1st year doing HOD as a full time SAHM - what would you do?

[Nealewill]

I feel like I haven't been on here much because I was working SO many hours these past couple of years. I quit my day job (I still teach accounting and finances classes here and there but that is VERY part time and always at night or online.) Now get to stay home full time with my kiddos. Before quitting, every day felt like I was barely surviving. As I package things up from this past year and looked back over the work, I can see where some of the maps didn't get done, some poetry was skipped, no boxes went undone on the student sheets for my oldest but work was occasionally less then par. However, I know my other two would skip a few writing assignments because I didn't have time to help them. There were times I had to omitted a story time book or two because I didn't have time to read it or I would get a book from the library on CD. I even noticed that some math problems were skipped in my kids workbooks (this I didn't realize until just now)! This past year was particularly brutal. From September through January, I was working around 50-60 hours a week and my hubby wasn't involved in the kids school. I am not trying to make him sound like the bad guy either (he really is wonderful) but I wasn't supposed to be working that much and time got away from me. I hired someone to help me last summer but their training took up a lot of time and went a lot longer than planned. Plus, this person was supposed to take stuff off my plate but it didn't work out and I ended up working even more hours. So.....I quit!

Now I am feeling giddy about next school next year. I am really looking forward to sitting with the kids and doing some stuff with them. I am only running two levels which is wonderful since that cuts my work load down a bit. I know that when my oldest dd did CtC, I did about half of the paintings with her in the beginning of the year. I remember playing the history project games with her and even participating in some of the science experiments. I still love to sit and read the story time books to the kids. I used to love to help in the kitchen when the kids would cook up the treats. My question is though....as I look to the future, to actually putting a schedule together....and hopefully sticking to the schedule.....what are some of your most precious memories of things you did with your kids. I don't want to miss out on what my kids are learning any more and I want to be involved. I know many of you run more than 2 guides so you need to be selective on the things you spend your time on. Where do you focus your efforts? Obviously, I have got to work on reading things my kids write regularly. I need to check math more often . I want to hang out with them as they are doing some of their projects. Even spelling was a bit hit or miss last year so we are a bit behind and plan to get caught up again. But what else? Is there anything else that you do with the kids and make it a priority?

I am doing CtC and MtMM next year. I am familiar with CtC mostly but not MtMM. I haven't read any of the books yet. Usually I do this over the summer but we have spent every day going off and having fun!!!! No school for the kids or mom! As you can tell, spending time with kids is my ultimate priority right now. I feel like I have missed so much of their lives these past couple of years. I look at the ages of my kiddos and think they will be gone from the house in less than 10 years. I don't want to waste a minute! So if you could go back in time, what are some things you wish you did with your kids or what are some things you did do that you would recommend? I am not really interested in adding extra stuff to my school year but just trying to maximize my time with HOD and my family.

[Rice]

I don't have much to suggest as you already know about the paintings in CTC (that was a favourite for me; I did 1/4 size so fit 4 on each page - fun doing minis while I understand the benefits of the kids doing big ones ).

I just wanted to say "Yay for you!" I'm so glad you'll have more time with your kiddos this year.

I'll be with you in trying to be more diligent in checking work (5 guides, 2 preschoolers, and a pregnancy left much work to be desired when we finished up our year, too).

Blessings,

[momtofive]

What a wonderful post!! I'm so happy for you, making your sweet family a priority and enjoying the blessings that come from it!

I don't have much to add, but just that in being truly present in their school days, you're going to make so many wonderful memories along the way. My favorites have always come from our times reading together, discussing what they've read, kitchen and crafty projects, and just being able to easily share my heart with them through the day as the Lord leads. I hope you truly, truly enjoy this year, and have a great year!!

[LovingJesus]

My question is though....as I look to the future, to actually putting a schedule together....and hopefully sticking to the schedule.....what are some of your most precious memories of things you did with your kids. I don't want to miss out on what my kids are learning any more and I want to be involved. I know many of you run more than 2 guides so you need to be selective on the things you spend your time on. Where do you focus your efforts? Obviously, I have got to work on reading things my kids write regularly. I need to check math more often . I want to hang out with them as they are doing some of their projects. Even spelling was a bit hit or miss last year so we are a bit behind and plan to get caught up again. But what else? Is there anything else that you do with the kids and make it a priority? I am doing CtC and MtMM next year. I am familiar with CtC mostly but not MtMM. So if you could go back in time, what are some things you wish you did with your kids or what are some things you did do that you would recommend? I am not really interested in adding extra stuff to my school year but just trying to maximize my time with HOD and my family.

Congratulations Daneale! I am happy for you! I have often found your posts to be very helpful.

I too am wanting to put a schedule together this summer, will be doing MTMM for the first time, and CTC for the second time. I can relate to a desire to have a schedule to stick to. I know looking at Julie's schedule on the week in reviews has been helpful for me.

I am just coming back to HOD with my older three so I will answer this in two parts. One part being what I really remember as my best memories from CTC. The other part being what I plan on making my main priorities for next school year with MTMM, RTR, and CTC (My youngest has been doing LHTH since last November).

My fondest memories of CTC & other guides:

*Discussion. My ds, who was 11 at the time, and I had a lot of good discussion from Genesis Finding Our Roots. The discussions led to Bible, various Bible translations, and many issues that I think were good to discuss with him.

*Reading God King: A Story in the Day of King Hezekiah aloud. If I remember correctly he read some of the story time books to himself. We used some from the Boy pack and some from the History pack. He also read the extensions. This book though we did aloud, and as always some of my best home school memories are from books we have read aloud together.

*Rod and Staff English ~ I don't know what it is about this program, but I have had more 'heart to heart' talks with my kids in the middle of their grammar lessons for years. It makes grammar take longer but is well worth the time spent.

*The note book 12 tribes of Egypt project. My son did an exceptional job with this project and to this day I find the visual from this project helpful in listening to OT readings.

*The flap book project from Adam to Noah I thought was exceptional. Since we are from a young earth perspective I also found it helpful to go through with him. He did an exceptional job with this too.

*The sling shot that he made, and the fun he and his brother had outside one morning while I took pictures.

*The resurrection scones he made with his siblings. It was his project, but they often jump in on one another's projects and science experiments.

*The science experiments from Bigger.

*The history projects in Beyond.

*My son's oral narration of Carry on Mr. Bowditch. It ended up being much more than a typical oral narration. I think he told my DH about it for an hour.

*The projects in Preparing.

My priorities that I am thinking about as I think about a schedule for next year (they are two - three years older now and used to doing a lot of school on their own; I don't know what HOD will look like exactly):

*Spending time teaching them and far less time grading (I spent far too little time teaching this past school year and far too much time grading! )

*I am looking forward to doing the Who Am I study in MTMM with my ds, the Boy's study in RTR with both of my boys since my oldest hasn't done it, and Genesis Roots apologetics with my dd. I enjoy these Bible Study Together boxes, and I think it will be good for them. We did together Bible with me reading the entire NT aloud this year (a little left before Sept.), and I Loved doing this with them! I am also looking forward though to a Bible Quiet time for them.. At their ages I think it will be a good next step for them spiritually. (I am planning to do my Bible Quiet time at the same time so our house can be quiet for awhile. ). I am looking forward to scheduling a quiet time for all of us at once and individual Bible Study time with all 3. I am sure the together Bible studies and Bible Quiet Times will be my favorite part of next year.

*Story time. I love reading aloud to my kids.

*Skill Subjects of math, writing, grammar, and dictation. They do better and learn far more if I take the 20 minutes to set each of them up in all of these areas and then grade as they go, and have them correct mistakes as they go through the lessons. This is a high priority for me.

*Being present for science experiments, hands on history projects, and any cooking projects. They tend to all do all 3 of their science experiments when we do HOD with two watching and one doing. It becomes family time, and I try to include my youngest who has down syndrome as much as I can.

*Little Hands to Heaven ~ she needs the time with me, and we have really enjoyed our pre-school time together.

I guess my other priority is making sure I have 140 days without anything else planned so school gets done.

Lastly, I do expect to teach from about 8 or 8:30 am - 4 pm (I prefer being done by 2 or 3 so I am going to see if a schedule could help me do that). None of them take even close to 8 hours to do a guide; but, I tend to teach longer then it takes each of them to finish school individually. I am trying to think of ways to cut that down, but it does take time to teach grammar and math to 3 different kids at three different levels in my experience. Plus, the beauty of HOD to me is the interactive boxes that having me spend time with my kids hearts, and ultimately to me that is our top priority in homeschooling and it does take time. I also really like the fact that HOD is only 140 days; I seem to have a maximum per year. We did 180 days this past school year and it completely did all of us in.

Congratulations once again! I loved your post, and it reminded me of the true, precious blessing being a Stay at Home Mom is! I sometimes need that reminder.

Blessings,

[Nealewill]

Thank you so much Momtofive and Rice for your encouragement. This has been a long time coming. I have never been able to fully stay home financially so I was a bit bound to my job. When I was working less hours, I loved it and didn't mind homeschooling and working. But this last 18 months has been a bit brutal. I have been praying for this heavily for the last year now and God is SO good!!!!! I was finally able to make the leap, quit and just enjoy being with my kids. I am SO beyond thankful for it.

Loving Jesus, thank you so much for taking time to type those things up! I have finally made my schedule and I have made sure to make time for this areas! I do remember CtC fondly. That was probably my favorite guide. Ironically enough, my oldest's favorites so far have been Preparing and RtR (she loved the middle ages). All are wonderful as I am sure you know! I am getting excited to look at the science my oldest is going to be learning in MtMM and looking forward to helping with history projects and science experiments. Plus, the nature journal looks great. I have schedule myself to be available for those things as well. One thing I did for my schedule was to add in flex time next year and more time for me hold my younger two kids hands with CtC for History readings and possibly the science. I feel like I haven't done a good job of making sure they can follow directions and am worried they might feel overwhelmed. So I was able to schedule some time with them for these areas too. But I feel really good about the schedule. I get to meet with all 3 regularly and am really excited about the set up.

Here is a preview of it:


Since stuff rotates with HOD, I actually set up 4 different schedules (one for each day of the guide). It helps me put stuff in perspective and line up my times well. This year I created a lot of slack in my day. This is my worst case scenario. But I am so excited to get to spend time with the kids and do a bit of hand holding. By the middle of the year, I will mainly just be helping with lots of fun stuff because I don't think my younger kids will need the hand holding. And I am glad that I can sit with my oldest a couple times a day and my younger two as well multiple times a day. I am getting really excited about this coming year and looking forward to starting.

Again, thanks so much ladies.

[LovingJesus]

Thank you Daneale for posting your schedule! I Love seeing another mom's schedule. It helps to see it.

If you wouldn't mind sharing, what are you having your kids do for exercise early in the morning? I like your idea of them getting exercise prior to school work. Up until this past year mine would get daily exercise around 3:00 pm. This past year though it was cut into most days.

I'm glad you posted. Your thread is encouragement.

[Nealewill]

We do a barrage of things. Right now, the kids are doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with me at the gym 3 days a week and then we walk or ride bikes another 2-3 days a week. I ended up buying a program from HIITBURN but they have tons of free workouts on Pinterest. And those workouts are pretty similar to what I bought. I also will occasionally have the kids do different weighted workouts with me too (low, low weights of course) and they enjoy that. We do lots of planks, squats, lunges, dumbbell press, pushups, bicep curls, etc and some cardio. If the kids are good, I let them tire flip, rope slam, do pullups, and things like that. Their workouts only last for about 30-40 min. I scheduled an hour though so that they can get their water bottles together and for driving time. I will probably tell them to get up before I finish my quite time just because they will need to get moving so that we can actually leave for the gym by 7:20 or so.

[Nealewill]

And I'm very excited for you to be retuning to HOD. We tried so many things prior to using it and that was probably good. That way I would know what I love and HOD is what I love! When I found HOD 4 years ago, it was the best year we ever had. Ever since then, we have stuck with it. My kids love it. Last year I thought about switching because I was so busy and I just didn't have time to devote to my kids. But then my oldest said that she would die if switched LOL so we didn't. Even with my son, who struggles with reading a bit, I asked him if he liked HOD or would want to do something else. He even said he would much rather do this than anything else. I was kind of surprised because he complains sometimes about all the reading. But he basically eluded that HOD has the most fun scheduled in as school can have and that it is more interesting than other programs. I was glad to hear that because he actually doesn't like art at all and HOD has a lot of it.

[chillin'inandover]

Daneale,
How exciting to be a full time SAHM. I recall when I became a SAHM, and how it took a mental adjustment. U was so blessed by the opportunity.
In regards to MTMM, what I enjoyed most was the state study. I made a state study notebook too. We also enjoyed visiting many state locations that were new to our family. Do you have state landmarks that would make interesting fieldtrips?
The storytime books were so meaningful- I cried through most of them. My son was enthusiastic about the moon book and the moon landing. He later used those resources from MTMM to write his IEW research paper in WG. I told him how that event was special to me as my Dad, who was thrilled by it, died shortly after that event. So many conversations about the time period... How my children are the offspring of baby boomers. Also, we discussed how Grandma (my Mother-in-law) was a refugee from Lithuania in a German camp, and was sponsored by a Lutheran family in Minnesota. Since so few Lithuanians were Lutheran, most were Catholic, her family was chosen to immigrate here before it became closed. My son interviewed Grandma and wrote about her experiences. It is a dear memory since she passed away in August of that year. We had many discussions that were initiated by topics in MTMM. If your family has interesting stories getting together with Grandparents or aunts/uncles to discuss them would be meaningful.
The presidents study was also a fun opportunity. If you can travel to SD to see Mt Rushmore and the Presidents Wax Museum that might make it special. Share who your favorite president has been and why.
We used the Chemistry in AH1 and I taught chemistry lab at our co op, so I had plenty of fun with labs. We did MTMM labs and nature journal over the summer. That was special times together because we weren't so rushed. Walks after the nature lesson just hanging out with my son.
Finally, there was plenty of baking/cooking in MTMM. We borrowed my brother -in-law's fortune cookie maker. We watched a movie while eating popcorn. We even had an assignment to order pizza. Those are a few memories I have. I know my time remaining educating is so short, which is why it becomes so much more precious. For us, MTMM was 8th grade, and I fondly recall it.

[LovingJesus]

Thank you Daneale! It is great to be back with HOD! I always wanted to try and put my own year together. After doing it for two years it made me truly appreciate Carrie's gift as a curriculum author who builds skills into the content subjects. I found I can schedule books easily enough, but my kids skills stopped developing the second year. I am very grateful for the work Carrie has done.

Thank you also for sharing your exercise routine with your kids. It sounds like a nice work-out for all of you. It is helping me think through ideas as I try to think of what might work for us in this area. Thanks!

Tammy, Thank you for sharing your experiences with MTMM. We are planning on MTMM for the fall, and I found it helpful to read your post as I mentally prepare for it.

In Christ,

[daybreaking]

As you can tell, spending time with kids is my ultimate priority right now. I feel like I have missed so much of their lives these past couple of years. I look at the ages of my kiddos and think they will be gone from the house in less than 10 years. I don't want to waste a minute! So if you could go back in time, what are some things you wish you did with your kids or what are some things you did do that you would recommend? I am not really interested in adding extra stuff to my school year but just trying to maximize my time with HOD and my family.

Your post really spoke to my heart! I haven't been working, but I've been consumed with caring for my mother who has dementia, and the time I've lost with my children grieves me. It seems that they grew up overnight and I just wish they could be little again. Like you, I want to be intentional with how I use my time and I want to cherish the years I have left. I want to take time to take walks with the children, to visit parks, to have picnics, to go bike riding, to go fishing, and to sit by the campfire. I want to bake with my daughter and spend time discussing with my son some of the interesting information he has researched. I want to go camping and just enjoy each other, without all the distractions of life. I want to work puzzles with them, play games with them, and read aloud interesting books. I want to go on family field trips to a variety of educational sites. I want to linger at their bedtimes and hear their hearts. All in all, I just want to savor the moments and not rush through the years I have left.

[Nealewill]

Tammy,

Thank you so much for all the great ideas! We are actually planning a trip out west next fall with my husband's family. We want to go see the grand canyon and to see Mt Rushmore. I will definitely add the presidential wax museum to the list! It will be a little bit after my daughter finishes MtMM but that is okay I would love to go this year but we are going to be going to West Virginia in September, Florida in November, Mammoth Cave either this September or next April, and then North Caroline in June. So we were thinking out west Next Fall Lots and lots of travel!!!! With being the accountant for a small firm, it was SO hard to get away on vacation.

And I love that ordering a pizza is one of the activities. I hope it falls on a Monday or Tuesday because my favorite pizza place has buy one get one free on Mondays and Tuesdays LOL.

And interviewing my parents and husbands mom is a great idea. My kids actually knew my grandma really well and they are all named after family members. I wish they could have interviewed her because she had so much to say and was such a great lady. Luckily I knew her really well too (and my grandpa) and I can tell my kids some of their stories. But it is so much more precious to hear the story straight from the source.

The chemistry books looks really fun for MtMM. I am looking forward to doing it with her. I taught the apologia chemistry at my co-op a few years ago and that was so interesting. Obviously this isn't nearly as challenging since it is intended for a younger audience but the book looks great and I am sure my dd will learn a ton.

And interestingly enough.....this will be our last year doing co-op! So many changes for us. I agreed to teach 2 classes last year and so I am going to go for both of those hours. But other than that, we will not be doing co-op after this year is up. If I wasn't teaching, we actually wouldn't be returning. It is a bit bitter-sweet. I love the families but it just takes too much time away from school. I could be using those day to have actual fun with my kids, not just doing more stuff. They meet 24 weeks out of the year, plus have a picnic, plus have a Christmas party and then there is also a day for orientation. It is just a lot of days! And they have become much more educational. With HOD, I don't need educational. I chatted with the kids and they are on board with the idea of not going after this year is up. Plus, my oldest will then be in WG and I just don't want to be stressed out about getting on day of the guide done in a day. I think this will be good for everyone. We just need to keep it simple.

LovingJesus - You are welcome. Just keep it simple. I do. My kids love working out. If I make it fun, they love it. I just try to keep it that way.

Daybreaking - I am sorry to hear that you have had to give up so much of your time with your kids. Helping a family member with dementia definitely can take a toll on your family. My husband's grandma had that for years and my FIL is the one who was the primary care giver for her. It is a lot. You are a huge blessing to you mom. Hopefully your kids can see that. And I would just try to take note of the times you do spend with the kids. Sometimes I feel like I don't do anything with mine (even now) but when I look back, I can see where I did do stuff with them. But just being purposeful in your time always helps. If I make a game plan for the day or week, I am more likely to do stuff with them than if I just go at it blind. Hope that helps.

[MelInKansas]

Oh I am also so happy for you! And I can relate because I was involved in a very time-consuming ministry leadership position with our church and after feeling very burned out and seeing how much I neglect my husband and children because of it, I gave my notice in May and plan to serve one more year! I know that with emerging teenagers, unless we limit activities severely, we will still be very busy but I am so thankful that I will be able to be more focussed on school with my kids instead of having those things to distract me. The ministry only happens during the school year and my mind and my time are so overwhelmed with tasks and communication during the school year. That's why I love doing school in July and August, because I feel like I can get so much more focussed time with it. And I agree, I have made some wonderful memories with my kids!

I love your schedule! One thing I do, and I really like this, is I will take an extended period of time (probably about an hour) with my oldest for me to go back and look over her notebooking pages, grammar, writing, and sometimes math if DH has been too busy to work on it with her. This gives me the chance to discuss with her where I see her not quite meeting the requirements or maybe she's misunderstood something. I do this ideally twice a week, but at least once a week. The discussions over storytime books and even the discussions when she orally narrates something to me are things I have really treasured. Also the "Beautiful Girlhood" study was one that I loved and I felt really helped my daughter think through her life and what character she was building. And it convicted me too! Doing the scripture memory together - I ended up with at least half of Phillipians 1 memorized this year because I went over it with her so much, and she did great on her final recitation - not perfect, but very very well. I'm talking about Res to Ref obviously - not CTC - but they all have some of the same elements. I do love the painting in CTC and wish I had more time to do it with my daughter, my daughter who is doing CTC now is the artsy one and I am looking forward to seeing what she learns through this. I do sit down and look through the Monarch Room blog pictures of the paintings so she gets an idea of what it could be like.

I hope and pray you guys have a great year! I'm sure it will be refreshing and I pray you can find things to encourage you throughout it.