General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

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kidsforHim
Posts: 167
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:25 pm

General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by kidsforHim » Wed Jan 07, 2015 8:09 pm

Hi, I hope this is ok to post. I just really feel the need of prayer. I just totally feel like quiting homeschooling. :cry:
I can't get into all the past years of physical, emotional troubles but it's had its toll and now this year I've back trouble, weekly chiro visits, a lot of pain, very limited to what I can do although I do still 'DO' in spite of it, it's hard to quit when I AM a mother and wife. Plus still recovering from thyroid issues. I just can't handle a lot mentally either which carries over into my choices for curriculum- I look for things they can totally do on their own, I'm there for help of course but very limited. Exception for the youngest. We have 4 children. Public school has at times looked tempting but no, it's not an option. I have no support near, family, friends etc. Church families do mostly textbooks, I don't. My husbands family consists of 2 Aunts, the youngest- 70 caring for the older-80's and his dad-78. My family is all in Ohio. There is a church school there and that is a consideration but would mean a long distant move, husband quiting job, etc. It looks so big! And a big change for the children. It's like a totally different culture back there, from the mid-west, SD to be exact. I'm originally from PA but have learned to like some things out here after all :shock: Anyways just feeling very overwhelmed and over my head. Thank you for bearing with me if you've read this far. I'm very sorry if this wasn't appropriate to put out there on this board. I have gotten so much help from so many of you. I know God can help me too.
Becky

mom23
Posts: 532
Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 10:10 am

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by mom23 » Wed Jan 07, 2015 8:54 pm

I'm so sorry for all you're going through! That's an awful place to be emotionally, where you just feel you can't keep going on as is. I find it encouraging to remember in those times that even though this may not look the way I had planned or dreamed or wanted that God's ways are far above mine and His thoughts higher than my thoughts (from Is 55:9). I pray that God will show you His plans for this season of your life. He certainly has the answers that will work out best for everyone in the end!

I hate to see anyone quit homeschooling, though. I wonder if you've taken any time off school, or taken things easier, or if you've been plowing through, desperately trying to get through everything as if life was all normal? I'd really encourage you to take a step back if that's at all possible. Give yourself some grace in this very difficult season; remember that the most important areas of our children's education don't happen from textbooks. Maybe God has in mind for them to learn life right now, to see His hand in your lives, and your faith. If you can't totally take time off from school, consider cutting back the the bare bones, or doing things to "meet requirements" but scale back on the time commitments. Table the guide for a season so that you can get your homeschooling-Mama-feet back under you.
Becky, married to my preacher-man and raising:
DD 12-7th grade public school
DS 10-Preparing
DS 8-Beyond
DS 3-Just doin' his thing

Jennymommy
Posts: 298
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:19 pm

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by Jennymommy » Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:16 pm

Definitely praying for you, Becky. I've been through so much this past decade with digestive issues, joint pain, thyroid trouble, loss of infant and many other physical and emotional onslaughts , yet I know God is good. I recently did genetic testing and discovered a real mess. However, the tests also revealed the reasons for so many of my physical issues and gave me a path to pursue in getting back a better quality of life which has really helped on the home front as I am receiving more understanding and help. I will pray for answers and peace for you.

bethelmommy
Posts: 265
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:34 pm
Location: Alaska

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by bethelmommy » Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:46 am

Praying Philippians 4:6-7 for you right now Becky. God is faithful and He loves you. He is in control and knows the plans He has for you. I pray that He will fill you with peace, rest, wisdom, and clarity as He gives you the grace to handle each day.
Grace and peace,
Alicia
DS 14 MTMM, DITHOR 6/7/8
DD 13 Rev2Rev, DITHOR 4/5
DS 10 Bigger, DITHOR 2/3
DD 8 Beyond, Level 2 Book Pack
(Previously completed LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, RTR, Rev2Rev, and DITHOR 2/3, 4/5)

Nealewill
Posts: 1611
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:08 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by Nealewill » Thu Jan 08, 2015 5:37 am

I just want to give you a hug! <<<hug>>>

I agree with many of the ladies on here. How many kids do you have and how many/which levels are you completing this year? I do love HOD and love how their program is very easy to use with minimal planning. And I also found that textbook/workbook curriculums were a total fail in my household. I am wondering if you could combine more kids into one level and just keep everyone on track with only their math, grammar, and DITHOR books.

Just to share with you - you are not alone in your feelings. I know I have had these same thoughts myself. While I don't have health issues, I work from home and have gotten to the point that I have regular scheduled meetings outside the house now. I work approximately 25-35 hours per week on average. And because my business doesn't really have an "office" that we work out of, we meet at a coffee shop that we own and that has turned into our business's conference space. When I got my meetings, I arrange for a teen to watch my kids and she will help my 2 younger kids get some of their schoolwork done. For me, I am been very fortunate to have that but it also costs me. I wonder if you can get a teen to help you out a few days a week. I pay my teen $7.50 an hour. And she does a great job of getting everything done that send over to her. My oldest can luckily work on her own and she does that when I drop her off (sometimes she even comes with me to the coffee shop but she finds that place to have more noise than she prefers and it can be distracting). If it were me, I would take a month off cold turkey. I would pray about it. It may feel like you are behind but I promise you that you probably aren't. My oldest has mild dyslexia and I always worry about her compared with her peers. Every year that I have her tested she rocks the test with a composite score above 75%. So I wouldn't stress about your kids not knowing enough and I wouldn't overdo it.

This year is probably my most challenging year of homeschool because I am running 3 levels this year with HOD and I feel like my work schedule has just gotten to be more. I have actually been praying a lot about how much time I spend in a day doing school or how I want to structure my year next year. And realistically, I don't spend that much time in a day doing school. I only spend 4-5 hours per day 4 days per week. But with my schedule and co-op, it kind of stresses me out :oops: . I would love to chuck co-op my kids love it. My oldest dd does singing and drama at the co-op and I can't really get those any other place as easily as I get them at co-op. Plus, this is their only outlet to see other kids who are homeschooled and my only real support group. I have actually thought about possibly moving to an 11 month school year to help me move to 3 day per week school schedule when the kids are in co-op and 4 day per week school schedule when they aren't - basically 4 weeks off for a summer break, 3 weeks off at Christmas and a few other scheduled weeks/days off through out the year. But then I have thought about also slowing them all down in level anyway to help my oldest and middle child out with the volume of reading and just maturing into their guide. Choices, choices LOL.

But I will be happy to pray for you and your decision. I know that you aren't taking any of it lightly and that you are praying about it as well. I pray God give you wisdom and a clear mind to make the best decision for ou and your family.
Daneale

DD 13 WG
DS 12 R2R
DD 10 R2R

Enjoyed DITHOR, Little Hearts, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, RevtoRev, MtMM

psreit
Posts: 1034
Joined: Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:17 am
Location: Pennsyvania

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by psreit » Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:01 am

Becky-I sent you a PM. Praying for you.
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. III John 4
Pam
dh 33 yrs
ds29 church planter in MA
dd27 SAH mom
dd26
dd 12
3 dgs(5,2, & born 6/15) & 2 dgd(3 & born 2/15)

kidsforHim
Posts: 167
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:25 pm

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by kidsforHim » Thu Jan 08, 2015 2:31 pm

Thank you!! ALL of you! The support, encouragement, the prayers. I know I'm not the only one who goes through these rough times. So many have worse problems and circumstances than I have, yet we can feel so all alone. We do need each other. I often can't seem to find words to pray except HELP!
It's been 8 long years of physical, emotional "stuff"; my sister passed away 6 yrs ago just before christmas. That completely tore me up. It seems to just go on and on.. but we ARE in a battle aren't we, and God's grace is sufficient.
Just to be clear here, not all my children are using HOD. I have 4 children, DS 15, DS 12, DS10, and DD 8. My 8 yr old is using Beyond but I also have her doing ACE paces in science & lit & creative writing, CLE for math. I had felt earlier to just do all ACE except math but she is a hands on learner, loves projects & HOD seemed her thing and she loves it! ( its ME that's the problem- I get completely worn out physcially & mentally with the interaction and getting her school done)
DS 10, is using all ACE except Math-TT. DS 12, is using other curriculum, pre-algebra TT etc. My oldest DS 15 is first year of high school. He is using CtC for science with supplement. He just can't seem to handle a typical high school work load at this point. I get overwhelmed and panicky as I want to make sure we are getting enough to earn credit. He is doing algebra 1 teaching textbks.
I'm doing my best to find God's mind for schooling our children. Sometimes it just seems to get all muddled up and what "I" think gets in the way and then the pressures of what others are doing gets in the mix. :?
We have taken 3 weeks off school already, not sure I'm ready to jump back in yet. Thought of just having them do math, grammar, but then my youngest would need me. sigh I just don't feel like being needed :oops: then I feel guilty!

Nealewill
Posts: 1611
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:08 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by Nealewill » Thu Jan 08, 2015 3:11 pm

Never hesitate to ask others to pray for you. I feel like so many people on this Board are practically family. It is my joy to petition the Father for your request, especially since you are my dear sister in Christ :-)

And if you could also say a pray for me too - I don't want to steal your thread but just wanted to ask. My husband and I have been praying for a young woman who works for the ministry I work for. At my ministry, I do all of the accounting. Our organization reaches out to youth in very poor and unsafe neighborhoods to not only provide Jesus to them and their families but also to try and help with legitimate needs as we are able. In the last year we began a job creation program because that is a huge need in that community. Well, there is a particular 20 year old woman (she is still a practically a child because of her upbringing) who is in very bad situation where she has no safe place to live. Multiple people I work with have asked her to move in with them but she has said no (I think she may be intimidated by the people who asked or afraid they would look down her for what has happened to her). My husband and I have been praying for over a month about inviting her to live with us. And while 90% of the people who work for this ministry live in the area that we serve, I do not. I live about a 15 minutes drive away from that area and it would help to her literally get her away physically from the people she knows - they are bad people!!! In that neighborhood, there is lots of drugs, killings, random/drive-by shootings, rapes, etc. Today, a door was opened and we are going to approach her to live with us. I am scared to death! I know God has called me to do this and I would never do this without his prompting. I am praying she takes us up on our offer and that Lord guides our family's path.

As for school - I know this will cut into my time that I can spend on school for a short period of time in the near future. And also I think God has been preparing my heart for this for a while. I used be literally crazy about school! I was always pushing my kids way too hard with unrealistic expectations. God has transformed me here and I have relaxed significantly. He has been teaching me that he is sufficient! He is helping me to see that if we don't finish all the levels with HOD, that is okay!!! I am not so scared to modify the upper levels to make them high school worthy if I need too and I know my kids will have a fantastic rich education anyways, still prepared to pursue whatever career path they want. My oldest two kids have reading issues and slowing them down a level may be wise (as I mentioned earlier). God has been so gracious to me that I know I just need to trust him right now. Maybe if we take this other individual in, we can go half speed for a while, enjoy time with person, help her get on her feet, and we can be more available to be used by God.

I am just in deep prayer about it. So I am asking all of you - my HOD family - if you would be willing to also say a quick pray for me too. Thanks so much for listening and praying.
Daneale

DD 13 WG
DS 12 R2R
DD 10 R2R

Enjoyed DITHOR, Little Hearts, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, RevtoRev, MtMM

MelInKansas
Posts: 1700
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:32 pm

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by MelInKansas » Thu Jan 08, 2015 4:23 pm

I would like to reach out and give you a big (HUG) as well. I feel for you in all you are dealing with. I have a friend here who has been dealing with pain, digestive issues, and probably an autoimmune disease (so far they haven't been able to pinpoint which one) for several years now. She quit using HOD and has her older kids doing mostly online school stuff and I think is pretty lax with the youngers. The other thing she has recently done is hired a mother's helper every day, because her husband's work load has gone up and he is not as available to be home and help out. Her mother's helper comes 4 hours a day. I don't know if this is at all an option for you, but I would guess it would be a great blessing for you as it has been for my friend. She said she feels bad for having her there when it's a good day, but her husband is encouraging her to make the best of it! She also has someone who cleans for her once every other week.

And I would encourage you to celebrate the victories and view your time homeschooling as a slow and steady thing and not worry when you have to miss days or slow it down for any of them. I can imagine you only have a small amount of energy and have to prioritize what you can do in a given day. I am saying a prayer for you, for wisdom and strength.
Melissa
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end"

DD12 - Rev to Rev + DITHOR 6/7/8
DD10 - CTC + DITHOR 2/3
DD7 - Bigger + ERs
DS5 - LHFHG
DD2 - ABC123
2 babies in heaven

Samuel'sMommy
Posts: 647
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: TN
Contact:

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by Samuel'sMommy » Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:15 pm

I don't have any advice, but wanted to let you know that I will be praying for you and your family as you face these various challenges. I know that God will give you exactly what you need when you need it and I will be praying that He will do just that!
Stephanie
Wife to Adam for 25 years
Mom to Samuel (18 - freshman in college), Isaiah (8), and Judah (4) through the miracle of adoption
Using and loving LHTH & BLHFHG

Loved using LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, BHFHG, PHFHG, CTC, & RTR!

queenireneof3
Posts: 173
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:44 am

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by queenireneof3 » Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:05 pm

Praying for Becky and Nealewill. Praying from my brokenness. It has been a struggle for me too, recently. May we follow God's Spirit and not just what we THINK He wants. He's pretty unpredictable sometimes!

Sara
Sara Irene
wife to Brett for 16 years already!
mommy of ds B (13yo), dd S (11yo), ds S (7yo), dd (3 yo), dd (1.5yo), and two who went to meet Jesus 3/5/2014 and 7/23/14

Nealewill
Posts: 1611
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:08 pm
Location: Cincinnati, OH

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by Nealewill » Fri Jan 09, 2015 1:15 pm

queenireneof3 wrote:May we follow God's Spirit and not just what we THINK He wants. He's pretty unpredictable sometimes!

Sara
This is such good advice - thank you so much for the reminder. I will pray for you too.
Daneale

DD 13 WG
DS 12 R2R
DD 10 R2R

Enjoyed DITHOR, Little Hearts, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, RevtoRev, MtMM

kidsforHim
Posts: 167
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:25 pm

Re: General Homeschooling- need help/ prayer

Post by kidsforHim » Sat Jan 10, 2015 8:24 pm

I just want to say Thank You again to all of you who have sent encouragement, thoughts, and given of you time in prayer as well as writing in response to my post.
May God bless each one of you on your homeschooling journey.
Becky

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