Things have been hopping here! We've started the year out and are trying to find our groove. One of the problems I have is trying to school three different ages at once. My biggest struggle is my oldest. Not because she is any more difficult than the others, it is because I am new to parenting this age and have to start finding out what works from scratch. I have a soon to be 11yo who is blossoming into a new stage of life that is filled with push/pull moments. She wants more independence and responsibility yet feels affronted at the work that often accompanies this. She is entering the logic stage of the classical method. She is excited to be switching gears, but feels paralyzed at what appears to be loads of more work. I am frustrated by the fact that the only thing that is holding her back is her fear of the volume of work. When she really tries and doesn't panic, she had no difficulty and completes everything quickly. After a month of this struggle, I saw progress in her education but a substantial drop in her joy of learning. So, for September we have decided to change our approach. We've divided her subjects into timed segments. She has to work steadily for the set time and may stop as soon as her time is up. The results: She is working for far less time and completing at least twice the amount as before. What this shows me is that a defined end point is vital to her being able to focus. If she feels that she has a never ending hill to climb, she can't even begin. She's happy for the moment and is a huge relief to me. More on the other two kids' stages in the days ahead.
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