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LLMom
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 11:46am | IP Logged
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I have a dilema. My littles have been needy for the last few weeks but it is fairly usual. I have always used my older 4 children to rotate taking care of the 3 little ones but lately no one but mom will do or they fight so much that the older sibling can't handle them. So, if I spend my time with my littles, my older ones tend not to stay on task. THis year (and last) we have used a pre-package curriculum so they could be more independent. It has helped greatly but they aren't totally independent. They still need mom but naptime is only so long. My 7 year old needs me to help her with math, my 5 year old wants me to teach her to read, my 11th grader needs help editing her papers and translating Latin, my boys need help with english, etc. YOu get the point. So, whose needs are most important? How do I decide who to help? I feel like I can't meet everyone's needs.
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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 1:19pm | IP Logged
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Lisa, this is an enormous dilemma and one that is not foreign to me. I am not sure I have the answer, quite honestly. It is the most difficult challenge of homeschooling across such a wide range of ages.
Looking forward to gathering tips right along with you and grateful to you for your question!
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msclavel
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Lisa (and Alice ) I am right there with you! Honestly most days I always finish the day feeling like I've failed either the big or the littles (sometimes both  ).
This in one thought I'm having.
One of my big goals in the next month is to rework the learning area a bit and make and add in some great Montessori stuff for my little girls. If I can't give them precisely all the time and attention they want, I know I'll feel better if I can provide them much better options than the T.V., which is on waaaay more than it should be. If I just declutter and organize better, I don't think they'll feel so "put aside" when we get going with school for the big kids because they'll know that there are some "school" stuff available for them too..
I'm just not used to this yet so I'm figuring it out as we go along.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 2:47pm | IP Logged
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generally if someone knows that they'll "get a turn" things can flow better. Perhaps the littles would wait better if you got a timer and told them that when the bell rings it's their turn.. start with a very short time (5 min or less) so that you are responding pretty quickly.. and then do something with them, sit and read a book or whatever.. and then you can gradually lengthen the time that you set hte timer for as they feel confident in waiting for you, knowing that when the bell rings it's their turn.
Also doing fun things for them that only happen during school.. like maybe pulling out playdough at one end of the table while you have school at the other end..
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LLMom
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| Posted: Jan 18 2007 at 10:32pm | IP Logged
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I have tried Montessori stuff and they are into dumping it all out but not big on using it or they fight over the stuff. I do have some things for only school time and that helps.
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Lisa
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homeschooling ideas
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Mary G
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| Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 8:05am | IP Logged
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Ah, the hs-big family quandary!
My issue is that I have to biggies (17 and 15) who have been parochial schooled as well as homeschooled throughout their education. This makes for an odd blend of self-motivated and textbook-style learning  .
My littles (8, almost 7 and 4) have been 4Realed for the past few years -- they are more needy than the big ones becuase the littles aren't strong readers yet; I don't do much seat work with them, but I do alot of handson activities, lots of read-alouds and lots of mommy time. But they need me.
I just had a challenging day with the 17 yos yesterday who said I was giving too much of my time to the littles and not enough to him or his sister....probably a true statement and now I need to remedy this. They don't want me for the school stuff, they just want some of my time ... so I'll try to do things with just one or the other throughout the week -- even if it's only staying up late with one and chatting while they have a late snack....
I just think the bigs need our time while the littles must have our teaching, our time and our laps!
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
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MichelleW
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| Posted: Jan 19 2007 at 9:36am | IP Logged
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Would something like this work?
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Michelle
Mom to 3 (dd 14, ds 15, and ds 16)
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Bigs or littles or?
