having a hard time getting everything done in Preparing

[amarie]

Hi,

We have been in a very busy/full season with outside-of-school things since the end of October, and I'm giving myself a little grace with getting started back up after having finished those commitments and getting done with Christmas, but I am and have been struggling to get everything done with Preparing for my 9 year old. I also have a 5 year old, we're working on math and phonics. With Preparing, I am focusing on Math and the LA things, making those priority to get done in the day. I know this is kind of open-ended (there are lots of factors that could be contributing to our days) but it is feeling like such a constant struggle to get a whole day's worth of work done, and it is feeling like an ongoing uphill battle, a lets-just-put-one-foot-ahead-of-the-other/heavy burden sort of feeling.

Has anyone else struggled with this, and does anyone have advice/suggestions? Its not specific to Preparing, I absolutely LOVE it, its just school in general...perhaps its a normal feeling after the rush of Christmas and coming off of a busy season? And perhaps once I get the house back in order and my cupboards filled and laundry put away, some of that stress will be lifted too and school will feel a bit easier? I'm sure there are plenty of other threads about similar topics, I will look around when I have more time.

Thanks!
Amy

[Tabitha]

I have been where you are many times.

What about going half speed for a bit? You would do the left side one day, the right side the next. Keep up with math each day. Then alternate between doing English and dictation each day.

If you search for 'half speed' you'll find a few suggestions on using Bigger that way.

I am currently using Preparing with my 10. Using it when she was 9 would have been too much for her. We took 1 1/2 years to do Bigger. Slowing down allowed us to not rush, and spend more time on things.

[John'smom]

I guess if I were you, I would take an extra day or 2 or 3 off and get food in your house (maybe even meals planned or some things made ahead), get your house cleaned up (here is a 2 hr schedule to do just that) and then your mind will be in a better space to start school. Remember it's not about perfection, but progress. Also watch your thoughts, if you're dreading it, it will be negative. Think about how much fun you will have together and all the memories you will make.

This is what I would do:
Day 1-Grocery shop, make some food ahead, like baked oatmeal, meatloaf, lasagna, etc.)
Day 2- Clean up house
Day 3- Spend time doing something that you enjoy. Play some games and read some picture books with your dc.
Day 4- Start Preparing with a bang.

[luv2homeschool]

Did you see this post of Carrie's from October:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12776

It was so helpful to me. I was also having a hard time getting things done when I realized I was trying to do too much in a day and fitting schooling around other stuff instead of making school the priority.

I would also suggest going to half-speed for a little while to get back into the routine. We're not starting up until Monday after taking 2 weeks off so I'm sure we'll have an adjustment period here, too.

[amarie]

Thanks so much for your help ladies! luv2homeschool, I'd read the thread that Carrie started earlier this year, but couldn't remember what it would be filed under. John'smom, I'm going to check out the cleaning schedule today, and we got some groceries yesterday. Tabitha, thanks for your advice about going half speed.

Amy

[mom23]

I like that 2 hour cleaning list . I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things after Christmas Break. It took us the entire week to get through one "Day" of work in Preparing, Beyond, and LHFHG this week! So many other things to think about...oh, well, Monday starts a new week, and a new chance to do better! Hopefully we'll hit our stride quickly and get life back to normal. Atleast as normal as it can be with more company to come, a trip to cram into the end of the month, and a possible move looming.

[pjdobro]

Amy, I just want to say that I understand how you feel. I have felt that way too. Even though I love the curriculum and school, I have gotten into a rut before where I feel like we are just dragging ourselves through the day trying to get things done. I think there are many things that can contribute to getting in a rut like that but usually for me it is a lot of outside things that are stealing my joy. It can be too much outside activities, the house being out of kilter, my own health, etc. I love Edwena's idea of getting everything else in order and then starting back on the school work. I think that helps a lot. When everything else is running smoothly, it helps so much.

Also on that past thread of Carrie's, I could relate to so much of that. Sometimes we just have to look at our schedule again and try to stick to it more rigidly for while to get back into our groove. I personally don't like schedules, but without it at these higher levels of guides where the workload is 4+ hours, we get really bogged down and have trouble getting everything done in a day. If we stick to our schedule and get right to work, we are able to complete the daily tasks in a timely manner. When we are completing the tasks in a timely manner, we then feel a sense of accomplishment and the joy tends to come back. I love the idea of dropping down to 1/2 speed for a while too if the days are just seeming too overwhelming for you and your dc right now. Give yourself some grace and allow yourself to slow down if that is what this season in life requires. I know that is much easier said than done, but don't be afraid to slow down if you need to. This is a long distance race not a sprint, so slow down enough to enjoy the scenery along the way.