Friday, January 20, 2017

Why haven't things Settled Yet?



You Ever Feel Unsettled In Your Day To Day?

Well that's been us since we had to do a major readjustment to our curriculum and schedule do to time constraints and parental burnout.

We put more of the learning and homeschooling on online products and are focusing on Math, Writing and CLEP prep only with our one on one time and it's still doesn't seem to fit correctly.

So we had a Speed Racer MATH Melt Down since he is frustrated with the consequences of his actions. Nothing major, just smart mouth back talking, sneaking cellphone during school hours, staying up past his bedtime and falling asleep in the living room while watching TV (which was taken from his room).

In the midst of all of that we realized that he has a great grasp on Math on the Computer (because he has figured out how to 'cheat' the system). But I believe that our minds process computer based calculations differently than writing.

When he writes, he makes mistakes, skips steps and it slows him down. He doesn't have a chance to GUESS his answer.

Speed Racer's New Daily Schedule
He had a rough few weeks with his new curriculum. We are no longer using ABEKA as he finished most of his curriculum (to lesson 110 since we started late summer and are doing school year around.)

8am - Wake up Shower and Eat

10am - Online Independent work 

Vocabulary Review (Membean)
Algebra Practice (CTCMath)
Geometry Practice (CTCMath)
Basic Math Practice (Prodigy and IXL) 3 days a week
Humanities (Study.com)
Sociology (Study.com)

1:30pm - Lunch

2:30pm Online Independent work
He had a rough few weeks with his new curriculum. He has to re-watch videos without fast forwarding through when he fails a quiz or test. He also realized that each time he re-takes a quiz or test > Acellus gives him different questions for the 're-take' even though he passes the 'test-recovery review'. This means he can't just write down the ones he got correct before then type it in and only focus on the ones he gets wrong. I love this method since he is realizing that taking notes makes a big different. The videos he doesn't mind as they are similar to Abeka in that they have a teacher lecturing (but not to a class) to the viewing student. They are a bit dated, but the teachers are decent he says. The videos are MUCH shorter than Abeka in that they only last 4 to 10 minutes per section, then there is a quiz immediately after (Abeka online doesn't do this). He does like that there is no seatwork or extra homework since we are doing ACELLUS HOMESCHOOL option.

Algebra 1 [Acellus-Homeschool]
US History [Acellus-Homeschool]
Geography  [Acellus-Homeschool]
English [Acellus-Homeschool]
Psychology [Acellus-Homeschool]
Intro To Computer Science [Acellus-Homeschool ]


6pm - Martial Arts (3 days a week), Break Dancing

7:30 pm - Dinner


8:30pm - Work with Parents
Algebra 1 (Saxon Math) with Mom
Writing (Time4Writing) with Dad oversight
Psychology (Instantcert) with Dad oversight

Tiger Lilly New Daily Schedule

8am - Wake up Shower and Eat

10am - Start College work Online Independent work
Intro To Interactive Design
Information Systems in Organizations
Ethics in Information Technology

2pm - Finish College work and Mom or Dad reviews it 

4pm - Helps mom prep dinner

6pm -Japanese Class (T/Th),  Martial Arts (4 days a week)

8pm - Do Homeschool work

C# and Game Design (YouthDigital.com)
Network Pro (using TestOut.com since Landry is closed)
Marketing (Mom's curriculum)
Starting A Micro Business  (Homeschool book/workbook series)
Blender 3d Animation (Udemy.com)

 

WORKING PARENT's LOG
I am surviving! In the midst of a school year with constant and unexpected change. Flexibility is the key.

Meals we are not doing well with meal prep. I am just tossing meals together. My oldest daughter is starting a fitness diet change and no longer eats with us (our food doesn't fit in her meal plan). So I'm cooking for less, but getting more creative since I am not meal planning.

Cleaning. The kids have gotten back in a routine of having the house cleaned before dad or I get home (whichever one of us gets home the earlier that day). The one that goes in later gets them to take their shower and clean up after breakfast.

Work & Life Balance. It's been very hectic for me as my job is going through lots of changes and I am interviewing for other opportunities I feel are more stable. We will see where God leads me in this. My hubs is doing great though.

Lesson Planning. Totally crazy throwing stuff together at the last minute. With one of our favorite curriculum providers leaving it's been a mess.

Rest. Actually we are getting more. At least I am, since my youngest son has to stay in his room and we lock up the computers, game controllers, and cellphones so he doesn't roam the house at night.

Marriage Check Up. We are at a comfortable pace. We went to a marriage check up and viola, I found that he is upset when I make lunch for my older son who carpooled with me instead of making it for him. Valid point. So now I set aside leftovers for him to have for lunch the next day.




 

2 comments:

  1. Whew! I understand the stress of change and kids that need more supervision than previously thought. Wishing you joy and success in your new schedule.

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  2. Are you glad as homeschoolers we get to change it up when we need too? I am famous or "throwing things together last minute". I may be putting in some over time hours now that tax season is here, so I am grateful my husband cooks during the week.

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