Yearly Panic… sigh

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  • August 15, 2014 at 6:18 pm
    suzukimom
    Participant

    Ok, I’m in my yearly panic mode – but it came on a bit late this year as we are supposed to be starting at the start of September… 

    I’va also posted on the AO forum and got some suggestions – but I’m just all in a tizzy and can’t seem to think straight and it is obvious that what I want is unreasonable, but it is still what I want so now I don’t know what to do…..

    Here it is in a nutshell….  I have a dyslexic son going into AO Year 4, a ‘something going on but not sure’ daughter going into AO Year 3, a 6yo going into AO Year 1, and a 4yo needing at least some attention.

    I seem somehow drawn into curriculum that need one-on-one teaching  (ie, RightStart math, I’ve been using All About Spelling, etc)

    The kids LOVE AO, and don’t want to change.

    I felt that last year, although it went well, well it felt to me like one big to-do-list.  It didn’t have the Atmosphere I wanted.  We used a lot of audiobooks, which helped a lot…

    And with one going into Year 4, and a new student added in – well, no matter what I do, things look…. well…. impossible.

    And to add to it – a few years ago we did a family studies type of CM program similar to SCM  (and then did a term of SCM) and it made my 2 oldest kids (the only ones schooling then) both feel stupid… one because his little sister was doing the same stuff as him (occasionally better) and the other because she couldn’t do things as well as her big brother.    Even if we did SCM or something similar again… well my oldest with dyslexia wouldn’t be able to do grade level readings on his own, so I’d have to be reading all of those or else have him just do the same work as the 6yo…..  I don’t see that working….

    And…. I have NO money to buy anything…

     

    I’ve read all the recent posts on blogs about scheduling similar to CM schools and using timers etc.   But I can’t figure out how to do that still with the 3 kids all needing my help.  

     

    I only see a few choices….

    1. Press on as best I can with them all in AO, treating each week as a module and work through the modules one at a time and just have the year take however long it takes….

    2. Cut a bunch of stuff out of their AO years (but I/they love it all)

    3. Setup a family CM type program using one of the AO years as a base (it would have to be AO year 4 as oldest has done all the other years…) – but this is a ton of work, and will mean one of my kids skips a period in history, I would have to find some simpler resources for some things for the 6yo – and when they are a bit older and ready to be more independent have a mess to try to fit them back into AO years…

    4. Do a totally different CM family style program (probably a jump in history, discontinuity, and I already have the AO resources which my kids love…

    5. Give up CM and try something like Easy-Peasy Homeschool which requires much less work from me (except Canadianizing)

    6.  Some other option I’m not seeing?

     

    I’m already thinking of a few things I might be able to do for math… combine the upper 2 again (they finished last year at the same lesson)…      For Spelling I’m strongly considering switching to Sequential Spelling – as all 3 would be starting at the same place I could do them all together….

    I can’t move on with preperations without figuring this out.   How do I teach 4 kids with very different needs and at different levels???

    August 15, 2014 at 6:20 pm
    suzukimom
    Participant

    Oh, and 7.  – make up my own CM program for the year….

    August 15, 2014 at 6:59 pm
    Tristan
    Participant

    Okay, let the deep breathing commence!  I hate when this panic moment hits (no matter what aspect of homeschooling or parenting it is about). 

    If group teaching doesn’t work for you what about this:

    Stick with AO but cut out a stack of the books.  Make these available for free time fun/quite time.  Then save them and offer them spread over the course of the year as a “here is another great one if you want to listen to/read it”.  This way you keep the ones you can’t imagine skipping, but give yourself some flexibility for the rest.

    For teaching 4 levels on things like Right Start, All About Spelling, etc that needs YOU, set up a rotation. Do Right Start with each child one at a time, while you work with one the others do their AO independently, or copywork, etc.  Then switch to teaching each indidvidual lesson for spelling, again, with kids doing independent work if it is not their turn.  It’s not ideal, but if you really want to stick with those programs and can’t oversee several kids at once then it’s going to end up some sort of rotation. 

     

    August 15, 2014 at 7:07 pm
    JenniferM
    Participant

    I think you can do it!

    First, make a list of things you can all together: Picture study, nature study, listen to music, (Could you choose poetry and Bible from just one year of AO in order to combine those also?)

    Start your school day with all children together.  Say a prayer, sing a song, read something to all of them (poetry or Bible) to sort of collect them and help them focus.

    Then let first student listen to audiobook, while you work with second student, and the third student does something with 4 year old (draw, build with blocks, puzzles…. But help that student see that as his or her assignment for that lesson time – to work with younger sibling and not distract other students.)

    Then rotate.  The student who worked with you can now work with younger sibling.  The one who worked with younger sibling can have audiobook time.  The one who already listened to audiobook can narrate and have a lesson with you.

    Then rotate again.  The student who worked with you can now work with younger sibling.  The one who worked with younger sibling can have audiobook time.  The one who already listened to audiobook can narrate and have a lesson with you.

    By this time, you will have had the opportunity to work one on one with each of you school age children.  Each of your school age children will have listened to one audiobook.  Each of your children will have spent time with younger sibling.  

    At that point, you could send them all outside to play while you take a breath!  Then when you’re ready, start all over. Collect everyone together for a family lesson (Picture study, poem, etc.) Then the rotation: Audiobook, one on one lesson, play with sibling.  

    I know real life is more complicated than I’ve indicated with this “pretend” schedule, but I hope it at least inspires you and helps you see that you can do it! 🙂

    August 15, 2014 at 7:08 pm
    JenniferM
    Participant

    I see Tristan posted the rotation idea while I was typing!  It must be worth trying!

     

    August 15, 2014 at 8:09 pm
    suzukimom
    Participant

    Ok, I think I’m starting to breath again… I’ve gone through the schedules I’ve made and done a bit of tweaking….  And I’ve got each day worked out with 5 time blocks….    a 1:30 Family time, 3 1:00 times (well, one is only 45 min), and then about 30 min family block again.

    Morning Family time has Scriptures/Poetry (focusing on 1 child’s poetry a day – or shakespeare on the one day), Copywork, German/Science Spelling, Latin.   Not all of these are every day!   I think this may end up being a bit shorter than I have on the plan, but will see…)

    Block 1 – A bit of time 1 on 1 with Golf (the 4yo), and otherwise a bit of mixture on who is there.  Memory work, time with 4yo reading to her or doing basic math.  1 AO reading with 8yo (year 3). on a couple of days there is 1 AO reading with 10yo (year 4)

    Block 2 – Stuff with Foxtrot.  Block 3 – stuff with both Echo and Delta, and 1 reading with Delta

    Finally – roate the riches.

    Gotta run – sorry… will discuss more.

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