog: live and learn
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Birdie
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| Posted: March 05 2009 at 9:41pm | IP Logged
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If anyone has any tips for streamlining the day, things that have worked for you, please share, I would love to hear your wisdom in these areas.
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I do have some tips, though this is just my 7th year hsing, no highschoolers yet, I would pick themes for the youngers something like is suggested in the For Real Learning Book, that way I could focus on the basics with the youngers and have them do some fun activities and writing assignments instead of having them do a book a week it's a theme a month. Do you have the For Real Learning book?
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Tell me I can do this.........
