I haven't wanted to talk about homeschooling lately. I'm doing it, but I haven't been that excited about it. This week, Randi is hosting Back to Homeschooling week at her blog, I have to say. And today, I finally had something to say on her topic "Getting out there." The social part of homeschooling has been on my mind, and the much of the topic of our conversations today.
I’ve never worried that my kids weren’t getting enough social interaction. We have a huge extended family that is very involved in our lives. We have a great church and friends. Though there was a brief period of time when all of my oldest daughter’s friends went to school and she stayed home, when she wondered where the other homeschooled kids were? We eventually found them in a homeschool group nearby.
It turns out the problem for this homeschool family is where to draw the line. Today we were looking at our fall schedule and anticipating days when we would be gone for activities: Brownies, Wednesday night program at church, homeschool group, 4-H, Gymnastics, piano...
There is so much to be involved in and so much we could do, but we have to limit the activities or we would never get anything done! Which is exactly what I told my kids as we carefully made our choices.
It didn’t take me long into this to realize that we have to be home to homeschool. I cannot be on the road every day and expect to get lessons done for the year (or the house cleaned or supper cooked or my nap). So we have to make some choices. It looks like we will be dropping gymnastics soon, and I doubt we will be able to fit 4-H into our schedule this year. We do want to keep piano (mom does anyway) and Brownies was voted in.
But most of all, we want to have time for people and not give it all away to activities. We enjoy having friends over to play. I love planning a trip with another mom to the park or a museum. I need my once a month trip to the library. I don’t want to be so over scheduled that we can’t visit a sick friend or make a meal for a family in need.
Getting out there is sometimes too easy to do and we can forget how necessary it is to be at home. To be able to say, “Go outside and play,” and have the time to do it.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
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12 comments:
That's something I always wrestle with--how much is too much? Having 3 kids in 3 different age groups, I find myself catering first to the oldest (9th grade), then to the middle (5th), and finally the 1st grader gets the dregs. Last year I learned to schedule everything after 2 p.m. I used to try to do activities in the mornings to avoid the after-school crowd, but I realized it was interrupting our school day way too much. But still--keeping that balance between outside activities and just being home is a challenge!
SmallWorld
You are so right about needing to *be home* to homeschool. I know that for some families it works to be involved in a lot of activities, but for ours, we have to be really careful to pick and choose and limit. I really like what you said about saving time for *people* instead of just *activities*. That has really been on my heart lately, and it was helpful to see it articulated that way.
I think choosing the right outside activities and then balancing those with our homelife is a tension most homeschooling families feel. I like things like Brownies because you are technically only in one activity, but the kids are exposed to a lot of skill areas (first aid, art, trips, music, etc). Keep them home while you can, it gets harder as they get older and some of the things they need just can't be done at home.
oh, so true!
as mine continue to get older i want to be vigilant about saving time to minister. so much to learn in that, much more than t-ball (or gymnastics for y'all!)
so true, woman!
Exactly my point. Thank you:)
I feel the same way. The funny thing is when PS parents ask how our kids get socialized, they forget or don't know that we have the opportunity to involve our kids in way more activities than the PS kids. I have been really careful of our time but I can see how it gets difficult as the kids get older. I want to provide opportunities for them that I didn't have and I want them to have the training in the bents God gave them. As of this year we have Awana and Princess is in a city wide choir program that is excellent. But I know the other girls want an activity too. We just can't do it all.
Susan
Very well said. My sentiments exactly!
You are absolutely right on this! It is hard to juggle and the more children you have the harder it is. You have to make tough decisions. We want so much to give our children the opportunity to do everything, but in reality, no one can do everything they want in life. It is better to pick one or two things and do them very well. Good work on hard decisions!
Well said ... and wise! Good for you to come to that conclusion now. Sometimes Moms don't realize this until it's too late -- the kids are out of school and that time to build the memories that are so much a part of relationships has slipped away. Being busy is not always best.
I needed this reminder!!!!
In the past year since our move, I've really been laying low (and it's been fabulous), but now that I'm in the throes of planning/recommencing school, I'm feeling my default setting of thinking my kids NEED the "activities" creeping back in and it's so easy to overload our plate again. This post has given me the strength to resist for just a little longer.
I'm sorry you're feeling unenthusiastic right now, although I can totally relate. It's natural. Maybe you need to take a detour and do a fun fluffy unit study or something. I picked up one about CHOCOLATE at the last homeschool convention, and have tucked it away for just such an occassion where I can't face the traditional subjects. :)
By the way, thank you for sharing how you alternate weeks with Science & History. I hadn't thought of it, but it makes so much more sense to me than alternating days. I was paralyzed about what to do and you healed me. :) I appreciate it!
Blessings dear Arkansas friend, :)
Angel
I liked this post... and then I didn't like it, lol!
I have always been such a homebody that the past couple years I have been really making an effort to get out and do more things with my kiddos. I want mountains of memories of fun times together. Yes, we can have good memories of time spent at home, but I find that we're so used to just being home that we're more intentional about enjoying our time when we're out doing something- a park, a museum, etc... but these things are random- we have never done anything 'regularly scheduled' such as scouts or awana or whatever, I can totally see where that could be draining!
Actually, this year is the first time that we've had a child involved in a sport- my oldest is giving soccer a try. It's 4 days a week! Yikes! I'm sure at the end of the 3 months I'll be ready for some serious home time!
I enjoyed stopping by your blog again, it's been a little while for me...
Enjoy your children,
ali
(dawilli@HSB)
We are opposite!
We love being home!
And with the beach and the library within walking distance...we never stray far!
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