I needed this! I was in tears watching, I am trusting the Lord and following his direction, but I do grow weary. I have to agree to not following a time line, I have set up "goals" to try to get us done by a certain date for summer and the reason for that is in the past I feel like I've robbed my boys of a summer break. My thoughts this year are we are going to try (not kill ourselves) to meet the goals and if summer comes and we aren't 100% complete than I will evaluate what we have an make a decision to either push thru if it's minimal or we might just stop and pick back up when we start school again the next fall. I believe God intended me to enjoy this time with my children and I have allowed curriculum, comparing and being WAY to busy to steal the joy and love right out of me and our homeschool. ❤️ Thank you so much for sharing your journey and encouragement. Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's day to you, sweet mama! Girl, I have allowed ALL the things to steal the joy out of homeschooling for me as well. This year I have FINALLY allowed my heart and desires to lead the way instead of being a slave to curriculum, busy lives, schedules, etc. You are on the right path, mama! Do what works for you and your sweet family! 💜 We figure it out one day at a time! Keep on keeping on! Press in to God and he'll lead you!!! I agree with what you said about robbing our kiddos of summer break. They work hard all year long and enjoy that time off. You will find what "fits" and adjust where needed! You will!!!! 🤗💜🤗💜🤗💜🤗 Just breathe, beautiful mama! You're doing a GREAT job! One day at a time!!! 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
After homeschooling for 15 years, I agree with everything she's saying! I have come to these conclusions also in the last few years. Thank you for putting a voice to these important points. God bless and keep you! ❤
I love reverse record keeping!!! And we also have an unspecified timeline approach but I hadn’t really owned it before watching your video. I think I will now!! I prefer not having a timeline than deliberate year round school because it just frees us up to see life’s surprises as “invitations” rather than “interruptions.” 😊
I’m definitely a go with the flow mama, we don’t start at a specific time and do 3-4 days a week with practical life application the other 3-4 days! (Reading recipes, project instructions, building things using measurements, science ... science is always happening in my house 😂) I’ve been feeling guilty because my boys are not at the public school level as the reading tutor keeps reminding me... but in the same breath will say how far they’ve come... I needed this reminder to not let an outside source make me feel like we are failing and to trust what God has lead me to do.
Omg! I JUST filmed a video regarding homeschool blues!!!! It’s an honest chat and also an encouragement for us mamas to stay the course! LOVE THIS!!! Very creative mana!
Sometimes my son wakes up at 6am wanting to get all his school work done. Sometimes he wants to do his own thing and color all morning and we didn't start until 11am. Sometimes my daughter will sit at the table and be focused and sometimes she wants to play dress up and play with all the toys. This is my first year homeschooling, I have an 8 year old, a 5 year old and a 4 week old, and I'm just being patient and going with the flow. Thanks for the advice and encouragement.
I feel like I’ve known you forever. The 2021-2022 school year will be my first year homeschooling. I have 4 boys and know that I am taking on a lot. This video has encouraged me so much to take it easy on myself and easy on them!!! Love your heart!
We absolutely roll with it! We do not follow a set timeline, but finish when we finish, and take off time when we need to take off time. The beauty of homeschooling!
There are so many of you mamas commenting that do year round! I SO appreciate you sharing your experience with year round homeschooling! Thank you so much!!! 🤗💓🤗
I was public schooled my entire life and my oldest son was public schooled from kindergarten to 2nd. I wish he wouldn’t have been but his perspective has helped my younger two see that they aren’t missing anything. The main thing I have learned over the past four years is to unravel every perspective on education that I had learned from my own experience. Truthfully, I repeat none of it for my kids. Literally up until this video, I thought that the only way to be successful in homeschooling was to have a checklist schedule. But schedules stress me out. So no wonder it has never worked comfortably. I have homeschooled for almost four years. Reverse record keeping is the cherry on top. I am trying this today. We tried desks, so many schedules, spiral curriculum, mastery-based curriculum, summer break, no summer break, classes outside of home, group lessons, explored co-ops, morning baskets, etc, etc What do we do? School year round mostly at home and don’t have a timeline. We use mastery-based curriculum for math, writing, and reading. We use group curriculum for science and history. Then I let my kids explore what they want to learn. No week looks the same as the last. Society is ran on the public school schedule and that makes you feel abnormal for not being in line with it. And people who don’t homeschool DO NOT UNDERSTAND the concept of going against it. It was a mental battle to justify. But I have learned that not fitting in is way more freeing, enriching and natural. Thank you for sharing these tips!
I love the many tips, the reverse record keeping was a game changer for me but and allot of what you said resonated with me. We have stuck to a timeline as we had a couple year period with allot of personal tragedy. It was so overwhelming and we just didn't get much done. Since then I have been stressed, feeling like we were not getting enough done and we needed to catch up to grade level. With this video it felt like you were speaking directly to me and my issues. It opened my eyes and has helped me to change my habits for this year. Hopefully things will go much better relieving the stress! Thank you so much!
I tried pre-planning our week when we first started. Learned really quick that life with littles is 100% unpredictable. So we can school anywhere from 3 days to 6 days a week. we can be on a streak of 6-8 weeks before a break or like last week, just take a sick week. I have learned to be flexible with how we do school. Have started to incorporate pdfs into our days. So they have physical books for handwriting and language arts but not for math. Math we do together or one on one (depends on the child or children) on my tablet. They love it. We also incorporate life into everything we do.
I love that, Liz! Way to go mama!!! Embracing the beauty in the journey! 💜🤗💜🤗💜🤗💜 Totally utilizing all the resources instead of being a slave to curriculum! Way to go mama!!!
Definitely a "just roll with it" homeschool family. So much less stressful for me and since taking on this approach, my son enjoys and looks forward to schooling more❤ We also just started with Master Books and my goodness what a difference in how our day goes!!! I actually wake up looking forward to watching my son enjoy learning! ❤❤❤
This is so inspiring! I was on the brink of throwing the towel in and taking the easy route, I wrestled so much with doing public school. I am so blessed by this and encouraged to stay on the path that the Lord has called our family to. Many blessings to you are your family! ♥️
Great video!!! This is our first year homeschooling and transitioning from public school with our 3 kids. We absolutely love it and it’s encouraging to see this video because we do every one of these tips! I didn’t know if there was a name for what we are doing, but it works and I’m glad to see that it works for your family as well! I am a planner AND a go with the flow type of teacher because I’m use to adapting as a military brat. There is a lot of flexibility and grace in planning, executing, and revising our homeschool. We are doing year round and I log it on a grid to check off days per month. We school as much as we can (with necessary breaks). That means we may homeschool for 3 days, 4 days, or 7 days (yes, even on the weekends). Honestly, everyday we are learning in some capacity. Part of my planning includes setting up a homeschool IG to document what we do and encourage ourselves through the process. Speaking of which, are you on IG? I’d love to follow.
That's so great Alicia! You are so many steps ahead of where I was my first year! Goooo mama!!!!!!!! You're doing fabulous! Yes, I am on Instagram... Just not very often! Lol! @ simply.living.it 💜🤗 Thanks for being here and sharing your journey!!!
I agree! I found it works if I write down what we do. I got very stressed last year when trying to keep up with the school's schedule during last years Covid shutdown. Having our own schedule that works for us and not being accountable to anyone else is wonderful.
We have a minimum requirement of 180 days here. I keep a very minimal timeline for that purpose. It is just a start date and projected end date. If it takes longer for us to finish, that's fine .
We do 5 days a week here, but are flexible on days off, mostly because of my chronic migraines. I just move my last day back every time something comes up good or bad and we have to miss school, and I try not to worry about it too much. I love that if we all feel like going somewhere or doing something, we can, and we just make it up later.
Reverse Record Keeping 😮 I have never heard of this. I have learned so much over the past 4 years of homeschooling. This is the cherry on top. Year one looks nothing like year four for us! Thank you.
Yes! All of this. I don't reverse schedule but I only plan 1 week at a time and the white out is always available. It has been a rainy winter for us. The past 2 days have been sunny and in the 60s so we put the books away and played at the creek in the overflowing rain water. Year round homeschooler's here so we can have more flexibility.
Playing in the creek sounds amazing! My boys would LOVE that! Way to go being flexible, mama! You're doing so great!!! I love the idea of year round for the flexibility! 💓🤗
I sooo needed this video.. went looking through your homeschool Videos as I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed with where we are right now in our homeschooling journey. I have a baby, two toddlers and two school age kids and I’m sat here pulling my hair out trying to get all the things done! This reassured me that what I’m doing and how I’m doing it is OK!!! Thank you Ps:to answer your question, we do year round with just a lighter schedule during the summer and m,w,f. We take two weeks for Christmas and a week for Easter. Other than that, we do 3 days weeks and the other two days are homeschool enrichment. Classes they go to at our church.
Oh my goodness all of these tips are exactly what I do! Love that you articulated it so well! I write on my calendar after we do the lessons, I don’t follow a schedule, I skip if something is mastered. Curriculum choice has probably been the hardest to narrow down but I’m only on year 3 and I finally feel like I am figuring things out! Anyway great video thanks for sharing!
Lori, thanks for being here! It sounds like you are off to a good start. Sweet mama! Curriculum is a hard one to narrow down...but you'll get there!💜🤗💜
Yes!!! Totally agree with everything you said and needed to hear this. I don’t have a timeline but my husband wish I did. One week I’ll school 5 days, the next week 3 days, and so on. I always tell my husband I don’t care when we finish because it will get done. Thank you for saying what I feel. I feel so much better inside.
Yes! We have to do what works for us! Each day/week brings something new! Sometimes we want to soak up the freedom and some days we hit it hard! Totally depends! If I had a timeline...I'd totally feel defeated!❤ Enjoy your week and your flexibility, sweet mama! 😘
Love, love, loved this video. Thank you so much for sharing 😘 I had never heard of reverse record keeping, and as a non-type A personality, this really excites me! I will definitely implement this in our home. I don’t follow a timeline as that’s part of the beauty of homeschooling right. We live in Australia, so typically do what you call year round schooling. What works for our family right now is to do around 6 weeks of work, sometimes more or sometime less, take a week off, then do another 6 weeks. We do have a longer break in December/January, which is our summer. Again, thank you for sharing these tips. So good 🤙
Oh my goodness! Australia! How awesome, mama!!! What an experience! Thank you for being here and for your encouragement! 💕 Year round schooling excited me for so many reasons! We may make some changes this coming school year and see what happens!!! 🤗💜
We homeschool year round and love it. During the "school year" we follow a stricter schedule, but in the summer months, any day that we don't have another activity planned (like day camps or going to the amusement park) we do school. We don't have a "first day of school," because when we finish one book, we start the next. We just keep working and take vacations when family or friends come to visit or we go on vacation. In January, we started a loop schedule, which is making our lives so much more relaxed. It also means that if we want to do more than one lesson at a time, we don't "get behind" in another subject. It has taken the pressure off. Some days we get lots of subjects done and other days, not as many, It doesn't matter!!
The loop schedule is very interesting! I've never tried that but it definitely sounds like it would be beneficial for many reasons! 💜 Thank you for sharing with us what works in your home! I love it!!! The flexibility is amazing!!!
@@SimplyLivingIt Very interestingly, without the pressure to "get things done" that we felt in a block schedule, we get way more done in a loop schedule!!
Last two are the most important. I prefer term Home Education. Do not compare yourself to others and do not worry about what and how non-home educators or even other home educators are scheduling their school. I wish I could have mentally overcame these when I "homeschooled". As the saying goes "You do you!"
Do you ever have one of those days where nothing is going smoothly, all the way down to making a craft and the tape won't stick and you're fighting tears over it? That's me today. Thank you for this!!! Sent my little boys to jump on the mini trampoline and I'm going to take a shower... (PS. year-round is totally worthwhile, because you can take breaks whenever you want/need to.)
Our kids are similar ages & your homeschool style is so similar to my own. I wish I knew where you lived so I could give you a hug & say, "Thanks for the encouragement, we are in this together!"
Wow the Lord knew my heart and what I have been needing to hear. I'm a check boxer I'm a timeline and it's a struggle to let go and say when we get done we get done. Thank you 😊 this was a great encouragement!
Thank you for your encouragement as well! I am just another homeschooling mama... Just like you, sharing what has worked for us on our journey. Every single year has been a learning process and I just want to share my heart so deeply with other homeschooling mamas.💜🤗💜
My 4 year old goes to preschool but i do some pre-k workbooks and things with her at home. And after a few days i found being flexible really helped like she knows a lot of concepts from watching youtube/tv or just life in general. So to beat one concept to death thru worksheets to me is useless and sometimes she gets bored. So like you said if they truly master a concept then move on. I plan the night before the things I want her to do. Also allows me to see if we need to keep at one concept or move on.
This is awesome ! We start school in July because in FL summer is so hot. We take days here and there throughout the year (I’m getting better) and then two whole weeks in January...finishing school at the end of April... it works for us!
We sort of follow a timeline. We do 4 days a week (most weeks) and typically take a week off after 5 or 6 weeks of school. By that point we are all so so ready for a break. We do take a little longer break around Christmas and a little longer in the middle of the summer, but not a full blown summer vacation. Moving and illnesses caused much more frequent breaks last year, but that's ok!
We don't follow much of a timeline either. Yesterday was a snow day in our local district, but we did school anyway. Other days we take off just for fun and because we can.😊 Also, I will never, never, never completely drop school through the summer again!! That made back-to-school BRUTAL.
BRUTAL is the perfect word! 😂😂 YES! Snow days are the BEST!!! Soaking up the freedom in homeschooling is such a beautiful thing that it has taken me so long to fully appreciate! 💜💜💜💜 Way to go, mama! 🤗
These are all fantastic suggestions! I agree with all of it and have learned these things along the way as well. I wish someone could have shared these things with me years ago when we first started homeschooling.🌻
Thank you for sharing! We are into our 2nd year of homeschooling. And this year I'm doing reverse planning. I planned out each day last year and felt horrible if we didn't get to everything!
I home school year round, that way it gives us more time on things and we can still take little breaks for vacation or what not but I realized that this way works best for my kids because there isn't a long break from the work
Oh, I love your idea of not having a timeline! This year I tried to follow the public school calendar but it has NOT worked. We will finish when we finish. Thank you for the encouragement, we have all been sick with the flu this week so no school has been done. But hey, it's ok and we'll get back at it next week.
You are so right mama, you'll get back to it and it'll all work out just fine! I hope you all feel better soon! 🙏 The problem for me when following a specific calendar is that I start to feel "rushed" or "behind" when our schedule changes. I can't handle that feeling .. so... We go with the flow and will finish when we finish. Right??!!!! 💜🤗💜 Feel better, sweet mama!
This was so helpful to me / thank you for keeping it real . I feel so much guilt it i don’t stick to my schedule that i let it affect my entire day and i needed to hear this today !!!! Thank you so much
My ASD and My ADD kiddos need a schedule kinda of, but we still just flow. Schooling 4 and have finished 2 already. We belong to a pretty big co-op and a playgroup so we love flexibility we do some school through the hot months so we can be off more in the fall because the hot months are so long in Texas I have been doing 21 plus years and it is ever changing with each year and kiddo
I'm only looking for understanding, progress, love of learning, fun, bonding, creating and exploring in our homeschool. No schedules, routines, lists, just a goal of 4 learning things and some fun and love.
Pulling my Kids out and starting homeschooling Monday. I started planning and got totally stressed. Going to follow the curriculum until we’re done and take Holidays and days Daddy is home off other than that I think we’ll try a five day week and if it’s too much we’ll cut one day out.
@@SimplyLivingIt this is a trial. It’s the desire of my heart, but not my husband’s. But unforeseen circumstances made it our only option until next fall. Hoping we keep doing it, but he’s always lead our family well and I trust whatever he chooses to do. Binging your content with pauses as life happening 💕
This was awesome and I truly needed to hear it from (SOMEONE!) LOL I know Noone that homeschools😒 a d these others mama seem to be just flawless. Really glad I gave ya a follow. Thank you for being so RAW and honest with us. Blessings to yalls school year
Aw, thank you for your encouragement too, mama! I will always be real and honest! Always! Girl....I am FLAWED, I do NOT have it all together and am learning every single day! But, we CAN do this!!!!🤗🤗 I'm so happy you're here! Many blessings to you and your family! 💓
We homeschool through a charter school so we have to do school on the days they set but I’m really praying about going fully independent next year so that we could make our own schedule
That's awesome that homeschooling through a chapter school is even an option! We don't have that option here where we live. But yes, keep praying! God will lead you!!! 💜🙏💜🤗
I work from home fulltime and homeschool my 7 year old.He sits next to me while I work and does independent work with the ablity to ask questions.Immediately after I get off work we do social studies and/or science together(textbooks are alittle hard for him to understand without assistance),eat dinner,do a form of excerise and read a book together at night time.Weekends we do atleast one project together and revisit some things from the week. We more or less have a routine but not a set schedule or curriculum.If I see him really struggling during independent work I will set the assignment aside and we do it together when I get off of work and add a game or something to reinforce the concept.
I reverse record keep too! The thought of planning ahead gives me anxiety! We have days come up that we just can't do work, so I love doing it after we completed!
Thank you! These are great tips! We do have a timeline and will stop July 1st and start back up mid August. The reason is we just started homeschooling in October and my kids are very much still used to having set time off. My oldest (12) needs to know when and what is happening at all times, just his personality. What we don't have a timeline for is our curriculum. I have purchased all of next year's levels but we will start them whenever we get the current ones done. That takes the pressure off a bit.
Thank you for sharing what works in your home! I totally understand what you are saying about your oldest knowing what is going on! That makes total sense! 😊 My kids have never know any other schedule so it works to just take each day as it comes. As they get older and we find our "flow," I'd like to have more of a routine because I do feel it is also important to have! Routine and healthy habits😊💜
Wow! Our homeschool journey seems pretty parallel. I'm in my 7th year and this was the year I NEEDED something to change and we found Masterbooks and Gather Round. I think I've found a way to mesh the two without overwhelming anyone. These 5 (6) habits you talked about spoke STRAIGHT to me today as these are literally the VERY things God has been speaking to me about lately. I am so Type A (and a former teacher) and it is SO hard for me to not have all my boxes written in and planned out for the following week on Fridays!!! I NEED to switch over to the method you spoke of and write down what we actually do each day instead of trying to check all my boxes and getting frustrated and feeling like a failure when half my boxes are left unchecked on Friday! (I have a problem, I know! haha) I am going to listen to this again and take notes. I seriously needed to hear this today. Thank you so much! I really enjoy your channel.
As far as a timeline.... I guess you could say we do "year round school". I like to start the week or two after July 4th and finish up by mid-May before the homeschool convention we attend every year. Then June is my "planning month" and we begin again in July. There have been many years we haven't finished a curriculum in May and we just pick back up with it in July and then start the new level/book whenever we finish the previous one. I have been able to "let that go", even with my Type A personality. :)
Elaine! Thank you so much for being here! Thank you for sharing your heart as well! Being a former teacher, oh man!!! I can only imagine some of the struggle you deal with when it comes to checking off boxes and so on. 😉 I am so glad that you found this video encouraging! Praise God! 🙏💓 I am so passionate about encouraging moms, right where they're at...right NOW!!!! Not tomorrow, but now! We are all on our own individual journey and it will look different for everyone, but there is so much JOY to be found in the journey if we take time to see it! Right??!! I am so glad that you have found what works in your home! I do feel that Masterbooks and GR could be meshed very easily without overwhelming our kiddos as well! I agree with you there! 💓 We do what works and what fits! Leave out the rest!!! 💓💜 You're doing a great job, mama! I'm so happy to have you here and I thank you for your kind words! 💓🤗💓🤗💓🤗
God is using this video to nudge me to actually DO the things He’s been nudging me to do. I HAVE to do something different. All of my children have special needs and were brought to me through adoption. Last week, I hit a wall where, in tears, I told my husband I couldn’t continue homeschooling even though my heart is for my kids and keeping them home where I KNOW I can meet their needs better than any public school with teachers who are overworked and pressured to teach to a test. But, I saw no other options until through my tears God spoke “think outside the box and change some of your ways”. I truly believe God used this video of yours to speak directly to me to give me practical ways to change some of my habits. I’m listening for a third time so I can really soak this in and make these changes. Would you explain a little more about reversed planning and tell me what planner you use to write down what you’ve done that day? I’m very picky who I subscribe to b/c time is precious but I’ll be sticking around here b/c you are so encouraging. Thank you.
SIMPLY LIVING IT I’ve applied “reverse planning”, “be flexible” and “no timetable” this week and Oh the difference already!! My plan book is blank for Thursday & Friday and filled in for Monday to Wednesday of this week with what we did!!!! When we didn’t get to history earlier this week because it was president’s day and the kids started asking about presidents so I was FLEXIBLE and let presidents be history that day and wrote down what we did AFTER instead of feeling the pressure to check off my history box! Oh the FREEDOM! And I’ve “let go” trying to finish curriculum by May. We will finish when we finish, like you said. WHO SAYS we HAVE to finish by May?!?! We don’t live in a state that puts tons of pressure on homeschoolers so WHY am I putting this pressure on myself! I feel I’m on the edge of breakthrough in my homeschool journey. I’m changing some MAJOR habits and it feels so freeing! This video gave me the push I needed to actually do this and believe it’s okay. I wish I could chat with you personally and thank you!
ELAINE! OH MY HEART. I wish I could hug you, so big! You are making a breakthrough, sweet mama. I am so proud of you and praise God!!! 🙏💜🙏 I cannot even tell you how many times these last couple years that I, as well, have told my husband the exact same, "I can't do this anymore!" I feel your heart, mama. Oh my goodness. I AM SO GLAD however, that you finally have peace about homeschooling and the positive changes happening in YOU. It is amazing what we feel when we let go, right? There is SO MUCH PRESSURE that it is suffocating! The world says we will never be enough, we will never do enough... but then comes GOD! He is everything, always and is always enough! It is seriously something that I had to learn the hard way (relaxing, being flexible, realizing that our school will look different than anyone else's) etc. We spent so many of our early years in tears and it breaks me.i so wish I could go back and do it over, now, being free. But, on the other hand...it got me to where I am now and some lessons we have to learn the hard way. I am so happy for you and so excited to share in the freedom and JOY of homeschooling! It is such a blessing!!! I am so happy to have you along here on our journey and I am so beyond excited for you and your sweet family to soak up this freedom! 💜🙏🤗🙏💜 You take it one day at a time, sweet mama! You are doing an amazing job!!! I could go on and on...but...I am so proud of you and so grateful to God for bringing us together. Feel free to reach out ANY TIME! My email is listed as well in the description box if needed! The planner I use is one I created myself and I sell online. Maybe I can do a video in the coming week explaining more in depth, how I reverse record keep. 🤔😀💜 Much love to you, sweet sweet mama! 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Oh my gosh, God bless you for this. As a new homeschool mom I NEEDED this. I dont know how many planner pages I've thrown out cause it never ever goes as planned. What planner do you use?
Thank you so much for being sure and for your kind words! I am telling you... I am right there with you mama! I am speaking totally from my heart and our journey! I'm so happy that you found some encouragement right where it was needed! 💜💓💜 You're doing a great job, mama!!! 🤗🙏 The planner I use is actually one that I have created and I sell it online. 😊💜
Your timeline sounds just like mine. We tend to take off random weeks, and then we end up schooling most of the summer. I think I'm leaning towards year round bc it is so hard to get motivated to start again.
I am struggling with "Being busy". I feel like I rush from one assignment to the next just to make sure I tick the boxes of what needs to be completed. Problem is, I own my own business (a mental health counseling agency). I do school in the morning and see clients all afternoon, so I have a limited number of hours. Clients start showing up at 1pm and I am stacked back-to-back until about 6pm every day (with only 1 day off per week) so I have to be done with school by noon. My dream is to have a Fun time doing homeschool together - to incorporate fun and engaging things.... but I just feel that I have absolutely zero extra minutes in the day :(
Thank you for being here! I am so glad that you found it encouraging! That's why I am here! I want to help encourage other moms who might be struggling in way that I have as well! Have a beautiful day!🤗💜
I do all year around school. Emmett has bad days that we take off when they come up. Emmett one month off in summer and Christmas off when he with his dad.
I do 180 days of school..it might take 10 days to do week 1 (Days 1-5)... because we take birthdays off... and have a very large family. our week right now goes from Tuesday to Tuesday. I only date it as "day 34" of the 2021-22 year. I don't date anything in records...only number the days 1-180. We also school year round and take all December off...
I would love to try year around, but my son thinks he has to have the regular summer break. We were so used to that since I taught public school for 13 years and he attended public school through 3rd grade.
This is year 3 for me and I have wanted to do year around because my daughter like consistancy 🙄 but I swear summer just gets so busy and last year I did start a garden again after 9 years, that was very busy. I did like to do the same schedule as her friends school so she can have playdates with them, but now we just do our own thing. I tried 4 days and felt like we got behind and again, consitancy. So now we do fun Friday's, I am teaching my daughter tennis, we play curriculum jeopardy once a month, science day and math games, spelling test and we just started books with movies she will do a book report on and then we will watch the movie with popcorn. We did just get done taking a "fall break"/mental health break....it was needed for us both, a reset.
So overwhelmed, but I’m a working homeschool mom. First year with a seventh grader....I need help! I want to ENJOY this and I want him to as well!!! Help! @simply living it ❤️
I have created so many schedules and failed to fulfill them. Because I wanted to accomplish so much that out pressure on us and frustation. Crazy to get started with Gather Round.
Me too, girl! So many...and I feel like I have failed before I even had begun! Take a deep breath.... You got this!!!!!! It's a journey! Learning Every. Single. Day.
New subscriber here! :D Having the day feel so full and busy as soon as I wake up is a struggle, for sure! Thank you for these great tips and insight and encouragement!
So, I purchased masterbooks curriculum for all subjects because I just fell in love with the gentle approach and it seemed like a great way to introduce group learning for my family in many ways. Then you shared gather round and I was like darn I need that in my life. Haha. Do you think adding in unit studies to do here and there would be overkill on top of what we are doing with MB? I am doing their science and social studies as a morning basket group study. But breaking off the LA and math as independent... I like how MB has the weeks laid out but can see myself getting flustered if we don’t finish the week or we skip a week randomly. How do you combat that for a first time homeschooling family? I thought because it was laid out for me I’d feel at ease but not sure how I’ll feel later if we miss a day or someone is sick and we just don’t school that day.
Planning on doing year round just so we don't have a painful "start" and "stop" because getting ready for the start of homeschool has been a tad painful 😅🤣
Oh yes! The "start" is SO painful!!! I'm so curious to see how things go for you if you do stick to year round. Other homeschooling schedules and routines interest me! It's always nice to change things up and make it your own! I love having summer free but once it gets SO hot, they are tired of the heat and ready for some indoor time. So, we might take 2 months off early summer. We shall see! When we finish, we finish! Right??!!! 💜🤗💜
Good advice! I’m a mom who has homeschooled for ten years now! It’s ever changing! God bless you for sharing! I do the reverse thing too but never had a name for it! Lol 😂 thanks for giving it a name! Love it! We have lots in common! I stopped planning too much because it always led me to feeling like a failure! Good advice! My planner will be filled with “sick” for the ten days in a row! Lol 😂 Still have the flu! Lol lovely! Amen on being flexible! I say it’s ok when it comes to what is ok on boundaries! If someone who has no boundaries wants to chime in, I make sure to say no and now they respect me more.. but I so agree that fro random park meet ups and other things! Yes for sure enjoy the moment and change! Agreed! 👍
BOUNDARIES!!! Yes!!! You are totally right! Healthy boundaries are so important in EVERY aspect of life! You're doing a fabulous job, mama!!! Hope you are all feeling well soon and can get back into the swing of things! That one has been hanging on for a while now! ☹️ I'm so sorry!!! 💜 Get some rest, sweet mama!!! 💕
We are on a schedule this year but not sure for next year. We started with MasterBooks so I did every nine weeks and took a one to two weeks off depending on the time of year. I am hoping to change that for next year.
Such great tips!!!! Thank you so much for sharing! I couldn’t find this on your channel, but what do you use for Spanish? I’m looking for a good curriculum but can’t find one!
Hi there! We actually do Spanish at co-op. We have two mom's there who speak fluent Spanish so they are teaching the kids! They aren't using any specific curriculum but worksheets, games, TH-cam videos/songs and their knowledge. 😊💜
How does it work if you join a co-op (here depends on the online school...homeschooling but u are assigned a support teacher and you check in with them regularly... And can be once or twice a week in person learning with other kids) you're signed up with?!? Not only do each kid learn at a different pace not everyone is following the public school system which also affects pace of learning
New subscriber! I'm done fighting with my 6.5 year old to do school. I know he's going to love Gather Round, I think we'll start with space. I have a 2.5 year old so it's just him. Do you feel GR would still be useful for a single child? Enjoying your wisdom. And yes.....unbusy!
Hi, I just recently found you (can’t even remember how) and messaged you about your homeschool planner - thanks for your quick response. You have been a joy to follow! This is our 4th year homeschooling and each year has looked different, slowly morphing into what works best for us as each season changes. We are currently schooling year-round, started in mid-July, 4 days per week (co-op on fridays) and it’s been wonderful!
I needed this! I was in tears watching, I am trusting the Lord and following his direction, but I do grow weary. I have to agree to not following a time line, I have set up "goals" to try to get us done by a certain date for summer and the reason for that is in the past I feel like I've robbed my boys of a summer break. My thoughts this year are we are going to try (not kill ourselves) to meet the goals and if summer comes and we aren't 100% complete than I will evaluate what we have an make a decision to either push thru if it's minimal or we might just stop and pick back up when we start school again the next fall. I believe God intended me to enjoy this time with my children and I have allowed curriculum, comparing and being WAY to busy to steal the joy and love right out of me and our homeschool. ❤️ Thank you so much for sharing your journey and encouragement. Happy Valentine's Day!
Happy Valentine's day to you, sweet mama! Girl, I have allowed ALL the things to steal the joy out of homeschooling for me as well. This year I have FINALLY allowed my heart and desires to lead the way instead of being a slave to curriculum, busy lives, schedules, etc. You are on the right path, mama! Do what works for you and your sweet family! 💜 We figure it out one day at a time! Keep on keeping on! Press in to God and he'll lead you!!! I agree with what you said about robbing our kiddos of summer break. They work hard all year long and enjoy that time off. You will find what "fits" and adjust where needed! You will!!!! 🤗💜🤗💜🤗💜🤗 Just breathe, beautiful mama! You're doing a GREAT job! One day at a time!!! 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
❤️❤️❤️❤️ bless you beautiful mama!
After homeschooling for 15 years, I agree with everything she's saying! I have come to these conclusions also in the last few years. Thank you for putting a voice to these important points. God bless and keep you! ❤
Oh sweet mama....THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
🤗🧡🤗
Many blessings to you, sweet friend!
I love reverse record keeping!!! And we also have an unspecified timeline approach but I hadn’t really owned it before watching your video. I think I will now!! I prefer not having a timeline than deliberate year round school because it just frees us up to see life’s surprises as “invitations” rather than “interruptions.” 😊
I’m definitely a go with the flow mama, we don’t start at a specific time and do 3-4 days a week with practical life application the other 3-4 days! (Reading recipes, project instructions, building things using measurements, science ... science is always happening in my house 😂)
I’ve been feeling guilty because my boys are not at the public school level as the reading tutor keeps reminding me... but in the same breath will say how far they’ve come... I needed this reminder to not let an outside source make me feel like we are failing and to trust what God has lead me to do.
Omg! I JUST filmed a video regarding homeschool blues!!!! It’s an honest chat and also an encouragement for us mamas to stay the course! LOVE THIS!!! Very creative mana!
Thanks, friend!💜 It is very real and is a struggle for so many of us! TRUTH!
Sometimes my son wakes up at 6am wanting to get all his school work done. Sometimes he wants to do his own thing and color all morning and we didn't start until 11am. Sometimes my daughter will sit at the table and be focused and sometimes she wants to play dress up and play with all the toys. This is my first year homeschooling, I have an 8 year old, a 5 year old and a 4 week old, and I'm just being patient and going with the flow. Thanks for the advice and encouragement.
I feel like I’ve known you forever. The 2021-2022 school year will be my first year homeschooling. I have 4 boys and know that I am taking on a lot. This video has encouraged me so much to take it easy on myself and easy on them!!! Love your heart!
We absolutely roll with it! We do not follow a set timeline, but finish when we finish, and take off time when we need to take off time. The beauty of homeschooling!
YES!!
Yes! 100%! I'm so tired of schooling that way! 💞
Yes! I write daily what we do! I was so stressed if we missed a “planned” day or didn’t get everything done. Daily is so much better.
Daily is the ticket around here, for sure! 💜🤗💜
Year round homeschooling changed our homeschool enjoyment and decreased my hs mama burnout a lot!!
There are so many of you mamas commenting that do year round! I SO appreciate you sharing your experience with year round homeschooling! Thank you so much!!! 🤗💓🤗
I was public schooled my entire life and my oldest son was public schooled from kindergarten to 2nd. I wish he wouldn’t have been but his perspective has helped my younger two see that they aren’t missing anything.
The main thing I have learned over the past four years is to unravel every perspective on education that I had learned from my own experience. Truthfully, I repeat none of it for my kids.
Literally up until this video, I thought that the only way to be successful in homeschooling was to have a checklist schedule. But schedules stress me out. So no wonder it has never worked comfortably. I have homeschooled for almost four years. Reverse record keeping is the cherry on top. I am trying this today.
We tried desks, so many schedules, spiral curriculum, mastery-based curriculum, summer break, no summer break, classes outside of home, group lessons, explored co-ops, morning baskets, etc, etc
What do we do? School year round mostly at home and don’t have a timeline. We use mastery-based curriculum for math, writing, and reading. We use group curriculum for science and history. Then I let my kids explore what they want to learn. No week looks the same as the last.
Society is ran on the public school schedule and that makes you feel abnormal for not being in line with it. And people who don’t homeschool DO NOT UNDERSTAND the concept of going against it. It was a mental battle to justify. But I have learned that not fitting in is way more freeing, enriching and natural.
Thank you for sharing these tips!
I love the many tips, the reverse record keeping was a game changer for me but and allot of what you said resonated with me. We have stuck to a timeline as we had a couple year period with allot of personal tragedy. It was so overwhelming and we just didn't get much done. Since then I have been stressed, feeling like we were not getting enough done and we needed to catch up to grade level. With this video it felt like you were speaking directly to me and my issues. It opened my eyes and has helped me to change my habits for this year. Hopefully things will go much better relieving the stress! Thank you so much!
I tried pre-planning our week when we first started. Learned really quick that life with littles is 100% unpredictable. So we can school anywhere from 3 days to 6 days a week. we can be on a streak of 6-8 weeks before a break or like last week, just take a sick week. I have learned to be flexible with how we do school. Have started to incorporate pdfs into our days. So they have physical books for handwriting and language arts but not for math. Math we do together or one on one (depends on the child or children) on my tablet. They love it. We also incorporate life into everything we do.
I love that, Liz! Way to go mama!!! Embracing the beauty in the journey! 💜🤗💜🤗💜🤗💜
Totally utilizing all the resources instead of being a slave to curriculum! Way to go mama!!!
Definitely a "just roll with it" homeschool family. So much less stressful for me and since taking on this approach, my son enjoys and looks forward to schooling more❤
We also just started with Master Books and my goodness what a difference in how our day goes!!! I actually wake up looking forward to watching my son enjoy learning! ❤❤❤
I dont plan ahead early. I log what I did for that day. Less pressure.
Because of THIS video, I started day one of homeschooling with reverse record keeping. Oh my goodness… it’s been AMAZING. Thank you!
You are so welcome! I am so glad we found eachother. ❤🤗
This is so inspiring! I was on the brink of throwing the towel in and taking the easy route, I wrestled so much with doing public school. I am so blessed by this and encouraged to stay on the path that the Lord has called our family to.
Many blessings to you are your family! ♥️
Great video!!! This is our first year homeschooling and transitioning from public school with our 3 kids. We absolutely love it and it’s encouraging to see this video because we do every one of these tips! I didn’t know if there was a name for what we are doing, but it works and I’m glad to see that it works for your family as well! I am a planner AND a go with the flow type of teacher because I’m use to adapting as a military brat. There is a lot of flexibility and grace in planning, executing, and revising our homeschool. We are doing year round and I log it on a grid to check off days per month. We school as much as we can (with necessary breaks). That means we may homeschool for 3 days, 4 days, or 7 days (yes, even on the weekends). Honestly, everyday we are learning in some capacity. Part of my planning includes setting up a homeschool IG to document what we do and encourage ourselves through the process. Speaking of which, are you on IG? I’d love to follow.
That's so great Alicia! You are so many steps ahead of where I was my first year! Goooo mama!!!!!!!! You're doing fabulous!
Yes, I am on Instagram... Just not very often! Lol! @ simply.living.it
💜🤗 Thanks for being here and sharing your journey!!!
I agree! I found it works if I write down what we do. I got very stressed last year when trying to keep up with the school's schedule during last years Covid shutdown. Having our own schedule that works for us and not being accountable to anyone else is wonderful.
We have a minimum requirement of 180 days here. I keep a very minimal timeline for that purpose. It is just a start date and projected end date. If it takes longer for us to finish, that's fine .
That's great, mama! Doing what works for your family is always best! Whether that means strict routine or a little more lax...like the both of us! 😍🤗💓
I have just started backwards planning and it is amazing. I love writing down all the things we have accomplished each day.
Yes! It is fulfilling as opposed to daunting!
We do 5 days a week here, but are flexible on days off, mostly because of my chronic migraines. I just move my last day back every time something comes up good or bad and we have to miss school, and I try not to worry about it too much. I love that if we all feel like going somewhere or doing something, we can, and we just make it up later.
Reverse Record Keeping 😮 I have never heard of this. I have learned so much over the past 4 years of homeschooling. This is the cherry on top. Year one looks nothing like year four for us! Thank you.
You're most welcome! ❤️
Yes! All of this. I don't reverse schedule but I only plan 1 week at a time and the white out is always available. It has been a rainy winter for us. The past 2 days have been sunny and in the 60s so we put the books away and played at the creek in the overflowing rain water. Year round homeschooler's here so we can have more flexibility.
Playing in the creek sounds amazing! My boys would LOVE that! Way to go being flexible, mama! You're doing so great!!! I love the idea of year round for the flexibility! 💓🤗
I sooo needed this video.. went looking through your homeschool
Videos as I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed with where we are right now in our homeschooling journey. I have a baby, two toddlers and two school age kids and I’m sat here pulling my hair out trying to get all the things done! This reassured me that what I’m doing and how I’m doing it is OK!!! Thank you
Ps:to answer your question, we do year round with just a lighter schedule during the summer and m,w,f. We take two weeks for Christmas and a week for Easter. Other than that, we do 3 days weeks and the other two days are homeschool enrichment. Classes they go to at our church.
Used to follow a timeline...Not anymore! This is the biggest tip!
Oh my goodness all of these tips are exactly what I do! Love that you articulated it so well! I write on my calendar after we do the lessons, I don’t follow a schedule, I skip if something is mastered. Curriculum choice has probably been the hardest to narrow down but I’m only on year 3 and I finally feel like I am figuring things out! Anyway great video thanks for sharing!
Lori, thanks for being here! It sounds like you are off to a good start. Sweet mama! Curriculum is a hard one to narrow down...but you'll get there!💜🤗💜
Yes!!! Totally agree with everything you said and needed to hear this. I don’t have a timeline but my husband wish I did. One week I’ll school 5 days, the next week 3 days, and so on. I always tell my husband I don’t care when we finish because it will get done. Thank you for saying what I feel. I feel so much better inside.
Yes! We have to do what works for us! Each day/week brings something new! Sometimes we want to soak up the freedom and some days we hit it hard! Totally depends! If I had a timeline...I'd totally feel defeated!❤ Enjoy your week and your flexibility, sweet mama! 😘
Love, love, loved this video. Thank you so much for sharing 😘 I had never heard of reverse record keeping, and as a non-type A personality, this really excites me! I will definitely implement this in our home.
I don’t follow a timeline as that’s part of the beauty of homeschooling right. We live in Australia, so typically do what you call year round schooling. What works for our family right now is to do around 6 weeks of work, sometimes more or sometime less, take a week off, then do another 6 weeks. We do have a longer break in December/January, which is our summer.
Again, thank you for sharing these tips. So good 🤙
Oh my goodness! Australia! How awesome, mama!!! What an experience!
Thank you for being here and for your encouragement! 💕
Year round schooling excited me for so many reasons! We may make some changes this coming school year and see what happens!!! 🤗💜
I literally needed this so much today. Please pray for me and my homeschool
We homeschool year round and love it. During the "school year" we follow a stricter schedule, but in the summer months, any day that we don't have another activity planned (like day camps or going to the amusement park) we do school. We don't have a "first day of school," because when we finish one book, we start the next. We just keep working and take vacations when family or friends come to visit or we go on vacation.
In January, we started a loop schedule, which is making our lives so much more relaxed. It also means that if we want to do more than one lesson at a time, we don't "get behind" in another subject. It has taken the pressure off. Some days we get lots of subjects done and other days, not as many, It doesn't matter!!
The loop schedule is very interesting! I've never tried that but it definitely sounds like it would be beneficial for many reasons! 💜 Thank you for sharing with us what works in your home! I love it!!! The flexibility is amazing!!!
@@SimplyLivingIt Very interestingly, without the pressure to "get things done" that we felt in a block schedule, we get way more done in a loop schedule!!
Last two are the most important. I prefer term Home Education. Do not compare yourself to others and do not worry about what and how non-home educators or even other home educators are scheduling their school. I wish I could have mentally overcame these when I "homeschooled". As the saying goes "You do you!"
Do you ever have one of those days where nothing is going smoothly, all the way down to making a craft and the tape won't stick and you're fighting tears over it? That's me today.
Thank you for this!!!
Sent my little boys to jump on the mini trampoline and I'm going to take a shower...
(PS. year-round is totally worthwhile, because you can take breaks whenever you want/need to.)
Ummm YES!!!!!! I have one of those days...pretty regularly! 😂🤗
Our kids are similar ages & your homeschool style is so similar to my own. I wish I knew where you lived so I could give you a hug & say, "Thanks for the encouragement, we are in this together!"
🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Wow the Lord knew my heart and what I have been needing to hear. I'm a check boxer I'm a timeline and it's a struggle to let go and say when we get done we get done. Thank you 😊 this was a great encouragement!
Thank you for your encouragement as well! I am just another homeschooling mama... Just like you, sharing what has worked for us on our journey. Every single year has been a learning process and I just want to share my heart so deeply with other homeschooling mamas.💜🤗💜
I absolutely love this especially the reverse record keeping idea! Great way to feel productive at the end of the day instead of defeated! Thanks!
My 4 year old goes to preschool but i do some pre-k workbooks and things with her at home. And after a few days i found being flexible really helped like she knows a lot of concepts from watching youtube/tv or just life in general. So to beat one concept to death thru worksheets to me is useless and sometimes she gets bored. So like you said if they truly master a concept then move on. I plan the night before the things I want her to do. Also allows me to see if we need to keep at one concept or move on.
This is awesome !
We start school in July because in FL summer is so hot. We take days here and there throughout the year (I’m getting better) and then two whole weeks in January...finishing school at the end of April... it works for us!
We sort of follow a timeline. We do 4 days a week (most weeks) and typically take a week off after 5 or 6 weeks of school. By that point we are all so so ready for a break. We do take a little longer break around Christmas and a little longer in the middle of the summer, but not a full blown summer vacation. Moving and illnesses caused much more frequent breaks last year, but that's ok!
We don't follow much of a timeline either. Yesterday was a snow day in our local district, but we did school anyway. Other days we take off just for fun and because we can.😊 Also, I will never, never, never completely drop school through the summer again!! That made back-to-school BRUTAL.
BRUTAL is the perfect word! 😂😂 YES!
Snow days are the BEST!!! Soaking up the freedom in homeschooling is such a beautiful thing that it has taken me so long to fully appreciate! 💜💜💜💜 Way to go, mama! 🤗
These are all fantastic suggestions! I agree with all of it and have learned these things along the way as well. I wish someone could have shared these things with me years ago when we first started homeschooling.🌻
Every year is a new journey...right?! We learn as we go! 🌷🤗💜
Thank you for sharing! We are into our 2nd year of homeschooling. And this year I'm doing reverse planning. I planned out each day last year and felt horrible if we didn't get to everything!
I home school year round, that way it gives us more time on things and we can still take little breaks for vacation or what not but I realized that this way works best for my kids because there isn't a long break from the work
Yes, I totally understand! Long breaks make things harder to find a routine again. 😀
This was a great share and reminder for me thanks!
Oh, I love your idea of not having a timeline! This year I tried to follow the public school calendar but it has NOT worked. We will finish when we finish. Thank you for the encouragement, we have all been sick with the flu this week so no school has been done. But hey, it's ok and we'll get back at it next week.
You are so right mama, you'll get back to it and it'll all work out just fine! I hope you all feel better soon! 🙏
The problem for me when following a specific calendar is that I start to feel "rushed" or "behind" when our schedule changes. I can't handle that feeling .. so... We go with the flow and will finish when we finish. Right??!!!! 💜🤗💜
Feel better, sweet mama!
This was so helpful to me / thank you for keeping it real . I feel so much guilt it i don’t stick to my schedule that i let it affect my entire day and i needed to hear this today !!!! Thank you so much
I am so glad you found it encouraging, friend!
My ASD and My ADD kiddos need a schedule kinda of, but we still just flow. Schooling 4 and have finished 2 already. We belong to a pretty big co-op and a playgroup so we love flexibility we do some school through the hot months so we can be off more in the fall because the hot months are so long in Texas I have been doing 21 plus years and it is ever changing with each year and kiddo
I absolutely love this! ❤
Thank you.
Thank you for watching! 💗
I love your vibe and authentic message! Thank you
for this
I'm only looking for understanding, progress, love of learning, fun, bonding, creating and exploring in our homeschool. No schedules, routines, lists, just a goal of 4 learning things and some fun and love.
Pulling my Kids out and starting homeschooling Monday. I started planning and got totally stressed. Going to follow the curriculum until we’re done and take Holidays and days Daddy is home off other than that I think we’ll try a five day week and if it’s too much we’ll cut one day out.
Mama, you are amazing and you CAN do this!!!!! I am so proud of you! 💕
@@SimplyLivingIt this is a trial. It’s the desire of my heart, but not my husband’s. But unforeseen circumstances made it our only option until next fall. Hoping we keep doing it, but he’s always lead our family well and I trust whatever he chooses to do.
Binging your content with pauses as life happening 💕
This was awesome and I truly needed to hear it from (SOMEONE!) LOL I know Noone that homeschools😒 a d these others mama seem to be just flawless. Really glad I gave ya a follow. Thank you for being so RAW and honest with us. Blessings to yalls school year
Aw, thank you for your encouragement too, mama! I will always be real and honest! Always! Girl....I am FLAWED, I do NOT have it all together and am learning every single day! But, we CAN do this!!!!🤗🤗
I'm so happy you're here! Many blessings to you and your family! 💓
I cant believe i just found your channel. Love all of this!
I'm so happy you're here! ❤
We homeschool through a charter school so we have to do school on the days they set but I’m really praying about going fully independent next year so that we could make our own schedule
That's awesome that homeschooling through a chapter school is even an option! We don't have that option here where we live. But yes, keep praying! God will lead you!!! 💜🙏💜🤗
I work from home fulltime and homeschool my 7 year old.He sits next to me while I work and does independent work with the ablity to ask questions.Immediately after I get off work we do social studies and/or science together(textbooks are alittle hard for him to understand without assistance),eat dinner,do a form of excerise and read a book together at night time.Weekends we do atleast one project together and revisit some things from the week. We more or less have a routine but not a set schedule or curriculum.If I see him really struggling during independent work I will set the assignment aside and we do it together when I get off of work and add a game or something to reinforce the concept.
I am so glad I found your channel! You inspire me! Thank you so much! 💓
Aw, thank you! I'm so happy you're here! 💜
I reverse record keep too! The thought of planning ahead gives me anxiety! We have days come up that we just can't do work, so I love doing it after we completed!
Isn't it wonderful?!!!! 💜
Thank you! These are great tips! We do have a timeline and will stop July 1st and start back up mid August. The reason is we just started homeschooling in October and my kids are very much still used to having set time off. My oldest (12) needs to know when and what is happening at all times, just his personality. What we don't have a timeline for is our curriculum. I have purchased all of next year's levels but we will start them whenever we get the current ones done. That takes the pressure off a bit.
Thank you for sharing what works in your home! I totally understand what you are saying about your oldest knowing what is going on! That makes total sense! 😊
My kids have never know any other schedule so it works to just take each day as it comes. As they get older and we find our "flow," I'd like to have more of a routine because I do feel it is also important to have! Routine and healthy habits😊💜
❤
Wow! Our homeschool journey seems pretty parallel. I'm in my 7th year and this was the year I NEEDED something to change and we found Masterbooks and Gather Round. I think I've found a way to mesh the two without overwhelming anyone. These 5 (6) habits you talked about spoke STRAIGHT to me today as these are literally the VERY things God has been speaking to me about lately. I am so Type A (and a former teacher) and it is SO hard for me to not have all my boxes written in and planned out for the following week on Fridays!!! I NEED to switch over to the method you spoke of and write down what we actually do each day instead of trying to check all my boxes and getting frustrated and feeling like a failure when half my boxes are left unchecked on Friday! (I have a problem, I know! haha) I am going to listen to this again and take notes. I seriously needed to hear this today. Thank you so much! I really enjoy your channel.
As far as a timeline.... I guess you could say we do "year round school". I like to start the week or two after July 4th and finish up by mid-May before the homeschool convention we attend every year. Then June is my "planning month" and we begin again in July. There have been many years we haven't finished a curriculum in May and we just pick back up with it in July and then start the new level/book whenever we finish the previous one. I have been able to "let that go", even with my Type A personality. :)
Elaine! Thank you so much for being here! Thank you for sharing your heart as well! Being a former teacher, oh man!!! I can only imagine some of the struggle you deal with when it comes to checking off boxes and so on. 😉 I am so glad that you found this video encouraging! Praise God! 🙏💓
I am so passionate about encouraging moms, right where they're at...right NOW!!!! Not tomorrow, but now! We are all on our own individual journey and it will look different for everyone, but there is so much JOY to be found in the journey if we take time to see it! Right??!! I am so glad that you have found what works in your home! I do feel that Masterbooks and GR could be meshed very easily without overwhelming our kiddos as well! I agree with you there! 💓 We do what works and what fits! Leave out the rest!!! 💓💜
You're doing a great job, mama! I'm so happy to have you here and I thank you for your kind words! 💓🤗💓🤗💓🤗
God is using this video to nudge me to actually DO the things He’s been nudging me to do. I HAVE to do something different. All of my children have special needs and were brought to me through adoption. Last week, I hit a wall where, in tears, I told my husband I couldn’t continue homeschooling even though my heart is for my kids and keeping them home where I KNOW I can meet their needs better than any public school with teachers who are overworked and pressured to teach to a test. But, I saw no other options until through my tears God spoke “think outside the box and change some of your ways”. I truly believe God used this video of yours to speak directly to me to give me practical ways to change some of my habits. I’m listening for a third time so I can really soak this in and make these changes. Would you explain a little more about reversed planning and tell me what planner you use to write down what you’ve done that day? I’m very picky who I subscribe to b/c time is precious but I’ll be sticking around here b/c you are so encouraging. Thank you.
SIMPLY LIVING IT I’ve applied “reverse planning”, “be flexible” and “no timetable” this week and Oh the difference already!! My plan book is blank for Thursday & Friday and filled in for Monday to Wednesday of this week with what we did!!!! When we didn’t get to history earlier this week because it was president’s day and the kids started asking about presidents so I was FLEXIBLE and let presidents be history that day and wrote down what we did AFTER instead of feeling the pressure to check off my history box! Oh the FREEDOM! And I’ve “let go” trying to finish curriculum by May. We will finish when we finish, like you said. WHO SAYS we HAVE to finish by May?!?! We don’t live in a state that puts tons of pressure on homeschoolers so WHY am I putting this pressure on myself! I feel I’m on the edge of breakthrough in my homeschool journey. I’m changing some MAJOR habits and it feels so freeing! This video gave me the push I needed to actually do this and believe it’s okay. I wish I could chat with you personally and thank you!
ELAINE! OH MY HEART. I wish I could hug you, so big! You are making a breakthrough, sweet mama. I am so proud of you and praise God!!! 🙏💜🙏 I cannot even tell you how many times these last couple years that I, as well, have told my husband the exact same, "I can't do this anymore!" I feel your heart, mama. Oh my goodness. I AM SO GLAD however, that you finally have peace about homeschooling and the positive changes happening in YOU. It is amazing what we feel when we let go, right? There is SO MUCH PRESSURE that it is suffocating! The world says we will never be enough, we will never do enough... but then comes GOD! He is everything, always and is always enough! It is seriously something that I had to learn the hard way (relaxing, being flexible, realizing that our school will look different than anyone else's) etc. We spent so many of our early years in tears and it breaks me.i so wish I could go back and do it over, now, being free. But, on the other hand...it got me to where I am now and some lessons we have to learn the hard way. I am so happy for you and so excited to share in the freedom and JOY of homeschooling! It is such a blessing!!! I am so happy to have you along here on our journey and I am so beyond excited for you and your sweet family to soak up this freedom!
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You take it one day at a time, sweet mama! You are doing an amazing job!!! I could go on and on...but...I am so proud of you and so grateful to God for bringing us together. Feel free to reach out ANY TIME! My email is listed as well in the description box if needed!
The planner I use is one I created myself and I sell online. Maybe I can do a video in the coming week explaining more in depth, how I reverse record keep. 🤔😀💜
Much love to you, sweet sweet mama! 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
LOVE this! Such wise advice! We do the reverse recordkeeping too and it takes SUCH a huge weight off! I can't wait for Monday!!
Thanks for being here, sweet mama! I can't wait!! 💜🤗
Oh my gosh, God bless you for this. As a new homeschool mom I NEEDED this. I dont know how many planner pages I've thrown out cause it never ever goes as planned. What planner do you use?
Thank you so much for being sure and for your kind words! I am telling you... I am right there with you mama! I am speaking totally from my heart and our journey! I'm so happy that you found some encouragement right where it was needed! 💜💓💜
You're doing a great job, mama!!! 🤗🙏
The planner I use is actually one that I have created and I sell it online. 😊💜
Your timeline sounds just like mine. We tend to take off random weeks, and then we end up schooling most of the summer. I think I'm leaning towards year round bc it is so hard to get motivated to start again.
Love this!! This was very encouraging and very good reminders
Thanks for watching, friend! ❤️
I am struggling with "Being busy". I feel like I rush from one assignment to the next just to make sure I tick the boxes of what needs to be completed. Problem is, I own my own business (a mental health counseling agency). I do school in the morning and see clients all afternoon, so I have a limited number of hours. Clients start showing up at 1pm and I am stacked back-to-back until about 6pm every day (with only 1 day off per week) so I have to be done with school by noon. My dream is to have a Fun time doing homeschool together - to incorporate fun and engaging things.... but I just feel that I have absolutely zero extra minutes in the day :(
Amen to gather round being everything you ever wanted in your homeschool day! We are loving it, it works, and it makes so much sense!
YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was so encouraging. Thank you so much for sharing all your tips and things you’ve struggled with and how your mindset has changed. 😍🥳🤗
Thank you for being here! I am so glad that you found it encouraging! That's why I am here! I want to help encourage other moms who might be struggling in way that I have as well!
Have a beautiful day!🤗💜
I do all year around school. Emmett has bad days that we take off when they come up. Emmett one month off in summer and Christmas off when he with his dad.
Thank you for sharing what works in your home! 💜
I do 180 days of school..it might take 10 days to do week 1 (Days 1-5)... because we take birthdays off... and have a very large family. our week right now goes from Tuesday to Tuesday. I only date it as "day 34" of the 2021-22 year. I don't date anything in records...only number the days 1-180. We also school year round and take all December off...
Great tips! Blessings to you!
I would love to try year around, but my son thinks he has to have the regular summer break. We were so used to that since I taught public school for 13 years and he attended public school through 3rd grade.
Yes, I can understand that! 😀 It would be hard to change things up now! 😊
This is year 3 for me and I have wanted to do year around because my daughter like consistancy 🙄 but I swear summer just gets so busy and last year I did start a garden again after 9 years, that was very busy. I did like to do the same schedule as her friends school so she can have playdates with them, but now we just do our own thing. I tried 4 days and felt like we got behind and again, consitancy. So now we do fun Friday's, I am teaching my daughter tennis, we play curriculum jeopardy once a month, science day and math games, spelling test and we just started books with movies she will do a book report on and then we will watch the movie with popcorn. We did just get done taking a "fall break"/mental health break....it was needed for us both, a reset.
A reset is sometimes JUST the thing you need!!!! Enjoy, mama! Merry Christmas!
So overwhelmed, but I’m a working homeschool mom. First year with a seventh grader....I need help! I want to ENJOY this and I want him to as well!!! Help! @simply living it ❤️
Rolling over here ✋✋
This is so freeing.. thank you so much!! 🙏
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I have created so many schedules and failed to fulfill them. Because I wanted to accomplish so much that out pressure on us and frustation. Crazy to get started with Gather Round.
Me too, girl! So many...and I feel like I have failed before I even had begun! Take a deep breath....
You got this!!!!!!
It's a journey! Learning Every. Single. Day.
New subscriber here! :D Having the day feel so full and busy as soon as I wake up is a struggle, for sure! Thank you for these great tips and insight and encouragement!
So, I purchased masterbooks curriculum for all subjects because I just fell in love with the gentle approach and it seemed like a great way to introduce group learning for my family in many ways. Then you shared gather round and I was like darn I need that in my life. Haha. Do you think adding in unit studies to do here and there would be overkill on top of what we are doing with MB? I am doing their science and social studies as a morning basket group study. But breaking off the LA and math as independent... I like how MB has the weeks laid out but can see myself getting flustered if we don’t finish the week or we skip a week randomly. How do you combat that for a first time homeschooling family? I thought because it was laid out for me I’d feel at ease but not sure how I’ll feel later if we miss a day or someone is sick and we just don’t school that day.
Such good tips! Thank you!
Thank you for being here! 💕
Planning on doing year round just so we don't have a painful "start" and "stop" because getting ready for the start of homeschool has been a tad painful 😅🤣
Oh yes! The "start" is SO painful!!! I'm so curious to see how things go for you if you do stick to year round. Other homeschooling schedules and routines interest me! It's always nice to change things up and make it your own! I love having summer free but once it gets SO hot, they are tired of the heat and ready for some indoor time. So, we might take 2 months off early summer. We shall see! When we finish, we finish! Right??!!! 💜🤗💜
Good advice! I’m a mom who has homeschooled for ten years now! It’s ever changing! God bless you for sharing!
I do the reverse thing too but never had a name for it! Lol 😂 thanks for giving it a name! Love it! We have lots in common!
I stopped planning too much because it always led me to feeling like a failure! Good advice! My planner will be filled with “sick” for the ten days in a row! Lol 😂 Still have the flu! Lol lovely!
Amen on being flexible! I say it’s ok when it comes to what is ok on boundaries! If someone who has no boundaries wants to chime in, I make sure to say no and now they respect me more.. but I so agree that fro random park meet ups and other things! Yes for sure enjoy the moment and change! Agreed! 👍
Sorry typos!
BOUNDARIES!!! Yes!!! You are totally right! Healthy boundaries are so important in EVERY aspect of life!
You're doing a fabulous job, mama!!! Hope you are all feeling well soon and can get back into the swing of things! That one has been hanging on for a while now! ☹️ I'm so sorry!!! 💜 Get some rest, sweet mama!!! 💕
LOVE THIS VIDEO! Bonus tip was amazing
We are on a schedule this year but not sure for next year. We started with MasterBooks so I did every nine weeks and took a one to two weeks off depending on the time of year. I am hoping to change that for next year.
Every year and every season brings something new, right??!! 💜
SIMPLY LIVING IT yes it does. I love your videos. Thank you for your calm spirit
Such great tips!!!! Thank you so much for sharing! I couldn’t find this on your channel, but what do you use for Spanish? I’m looking for a good curriculum but can’t find one!
Hi there! We actually do Spanish at co-op. We have two mom's there who speak fluent Spanish so they are teaching the kids! They aren't using any specific curriculum but worksheets, games, TH-cam videos/songs and their knowledge. 😊💜
love love love this!
Thank you for being here! 💕🤗
How does it work if you join a co-op (here depends on the online school...homeschooling but u are assigned a support teacher and you check in with them regularly... And can be once or twice a week in person learning with other kids) you're signed up with?!? Not only do each kid learn at a different pace not everyone is following the public school system which also affects pace of learning
This was such a good video mama!!!! ♥️🙌🏽
Thank you... Just sharing my heart! 💜 Thanks for your support and encouragement!
Yes girl!!
What kind of planner do you use?
Hey Bethany! My planner is one I designed and created myself! 😃
New subscriber! I'm done fighting with my 6.5 year old to do school. I know he's going to love Gather Round, I think we'll start with space. I have a 2.5 year old so it's just him. Do you feel GR would still be useful for a single child? Enjoying your wisdom. And yes.....unbusy!
YES!!! GR would be great with 1 kiddo! Absolutely! 💞
Keep in touch and let me know what your son thinks of it! It has been a blessing to our homeschool, most definitely! 🙏💞
I love it ! That's what I do as well that way it's not so stressful !! Love this video! New subscriber 💜 let's keep in touch ❤️
Thank you for being here!! 💜🤗
What is Master Books?
It is another one of the MANY homeschool curriculum options to choose from!! 😂
LOOOOOOOOVE your channel!
Awwwwe! Thank you so much, sweet mama!!!!!!💞💞💞💞💞💞
And I’m tooooo busy! I hate rushing.
It creates SO much pressure and tension. I don't know why I do it! Lol! Time to chill out!!!! 😂
You mentioned Spanish. Which curriculum do you use for Spanish?
Hey Crystal! Spanish was being taught to them in CO-OP without a specific curriculum. A very fluent mama was teaching the kiddos! 🤗
Thank you!
Hi, I just recently found you (can’t even remember how) and messaged you about your homeschool planner - thanks for your quick response. You have been a joy to follow! This is our 4th year homeschooling and each year has looked different, slowly morphing into what works best for us as each season changes. We are currently schooling year-round, started in mid-July, 4 days per week (co-op on fridays) and it’s been wonderful!
Hey there! 💜 I'm not seeing your email ...justsimplylivingit@gmail.com