Comments on: Navigating Homeschooling Detours: What to Do When the Road Gets Rough

By: Terri

Terri — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:49:58 +0000

I love this and am going to link to it from my blog. Thanks.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:30:07 +0000

Hi I just wanted to say I had homeschooled my
2 children for the past 2 years but this year with
my oldest he is 9. I had to put him back into
school. I am still homeschooling my 6 year old daughter
but I feel soo sad, depressed and just kind of
lost by having to put my son into the public
schools here. His behavior here with me was just out
of control and it was taking a toll on me and my
to other children. Any ideas on how I deal with this new path?

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:58:43 +0000

I’ve been right there, feeling like I’m at a crossroads, all year. We began as die-hard unschoolers, but somehow it stopped working. I’m still trying to listen to my co-pilots and figure out where we’re going next! This was all very good advice.
.-= Amanda’s last blog: The C Word, part two =-.

By: Misha

Misha — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:41:12 +0000

Oh, I loved, loved your example of the fiddle lessons! And I love Kika's comment about taking the first years to be easy on yourself and how each year has a different feel to it. I think your post was so full of wisdom, Stefani. Thank you for that! .-= Misha's last blog: Restful =-.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:13:31 +0000

thanks for this piece. i liked #2 especially, and the situation with your son and math. I can relate to that. I'm in week 6 of homeschooling my first year with 4 boys (7,4,2 and infant) and I sometimes feel I'm in way over my head. .-= Leslie's last blog: 7 quick takes =-.

By: Leslie

Leslie — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:08:43 +0000

great advice, thanks .-= Leslie's last blog: 7 quick takes =-.

By: MamaShift

MamaShift — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:08:16 +0000

My weakness is precisely this sort of figuring out how to proceed without quitting. I feel I am listening to my daughter when, for example, she wants to quit guitar because she feels she “just isn’t that interested in sitting around playing a guitar”. Or when I let go of math because she seems to have a lot of school-induced anxiety around it. I feel I’m listening but at the same time I feel I’m not giving that little push. In a way, I also feel like she picks up on things like my not being crazy about driving here and there for lots of activities (guitar) and not having much interest in math, myself. She’s so sensitive.
I appreciate your ideas on giving that extra push, though. It’s always a tough call for me. I think it’s an area in parenting where I truly feel lost because I didn’t have any guidance/parenting as a child.
.-= MamaShift’s last blog: Back in December =-.

By: renee @ FIMBY

renee @ FIMBY — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 12:17:41 +0000

I find I’m tweaking and making small course corrections often. But I don’t usually wander too far down a path that none of us like.

By: Stefani

Stefani — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:04:10 +0000

Nine years! My hat is off to you Kika!
You have spoken so clearly to the heart of the matter here too when you say, “the whole point is that we don’t fit into someone else’s box – nor should we feel that we ought to.” I think that is such an incredibly difficult thing to learn as a new homeschooler and really as a parent in general. We love these little people so much and hate the thought of “messing them up” – so we look to someone else to tell us how to do it right – that magic formula or recipe that will give us the end result we hope for. In truth though, there really is no way to define what is right for each family, let alone each child, especially when, as you say, rhythms and needs change from year to year.
I think that the day I finally decided to stop trying to do homeschool “right” was the day that we began truly learning.
.-= Stefani’s last blog: Follow Your Instincts =-.

By: Stefani

Stefani — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:57:28 +0000

I had no idea that our red suitcase is famous! Of course it will not have fully lived until it’s visited Virginia Beach!

Yes I know what you mean about listening to those little copilots… believe me, it is something I have to remind myself of often. I forget sometimes that they are children and that they don’t always know how to express what they are feeling. So many times I have found that what I perceived as moodiness or defiance or whatever, was really about them trying to tell me that I needed to listen more closely, and look a little harder.

These fellas sure do keep us on our toes, don’t they?
.-= Stefani’s last blog: Follow Your Instincts =-.