Playing catch-up and saying no
I was on one of our local co-op sites early this morning reading about the classes that they’re offering, and some of them sounded interesting. I had a fleeting thought that it would be nice for the kids if we were participating in some outside group classes. Then, the reality check hit me that next year I’ll be teaching 4 different grade levels, and there’s no way I can do a decent job in home studies and have the outside responsibilities of co-op classes, as well. Sometimes, you just have to say “no”‘because no is the right thing to say. We can’t be involved in everything. Maybe if I only had a couple of kids to teach, but I’ve got 4 minds to shape, so I have to be very selective on where we spend our time.
Today, for example, I decided to keep us home for the afternoon and evening and skip extracurriculars. My second son is getting over a stomach thing, and I still needed to work with my oldest on math. It was a gorgeous day outside, but we needed to cover a large amount of academics. Keep in mind that I’m one-on-one with each kid the majority of the time, so even when they are getting a break, I’m not because I’m moving to the next child. I spent all afternoon going from different subjects with each child, and I was constantly moving from room to room or getting back up from just sitting. I finished fractions around 10 o’clock with my second grader, and this was after I was reviewing fact families and number bonds with my first grader.
I still have quite a ways to go in our studies before we can say they’ve completed what they need to know for this school year (according to Calvert). My husband knows I’ve been in serious teaching mode lately, because it’s hard for me to shift gears from homeschooling to anything else. My mind is just constantly going on this, especially when I feel stressed about covering what I want or need to cover. I don’t even think I changed out of my sweatpants all day-that’s lovely. We did watch Looney Tunes after dinner. My girlfriend had sent over a left-over quiche which I was very appreciative of. I love free food, especially if it gets me out of dinner planning!
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Dinner at 9:30
This afternoon’s schedule was bordering on crazy. It looked like this:
4:00-drop daughter at gymnastics
4:30-drop second son at soccer
5:00-5:45-work with other 2 sons on schoolwork
6:00-pick up second son from soccer
6:15-drop oldest son at lacrosse
6:30-feed snacks to 2 youngest sons and change into warmer clothes
7:20-pick up oldest son at lacrosse
7:30-drop oldest son at soccer
7:45-pick up at daughter at gymnastics
8:00-go back to soccer practice, run on the track and work out while oldest is in practice-yah! Go it in!
9:00-practice ends
9:30-feed kids dinner after baths (chicken fajitas with precooked chicken)
10:00-bedtime for kids, no read-alouds as it’s just too late
Now, it’s after 11:00 and I’ve got to clean the kitchen and regroup for tomorrow. I need to read on some other activities such as our Lego club and review history, so I’ll see what I get to before collapsing. What’s scary is my youngest son hasn’t really started into outside activities yet. Not sure what that’s going to look like in the future.
The oldest son is still up reading as he didn’t finish his homework today that has a deadline of tomorrow.
Marathon!!
How to encourage independent learning in your child
My oldest kids listen to their history stories sitting on bean bags in their closet and seem to enjoy this time. A nice surprise for me was that they did this on their own today without instruction or encouragement. I try to pick-up on what their interests are and provide books and experiences encompassing those loves. Not always easy. There’s also a part of learning that says to expose your child to many different subjects in the grammar stage, and that they’re too young to really know what their interests are yet.
Another good read..
The Independent Learner: Tip No. 2
Build on their interests…
I want to pick up where I left off last post — If you want to raise an independent learner, then build your program around your child’s interests. Independent learners are intrinsically motivated to learn. And interest is the fuel of that intrinsic motivation. You want to keep that fuel in abundant supply. If you don’t build on your children’s interests, then they will lose interest; and you will be dragging your kids through the curriculum, instead of greasing the rails of independent learning.
Here’s an idea for building on interest. First, make a list of topics your child finds interesting. Then brain storm ( with your child if he or she is old enough) about all the possible lines of investigation to pursue in each subject area
Ivy League Homeschooling 