Am I doing enough? How to fit in more?

[robin4kids]

I know we all at one point or another feel as thought we are not doing enough, but I know i am not. I have 2 kids I am hsing, one in 5th and one in k. The 5th grader does all his work on his own. He rarely does anything fun, because I am too busy and tired to think of anything extra.

I run a daycare from 6:30 am - 6 pm and have 2 other children in school.

I do barely anything with my kinder. He really just plays ALL day with the daycare kids. We do maybe 20 minutes of Teach Your Kid to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and may practice writing a number or counting. The whole thing is very dry and boring. I only spend 20 minutes. I see people talking about teaching their 3 year old and here my ds is almost 6 and just learned to write his name. Every time i go to make a lapbook or something "fun" the kids complain. They just want to get their work done, so they can play. I feel like i am failing them, because we really are not learning as much as we could.
I am just not happy with the way things are going. We can't go on field trips. We are stuck at home all day long, just trying to make it through another day.

[Lillian J]

Robin, I personally think he's fortunate to be able to play all day. Mine didn't learn to write his name till he was almost 7 when he started into 1st grade at a school he went to for a year - and he was perfectly able to jump right into everything his peers were doing when he entered college classes in his teens, and with lots of enthusiasm. But I think you can provide the older one with more enjoyable things he can learn from without it feeling so much like "work."

For example, he can learn an awful lot and gain a lot of inspiration for learning by having access to books like these in the history section of FUN-Books catalog - not working in them or with them, but just enjoying them. I really think that kind of learning is what makes a difference in the long run or the big picture. And their math section has some delightful things that can inspire an enjoyment of math while providing some interesting learning.

So what I'm saying is that if you can't stop and do fun projects with him, you can rethink the more traditional schoolwork and provide things that will teach while feeling a lot more like fun than work. You don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money - you can find some things like these at the library as well. I hate to come across like a sales rep for FUN-Books, but they've collected a lot of things they feel will inspire and encourage a love of learning, and I found that to be a lot more valuable than any "work" I could have provided. You might also provide materials for fun building and craft projects he can do mostly on his own. Maybe you can set aside a certain time on weekends for looking up ideas for things he might enjoy, and getting together the materials for them.

Doing a lapbook might seem like fun to a parent, but play may seem like a lot more fun to kids that have had to be doing work that they didn't choose to do. They probably don't see any reason to put all that lapbook work into something that doesn't mean much of anything to them - and they know anything they learn by it can be learned in a lot less time with a lot less fuss. On the other hand, if they got to do all or most their learning through the creation of projects like lapbooks, they might feel differently.

Hang in there! Everyone goes through times that don't measure up to what they wish. You may even be going through the change of season doldrums - maybe it's a good time to get some fun ongoing autumn food and craft activities going on for everyone, although I realize you have your hands full.

Lillian

[Mom4tot]

Robin, can you articulate what you think "they could be learning"? You said you think they can be learning 'so much more'.

It sounds like in order to hs, you are going to have to accept your limitations as far as the daycare goes.

I agree with the Fun Books too. There are lots of Dover books with cut out villages and things that Noah could work on independently but are hands on and fun.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by Mom4tot

I agree with the Fun Books too. There are lots of Dover books with cut out villages and things that Noah could work on independently but are hands on and fun.

Oh, yes!
And there are so many nice videos - and there are all the audio resources, lots of them being free online:

audio books on elementary level
audio stories online
audio books
free audio books

There are also lots of interesting websites that offer good, free, interactive learning in very enjoyable ways - here's a link to my set of annotated links.

Lillian

[Roar]

What concerns me in your post is not that the k kid isn't getting a lot of academics. What concerns me more is that the 5th grader is doing everything on his own and there is nothing fun. And, that you sound unhappy and like you aren't getting the positive engagement you want with your kids. I think it is reasonable to believe that kids deserve some attention and some fun.

What was your initial reason for or goal with homeschooling? Do you think that is being accomplished right now?

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by robin4kids

The 5th grader does all his work on his own. He rarely does anything fun, because I am too busy and tired to think of anything extra.

I have this issue with my middle schooler at times. He's 13 and perfectly content doing most of his school work alone. I realized that we needed to do more one-on-one so I am doing his health along with him for the next few months. He doesn't "need" me to do it with him but I am anyway and he is enjoying doing it that way so far. Just try and find an area that you can do something with your 5th grader and fit that in a few times per week and it will do wonders. Kids that age like to do things independently to a certain point anyway, so don't feel too guilty. Unless they are very unhapyp and begging to be in school I'm sure you are doing a fine job.

[mommy68]

And I forgot to also say that I take my kids on errands with me, shopping, we do crafts in the home, I cook a lot with my 13 yr old, we watch educational DVDs, all kinds of stuff. And because I work in the home part-time, some of this stuff we do together has to be done on weekends. Last Sunday, for instance, our whole family watched some educational DVDs together and then we played board games. So it all evens out. It was fun!

Try to remember that you don't have to fit it all in between daylight hours or between the hours that a PS is in session. You can school on weekends too if you have the time.