Recently I realized that I hardly ever post anything about homeschooling. I am not sure why this is so, maybe it is because homeschooling has been a part of my life for 13 years and I don't think about it much anymore. Whether this is good or bad, I am not sure!
For the entire time I have homeschooled my kids, they have done there "alone" work in the morning and we do our "together" work in the afternoon. This gives me time to work with Aubry mano-a-mano before the boys need me. Since we have recenly added some extra activities in the afternoons, I have been very frustrated over the fact that history and science work (our "together" subjects) have been falling by the wayside. And believe me when I say that I dislike falling behind in school subjects!
Last week I was talking to a very wise friend and she suggested that on the days that we have afternoon activities we should do "together" work in the morning and the boys can finish up their own work when we get home. Envisioning me with a glowing light bulb over my head would be appropriate since I feel like I unearthed a treasure when I heard this! So far it has worked wonders and I also find that I nod off less in the morning while reading books to the boys than I did while doing it in the afternoon. (Yes, I really do occasionally fall asleep while I read to my boys!)
I suppose that when you have been doing something for so long it becomes a habit, and the only way to get out of a rut is to get the point-of-view of a friend in order to solve a frustration. The answer was so simple and obvious, yet so hidden from my view. My only wish is that I had thought of it years ago!
For the entire time I have homeschooled my kids, they have done there "alone" work in the morning and we do our "together" work in the afternoon. This gives me time to work with Aubry mano-a-mano before the boys need me. Since we have recenly added some extra activities in the afternoons, I have been very frustrated over the fact that history and science work (our "together" subjects) have been falling by the wayside. And believe me when I say that I dislike falling behind in school subjects!
Last week I was talking to a very wise friend and she suggested that on the days that we have afternoon activities we should do "together" work in the morning and the boys can finish up their own work when we get home. Envisioning me with a glowing light bulb over my head would be appropriate since I feel like I unearthed a treasure when I heard this! So far it has worked wonders and I also find that I nod off less in the morning while reading books to the boys than I did while doing it in the afternoon. (Yes, I really do occasionally fall asleep while I read to my boys!)
I suppose that when you have been doing something for so long it becomes a habit, and the only way to get out of a rut is to get the point-of-view of a friend in order to solve a frustration. The answer was so simple and obvious, yet so hidden from my view. My only wish is that I had thought of it years ago!
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