Preparing, how do you do it all??

[kiloyd]

This year ds is 9 and in 4th grade, we're using Preparing. It is a good fit for him but our days are so long!

I'm seriously thinking it may be time for public school next year. And I'd keep both dd's home. I know hsing is a sacrifice and I've felt called to do it until now, I'm not sure. I'm just tired. I have one in kindy and her school is like 30 min. I think ds would do fine, our town seems good, he already knows kids in ps.

I feel like we can't do anything because school takes so long and if I do an apt in the morning it throws off the rest of the day, so I keep apts for after lunch.

Any tips, been there done that advice?

Katherine
ds 9 Preparing
dd newly 6 LHFHG
dd3

[LynnH]

I guess first of all I would say look to see what is taking so long. We did Preparing last year and it took 4-4 1/2 hours and that was with a math that takes longer than singapore. It really shouldn't take any longer than that. Maybe if you write out how long each box is taking that would help people be able to help you figure out how to cut some time off. Is he able to do the boxes independently that are supposed to be done independently?

As far as public school both my dc came from there and I can tell you the stress isn't any better. In fact my house is a much more peaceful place now that they are both home. My dc would come home and have hours of homework at night and they had no time for anything else and both were cranky all the time. Before making any decision maybe make a list of why you homeschool and really evaluate if those are things you still desire for you ds. I can tell you my dd who came home as a 10th grader and said just 1 year ago that she would never be homeschooled, says now she would never, ever go back. She feels like she can finally be herself for one of the first times in her life.

[striving2Bprov31]

I have found myself in the same situation with things taking so long. I will be watching this thread. I finally decided that such is the case with us because we have little ones in the mix. My kids are dd10, ds8, ds4, ds22mos. It feels like it takes all day even if we don't finish everything!! It is not HOD-it is that way no matter what material we are using. Again, I have just figured it was with having little ones in the mix!! I see that you have some younger ones too. I figure it is just for a season. A season with LOTS of interuptions!! Hope this helps. I'll be interested to see other replies.

Liz

[8arrows]

What if you kept going with math and English on a regular schedule, but did the rest of Preparing at 1/2 speed, one day over a two-day period? I do find that scheduling appointments in the morning is a no-no here. Public school is not an option for us, so I cannot address that. As the children get older, it does simply take more of your day, but it does not have to take all day. I also agree with the previous poster. Time your day and let us know how long each subject is taking. Maybe there is a certain area that is weighing you down.

[cirons]

I am doing Preparing also and it is taking about 3.5 hours and I get started at 8am so we are done by lunch time.....the earlier we start the better! I also find the kids work better and faster if I give them a short 5 minute break after each 3 boxes/activities.
I am only just starting out, but it has been good if I look over the teacher's manual the evening before for 5 minutes to make sure I know what is happening the next day so I do not look bewildered or confused in front of the kids! Lol. If there is anything I am not sure about, I try and look it up/research it before the next morning.
I also have the policy that mornings are our school time and unless there is EXCEPTIONAL circumstances, I do not make appointments, have friends over or take phone calls during this time as I find it too off-putting and ruins any flow and consistency we are trying to work towards. I have found this to be true no matter what curriculum you are using. People have learned this about us and they generally respect our school time.

Hope you can work it all out so you can enjoy this season more...

Blessings,

Corrie

[Marsha]

What I would do is just take 2 years to do Preparing. You can go full speed with math.
You would not feel so stressed and want to send him to school.
I think there is plenty for 2 years and it will give to time to add any extras that you might want to do.

[kiloyd]

Thank you for your replies. I'm back from AWANA and can type a bit more detail now, I had quickly typed that out before we left.

Part of this feeling is that I rarely get to do something for just me. We moved 2 yrs ago and were unable to move our horse with us, so he is at my parent's. Even when I could only go to the barn once a week and with my kids, it was "my thing" to be with horses.

DH and I have started a monthly date, but it has not happened this month. Tonight though, I dropped the kids off at AWANA and went to the grocery store ALL BY MYSELF! Oh, and winter is setting in here in NH, I hate the cold.

On a good note, a friend is getting a gym type class set up at the YMCA, that will be good to get some inside exercise this winter.

And I have friends here but no really close hsing friends yet.

As for school, math is what takes him the longest, he doesn't like it so whines about it and wastes time. I did use a timer and that was good, maybe I could do that again and increase it to 30 min instead of 20.

We like the reading, some days it's just a lot and it could be half an hour reading Tirzah. So today I read several chapters in Tirzah because I skipped it yesterday. We don't usually do the poetry, he just doesn't like it, I need to find some fun poetry books for him, like Where The Sidewalk Ends". We also are skipping the Bible this year since we do AWANA.

[kiloyd]

Okay, I filled up that page and it wouldn't let me type more.

I'm not so good at time management either. We aim to start at 9am, but there have been days recently where all the kids are playing so well so I talk on the phone to my best friend and do dishes. Maybe I should start at 8:30.

I'll look at the guide and estimate what things take us, without the stalling and whining.

Reading about History 20min
History project 10-30min (depending on what it is)
Independent History 10-20min ( on cursive days I have him copy for 15 min)
Storytime 20-30 min
Vocab. 10 min
math 30+ min
English 10min
Science 5-15 min
dictation 10 min
DITHOR 15-30 min

When I add that up that it's about 3 hours. Hhhhmmm, tomorrow I'll track the time on each thing and post back. We should be able to be finished by 1:00 each day. The problem is keeping him from playing with his sisters. Dd 6 does school while he's doing his independnet work

[south5]

I turn off my phone before I go to bed, otherwise I always get distracted by a phone call.
Today was cold and rainy so I let Blake sleep in, then a friend called (I didn't have my phone off ) and wanted to come over. Ashton usually sleeps late, but he was up at 8am and wanted to do his work before Blake got up. So, Ashton finished by 9:30. I was on my way to wake up Blake when my friend called, so instead of school they came over. They stayed until 5:30!! While I cooked dinner I had Blake do Independent History, Science and his Bible Study. I had him also read the poem and do R&S with a little help from me. I set up Brynna and Ashton with a movie after dinner, and Blake read his book for DITHOR while I cleaned up the dishes. Afterwards I helped him complete the sheet and we did Geography. At 7 I started a bath for Brynna and while she was in the tub I read the Storytime to Blake. I put Brynna down to sleep at 8:30, then we went downstairs to do the History Project. At 9:30 I tucked the boys in to bed and read Grandpa's Box to finish the History reading for the day.
It used to bother me to do school when it wasn't "normal" school hours but no longer. That is why we homeschool! Having a 2yo makes it more challenging, but if you play around with your routine it should get easier. I used to always start with math, and my son always dawdled until it was lunch time before completing the one subject!! Now, I do math last. I teach the lesson, give him problems, and walk away. At that point I am done, I can move on to other things and if he wants to sit there for hours he can. We do school outside a lot too, but now with it getting colder it will be harder.

[kiloyd]

Maybe I should try doing math last again.

I might save reading for bedtime too. I read to the girls but ds reads to himself now. Sometimes I read during breakfast, but the girls aren't interested in ds's books.

He just balks at anything "school". You'd think I could do some at night.

I'll see how our schedule goes tomorrow. i just wrote out his list of what to do and puts estimated times on each one, I'll see what the actual time is, I need to figure out where the time is going.

[4Hispraise]

I like the idea of pp about taking inventory about why you are h'schooling. I have had to do similar things in the past (okay, last week ). PHFHG is a great curriculum because it helps you do something you want to accomplish, it teaches your kiddo how to work independently...and that will help in coming years. The good news is, looking forward to next year, CTC is much more independent, and you have already been preparing him for this through PHFHG! I know, you need real help now, though, so here it goes:

Keeping track of where your time goes is also helpful. I had my son do it. He started Monday and has already managed to shave an hour or two off of his school day. He is very excited! Also, about playing with his sister. Maybe you could actually schedule a certain time to do that, and other than that time, he could be doing school in another room? I don't know, just a suggestion. I have a 2 yo and I actually had to make a schedule for him so he wasn't distracting 11 yo during school time. His day is filled with activities by himself or with mama. Just a thought.

May God grant you wisdom to know what is best for your ds. May He give you insight into how to h'school your dc showing you how to number your days to accomplish His purposes. I trust that He will show you if h'schooling is the best fit for your ds. I have been at the same point, so know that you are not alone! I will be praying and waiting to hear how you are doing!!

[kiloyd]

Okay, I watched the time today and most of it was right on track. It's math that he drags out. he had 8 problems and didn't do the and didn't do them, we then went to the library and I had him bring his math book and he had an hour before his drama class. He complained that he couldn't do it because it was the library, then because he could hear noise from the children's room, from across the way where he was sitting. I told him I would take him to drama when it was done and he tried and tried to get out of it, saying he'd do it when he got home. I stood firm and he got it done and went to drama 20 min. late.

I talked to dh and I'm going to call the local ps and get a tour and maybe an evaluation and we will go from there.

I love HOD but I'm tired of the whining. he goes strong for the first 2 hours then fades off. He's good at math, just hates it.

I will see how I feel after touring the school and meeting people there. We've been in the gym for basketball, but that's it. I remember when I toured schools for kindy for him, in another state, there was no way I'd send him to the charter school or public school, but felt good about the Christian schools. If I tour this ps and meet the principal and others and have a good feeling about it then I'll know.

I think he could benefit from the positve peer pressure of everyone in the room doing work. His sister is kindy so her work is very short then she and my 3 yr old dd can play. And he still has work to do.

I'll be praying for wisdom. Oh, dh wants him to go to public highschool and middle school anyway, so this would just be a year or so early. Please pray for us.

[Happy2bMommyof3]

Hi Katherine,

I know you don't know me, but I was wondering if you could give something a try. There is a book by John Rosemond called Parenting By The Book - Biblical Wisdom for Raising your child. I feel like I am being paid to advertise for it as much as I have recommended it lately! If I won the lottery (impossible since we don't play), I would buy this book for everyone on this board and every parent I know. I read the book in 3 days when I got it home from the library, and I don't have alot of time to read. It described our home perfectly with all of our discipline issues, and I could hardly put it down. I have implemented what I read about, and we have had more stress free days this week than we have had all year.. and dh and I noted last night that the kids all seems so happy. I am not exaggerating! My kids are younger than your son, but it is for all ages, no doubt. Please give it a read before you make any decisions about public school. It seems like the issue you have is an attitude issue, and that would most likely be made worse by public school. The biggest influence there is peer, not parental or authoritative, and kids with attitude problems tend to fall into groups of kids with attitude problems, which is just fuel for the fire (I have this experience first hand!)

I am sorry if I have spoken out of turn, I just felt like I needed to encourage you in this option first.

If you have any questions other than what I've said here, please feel free to pm me!!

[kiloyd]

Thank you Heather, I will check out the book.

[Sue G in PA]

Just wanted to chime in some suggestions. We are doing Preparing with 3 boys. For the most part, my ds10 and ds12 are independent. Ds9 is difficult and I spend most of my days with him and count it a good day if he gets HALF of Preparing done. Really. Anyway, what has helped us: Dh does the Storytime box at bedtime with the boys. He enjoys that. I read the History reading at lunchtime. We do Bible reading/questions at breakfast and the boys do their Bible Quiet Time before bed or during break or when they get up...whenever they want really. That helps us a lot. Also, remember that Preparing is a 4 day program. There are many weeks that the History Project could be done all at once on a Friday and it might take a half hour to an hour. Does that makes sense? We frequently save the History Project until Friday and do it all at once (unless it's paint or clay that has to dry or harden in order to paint the next day or something like that). Math takes ds9 for-e-ver b/c of his focus issues. It just is what it is for us. I hope this helps you a bit. We have to be creative with our time b/c I have 2 younger ones doing LHFHG, a toddler to attend to and a 9th grader to supervise (although she is really diligent). Oh, and to be 100% up front...we have not started DITHOR yet. I just haven't found the time to add that in. That is not to say that my dc do not read...we just don't do DITHOR yet. After Christmas is my goal. We'll see how that goes!