Getting Organized to Homeschool

C., God bless you, hon... I know exactly what you are going through... The first thing is to give you a million kudos for taking this big step. YES things will be hectic for a while, but it will all calm down once you find that "groove" that fits your family and all needs required of you. I have 4 kids, pulled the older two out of public school, and, yes, I thought I'd completely mess them both up... On the contrary, they settled pretty well into the routing and haven't looked back...
NOW,, about my 7 YO,, she was born w/ Gulf War Syndrome, therefore is very sp. eeds. I have to also make time for her therapy, as well as her lessons, Felicity is a VERY hyper 3 YO and and I've been told by a Dr. that she may need medication for her hyperactivity.. I chose another route. Every morning we wake, and do some relaxing yoga.. This will be HARD to concentrate on, however, you must remember that these are little ones and aren't ready to take things like yoga seriously. But it helps my youngest calm down and focus a bit better. Yes, she stil hops around like a frog when we do down dog or something but she knows that after waking that's what we simply do. If they veer from your schedule you set for them they get little to no praise.. Such as.. um,,, ok.. I'll tell the two youngest it's their screen time and they'll watch an educational dvd while I get the lessons started for my older two, ( whom are 12 and 11 ). If they decide to get all needy of my time I'll stop only to say " I'm working on something else, please wait till I'm finished here" if they still persist, as in knocking things over, throwing a fit because I will not stop everything for another juice cup just that very minute, they get a couple minutes of time out. As soon as the older two are working on their assignments, they always know I'm there if they're stuck, but otherwise they'l help one another while I get started on Maria's therapy or on their letters and numbers. As soon as they're done with a lesson. We have breaks during the day for exercise, and make it silly, like jump in the air while clapping your hands, or act like a rooster.. something like that. Usually they'l go off and act like other animals and that buys me a bit more time.
Housework is a rule here that NO one sits until EVERY one can sit. meaning, no one watching me work while sitting and watching TV. Chores are a group effort here.
I've twught while nursing, with a baby on my hip, have read aloud and discussed Edgar Allen Poe and his works while playing tea party, etc... I know it sounds like a lot, but please do not go into it with ALL seriousness. If a house chore doesn't get done, it will be there when you DO have time. If your floor needs a good vacuming, it can wait till the next day, or when you have the time that day. Dirty dishes in the sink will always be dirty dishes in the sink... I'm NOT, however encouraging a filthy house...everyone has to find that "groove" I was talking about,, all the while remembering " the dust will settle, it will wait to be wiped off,,, but the child will grow far more quickly than you want her to" Don't know where I got that,,, but I live by this.. My house is fairly clean,,, as clean as I can keep it with 4 active kids and a soldier for a husband.. The kids have clean clothes to wear, never go hungey, have clean dishes to eat off of, and plenty of love and attention to last a lifetime... That's the true rule of any mom, isn't it??
ou can e--mail me any time for help or Questions.. Take care love,, and again, God bless you for doing this... You'll NEVER regret it.
A.

I will Kid you none. Home schooling is not for everyone. You have to have a serious routine. I did this for several years before putting my two special needs children in a Christian School. It can be done. Now with a baby to take care of also I will most deffintly take my hat off to you if you accomplish this. But I will tell you that now is the time to get your daughter on your type of routine not a schools. The schools have a flexable routine. That is what I like to call it. They spend so many wasted minutes on lining up for the restroom before lunch, Lining up for lunch and recess.
You only need four to five hours a day to get the actual school work done. And you might even see a relaxed atmosphere once your daughter gets into a routine helping you with the younger children. And while she helps you. At her young age, this also will be a learning experience. Say for example you ask her to get the baby wipes for you. You could ask her how would she spell that. Let her know how you spell it. And go from there. I bet in no time you will have her spelling diapers, Baby, toys, any little word that requires her help in getting prior to spelling it. This way she is learning with out realizing it. And most kids with IEP's learn by hands on so even when you are cooking and you ask her to get the milk and butter out for you she is learning. I put so many things that we did everyday into my childrens learning experience that when it came to taking a test, they already knew how to spell the words. Or they already knew how to use a measuring cup, or a ruler. Now as time goes on and you really get into the Home Schooling experience, you will find that they are getting old enough to do some tasks on their own by just simple instruction. Then you have more time to do some things you need to get done and you can just check their work later. The schools want your children to already be this way once they start school. I know when my kindergaden started they expected him to know all his ABC's. Sounds and everything. He was to be able to write his name and practically know how to read small words. Otherwise he was already behind. They want us to school them before they start so why not do it our way and know exactly what they are learning. Good Luck and I pray that God gives you the guidance to do the right thing for you and your family. ANG

I was very very nervous about homeschool, but you know what...it works. :) When you have all day with your kids they usually improve in temperment, b/c the discipline and expectations are there every day and all day. I had more time to work on the character of my kids so now it doesn't stress me out to parent and school all three.
Join a good homeschool group, there are plenty out there. Plug into other moms who homeschool.
I was soooo not wanting to do it and now I can't imagine anything else. LOL

Hi C.,
The beauty of homeschool is that you don't have to sit down and do every hour of school all at one time. I am not sure when you husband wakes up in the morning, but if he could watch the two smaller children while you do a couple hours of work with your daughter that would be great. If your 4 year old and baby still take naps you could catch up some time then with the 6 year old. The other thing that is good is you can do a lot of schooling outside of the home at places that have classes for your 6 & 4 year old so they would both be getting separate time. You might have to stay with the 4 year old, but the 6 year old could likely go in the class by herself...for example here in the Dayton area we can go to COSI, the library, there are art places to go...the list goes on and on. I also recommend a computer based homeschool program if you have a computer. This will allow you to get your daughter started on a lesson and then you could work with you other children. Your six year old would just come to you as she needed help. I highly recommend SOS; it is a christian based program and it is wonderful. Homeschooling when you have multiple children can be tough and it takes a little in the beginning to get a schedule going, but once the kids get the schedule down you will be happy with the program. Just make sure you keep your children socialized. Make sure you get them involved at the gym classes at the YMCA or reading programs at the library...anything that is going to keep them involved with other children. You do not want to lose that social aspect; especially if you plan to return them to public school at some point. Also, check with your school board office because there are procedures for pulling your child to homeschool and a lot of times they will offer great suggestions as well. You have the right to continue to have your child tested through the school as well. So let the school now that when they test in the fall you want your child included and they will set it up. This is very important to make sure she/he is staying on grade level and this will be very important if you do return her to public school. There is so much more advise I could give you, but you would be reading all day. If you have any specific questions email me at ____@____.com my name is J.. I just returned my son to public school after homeschooling. We were able to bring him up 3 grade levels in 1/2 a year of homeschool. It wasn't easy; we cried, we laughed and we both had frustrations, but we were able to do it and he is a very happy young man now.

C.,

I homeschool with OHVA. Check out their website at www.ohva.org and see what you think. They have a Yahoo support message board, you are assigned a teacher who will be your mentor (ours is GREAT), the lessons are well-thought-out and fun, and they have "Toddler in Tow" activities to help with the distractions. Kindergarten is only 3 hours/day, and you can move at the pace of your child. We often do lessons at night, because our son has been a night owl since the day he was born. It doesn't matter when you do the lessons. We usually put in some hours over the weekend, when my husband is home, too. The flexibility is wonderful. If you have any questions, just let me know.

Best wishes,
K.

I have three girls (ages 7 1/2, 4 1/2, and 22 mo). My oldest attended 2 years of regular preschool and kindergarten. She started 1 st grade, but then I withdrew her and started OHVA. It was wonderful that we received so many supplies for free, but the program is very time consuming. Essentially, you become your child's teacher in a traditional sense. The problem with that is that my child, like many other is very resistant to mommy standing over her all day to help her do her work or make sure it all gets done. After a couple months, I was miserable and so was she. I stopped OHVA and put her back in regular school for about a month, although I was very sad about it the whole time. Then one day I was watching "Ferris Beuler's Day Off" and had a revelation. I want my children to learn through life experiences. I withdrew her again from school and started unschooling. She now takes a wide variety of classes (gymnastics team, sign language, drawing, piano lessons, violin lessons, and does three classes on Fridays at Leaves of Learning (www.leavesoflearning.org). She also participates in 4H and a girls club for 6-9 yr olds who are homeschooled.

I haven't home schooled but my siblings and I were homeschooling for a few years. My mother went to the same stores teachers use to decorate their classrooms, and she bought all the things we needed and designated a room in the house that was the "class" room. M-F we have very structured days in the beginning we whined about it but then it was fine. I remember getting up eating breakfast going upstairs to get dressed then coming down for class between like 10 and 2 was class. We would go on field trips to cool places with other groups of homeschooling moms and children in the area. My mom used the Berean curriculum it is a Christian school book curriculum. I remember some days doing school work in the car because my mom had a ton of errands to run. She would also teach us something then give us and assignment like a page of long division and while I worked on it she would be cleaning.It just requires you being very organized! lol

C., I have home schooled 4 of my seven and currently use OHVA for one. All four have been in public school at some point so I know about making the transition. I recommend getting started with A.C.E. also known as School of Tomorrow because it will help your daughter get in the swing of home schooling before starting the rigorous schedule required with OHVA. She will learn how to study on her own which is something you will absolutely need her to do if you plan on doing this long term. OHVA requires a lot of parental involvement and is not the easiest home schooling program to use. It does have many benefits, but will require a big adjustment on both your parts.

If you have any questions about the programs, please feel free to email.
With Infinite Blessings and my best wishes,
Kristy

C.: Hello to you, and hats off. I have 6 wonderful children that are truly and handful. They are blessings though and I want you to keep that mindset. Also, if you're Christian, keep that praise and worship music going all of the time to keep your moods elevated. Last year, we took Sarah Grace out of school because my husband David disagreed with the schools opinion of holding her back in kindergarten. Listen, I worked 3rd shift at a factory for 40-46 hours per week and my husband worked 12 hour days and we did it. With God all things are possible right?! That's just the tenacity that it takes, make up your mind that you're gonna do this and be successful at it. Decide what you want to accomplish, set some goals and write them down. Remember that housework is not first and foremost, when setting goals, sometimes we have to give up other things to do so. You can do it! God is on your side!

God bless, M. G.

i to have been looking into homeschooling my children 8, 7, 6 and 5, and am looking at OVA too. So while i have some of the same questions from what i understand so much of what you do in your daily lives counts towards school hours you just have to adjust it to work in the curriculum, a trip to the park which all the kids would enjoy can become a lesson on nature, the seasons and weather, a trip tot eh grocery store a lesson in nutrition or even at this young age something as basic as colors. For your sepcific situation I would recomend you do most fo the book work while hubby is home in the mornings, to allow quiet time for your daughter to work, but considering you can school 6 or 7 days a week or as little as 3 depending on the hours you spend doing it i would think that shorter burst more often would be better at this age, and I know around here part of the chaos when the older kids come home is due to homework and settling back in after a very long day. but good luck.

Hi C.,

A few thoughts for you ...

1 - One of the greatest advantages to homeschooling is the time you can spend on character development in your children. Before you tackle their education, make sure you have invested time in the area of obedience. If your children are not characterized by listening to you, and responding with a good attitude, I would suggest you begin here.

2 - Regarding housework and errands. Involve your children in the tasks you are working on. Have them help you with dishes, laundry, making beds, cleaning up clutter etc. Sure, it will take you longer to do these tasks in the beginning ... but think of the time spent as teaching moments to help foster responsibility. Plus, little ones really do love to help! Find little things they can accomplish and praise them for their hard work! All of life at home is learning time - not just the time you sit down to do "school."

3 - Set up some kind of family routine where you have a general "rhythm" to your day. It doesn't have to be rigid. But children really do flourish in an environment where they know what's coming next.

4 - Take advantage of baby's naptime when you are working with your older children. Use this time for learning time when you need minimal distractions (language arts and math).

5 - Check out http://www.preschoolersandpeace.com/ for some great ideas about scheduling and activities for keeping little ones busy.

6 - Think about finding a homeschool support group in your area for encouragement and mentoring. It makes a big difference when you can learn from other moms who have gone before you.

7- Keep homeschooling simple and focus on the basics at this young age. Make sure they have a solid foundation in phonics, handwriting, spelling, and math. Think of anything else as icing on the cake.

Don't lose heart!
J.

I have three little ones, almost 6 yo DD, 3 yo DD, and 18 month old DS. I have been h.s. since Sept 2007 we started using Weaver Interlock which proved way to easy for my oldest. We are now using Five In A Row, Saxon Math 1 and Alphabet Island Phonics. We will not use O.H.V.A because it is part of the public/government school system, which goes agains what we want our children to learn. That is just us though. I don't do our h.s. all at one time. We may not finish until 4pm but that is because I take breaks to do laundry, baths, lunch, get the littles down for naps, etc so it is broken up into small incrments in the day and that way the others don't feel forgotten. I pray to have more little ones so this is what works for us. Joining a great homeschool group can be a great help. I am a member of a group in Xenia, quite a drive but well worth it. We plan on h.s. through high school and we only just started, it's a wonderful adventure.

I am a SAHM of a soon to be 6 year old whom I homeschool and a soon to be 4 year old. I was also baby sitting my three month old nephew up until recently because I was getting overwhelmed with all I had to do and decided that I had to stop babysitting for my sister. I was unable to accomplish all I needed to and keep up with the school work. For my son's schoolwork we need a routine for him to follow and with an infant it was difficult to stick to the routine and therefore making it easy for my son to get off track and unfocused.

It is important to know that with the earlier grades of homeschooling you will be required to sit with your child and actually teach them. Their work will not be done on the computer and it does take time to prep for the lessons as well as teach them. I know for us, we are required to do 3 hours of lessons and 2 hours of active play, however, it often takes me much longer for prep and what not.