Difficult First Day, Anyone???

[striving2Bprov31]

To the ladies of HOD,

This is my first day of HOD and homeschooling. Let me just say it was not pleasant. My seven year old son can be very difficult and its an ongoing process, I know. But I was wondering if anyone else has difficult days in homeschooling, even with the open and go HOD??? I love this discussion board, but it seems like everyone that I read about has a great homeschool, compliant children, and it's smooth sailing. Is there anyone out there who has days that just don't seem to work?? Or one child doesn't really like what we are doing?? Or you feel like your doing a juggling act all day between the children and the babies??? I guess, Is there anyone who's homeschool ISN'T perfect??? Anyway, I guess I would like to hear from some of you! Hopefully, we'll find a groove, iron out attitude problems--after all it is only our first day. But I've read so many of you moms having GREAT first days... Thanks in advance!!!

Liz
dh of 11yrs.
dd9, ds7-Bigger
ds3-little hands
ds8months

[4froggies]

Is there anyone out there who has days that just don't seem to work?? Or one child doesn't really like what we are doing?? Or you feel like your doing a juggling act all day between the children and the babies??? I guess, Is there anyone who's homeschool ISN'T perfect???

All of the above! Yes, we do have some really great, rewarding days, which I'm sure you will experience also. But, any given day is bound to have at least one of these factors. I almost always feel like it is a juggling act between children and baby, housework, etc. But, that's when God gives us grace to do what he has called us to do. Homeschooling IS hard work! It's also very rewarding and I have moments where I see a glimpse of the fruit of my effort, but it can be challenging! You are not alone!

[Tree House Academy]

Difficult days in homeschooling??? Oh never. LOL No, really, we all have those days. Getting back in the groove can take time. 1st day back in public school is usually a half day because there is just no way to get all those excited kids settled enough to do lessons! Take it with a grain of salt and know that tomorrow is a new day! Sorry your 1st day back was such a bummer.

ETA: Case in point....last week was a nightmare for us. We were wrapping up details so we could close on the house (today!), my sons had soccer practice, TKD, all sorts of obligations and I was literally feeling so sick all week, I thought I was going to pass out. My older son didn't finish school before 6pm for four out of five days! It was exhausting and by the end of the week, I wanted to take this week off!!! But I didn't. I prayed - HARD - that God would give me the joy back. I told Him that I know he led me to HOD and has set this path for us and that I need Him to help me get it back to "good." I took the weekend off, rested, and started today feeling fresh and new. God is faithful and so good! He loves us even when we stray, even when we are frustrated, even when we can't admit that we need his help.

[sted]

Difficult days are always hard but some advice I heard a long time ago from Steve and Jane Lambert from Five in a Row is don't micro-manage your days. Anotherwards, don't judge each day as good or bad, there will be both of those, but look at the long term picture. Over time things will get better and homeschooling will be effective but don't try and go by how each and every individual day went. Don't worry about the bad days, I taught public school and there were plenty of "bad" days. Any teacher that tells you otherwise is lying. There were days when I was "off", when the kids were"off", the weather, the curriculum, whatever, it happened and then there were wonderful days. Don't beat yourself up over few bad days. It will take time to learn to work together as a team, you and your children. That does not happen overnight. Hope this helps,
Shannon

[horsinaround]

This is our first year of HOD but this is our 6th year of homeschooling. We were so excited to start HOD and then the first day came and EEK! it was rough! It did not go near as smoothly as I hoped or thought. But then the second day came and it was quite a bit better even fun! After the first week it has been smooth sailing for us. It just took us a few days to find our groove. Figure out the order in which we wanted to do things and how to work through the boxes effeciently. We are loving HOD! We are in week 3 and I could not be more pleased. We are definitely sticking with HOD for years to come.
Just hang in there and find your groove. It will come! The first year of homeschooling is full of ups and downs! We homeschoolers who have been at it for quite sometime still have some really rough days but for us there were a lot more of them in the first year or two.

Blessings,

[Daisy]

You bet hard days come.

I tend to blog about more of the good days only because they are my lifeline to sanity. LOL.

No matter how bad a day gets, I always know a good one will eventually come around again.

Here's one of my bad days from last week. I try to laugh about it, but bottom line, I'm not giving up. This is what God has called me to do and even if the bad days outnumbered the good (they don't) I'd still be plugging away.

http://daisyhomeschoolblog.blogspot.com ... -some.html

[rainbowacreshs]

Yes Mam we too share those difficult days. Today was one of them. I had my mother spend the night so it would be easier to take her to the dr.'s today. This morning I left her and my oldest dd at the house so I could run with my husband to feed the horses and get him to work. I asked her to please follow her schedule, use her timer and if she did so correctly she would be done with history by time the baby and I would be back. I get back and she had skimmed her way through work, left me frustrated as I still had to cook the batch of meat and veggies for eggrolls all before noon.
Somehow though throughout the day things seemed to have righted themselves, somewhere somebody must have been praying While my mother was at her dr's appt, we (dd12 and dd 19months) went to Dunkin Doughnuts and over flat bread sandwhiches and glasses of tea we accomplished science reading and grammar work. Later tonight I'll work with her on her history project, and her daddy can review the math. The rest we'll just let it ride over and it may be Friday this week before we get it all done....but thats ok. Being with my mom today just reminds of a few simple things...
You can't buy time, you can't replace it, and nothing is more valuable than the moments you share with your mom. Today I will rejoice in the trials both seemingly insignifcant and sometimes unsurmountably large. I shared time with my mom, and my daughter shared time with hers.

[dale1088]

Well, I can certainly relate. Today was just so-so. DD was diligent to get to work, but ssllllllooooooooowwwwwww to motivate. Everything just took so long. This past week she is complaining about going to sleep (scared of shadows or something) so I was up late with her last night sipping warm milk and talking some. So today was supposed to be the first day of school but we overslept, which means we didn't get to our chores on time, and the whole day was off. We eventually fit most of it in, but as usual my housework takes a back seat and now I have a loveseat FULL of laundry to fold and I keep waiting for it to fold itself. Anyone know when this will happen?

All the days are not perfect and we all have similar moments. Just cut yourself some slack. I turned over a new leaf today and vowed to be more consistent with discipline so that I won't get so mad by the 8th time asking/yelling/threatening. And I vowed to be more positive in my praises and affirmations when they are doing a good job.

Why not join me in throwing the kids in the backyard for some fresh air (HEY! It's below 100 today here!!) and have a cuppa tea.

[LAF512]

Overall, I would say our homeschool journey has been pleasant, but we have definitely had bad days. Dd absolutely LOVES LHFHG, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have days where she isn't difficult. It's also hard to get a real feel for school after the first day. It took us a little bit of time to get into our groove and for dd to realize what was expected of her each day. Don't get discouraged by bad days and please don't feel as if you are the only one that has them. Even during our worst days/moments, I know something is being accomplished so I try to focus on the good and not that bad.

[queenbeaz]

Not only did our first day go bad last week, our entire WEEK was a disaster. Yes, we got some work done, but it was only 1 1/2 days worth of plans in 5 days!!! I spent weeks working on a schedule for it to fall apart in a matter of hours. I was feeling guilty about not sending my kids to ps (over that!) and started on Monday because they did, even though I wasn't really prepared. I couldn't seem to keep the babies occupied sufficiently to work with the big kids, etc. I didn't have time to tweak things this weekend, my oldest dd is acting like this: today, etc., etc. I'm sure I should be plodding through, but I've taken a step back to regroup. We all need to get used to a schedule and schoolwork, when before we had none. I'm going to scale WAAYYY back to start (though not sure how), and just give everyone a chance to adjust, then add in when we can. Soooo glad I'm not the only one either, Liz!

God Bless,
Jenny

[AboveRubiesMama]

Oh yeah, we have 'em! I don't know if you've ready my threads from a couple of weeks ago, but we went out of state for what was supposed to be a nice visit with family but became an emergency, family crisis. That week was chaotic. Some days it can be hard but then there are days, such as today, when things work so well and we're just all happy.

I just posted a thread below about something, as well about my "duh" moment and my DH. Something as simple as telling myself it was OK to write in the manual has really helped put me at ease.

[Tmisek]

Hello Liz.

We just started our third week of homeschooling (and HOD), so I am no expert yet, but I will say there has been good as well as bad.

During our first week, I worked only with my dd7 on Beyond. I kept my expectations low because: 1.) my dd had just spent two years in public school; and 2.) really, this is kind of a whole new way of life and we all need time to transition! I added in the other 2 kids late last week and that definitely has added some more challenges.

Bad attitudes ARE happening at times and we are dealing with them as they come. I have explained that school is not optional and must be done whether they think they will like the activity or not. No excuse will get them out of doing it. It takes a lot of energy to stay calm and matter of fact so I don't add fuel to the fire.

Sometimes I feel unorganized. Often we are distracted during lessons and it's hard to get back on track. Sometimes I wonder if I can do this. When things aren't going well, I ask God for wisdom. He is the One that has called me to do this, so I am counting on His help and guidance...I certainly do not want to do this on my own, and I'm not giving up! I also try to make sure I have had my quiet time in the morning before school and give my day to Him in advance. My attitude and energy are much better when my focus is in the right place.

I pray things will get better for you (and me) ...and I have no doubt that they will!!

[Carrie]

Liz,

There is a wealth of terrific, sage advice in this thread. The ladies are so good at turning back to the Lord for His strength when times don't go exactly as planned! It also helps to take a good look at what is causing the disruptions and do your best to address that.

At our house we typically have a very tough first week, as our 4 boys just love summer and would play all day or be caught up in their own free-time forever if we let them! One thing I've realized in the past from being on other homeschool boards is that you can always find someone whose having a bad day to share your own bad day with you anytime! Everyone has bad days in homeschooling, just as there are bad days in any profession. Blessedly, if the Lord has called you to homeschool, He will be faithful to provide you with what you need to accomplish His goals for the day.

From talking with so many parents through the years, I've also found that focusing on the negative does little to lift one's spirits and often can be pretty discouraging overall. So, on the board, we do try to focus instead upon encouraging one another in some small way in order to uplift each other. We try to constructively help one another with any problems and work toward helping one another be successful.

So, to help you better, if you have some specific areas in which you'd like suggestions, we'd be glad to help. Just ask away!

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Everyone has bad days - sometimes the first, sometimes the last, and sometimes any number of days in between the two. I can get pretty hyped about things sometimes, and then my expectations go through the roof - no surprise when the moment comes it can't meet my over the top expectations. I've had this with vacations, career changes, dates with my dh, Bible study groups I've led, birthday parties I've planned, gifts I've given - oh my, how the list could go on. I've learned to recognize this about myself, and try to tamper my idealistic thoughts of how I thought things would go with logic (my dh's point of view also helps so much with this - he is logical to the hilt - though I don't always want to hear it ).

My idea of a wonderful day has changed. When I first began homeschooling, I thought - great - I can sleep in, I'll have time to exercise, time to stay on top of the laundry and the cleaning, and the dc and I will be skipping through the tulips loving each precious moment together. On a fabulous day, these things may all happen, but on the average day - being a homeschool teacher is still a job - granted, the BEST job I've ever had, the most IMPORTANT job I've ever had, but also one of the most demanding jobs. One thing I try to remind myself on tough days is I'm so glad my dc are having them with me, because then I have the opportunity to fix things myself - be it their attitude, my attitude, a schedule change, etc. And, the next day mercies anew abound, and we can start over once again with a fresh day. This is only your first day - think back to your first day of any given job you've had - usually the first day is not the best . Give yourself and your dc some grace, and start fresh tomorrow! I am praying for you to be encouraged and also patient - you have a lifetime of homeschooling to enjoy, so give yourself some time to ease into it. And be sure to keep praying - the Lord can do wonders to lift our spirits!

In Christ,
Julie

[striving2Bprov31]

To the HOD ladies,

Thank you all so much for the encouragement!! Believe it or not, it is encouraging to know that my house isn't the only one that is not perfect!! You guys have given me some WONDERFUL things to consider. I think one of the reasons that today knocked the wind out of my sails so easily is because I have been in deep prayer and preparation for this for months. I know God has called me to this!! My mainstay Bible verse this year with our decision to hschool has been I Thes. 5:24 "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." So there has been this HUGE build up to today. I will say the second half of the school day did go much better. After school my daughter said, "That was fun!" with a huge smile on her face!! She was the apprehensive one in all this!
Thanks to all of you who responded!

To Carrie, I am so glad I posted this question as I think it would help anyone who reads it, and I certainly wasn't trying to focus on the negative!!

Thanks everyone,
Liz
dh of 11yrs.
dd9, ds7-Bigger
ds3-little hands
ds 8months