We started homeschooling last year. It was rough, I was hoping this year would be better, for awhile it was.

Now my dd does not want to do anything. If she could just go through the day staring at the TV she would be happy. Though she says she wants to learn and does not want to go back to school.

I work early mornigs (I have no choice but to work) and schooling in the afternoons worked for us. Now I have gone back to school, again something I must do if I am ever going to get anywhere beyond living paycheck to paycheck. But I am only at school 1 hour/3 days a week, everything else I am doing online.

I want to keep homeschooling, but I am truly doing a poor job. I feel like I am cheating her. EVen though alot of times lately she has popped off with stuff that I had no idea she knew.

I feel I am not giving her what I should. And why is it ok for me to "Go to school" when it is not for her.

THen lately I have been thinking about all the things she will be missing in school later on (dances, pep rallies..)yes she is only 11 now but that is not the point.

I'm seriously considering putting her back in school next year, even though I'm not sure that is the best thing either.

I have not decided about my 3 year old. I keep seeing things about preschool/headstart and think maybe I should do that.

Is there an online program where my dd could work through at her own pace and it would keep track to show what she has done. Time 4 learning comes to mind. Any others?

Thanks, I am feeling really down.

I just started hearing about Time4 Learning on a homeschool site I get on.       homeschoolchristian.com  

You could ask about it on there  ( homeschoolchristian.com) because I think there are some ladies on there that use  it.

You may also want to consider Switched On Schoolhouse. It's published by Alpha Omega Publishers. It's not online but it's computer software. I've seen it for sale used on homeschool classified ad sites.

Consider the reason's why you chose to homeschool in the first place and ask yourself if you still consider those reasons to be valid and also if you have come up with other reasons since you began.

It could be that this is a "slow" season.

It's always possible and sometimes more enjoyable and productive to work on certain skills in the summer months when the kids tend to be healthier, happier, more alert and more energetic.

Sometimes Mom is more energetic during the summer months too.

Two of my three children learned to read during the summer. I don't think it's a coincidence. Our family is healthier and more productive in the summer due to health issues that tend to be a problem in the winter but not as much in the summer.

Here's one of my favorite articles regarding the socialization of children,which is one of the most compelling  reasons to homeschool.

http://members.aol.com/KEVIN4VFT/MooreKidz.htm

Is there an online program where my dd could work through at her own pace and it would keep track to show what she has done. Time 4 learning comes to mind. Any others?

Mary, our family has used k12 (http://www.k12.com/) for 6 years now, and we LOVE it.  It's the richest, most thorough curriculum I've seen.  Lessons are delivered online.  Progress and lesson plans are organized for you.  Your daughter could do quite a bit of her work independently.  Our daughter will be 11 next month, so I am familiar with the workload for that age group. 

Also, if you live in one of the states that has a virtual academy, the curriculum would be free for you.  (We are enrolled in the California Virtual Academy.)

Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions.

~Jori

eta: Just looked at your profile...  The state of Washington does indeed have a virtual academy!

I've been having a hard time, too, and ran into a lot of the same stuff...having to work a lot...have a 20 month old also....Then the other day I started keeping a "Daily Progress" report...and I started observing everything he did, just on his own....Cause i thought myself that he was just spending all day in front of the TV.  By the end of the first day, I was feeling dang proud!  We had accomplished math, lifeskills, social studies, science, reading....all without cracking a book (except the reading of course)!  And it was great!  Of course, I do more of a child-led type learning, as he is 7 and the "workbook" type thing doesn't work so much for him right now. 

On my Progress report, I just listed out all our subjects, a section for comments, and a grade section.  I did all this in my OneNote (my brain!! LOL)..I was so amazed!!

Hope this helps!

My heart goes out to you. Sounds like a hard place to be.

I've homeschooled from the start. My 11yr old daughter has never been to "real" school as she calls it. It took us FOREVER to get into the groove of things. I changed our what we use for school last winter and it has worked great for us. We follow what is called : An Old Fashion Education.

I love using the Old Fashion Education site. It has really helped make things easier. Emily (my oldest who is 11) can do most of her school work herself. She has taken control of it too which is nice. She loves reading even more.

The key though since this is a lot of reading I NEVER EVER make her read something she doesn't want to. She will not learn if she is forced to read. So we go to other websites to find books to fit what she is wanting to read. Like for science she's been learning about diffrent kinds of animals and how they live. She loves animals. So right now she is reading a book from the late 1900's that tells the life of a cat. The book is said to be for young kids but she has learned so much from it. Plus she loves it.

We also use workbooks and stuff too. We also do notebooking which she loves.

Also since our daughters are the same age you may want to read on my website what she is doing for school. Some of it has changed and I just haven't had time to update it yet. Also on my webiste I explain how we use the Old Fashioned Education in our school. This is explained on my website - Lighthouse of Faith Homeschool  Just click on "Emily" to read what my 11yr old is doing.

We are very relaxed homeschoolers. Some days we do what is called "fun" school. We'll play board games (they learn from those too), we'll clean house, we'll cook, we'll watch movies and so on. Kids learn in every day life not just books.

Feel free to PM me.

Hugs, Ashley

I do NOT advise OFE for someone having trouble fitting it all in. OFE is too much, in my opinion. It's too much like student-teacher.

I think you should review your reasons for homeschooling. If you put her back in public school, what's she up against? Is she a target for bullying? Has that changed? If not, she might be that target again. School can take just a couple hours.

Maybe you should work on some habit forming for a little while and forego the lessons. Limit TV severely. Re-establish boundaries and rules. Work back into school slowly, one thing at a time.

You can do this!