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Today is the day… and I'm having an anxiety attack!
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OK… I’m new, inexperienced and scared to pieces! I’ve read all the posts… you all sound SO confident and assured. I want to be on that side of the fence. My kids are at Grandma & Grandpa’s for 48 hours. The house is quiet and I need to get my head screwed on right so that when they come home, we can enter into this school year with confidence. Perhaps my expectations are too high, but I feel like I need to know everything we’re doing this year in order to lay it all out.
I went to a workshop last year with Sonja (bless her heart) and it was WONDERFUL! I just needed to bring her home with me… and that wasn’t apparently an option! 🙂
So, I’m sitting here at my dining room table, peace candle lit, staring with wide eyes at the Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education book. And even though it is sweetly broken down into “5 Easy Steps”…. they don’t seem so easy to me this morning!
HOW DO YOU ALL DO THIS??? My wreck of a homeschool storage shelf/space is pure chaos and sadly, my kids know it. I long to be organized, but never seem to have the time to sift through all the stuff.
The nitty gritty…. this will be our 2nd year of HSing – last year was a fun “appetizer” of what the future could hold. We all loved it – it was “eclectic” to say the least, but we’re outdoorsy, nature lovers. The kids’ nature journals are top notch… the math lessons, well not so much! This year I’ve got a 6th Grader, 3rd Grader & Kindergartener – all girls.
Please bring some constructive ideas to my racing heart.
Blessings!
First of all, relax. Take a few deep breaths. Say a prayer or two.
I’m very much like you in that I think everything needs to be planned out a year (or 12) in advance. While it’s good to have a goal and plan, it will most likely change. Knowing that up front might help you not worry so much.
I take each subject at a time and set some goals for each child. Then I figure out what they will need to accomplish that year in order to meet those goals. What materials will help us do that? For example, my 3rd grade son last year asked if he could learn spelling. So we made a goal to learn to spell. I looked at several programs and choose one and I figured out how many lessons he’d need to do in order to finish within the time period he’d set for himself.
For history I figure out what time period we’ll be studying and then find some books to help us do that. I love the book recommendations from this site. I add a few other ones here and there. Then use Sonya’s planning book to figure out how much you’ll need to cover each month.
I personally love RightStart Math. Many here like MathUSee. If you’re looking for a new curriculum do a search in the math section. If you just need help planning, figure out where you want them to be in few months or a year and then how many lessons they need to do each week in order to meet that goal.
Spend 15-20 minutes a day organizing your shelf. Trying to do it all at once is great, but most of us don’t have that kind of time. Set a timer and work as hard as you can for a while, then stop, give yourself permission to feel like you did a great job and pick it up again tomorrow. You’ll be done before you know it.
I think it may sound like we are confident, but we all have doubts and second-guess and worry we’re not doing enough or doing it right. My husband tells me to just keep moving forward. Put one foot in front of the other and things will get done. It’s okay to be ‘doing school’ while you continue to plan for the next year. It’s also okay to change things if you find they’re not working.
Most importantly, pray. He will bring peace and wisdom. Trust Him to lead your family and you as you plan for their education.
Best of luck.
Hugs to you sweetie! I don’t know how long I’ll be able to type, as I’m baking and my 1 yr old needs a nap.
I have a 6th grade dd, a 2nd grade dd, a 4 yr old dd and a 1 yr old ds. So, I may be able to relate to your situation a bit. We’ve been using the CM approach for going on 3 yrs, and it has been a huge blessing to our family.
I have a couple recommendations for you. Perhaps, rather than trying to schedule the entire year, you could just try to schedule a Term at a time. I used Sonya’s guide this year, and it took me many nights after my boy went to sleep to figure it all out. That being said, I do have my entire year in my homeschool tracker right now; and it does feel great. I know though, at any time, things could change and we will not complete everything. You must allow yourself some flexibility or it is too much pressure.
Pray for guidance from above and the peace of mind you need. I’ll pray for you too. Maybe you could use the planner on this site or Homeschool tracker or something like that to get yourself organized. I would sort out your books and narrow it down to what you want to use for each student this year. Perhaps store any away that you won’t need, or put them on their own shelves. Each of my girls has her own shelf, and then my teaching books are on a shelf of their own. I go through each subject I want to use for each girl, pick out their books, buy any I need, and then start deciding how many days I want to use each subject. It can be overwhelming, and that is why I relied on Sonya’s guide this time around. It made it much easier.
If you have any particular questions, feel free to pm me. I pray that God will grant you clarity!
In Christ, Bridget
First of all, did you buy the DVD with the planner? I got them as a set, and it was so helpful and made it less overwhelming. If you did get the DVD, watch it twice. First, watch it and just follow along in your book. The second time, actually do what Sonya tells you to. The hardest part for me was figuring out which resources to use. I used the Bookfinder on this website, and in about 12 hours total (spread out over two days), I had our entire year planned. It is overwhelming, but it was also fun, and I know next year’s plan will come together in a pinch now that I’ve got this first one under my belt. So, say a prayer, take a deep breath, turn Debussy on, and have confidence that you can do all things! Praying for you as you plan and prepare!
Like balm for my heart. THANK YOU very much crazy4boys, briedell & Lindsey! I just needed to hear the reassurance. I’m the only crazy soul in my family that homeschools – so while I have other friends, my true support group still doesn’t really “get it”.
God and I had a long talk on the deck yesterday morning. He listened, I cried… and you know what, after a while we came the conclusion that I AM doing what He wants me to do and he WON’T leave me hanging!
I made lots of progress yesterday and tackle math, spelling and science plans for at least 1 term, possibly more. Still a little fuzzy where to begin on social studies (we know we’re studying the reformation/renaisance period), but we’ll get there!
Thank you so much. Wish I could have you all over for chocolate to say thanks… but this will have to do for now!
“God and I had a long talk on the deck yesterday morning. He listened, I cried… and you know what, after a while we came the conclusion that I AM doing what He wants me to do and he WON’T leave me hanging!”
I just wanted to say that this little comment brought a smile to my face…..glad you had some time to roll your burdens onto Him.
(And, I’m thankful for the advice that you’ve been given, too, because I will use it as well!)
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