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Tips from other introverted teachers please!
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I am beyond exhausted from homeschooling! It’s been a long road homeschooling 6 children as an introvert. My oldest is a sophomore now, and the youngest is 7. One daughter has Tourette Syndrome, which has added to the challenges of schooling many different ages and people that need me all day long. Because of family dynamics from her that have trickled down, I can’t usually have older children help the younger in most situations. She is now public schooled and loves it, but still needs math help each evening.
I graduated from pharmacy school and would have been very happy to be in a small room alone doing research all day long:) Talking/teaching is exhausting, and I have really struggled to be content homeschooling. Usually one wouldn’t purposefully choose a job which is so opposite of their personality, but we decided it was best for our children a long time ago, and I have forged ahead but that purpose/desire grows smaller each year. I’ve unfortunately come away from CM more as I needed them to be more independent much younger to keep schooling them.
I also have major chronic health problems as well as narcolepsy, which makes me want to shut myself in my room 24/7 as well. My husband leaves early and is home late, so having him do some of the teaching isn’t really an option.
I do make sure I have quiet time alone each day, and use some curriculum like Teaching Textbooks, etc. but almost all of them need math help at different times, and then there is the reviewing/correcting/teaching in other subjects as well.
Obviously prayer and relying on the Lord; but practically I’m wondering how other introverts manage day in and day out?
Thanks
Things sound tough for you and yet you carry on, so well done Momma!
Have you looked at Ambleside online? The goal is to get the children reading as many of the books on their own as possible. Are your children independant readers? If they are, I’d ignore the year levels and place them each where they can read the majority of their books independently (or at least out loud to you with some support). Alot of the books are also on audio so they could listen to a few of the more difficult readings. Then they either orally narrate or do a written narration. The point being that they are doing the work of learning and there is not such a heavy burden on you to teach.
If the above is not an option because the children are not yet reading well enough, there is AO for groups which is well explained on the website. But basically you could teach them together until they are independent and then rotate them out into their own year.
I’m definitely an introvert. I’ve had some health issues over the last year and it’s left me with lots of anxiety.
I like to take little breaks throughout the day. Mid-morning I go on our porch for a bit (sometime with coffee or a protein shake). I’ve currently been reading Mother Culture (which has been very motivating and inspiring). Some days I take out one of my older kids’ books, so I can keep up with them. The trick is to keep this break short (10-15 minutes) so I’m not taking off the rest of the morning! 😂 It seems like when I take a longer break, I struggle with getting back to work.
Another thing that helps is to work in smaller groups for our independent subjects. I get overwhelmed having all 5 of my kids at the table for math, spelling, and science. Some days I just work with two at a time. I have a lot of anxiety, and this has helped quite a bit with that. The kids I’m not working with have free time or their independent reading…nothing that might need my input. ☺️
Mid afternoon I’ve found things like showers or mini-naps to be refreshing, even more so if my kids aren’t pounding on the door or jumping on my bed. Taking a multivitamin has helped with my energy level. I can feel a difference when I haven’t been consistent about it.
We are using SCM’s Keep It Simple plan, and…keeping it simple! 😂 It’s so tempting to add a bunch of extras, but I’m refusing to add them in. We also read our literature book at bedtime, so that’s one less thing during the morning, and they seem to enjoy it more at night. My 5yo is using Our Preschool Life and we fit many of the activities in at bedtime. He’s a captive audience when he is delaying his bedtime.
When I play a short, half-hour educational video, I get a short, quiet break. For math videos as a supplement in the elementary grades, we watched Mathtacular dvds. The audio books mentioned above are a good idea, too. Children can color or draw a narration while listening.
I love to play games and many games use math skills and many other thinking skills. It is something I really enjoy that we can do together, but sometimes only the children play together. Some favorites of ours are Uno, Blokus, Rummikub, Dominoes, Slapzi, and Sequence: States & Capitals. I listed our games on slips of paper to pull one out of a jar to decide what to play. They have fun with that and it helps us to rotate through all of our games. We have a game day occasionally for school.
Thanks for the tips!
I actually started with Ambleside years ago before I found SCM and once I found SCM I never looked back at Ambleside.
All but one are independent readers so they are doing great mostly on their own.
This podcast episode titled, “The introverted Mom” may be encouraging to you…. https://pambarnhill.com/hs160/
-Marilyn
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