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J is for "Juggling"

Many days I feel like a clown trying to juggle all I have to accomplish. For me, J is for "Juggling" at Blogging Through the Alphabet.


I have a high school student and an early elementary student. Needless-to-say, they don't study the same things. How do I cover both ages in the same day?

I can't be with each of them all day, all the time. So, Independent Work is an absolute necessity. I work to make sure each of them have some work they can do independently every day so that while I am covering those subjects with one student that need my attention, the other student is not just sitting still doing nothing. It helps to maximize our day.

Brynne typically does her grammar, handwriting, copywork, and independent reading while I am working with Dawson on history and science. Dawson does his grammar, writing, critical thinking, literature, and Algebra while I am working with Brynne on her history and/or science and math. I usually work one-on-one with Dawson first thing in the morning and then again at the end of the day. He does his independent work midday. Brynne does her independent work in the mornings and the two of us work together midday.

Next year I will be adding an even different element to the mix. Eli will be coming home. Eli is a completely different student than Brynne. Even though they will be studying the same material, they each learn in completely different ways. How will I teach two students the same material in two different ways AND get everything done with two 3rd graders and a 10th grader?

I will definitely stick to our general schedule I just set out.

Brynne and I have a very specific way of learning, which includes lots of reading and activities. Eli does not care for reading and has a limit to the number of activities he can handle. One of the main reasons why we homeschool is to allow our children to learn in the way(s) that suit them best. Therefore, I will make sure I have pertinent worksheets available for Eli when he is has reached his activity limit. I will also make sure I have good, educational websites bookmarked so that he can retreat to do some individual work when he is feeling over-stimulated.

Eli also loves science. Brynne does too, for that matter. But it will be very important to Eli to have science infused into our lessons. I plan to primarily use Five in a Row for Eli and Brynne next year, and specific unit studies. Unless we are studying a specific piece of literature that has lots of science involved, he will feel as though his school is lacking. So, we are bring daddy along board this year to help us with this. He will have "Science Saturdays" with Eli and Brynne to have a concentration on the science that they love so much.

I am confident that using these techniques will make juggling all I have to handle much easier.


And, as they always say, "Juggling is dropping things .... in style." ~ unknown


Comments

  1. Wonderful post. I've been where you are, now my youngest is 14, the only left at home and I work part time. I think I will always be juggling!

    ReplyDelete

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