Never thought I'd be saying this... (a little long)

[Mom2Monkeys]

...but I'm no longer full time homeschooling. Circumstances have called for dd to be enrolled in public school and still waiting to find a school for middle ds. My DH has insisted this is what we need to do...he's in school full time, quite absent- even when he's home. It's just me, 3 little ones, a house full of messes and I've been just losing my patience and on edge all the time. I've been overwhelmed by everything, yet I still enjoy home schooling. Something had to give though and I guess this was it. I suppose it gives me a chance to take a step back, take a deep breath, and get some things back on track without having to get school done each day. I'm down about though b/c my favorite part of my day was doing HOD with my dc. I plan to still do many of the activities since they are just plain fun and memory-makers. Plus, the story time is irresistable. I can't wait to finish Sword in the Tree!

DD7 has been in 2nd grade at the ps for a week now. She is way ahead and we're already having some issues. She really didn't want to go to begin with but now I am regretting the decision. We can't afford private school at all and no preschools have room for ds4 (almost 5)...plus he's already reading short words so he'd be ahead too...can't put him in K even if he's ready for it. An opportunity has surfaced though...or at least possibly...I go to tour a montessori school monday and talk with them about our situation...they are going to try to provide full scholarships for dd7, ds4/5, and even ds2 if I wanted. They would meet each child where they are and I can let ds2 go a few hours one day a week for some "me time" (which I am in great need of). I would continue with HOD activities through this semester and either bring them back home next school year or leave them in next school year, which is dh's final year for his Bachelor's degree. We'll then be moving to an area for him master's that we know we'd bring the kids back home for school. So, dd has been doing Beyond w/Singapore 2 this year(2nd grade)...If we bring her home next school year (3rd), I guess we'd jump into Bigger for her and LHFHG for ds (K) and then LHTH for youngest ds. If we kept them in school next year(3rd/K), I'd likely continue Beyond activities and story time, and then start preparing for her 4th grade year.

Does that sound right? Would it be okay to skip Bigger like that?
Has anyone else used HOD to supplement public school education? How did you make it work?
Anyone have any advice about a Montessori school setting? Unfortunately, there are no private Christian schools around here to send her to...they either cost an arm and a leg or are all full. Montessori at full price is about the same...2000 a month for all 3 of them!!! So please pray that they will be able to provide us with full scholarships when i go talk to them. I'm pretty bummed about not having them at home, especially when it feels like such a waste of my and her time in the public school. Homeschool is my top choice, but if I can't do that, the Montessori school is a pretty good option (from what I've seen so far).

My mommy heart needs prayer please Please also pray that God will use this time to guide us in resolving some of the problems that led to this in the first place and that all these transitions will go smoothly. Oh, and if dd has to stay in ps, they are testing her for Gifted and Talented, so I am hoping she at least gets into that if Montessori is a bust.

[wisdom4us]

Tamara,
I don't know what to say because I've never been in your situation so I will just post my prayer for you and your family,

"Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus and I lift up Tamara to You. You know her Lord and you know her heart, strengthen her to face each day. Renew her spirit Lord. Renew the joy of her salvation. Renew Your Spirit within her and fill her with grace. May she be able to face each day with joy and a new confidence. May she feel your presence leading her and guiding her. Lord I pray for her children that the adjustments will go smoothly and I ask You to move Your hand before them and prepare the way. Show Tamara which way to go with schooling Lord and bring unity to her household. Lord surround Tamara and her family with encouragement and people that can minister to them and lift them up. I think You Lord that You are the Creator of Heaven and earth and that you know the beginning from the end. I thank you Lord for leading, guiding and protecting this family. In Jesus Name I pray, AMEN!"

[water2wine]

I also do not have any advice but I am going to agree in prayer with wisdom4us. Praying for peace for you and your family!

[Mommamo]

I couldn't read this and not reply. I wish I had some advice for you, but I don't. DD is only 5 so we've never done anything but hs. I just prayed for you and your family.

I hope the Montessori school will work out. I do know that if we weren't hsing, I would probably try to get DD into Montessori. I like most of their ideas, although I do think they are a little evolution-y, but I don't know that for sure.

[Candice]

Tamara,
Praying for you and your family.

Candice

[my3sons]

Tamara,
I have prayed the prayer Summer wrote for you because I agree with it wholeheartedly. My heart goes out to you. I do not know all of the ins and outs of your situation, but I can see your heart is hurting.
In Christ,
Julie

[Samuel'sMommy]

Tamara,
I don't have any advice for you but I will lift up you and your family in prayer!

[j_croche]

Hi Tamara,
My heart goes out to you. I have and will continue to lift you up in prayer.
jenni

[Mom2Monkeys]

Montessori didn't work out. They are in the process of deciding on whether or not to start of scholarship program. This was from the person below the director, so I'm going to call the director directly since that's who I was told I needed to talk to about our situation.

I also contacted another private Christian school just to see where that gets me. We'll see....

As of now, dd is just too worn out to do anything outside of her busy school day. We'll ease back into doing some of the fun stuff, starting off with just Saturdays.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I think dh is starting to rethink the public school thing...he actually said "maybe we should just pull her back out" yesterday...definitely a "God thing". LOL We're not jumping into a decision but I know we aren't in the best place just yet.

[wdworkman]

Tamara,
Would getting help with the house instead of schooling be an option? I hesitated to suggest it because I know my reaction would be "We can't possibly afford that!", but compared to school tuition - or even public school lunches, book fees, etc. - once a month cleaning service might be a better deal. If you know any homeschool teenagers nearby, maybe a mother's helper once a week? (I know my 15 yod would jump at the chance to do something like that for a just few dollars spending money.)

None of this may apply to your situation - just trying to brainstorm some ideas. Now that I'm past that stage (my youngest is 10 yo), I'll be the first to admit that a houseful of little's is not the easiest season for a Mom! With you & your husband approaching the issue with prayers, I'm sure the solution will pop up somewhere!

[Candice]

Tamara,

Good to hear an update with your situation. We continue to think of you and pray for you.

Candice

[Carrie]

Tamara,

The ladies are doing an amazing job of surrounding you with prayer and carrying your situation in their hearts. I will also uplift you and your family in prayer and pray the Lord will make clear to you the path that is needed for this season in your life.

As far as HOD goes, if your little ones are going to be in another school setting during the day, then I think you'll need to just shelve HOD to pull back out again one day when homeschooling becomes your schooling of choice. From my days as a public school teacher, I know how tired kiddos are by the end of a long school day. In the evening, just devote yourself to hearing about their day, reading the Bible, and some low-key reading aloud of great books before bed (at a chapter a night or so, nothing frantic).

If your children do need to continue on in the public school or other school setting for awhile, you can always pick HOD back up when they're home again, either right where you left off, or moving up a level if needed. You can easily enter HOD at whatever level best suits your kiddo's needs at the time, rather than playing catch-up to cover missed guides. We purposefully write the guides to be entered at any level, not requiring a pre-cursor to be done first.

Janet gave you some excellent advice to ponder about getting some additional help in the home setting. We do have a cleaning lady who comes once every 3 weeks that cleans our entire house top to bottom for $35. That did more to lessen my load than anything I could have imagined. I felt guilty having to have help in that area, but it has been a huge burden off of my shoulders. I do understand that financially that may not be an option, but I just say that to get your thoughts flowing on other possible solutions.

My husband also has realized that I need extra help from him in order to have needed time to write. He is an absolutely HUGE help to me, and he was able to help much better once I told him what I needed him to do. Even though your husband is very busy, and often gone, he may be able to help some with laundry or errands if you could let him know what was needed.

I find my husband preferred to just take over certain tasks and put them in his schedule to do every week on his own terms/time, rather than me asking him each week to do a different something. For example, my hubby starts the laundry 3 days a week when he gets up at 5:00 A.M. and has much of it done and folded before his work day ever begins (or the rest of us are even up). He also grocery shops once each week, which is another big time-saver for me. This may not work for you at all, but I just wanted to throw some options out there. We found that dividing the tasks as to who does what at our house (between my hubby and I) made a big difference in our overall operating efficiency too.

It is worthwhile to brainstorm options that may work to give needed relief.

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Tamara - I've been really thinking over your situation, and a lot of the things that I've been thinking have been shared here now. There are options along the road of homeschooling, and not homeschooling. Some good ideas have been mentioned here already. What are your greatest obstacles to homeschooling right now? I mean, if you got out paper and pencil and numbered them, what would be the big #1 on the list?

If it is the house upkeep (which we can all agree can become overwhelming ), the suggestions shared already are excellent. I'll also suggest training your dc to help more. Even little ones can be a big help when they feel they are helping the family "team" keep the house running smoothly.

Is it finances? Most of us have been there too. You've already gotten your HOD curriculum, so you're covered there. But otherwise, there are many homeschool moms that work part-time to be able to homeschool (I was one of them for several years).

Do you need to get out to relieve stress? This is the big #1 for me! My dh travels a lot, and I don't have time or money to be involved in extracurricular activities for me. I try to do something with my sister once a week - but if she can't do something, I go by myself - no matter what, I do something once a week away from our house. This keeps me sane, and I come home so happy to see my dc and spend time with them again. Finding someone to watch the dc once a week would really help you out. If money is an issue, I'd consider finding a service you can trade for someone to watch your dc. Maybe cleaning 1 house a week, cooking someone a meal, or swapping babysitting with someone else a night would work.

If it is something to do with your dh, then that is something to pray about and keep sorting through with him. I do not expect you to share these personal details here - I just think that identifying the biggest issues and working through them one at a time can be the difference between being able to homeschool and not being able to homeschool.

The most important thing in the long run for all of us is to try to be sure our dc know the Lord as their Savior. Whatever school options you are considering now, if that is at the forefront, God will honor that. May God bless you as you sort through this. Please know I care about you and your family, and that is the reason for these ideas here. I completely understand that this is not going to be an easy fix with the snap of your fingers. Working through obstacles one at a time can clear the way to keep homeschooling sometimes though, and that is my hope for you - but whatever God has planned is what is really best. So, that will continue to be my prayer for your family.

In Christ,
Julie

[deltagal]

Hi there,

I'm thinking about you (A LOT). Gosh knows we've all been there OR at least a lot of us have. The house full of messes, at our wit's end, etc.

But just so you know - I spent one entire school year - I kid you not - teaching my children how to clean and help around the house and focus on healthy habits - exercise, daily walks, 3 good meals a day. It took us so long to get the breakfast dishes done and beds made that the most school work we ever did was a reading lesson and a math lesson a few days a week. That's it. And I lowered my expectations at the same time about the clean house deal. We are still reaping the rewards from that year! And my children all tested fine. Yes, they were behind in some things, but not enough for it to be an issue.

So my thought is - maybe it would be helpful to adjust your expectations regarding school and focus on your home and family if you feel that might be beneficial. Some times we get so caught up in our ideal that we miss the opportunity - when God gives it to us.

Take care. Perhaps, the Montessori not working out is a blessing, if you get what I mean.

With Joy!
Florence

[Candice]

Wow Florence, that is truly incredible. I love what you had to say and it really got me thinking, thank you for allowing ME to see things from a different angle. Tamara, I hope that you have gained some wisdom from her post as well, I continue to pray for you and your family.

Candice