Question about the rhythm of your days --

[Gwen in VA]

I have spent the last many years never able to really do all the work with each child that I wanted to be able to do.

Well, dd1 is off at college. Ds1 is a senior who requires almost no help from me (he's doing completely online and college classes). Ds2 is now pretty motivated and needs little oversight. Dd2 is super-motivated and needs little from me.

So aside from the 1 - 1.5 hours in the morning when I work with dd2 and the hour or two that I work with dd2 and ds2 doing read-alouds and going over work, I am pretty unoccupied.

HOWEVER, I can't just leave the school area. The commitment to work is directly related to my proximity, and I do need to be around to answer quick questions.

Right now I am doing a lot of cooking and a lot of newspaper reading, since I can be interrupted from those activities with no problem. But I don't want to spend the next four years reading the newspaper for several hours a day, and there is only so much bread that needs baking! Help!

What do those of you with older students do during the day? How interruptable are you? Do you have an established rhythm?

[Jane in NC]

What do those of you with older students do during the day? How interruptable are you? Do you have an established rhythm?

My situation has always been different given that I have only one child.

My son begins his school day at 8; shortly thereafter, I take a walk. He is a fairly independent worker, so there is always something that can be done without me (reading, Teaching Company lectures, etc.) He usually does not take a look at math until I am back from my walk.

Like you, I often hover nearby our school area (the dining room). Given my son's growing independence for long stretches, I have resumed sewing. I also spend too much time on these boards. :o

I find that there are some days on which it is better for me to be nearby; other days, he prefers to have me out of the room. Like you, I cook, read the newspaper. I also do the daily Sudoku puzzle and am on call with the bird rehabilitator in case she needs a second pair of hands for an incoming patient. I can ride my bike over to her place for an hour or so while my son keeps himself occupied.

Jane

[kathleen]

I only have one child left at home, and he is a junior who is quite capable of doing his work on his own. I do teach his history/literature course, to him and two other students (online), so that keeps me busy. I'm also available for discussion with him--something we both love!

I will be teaching his 20th C history/literature course next year, also online, and should have a few students for that. Consequently, along with learning Latin, I am reading scads of books for next year's class. I also read a lot for my own education/edification, besides doing the usual housework.

Other things I would love to do: learn more about poetry, read through the Great Books, learn how to write better. I don't think I could ever run out of new things I'd like to learn.

[Beth in OH]

I've used my free time to take better care of myself, volunteer to write grants for an organization that I support, and declutter my house as we get ready to sell. My dc are doing mostly doing online and other outsourced classes, so I'm not needed for more than a few things. I go to the YMCA 3-5 times a week during the day and am gone anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time. My dc get a lot done while I'm gone, and they really prefer it if I'm not hovering. After about a year of puttering around during the day, I found that I needed to become more intentional about filling my time.

Beth

[Susan in IL]

As ds got older, I found myself much like you. I didn't feel like I could start a huge project but those little ones seem to be worse when interrupted. I floundered quite a bit the last two years he was home.

I did more cleaning. One room a day type thing. Vacuum and dust throughly, behind furniture, baseboards, etc. Bathrooms were scrubbed down. I went through closets. I did manage to paint a couple rooms. I made phone calls. I spent time online in several different forum communities I am in.

I planned my schoolwork that would need me around in a chunk so I could go meet friends for lunch or do errands. Even so, I felt like I had to be home just in case.

When ds went to college two years ago, I was kind of lost and didn't do much of anything. This year, I have been much more productive with my time (even though I spend way to much time reading the boards). Your dd went off this year and thngs were different. When your ds goes off to college next year, it will be different again.

You are slowly changing seasons in your life and it takes a while. Kind of like what they say when a child is pulled out of school, deschool them. We kind of go through that as they get older and more independent.

Not a lot of help here but I know what you are talking about.

[Valerie(TX)]

Could you post your ds' blogs adrresses again; at one time you did that, and I was just so impressed! :)

Laura (in China) had a thread recently about writing, and I would have liked to have pointed her toward your son's blog, particularly your younger son's, since he is "not an adult" yet...ok, it's kooky, good writing is good writing, but it's all the more impressive in a younger student. :rolleyes:

Val

[kathleen]

Sure, Valerie! My older son is in grad school, and hence has no time for a blog anymore, but my younger son has one, along with his literary review site. Here is his blog (http://connorhamilton.blogspot.com/), and here is his literary review site (http://merawin.googlepages.com/).

[LisaNY]

I only have one child left at home, and he is a junior who is quite capable of doing his work on his own. I do teach his history/literature course, to him and two other students (online), so that keeps me busy. I'm also available for discussion with him--something we both love!

I will be teaching his 20th C history/literature course next year, also online, and should have a few students for that. Consequently, along with learning Latin, I am reading scads of books for next year's class. I also read a lot for my own education/edification, besides doing the usual housework.

Other things I would love to do: learn more about poetry, read through the Great Books, learn how to write better. I don't think I could ever run out of new things I'd like to learn.

Kathleen, you have always been an inspiration to me. :001_smile: How neat that you are teaching other students online. Would you mind sharing about that?

[Nan in Mass]

Within a year or two, I will have much more free time, since my children's ages are 13, 17, and 20. I've been thinking about what I want to do for a few years now, since I don't want to go back to work. I think what will really happen is that I'll start taking care of my parents, since they live in the next town and my sisters' children are younger than mine. I want to take a practical nursing class at CC. I had to learn homeschooling on my own, practising on my own children; with nursing, I want to be taught some of the tricks and practise on someone else first, preferably someone young and well GRIN. Looking beyond that, I think I want to be an artist. I've been working diligently at getting better at drawing, something I can do while I'm waiting for the children to finish an assignment if the laundry and dishes are done, and dabbling in watercolour.

So far, I've found the dog and the cat to be the absolute best for taking up those bits of waiting time. I can drag a string for the kitten or take the dog out to feed the birds or brush someone.

I don't usually plan ahead, but my mother set me a good example of transitioning into various life stages.

-Nan

[Laura Corin]

Sure, Valerie! My older son is in grad school, and hence has no time for a blog anymore, but my younger son has one, along with his literary review site. Here is his blog (http://connorhamilton.blogspot.com/), and here is his literary review site (http://merawin.googlepages.com/).

I look forward to reading the blogs when I have access in Hong Kong next week.

Laura

[Moira in MA]

I hear you. It seems that a lot of my days are spent in "hurry up and wait" mode. My eldest is pretty much self sufficient except for Omnibus discussions and a (brief) math lesson that is more to keep tabs on her than to teach her anything. My younger dd still needs me for Math, Spanish and Latin, too. It isn't nearly as frantic as it used to be but I still have enough work to be able to turn a blind eye to the housework.

I heard Steve Lambert (Jane FIAR Lambert's husband) speak on this transition a number of years ago. The way he put it was that we're busy working ourselves out of a job that we can never replace directly. We need to find a new role, as I recall, Jane took up gardening with perennials and writing curricula.

The difficulty is that there is an extended period of time during which the number of hours actually spent on the job is diminishing but the on-call requirement is still there. I have no great insights to offer but you are definitely not alone.

[percytruffle]

I am currently in this situation, on-call, yet not required full time. I spend more time here than I used to for one thing. lol. I am also transitioning back into creating more art work, taking on art students, and reading more. Anything you can find to do with your hands and/or mind works well. Use this time as a gift; delve into learning about something or how to do something new. It is a transitional period. Next year I hope to go back to teaching full time when ds goes to the cc as a senior. Until then I am working towards that goal as well as rediscovering myself again.

My rhythm and "interruptibility" varies from day to day. If I am teaching an art lesson and ds has a question it just has to wait, if I am reading I can respond almost immediately. I think it is important as the dc become older and more independent that they see us also as independent from them and see our time as valuable and our activities as valid. While my commitment to homeschooling hasn't wavered, it's OK for ds to have to wait for me on occasion. This is the reality of life with adults, the life he is headed for very soon.

[Tokyomarie]

HOWEVER, I can't just leave the school area. The commitment to work is directly related to my proximity, and I do need to be around to answer quick questions.

Right now I am doing a lot of cooking and a lot of newspaper reading, since I can be interrupted from those activities with no problem. But I don't want to spend the next four years reading the newspaper for several hours a day, and there is only so much bread that needs baking! Help!

What do those of you with older students do during the day? How interruptable are you? Do you have an established rhythm?

Gwen, I'm feeling like I'm in the same state of limbo. I now have only one student at home but he is a 7th grader who was a highly distractible elementary student, as well as dyslexic and dysgraphic. I'm beginning, finally, to see a nice transition to him working more independently in that I no longer need to guide him through literally every second of his studies. However, I usually cannot get deeply involved in a project outside the room, or even as yet at the computer (such as writing up minutes of a meeting which I ought to be doing now) because of his need for a physical presence and periodic guidance. If he needs help it means that my concentration on my task is destroyed. I can't multi-task on jobs that require a lot of concentration. So, I've spent a lot more time on forums this year than I usually do and I feel guilty for not getting more done!

I am taking on more volunteer work, which gives me a sense of doing something valuable which replaces the time which I gave my two daughters when they were at home. I have NO feeling of being bored! It's just that feeling that he doesn't need me to be actively engaged with him as much as before, yet neither can I go off and do my own work while he's doing school.

[Staci in CT]

to engage in a major project outside the house. You are still needed there, especially if you're working with the younger ones 3 hours a day (including reading). Read aloud time is my favorite part of the day!

My kids are in 7th, 10th, and 11th. Only the youngest requires my services. But I seem to rarely have time to even check all of his work. I am constantly driving one of them somewhere. They have so many jobs/volunteer programs, along with college classes. Besides that the cleaning takes up a ton of time - but I do enjoy a tidy house. I do like baking too. I've recently learned to put flax seed and wheat flour in everything! Nobody notices!

So although they need you less in terms of outright teaching, they do need your home-baked bread and the reassurance that you're there should anything arise.

Staci