Saturday, September 10, 2011

September Life and School Update


Homeschooling is exhausting.  There I said it.  It really is.  If you see someone who can fix home cooked meals, have a clean house, well behaved children and homeschool - then my guess is she does not sleep.  This is the only way that all of these things can be done.

Honestly I had a clue that it would be tiring.  I know we aren't doing traditional homeschool and we are on a schedule and things need to done by a certain time which actually works well for me, I work best with deadlines.

The truth of it is that I am responsible for schooling my son for 3 days a week.  If I do not do it, it does not get done.  This hit me about week 2 when I was kind of freaking out.  The good news is that I made 8 weeks of meals and sides and they are sitting in the freezer ready to be baked and served.  Without this decision we would be eating out a lot or having peanut butter sandwiches for dinner.  The other part of the good news is that every 8 weeks we have one week for catch up work (and if we are all caught up we get the week off) and then we have a real week off, so I plan on doing freezer cooking then for another 8 weeks.

My son seems to really like this because 2 days of school isn't that bad to him.  I like it because it is tailored to each individual student.  If some students are behind, they will slow down and work with them.  If some students are ahead, they can work ahead and do supplemental material.

Honestly, if you are looking at home schooling know that something has to give.  You cannot do it all.  And you HAVE to be okay with that.  You should do your best to make arrangements to do the things most important to you (for us that is eating good, wholesome foods among other things).  I make up food ahead of time.  I have a meal plan.  I do my best to pick up the house and have the kids help me with cleaning.  We try to do a load of laundry every day - start to finish (this one is tough).


With my daughter's preschool I have slowed down a bit and am concentrating on a few main things I want her to get down.  We are doing mostly Kumon workbooks and we are working on spelling and writing her name.  Writing numbers 1-5, learning how to draw, learning how to neatly color and a few other simple things.  We will start back to more preschool stuff that I have pre-prepared in a week or two.

Otherwise, I have just been trying to slow down a bit and enjoy my kiddos.  I know I could do a better job of this.   And trust me, I am trying!

We made up a game - the rug is the ocean, 
the papers are little islands we stop on so we don't get eaten by sharks.

To see what other homeschoolers are up to visit Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

4 comments:

  1. You amaze me girl! You do so much & homeschool! I have to be very careful not to compare myself to you.

    I do echo what you said about when you homeschool, something else has to give. What has to be totally up to you. For us, it was a spotless house & large/fresh cooked meals. I also had to give up extra-curricular activities outside of church.

    Anyway, just wanted to tell you that I think you are doing an awesome job as a mom, wife, homeschooler & woman! Hugs!!

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  2. Hey Gretchen! Your right, it is tiring! You're my hero though. 8 weeks of meals in the freezer ~ you rock! I've always wanted to try cooking bulk freezer meals.

    Stopping by from the Weekly Wrap-Up blog hop. Enjoy your weekend!

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  3. @Lea
    Thank you! Trust me I don't do it all. Something definitely gives and I am a hot mess half the time, but it is by the grace of God I can accomplish anything I do. It gets a little easier as the kids get older though. Thanks for your support and kind words.

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  4. @Abby
    Thanks for stopping by. I have been freezer cooking for about 3 years now and it is through lots of trial and error that I am finally able to do what works for our family. Enjoy your week!

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