Encouragement - About to begin homeschooling! Transitions.

[annaz]

I read your "thanks" last night and was going to respond to it, but I see Julie beat me to it. What Julie said are the most important things to learn. Seriously. "Housework" should wait. It should be treated like you would treat it if you had a full time job outside the home. Another thing that was mentioned if you have time during the day, to plan your next day, get ready the next items for school, anything school related. It IS fresh on your mind. Planning it later doesn't work.

It's just so much easier to keep the modes during the allotted times. Do school during school, do "housework" outside of schoolwork. Trust me in that you can't focus on both and you'll become quickly frazzled and beaten.

We didn't stay home with our children to homeschool them AND to spend our divided energy doing housework. You give homeschooling your all and you'll reap the rewards. After school get kids involved with the housework, whether it be transferring laundry loads, folding socks, sweeping or whatever. Otherwise you'll be trying to hold down 2 full-time jobs and that's a recipe for failure. So your husband needs to know this and help and if he can't help, then to not complain.

Your home will be a mess every single day, because you're home 24/7 using it; the dishes, the clothing, the messes, everything. Let it go until school is over.

[kw4blessings]

Thank you, Julie, for your "yearly speech". Haha! I really needed to hear that. I guess I've always been opposed to setting "school hours" for our homeschool because I wanted learning to be more of a lifestyle and not like re-creating school at home. But, I can completely see the benefits that setting these hours can bring! I often find myself and my children getting to the dinner hour and not fully accomplishing all of the school I wanted to get done, or the housework. I have brief stints where I seem to be really organized and get it all done, but this is the exception, not the rule! When I make up my schedule, I typically sprinkle housework throughout the day, but inevitably, schoolwork suffers b/c both my children AND I get sidetracked. I can see this being especially beneficial for my oldest who has focus/attention struggles.

I don't want to hijack this post, and I can repost if necessary, but any suggestions for handling the lack-of-focus? Especially in light of following a "school hours" schedule? Brief breaks to run a lap around the house? My dd often asks to "just play for a few minutes" when we are in the middle of math, or in between LA and history, etc. I want to say no, but it really does help her to come back and refocus sometimes. That's if I don't get distracted by the dishes or laundry in the meantime!

[Poohbee]

I agree with what Julie and Anna have said about setting aside dedicated time to homeschooling your kids each day. That has worked well for us. We have a starting time, and if we aren't finished by a certain time, we just stop for the day, because otherwise the "school" day goes on and on. I don't answer the phone, answer e-mails, or do household chores until after our school day is over (with the exception of laundry...I do that 2 days a week and do loads before school and during lunch break). Unloading the dishwasher is one of the chores my girls must do, so that can be done by them during our lunch break. And, sometimes we take a brief break in academics to do a quick pick up if all of the clutter on the floor is just driving me crazy.

Keep in mind that homeschooling is not just academics. It is also life skills. So, sometimes, the household chores will be part of your schooling, because you are training your children to do those things. Also, exercise is important! So, Kelly, if your dd needs to get up and move, that's okay. However, I wouldn't break the flow of something you're doing to let her leave to move. Instead, tell her she needs to finish the task at hand, or work on it for 5 or 10 more minutes. Then, after finishing a task, set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes and let her run or play, especially since she is still pretty young, and play is still important for her. Also, if she is able to focus better after a break, it is good to let her have one. When my daughters are struggling with a subject, I tell them to walk a way, take a 5 or 10 minute break, and then come back to it. And, you can do a task you need to do during that time, too. But, when the timer goes off, both of you come back and get back to work. That is just one idea. Timers are great for keeping our kids and us moms on task.

Just one more perspective for you.

[annaz]

I don't want to hijack this post, and I can repost if necessary, but any suggestions for handling the lack-of-focus? Especially in light of following a "school hours" schedule? Brief breaks to run a lap around the house? My dd often asks to "just play for a few minutes" when we are in the middle of math, or in between LA and history, etc. I want to say no, but it really does help her to come back and refocus sometimes. That's if I don't get distracted by the dishes or laundry in the meantime!

I'm not sure if it's a lack of focus, but the fact that you have little ones and need to go with the flow because of their ages. Sometimes sprinkling school throughout the day helps little ones. It allows them to work and play, work and play. Adjust your schedule. Knowing they need this, do what you need to for one subject, then give them time off, letting them know they have so much time and still need to come back. In that time then you can get something done as well. So while they're "running around the house 5 times", you can very well put in that load of laundry or do some dishes. But yes, it does help them if you let them blow off steam.

I think my biggest mistake was NOT doing this with my "only". It was so hard to get her to come back to school work. But had I explained the schedule, that we'll do one subject, then have a break for 1/2 hour, then come back....all day, I think we would have done better with that. But I didn't begin with that, so changing mid stream was more difficult. On occasion I'd make her give me jumping jacks and push ups, but still it made mom more militant in not giving those much needed breaks. Besides, this way they also will have your attention throughout the day and not getting bored.

[gratitude]

I don't want to hijack this post, and I can repost if necessary, but any suggestions for handling the lack-of-focus? Especially in light of following a "school hours" schedule? Brief breaks to run a lap around the house? My dd often asks to "just play for a few minutes" when we are in the middle of math, or in between LA and history, etc. I want to say no, but it really does help her to come back and refocus sometimes. That's if I don't get distracted by the dishes or laundry in the meantime!

I have been in your shoes with 7, 5, 3, and 1. You are doing Great!

I had a loose school schedule until my oldest was 9. When he turned 9 it was easier to become more organized. I hope that is helpful.

Enjoy the 'little' years; I miss them.

[kw4blessings]

Thanks for all the great ideas and encouraging replies about focus and scheduling. Yes, I have to keep remembering that scheduling will get easier as my littles grow bigger. *Sniff* Thanks for the timer reminder! I've gotten out of the habit of using the timer, probably when my old one broke! Will add to the shopping list. Love the encouragement on this board!

[Julie in MN]

I don't want to hijack this post, and I can repost if necessary, but any suggestions for handling the lack-of-focus? Especially in light of following a "school hours" schedule? Brief breaks to run a lap around the house? My dd often asks to "just play for a few minutes" when we are in the middle of math, or in between LA and history, etc. I want to say no, but it really does help her to come back and refocus sometimes. That's if I don't get distracted by the dishes or laundry in the meantime!

I don't have the kind of experience the others have with lots of littles. But with my grandson (7, after-schooling), I still try to keep school together, in one block of time, or we miss the connections between the different lessons, and we get more interested in something else than the Bible topic or whatever we had been interested in before we started doing other things.

With my own son in elementary, "school hours" didn't mean all day at the table. We did active things throughout the day. Before handwriting, we did these little hand and arm stretches (ala HWT). Between readings, he might run around the house or we might do some loud singing or watch a school-related video from the library. Even during readings, he might be rolling on the floor with the cat, or sprawling across a big gym ball, or hanging from the chin-up bar in the doorway (as long as he could narrate well). I tried to make every-other school activity active, which might mean math and then a MFW game or recipe, or writing and then music, art, or finding something on our big laminated map using wipe-off markers. Fortunately, there is lots of hands-on learning in MFW. Also at lunchtime, sometimes we went on a bike ride, and we did a lot of nature walks in those early years.

I never had him do "non-school" stuff like toys or screen time, though, because it was too painful to pull him back in. Your mileage may vary at age 7, not sure.

Julie

[mom2threeBoys]

Well, I haven't worked it all out yet, but I think starting a week or two early may be our answer. Now to figure out when to order everything and then schedule our days...which I am sure will result in plenty of trial and error! Also have to figure outa school calendar and school ttimes. Did I mentioned all the organizing time stuff is not my thing?! Ha!

Oh and no worries on the "hijack." I learned plenty from it, and I will take all the information I can get!

[CaseyVG]

I also like to start a couple weeks early. It's so nice to not have to worry about taking a day off every now and then, whether it be sickness or fun!

[Yodergoat]

Since I am new to all of this, is there anything you have learned that you think I should know? When we start our first year, my children will be in 8th, 6th, and 3rd grades as well as a 3 year old and a 1 year old. I am excited and nervous at the same time. It will be a big change for us but I believe this is what God has planned for our family. I think my first question is why I should choose this curriculum over all the others offered.

Welcome! I thought I would start things off.

First, since you are new to homeschooling, make sure that you and your children are ready for a very new and different experience than traditional schooling. Learning at home may take a while to get used to, especially for the older students.

I have spoken to many women whose children had been in public school before homeschooling, and they said that their greatest challenge to homeschooling was that first year of adjustment for them and for the children. In some instances the parents thought they weren't "doing enough" because school did not take very long, and in other instances they were afraid they were missing something or leaving something out from their child's education. From the children's perspective, they were prone to comparing Mom to Mrs. _____ and Mr. _____ from school, even to the point that they said Mom was "doing it wrong." It took a while for them to adjust. It took a while to change everyone's mindset to a new way of learning.

That is one reason that MFW may be a good choice for you as a new homeschooler... it is already so different from the traditional textbook approach that there isn't a tendency to try to recreate the public school experience at home. It naturally sways a family from falling into that potential mindset of "doing school at home" instead of "homeschool." Some of the parents I know who switched from public school to homeschool are MFW users, and they said that they enjoyed the ease of teaching with MFW as a new home educator, with the clear lesson plans and grids.

Another great aspect of MFW is that it is so hands-on and enjoyable that if you happen to have children reluctant about the change, that they may be drawn into homeschooling by the fun of it!

You will be amazed at how much the Bible is woven into MFW. It is very intentional without seeming tacked on, and will be a breath of fresh air if your children have come out of a secular school environment.

I hope this helps get the conversation going!

[ruthamelia]

I think I could write a book to answer your last question! But I'll keep it to a few specific points that come to mind quickly.

First, having all 3 doing a core curriculum together will help your workload. Doing math and language arts at 3 different levels is enough work, no need to continue that in other subjects! It is nice to all sit down together and read the same thing. They can talk to each other about what they're learning since they're all learning the same thing.

Second, the math and language arts recommendations are fantastic. You may be the type to want to look around for various other ideas (I have tweaked a few things) but I think it is a great asset starting off with all 3 at once to just help take the guesswork out.

Third, it allows for plenty of individual variation and learning styles. We have MAJOR differences between the 11 and 9 year olds, but this works for both of them. Mr Independent can go off and churn out pages of excellent writing, while Miss Artistic can draw on her notebook pages and argue semantics of what was read.

Hope some of that helps!
Ruth

[manyblessings]

I've homeschooled a long time and and am getting to do it all over again with my youngest (my kids are 22, 19, 17, 15, and 2). I agree with everything that was already said. I am excited about the new preschool/pre-k sets, which can be a great help to you schooling with your large family, for keeping the little ones occupied. These toys can be kept put away and only brought out during "school time" so the little ones can feel a part of everything with their very own school work When your oldest gets to high school, that child will be working more independently, leaving you free to focus more heavily on the others who will still share a core program. The website also includes ideas for teaching K and 1st together with older grades. I loved MFW many year ago, and it looks better than ever to me (just my opinion). I think it would be a great choice for your family!

[asheslawson]

I would say ditto to EVERYTHING Ruth said - I want to add just a little to what she already said so well (and some other great replies on this thread as well).

First - I cannot IMAGINE trying to squeeze in history / bible / science / etc...for several different grades. I don't know anything else that compares, IMHO. I've used MFW from MFW K for my 10 year old & from ECC for my now 8th grader. I've shopped, and shopped, and shopped! I was SO nervous that I might not cover everything - and I wore myself out those first few years just in case I'd miss that other great curriculum I had not tried. I paid untold amounts on used books from other distributors that other homeschool moms were selling from used sales, websites, etc...only to find that nothing seemed to work so well. I've sampled & reviewed and just agonized over the possibility that I could be making the wrong choice. Thankfully - I did that mostly over the summer - and when the school year set in - I relaxed and truly enjoyed teaching from MFW. Maybe that was what worried me - we loved it so much - I was afraid I might not be teaching enough.

I needn't have worried. My 8th grader is doing great - and my 4th grader who has never used anything but MFW is soaring. He was originally a public schooled child - so it was a bit of a tough transition for him. However, my daughter can do her schoolwork upside down off the back of the chair and turn in a story that will make me so proud. Her handwriting is beautiful. Her stories are well written. She LOVES math - and even her toughest subject - spelling - gets better everyday! I have homeschooled a boy that is the same age as my son - and she can write a story with more clarity and well constructed sentences and almost do his math with him. She also can manage the home better than I can - and has a love for Christ that I am so thankful for.

I will say that ILL was a bit awkward for me at first - but I stuck through - and I am so glad I did. He used ILL for 4th - 6th. She used PLL for 2nd & 3rd, and now ILL for 4th & we will continue. I don't know what it is about that little book that was written 110 years ago - but it is wonderful. I sometimes tweak a lesson a bit - for instance I might not make her write about farm equipment she isn't familiar with - and I'll let her write about something else in the same way. Other times - we study the rustic equipment & find out about it - she loved learning all about how a blacksmith worked. It's almost like building in a little history & art, while they learn to speak and write the English language better.

Enjoy your journey - prayers - the first year is both tough and wonderful all at the same time. Don't forget to take a breath & enjoy those bonding moments!

[Sallylourn]

We are new to home schooling this year. My kids just finished 1st and 4th grade in a small Christian school.

I started last week doing Singapore 3b with my son, hoping to get through it before fall, when we start ECC. So far, he is excited to do it everyday and wants to do two or three lessons a day. My daughter wanted to work on her math, too, so she is doing a couple lessons a day, even though she doesn't need to catch up. It's nice to have such eager students, although I'm sure it won't be that way forever. It's a nice way to ease into home schooling a little, while adjusting to having a new baby.

They were working on math the other day, and their three year old sister wanted some attention. My son said, "I know. When we are home schooling, one of us can entertain Violet and Lydia while you are teaching the other one!" They are so enthusiastic about it right now, but I'm trying to adjust my expectations to reality, even though I am really excited to start, too.

We will probably start school officially in mid-August. Until then, the kids will stay busy with gymnastics, soccer, and helping grandma garden, and I'll be enjoying snuggling with my baby.

[Marie]

Hi Sarah,
Congratulations on your new sweet baby. Enjoy the snuggling time! When we lived in Siberia (for four years helping with Bible translation) the native women called me "rich" because I had 6 children. They said my children were my jewels!
Marie

[TriciaMR]

My curriculum got delivered today... I have a 4th and 7th grader that will be doing ECC and all I can think is what have I gotten myself into. This is our 1st year homeschooling. Any tips on how to make this process flow easiest would be very much appreciated.

I always feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the school year, too.

1) Pray

2) Read through the TM with a sticky-note pad to mark important points or things you think are especially good. I also take notes in a notebook about things I want to remember.

3) Pray over what should be independent work for the 7th grader. For us it was English and Science (dyslexia makes it a challenge to have math be independent).

4) Pray about what kind of schedule will work for your family. For us, doing Bible, Geography, and Science together first worked well (in ECC, the 7th grader should be listening in on the Science as it ties in tightly with the geography portion, and then possibly doing Apologia's General Science as recommended).

5) Start the 7th grader a couple of weeks before with just the things you want him/her to be independent in. Spend time working with the student, helping to establish good study habits, and that it is okay to come to you for help.

[Poohbee]

Hello! Welcome to homeschooling and to MFW!

It is definitely overwhelming when you open that beautiful box of books and start thumbing through the teacher's manual (TM). I just wanted to add a couple of things on to what Tricia said, which was all great advice!

I try to skim through the entire TM once and then go back through the first pages and the first few weeks several times throughout the summer. Then, I like to take some time to spread the books out on my kitchen table. I start reading through the TM. The pages at the beginning about how to prepare for the year and the notes in the first week are so very valuable! When I get to week 1 and start looking through the grid, I look at the pages that are to be read in each book. If I read through the first couple of weeks in the TM and look at the books that are referenced, it really helps me to wrap my mind around it better.

Also, the copyright in the TM gives you permission to copy the weekly grid schedule pages (as long as you will not lend, sell, give away the original TM or the copies), so I copy the grid schedule pages and put them in a binder to be my lesson planner. A couple of weeks before I plan to start school, I sit down with my grid pages and pencil in the math, language arts, and other notes.

We try to start school for the year on a Wednesday or Thursday to give us a light start to our school year. The first day of school we always take a fun field trip, usually to the zoo, but sometimes to a place that really fits well with what we'll be learning that year. Our first year we did ECC, I took my kids to a travel agency. The agent we talked to gave us a tour and talked to us about planning vacations for people. She gave us a lot of magazines and brochures from other countries, which came in handy throughout the year as we studied other countries. A travel agency is a great field trip when you study ECC! Also, besides the field trip, on those first few days of school, I just get my kids started on their math and language arts. I start whichever core program we're using at the beginning of the following week.

Don't feel that you have to complete one week on the grid into one actual week. If you get off a day, just do the next day in the grid on the next day you do school.

Throughout the summer, look through the idea pages and archives for ECC on this message board. You'll finds lots of ideas for making ECC a great and fun year for your kids. As Tricia mentioned, use a notebook and jot down ideas you'd like to incorporate in your homeschool.

Since it is your first year homeschooling, I would definitely give your kids a light and fun start to the school year. Don't be a slave to the curriculum. it is a tool for you. MFW is a wonderful tool that helps homeschooling to be much smoother and easier than if you were putting it together yourself, but it is a tool. You are the teacher. Feel free to slow things down and break a day on the grid into more than one day of learning, if needed. Take time to take field trips and do fun things! Have fun "traveling" to the countries. Really just make your school year your own.

Keep coming back here with questions. Those of us who have been homeschooling for quite awhile will be happy to share our experiences and suggestions with you.

Enjoy your summer, and enjoy your preparations for the school year. Take a deep breath, take it in small chunks, and it will be fine.

[MelissaB]

Hi! Welcome along!!

Just want to agree with the other Moms. I remember (well!) those first few years feeling overwhelmed, no matter what curriculum we were using.

The good news is, of all the curriculums we've used, MFW is laid out the e-a-s-i-e-s-t to use. We just pick it up, start with Bible, move down the list, find the right book, pull the worksheet off the top - Voila! Before we know it, the day is done. I think within 2 wks, you'll feel your family getting into the "groove" of the curriculum. Within just a few months, it will begin to flow well.

May I offer a bit of advice ? Even on days when time is limited, be sure to play the geography game. If time is short that day, skip the worksheets, skip Properties of the Ecosystems, skip taking their baths .... but don't skip the geography game. By the end of the year, you will be amazed at all they have learned about each country, its capital, its people, its culture, and even a little of its history. And if your husband is a teetering about the quality of education with homeschooling, by the end of this year, he should be on board, too. {mine was }

All of MFW's curriculum is excellent, but ECC was our very favorite year.

Hope you all enjoy it, too!

[aebales00]

Thanks so much ladies for your words of encouragement. I have been desperately seeking somebody to possibly do a synergy group with me as suggested by MFW and maybe make of this first year a little bit easier and have some fun with another family. So far I'm not having any luck. We are part of a co-op that we aren't getting any volunteers.