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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 3:02pm | IP Logged
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First day today (except for a few shorties last week).
Yikes!!! Four children, one in highschool and one learning to read. My head is spinning as I spin what seems like a lot of plates. Did I mention that very bright dd12 is dyslexic!!
It was a good day, but it took a long time (par for the course in the beginning- although it never left us last year  ), and we didn't cover lots of what I wanted to. I don't think my exp. are that big. And I thought I had this multiage thing figured out after 9 years....hmmm.
Any sage wisdom for someone on the long haul?
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 3:21pm | IP Logged
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Tomorrow is a new day with new graces. 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Mackfam
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 6:27pm | IP Logged
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Kristie,
I started 7 weeks ago. I have an 8th grader, 4th grader, preschooler and toddler. I'm really just getting our days down to a very smooth-ish and workable rhythm. Juggling multiple ages is all about time management.
I knew a basic rhythm and I set it up, probably a lot like you did. But with each day, I'd see a way to shift something so that I could better use my time, be more available to a child that needed me, shift subjects around. I make sure that if a child needs me for lessons that require my attention, the other two have plans that allow them to work independently. I stagger like this all day, and I combine what I can across the ages.
I just make notes on my plans (I do them in iCal) and on Friday I make adjustments on the plans for the next week, print them, and try again the next week. I find I can anticipate a good bit as I build our plans, but there's nothing like living them to show me the little holes and weak areas that could be improved.
And, like Jodie said, tomorrow is a new day with new graces! That is such a cheery outlook after a daunting day!  to you for your second day!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Bookswithtea
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 7:31pm | IP Logged
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Ummmmmmm...hang in there and don't get discouraged? I have a toddler, a preschooler, a 1st grader, a 4th grader, an 8th grader and an 11th grader who has 2 courses still at home.
I am not computer calendar saavy. I have a basic routine pinned to the end of a kitchen cabinet that has what I want to accomplish each day listed on it. I check it a few times a day so that I don't forget.
And like Jen said, I am constantly revising the day on the fly to try to make things come together.
If I accomplish 75 percent of what I have planned, I am very happy. Everything above that is a bonus.
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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amarytbc
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 7:41pm | IP Logged
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Next year think about not starting with all of your subjects at once. We do math and two other subjects the first week, add another two the next week and the third week we add electives. Even the high schoolers start gradually. If I was in your shoes, I would have you the younger kids just do math and two other subjects the rest of the week. It will give everyone time to acclimate, you'll see what the weak areas are and can plan accordingly. In the long run I think you'll come out ahead.
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Angel
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 7:43pm | IP Logged
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I've got a very bright 7th grader with learning disabilities, a 5th grader, a 1st grader (learning to read), preK twin boys, and a 2 yo. Whenever we start back up after a long break, I always try to ease into the work. So we usually have an "orientation" week where I show everybody their books, we do math, I try to figure where to put the read alouds, get totally frustrated trying to do math with the 1st grader when the twins are around and decide to move it... that sort of thing. We're in our 4th week and I'm still contemplating changes... and Fridays off. We do our extra chores on Friday mornings because Saturday mornings are for activities, and I need a break which I don't get when we're doing school. (We have to do our academic work when the little guys are asleep.) So I'm thinking of going to a 4 day week and hoping that helps me maintain some sanity!
It's taken me a while to realize that if I continue driving myself with no real thought to my own needs, that I will burn out. So I'm hoping to achieve a better balance this year... thinking of it more as a marathon than as a 26 mile sprint. 
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Angela
Mom to 9, 7 boys and 2 girls
Three Plus Two
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Kristie 4
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 9:11pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for all the great advice. I think part of my problem comes from wanting it all to be so perfect- well educated, well rounded children who can chant declensions, read large books, write with ease and the whole shebang done by 1
Honestly though, I know that I am horrible at transitions. We had a real groove but every time I add another child into the mix it takes quite a while for me to acclimatise myself (into the mix of homeschooling that is!).
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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Becky Parker
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Chocolate solves my problems. This is our second day and I'm sitting here with icecream and chocolate sauce...in a coffee mug in case one of the kids comes running in. I'm hoping they'll think it's tea. 
Actually, I know what you mean regarding the changes that come about when another child is added to the mix. And, if it's not another child, it's something else, even just teaching different grades than I have taught previously. I just pray for grace and expect the first 3-4 weeks to be rocky. I just got done explaining to my perfectionist dd that the beginning of the school year is never exactly how we want it. We need to get into our "groove". It'll get better. The older ones will settle into more independence. The little ones will lose some of the excitement that comes with new materials and routines and everything will settle down.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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nissag
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I don't know how sage my advice might be, but it comes with love and prayers.
Simplify everything. Your household management, your schedule, your kids curricula. Be a ruthless editor of your life. I know how you're feeling. I have a high-school, a jr. high school, an elementary school, two toddlers, an infant, and a nearly-grown-up who may just decide that one more year of homeschooling is a great idea...
I have begun to subscribe to the "one thing" philosophy. I no longer teach or facilitate "subjects", but go with a family project for the week, or block of weeks - which we work on together for a bit each day, and individual blocks similar to Waldorf main lessons. That's it. Everything else is extraneous and we get to it if we get to it. Our projects and main lessons are designed to cover all of the "subject" areas by the time a year is up.
It's so much more sane, and learning feels very authentic to us.
We start our new 'school year' on Michaelmas Day.
Blessings,
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Nissa
Deacon's wife, mother of eleven, farmer, teacher, creator, cook.
At Home With the Gadbois Family
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amyable
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| Posted: Sept 09 2009 at 12:51pm | IP Logged
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Becky Parker wrote:
| Chocolate solves my problems. This is our second day and I'm sitting here with icecream and chocolate sauce...in a coffee mug in case one of the kids comes running in. |
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I did this exact thing at lunch today, for the same reason.
Watching this thread for replies! We're battling flu recovery on top of the usual multi-age/dyslexic thing right now.  Personally, I think my biggest "fault" or personality difference that impinges on our success is my inability to be a good leader and rouse the troups to do my bidding at every turn.
No real advice, but my mind does keep coming back to a long ago talk of Elizabeth's, where she says "Perfection is God's business, ours is just the trying." So I keep trying! 
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Kristie 4
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Hmmm...I won't tell you how many chocolate chips I have eaten this week! Why did my dh get the large econo. bag??
Also the icecream- except I slipped into the bathroom to eat it!!
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
A Walk in the Woods
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Babs
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Becky,
"This is our second day and I'm sitting here with icecream and chocolate sauce...in a coffee mug in case one of the kids comes running in. I'm hoping they'll think it's tea."
You are a very wise woman. This is advice I can use!!
And thanks for making me laugh - we can probably all use that the first few weeks of school.
God Bless,
Barb
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Yikes...
