Does anyone have any advice on whether I should still homeschool my rising 2nd grade son, and my rising kindergarten daughter. I have a 8 month old son as well. I feel overwhelmed at times and wonder how I can get it all done each day. My husband works long hours and I don't have a lot of help with him gone so much. Any advice.
I have a friend that homeschooled her 7 year old and 3 year old - I can put you in touch with her, I'm sure she'd be glad to talk to you and answer any questions. Message me for her information!
Dear D.,
Though it's been a few years since I graduated my last homeschooled child, I do know of others in the west end yet still homeschooling their children. I will ask if I can connect you to one or two of them. Perhaps you could share an email adress or phone number since they are not MamaSource members (as far as I know, anyway).
You can email me at ____@____.com.
Blessings!
J.
Dear D.,
This is a very overwhelming time of life-- I remember it well! We homeschooled our four boys all the way through, and are happy we did so. We were caring for my elderly grandparents at the same time, and my husband also works a lot of overtime. It can be done! Here are a few things to remember:
1- Don't try to re-create a classroom at home. Live a learning lifestyle and teach your children all together instead. instead. Do a lot of reading aloud; provide good, classic books and audio-books; introduce them to classical music through audio resources such as "Beethoven Lives Upstairs;" provide plenty of hands-on activities; throw away the television (or at least place it off limits except for a very few specific shows). You can visit my website for more about this, if you like - www.Everyday-Education.com. Homeschooling for children this age takes very little seat-work time if you approach it in this way.
2- Prioritize and plan life so that there is room for everything (and there always is, once the tv is eliminated). If you need help with this, you can find it www.flylady.net.
3- Get together with others who are in similar stages of life. There are definitely homeschool groups in your area. Look at the www.heav.org website to find one and get connected.
You can definitely do this, and it's well worth it. I wish you the best!
J.
D., I'm so sorry that my response is later. We had company over the weekend and I'm just now getting to some of my emails.
I want to share with you something I am doing to help me get through some of those days when it all feels like it's too much to handle. It's our "WHY?" board. I post all kinds of things on there like newspaper articles, some special work the kids have done, tickets from places we've been because of homeschooling, etc. All and all these are reminders to help me remember why we homeschool our children and the good times we have shared over the past 6yrs.
We are a homeschooling family with 3 boys 12, 7 & 2 yrs old. My husband works all necessary hours for us to survive on one income. It has taken me this many yrs to learn and apply the learning lifestyle instead of a classroom at home. We all sit and learn together at their different levels.
Our oldest is dyslexic with other difficulties too, our 7 yr old was born to read and just gets math immediately. I sometimes have a hard time finding a challenging level for him. And our wonderful 2 yr old is really our most energetic child yet. This is really an understatement. LOL Nothing interests him for longer than a minute, at least we haven't found it yet. I really do understand that over-whelmed feeling you have some days.
I want to encourage you to focus on the good times you have with them. You know that no other teacher will ever love and care for your children the way you do. I don't know that it gets easier as we go or if it's that our own confidence grows as we watch our little ones grow. It sounds to me that you are doing a great job Mom! Keep up the good work and please email me some time at ____@____.com. I love to share info that we've learned and to receive help from other homeschooling moms too.
Take Care,
N. =)
