"Seven year itch"? Myth or reality?

[Christy B]

The infamous "seven year itch": could this be the explanation for why this has been, in some ways, the LONGEST homeschooling year OF MY LIFE????

My eldest is in 7th, the youngest in 4th. I feel like I have been doing this FOREVER and I'll be doing it FOREVER MORE. :)

I just want to take ALL of the schoolbooks and start a bonfire. Then, I'd like to empty all of the bookcases, leaving only the classics (oh, and the Harry Potter, couldn't dispose of dear Harry).

And then I'd like to get ONE workbook or ONE textbook for each subject. Better yet, one book for SEVERAL subjects. Like, one book for history/geography/worldview. And then one book for grammar/composition/spelling. One book for literature/comprehension/vocabulary. One book for math. One book for science. Is that too much to ask? :confused:

I love the *idea* of a literature-based curriculum with lots of "extras" -- but I think I am just burnt out with the planning, organizing, cleaning up the mess, etc. And, I can't say that I am seeing a return on that investment. My most "creative" lesson plans are met with polite resignation. :p Really and truly, I think the girls would be so much happier to just. use. a. textbook. For everything.

Add to that: getting off-track at the holidays and STILL not being back on track; my mom fell and broke her back; my uncle passed away; I was responsible for a party for over 70 children; snow days; sick days; you get the idea. We are WEEKS "behind" schedule (or we would be, if I had any semblance of a schedule left).

Okay. Vent over. We had a lovely snow day today and I got rid of BOXES of clutter from the schoolroom. I was also able to get some laundry and other cleaning done.

So. Tomorrow, I need to sit down, lay out a new week's lesson plan, and keep on keeping on. Right? Because it would be WRONG to burn all of our books and wait until July to start 8th and 5th, right? I'm thinking that would be wrong. :p

[Michelle in MO]

(not with my marriage, but with homeschooling!) I've felt closer to burnout this year than any other year, although we may be enrolling ours in school next year (definitely the oldest, at least part-time at the community college) for other reasons. Last year was actually more difficult, but this year has had its problems, due to my husband's health problems, which were diagnosed in the fall (he's OK now). We both feel it's time for me to go back to school and get a master's degree, and for a wide variety of reasons we feel that our options for homeschooling further are shrinking more and more. I wish we had a better educational situation, but we can't do that without moving!

For now, we're hanging in there this year. :eek:

[GVA]

I think it's more that there's a general bailout around 5th-7th grade versus the number of years you've schooled. Two friends of mine have already committed to send theirs off to the classroom in the fall, one says that next year is the last, and as of today I heard of another putting hers in at the beginning of March. Of course I have other friends who are keeping on, and several who have even graduated children, but it's been a sobering few months. DH and I have discussed it several times.

I gave up on planning my own several years ago and run a pretty streamline operation though, so maybe that's a factor in why I still feel energized. Just a thought.

[Christy B]

I think it's more that there's a general bailout around 5th-7th grade versus the number of years you've schooled. Two friends of mine have already committed to send theirs off to the classroom in the fall, one says that next year is the last, and as of today I heard of another putting hers in at the beginning of March. Of course I have other friends who are keeping on, and several who have even graduated children, but it's been a sobering few months. DH and I have discussed it several times.

I gave up on planning my own several years ago and run a pretty streamline operation though, so maybe that's a factor in why I still feel energized. Just a thought.

Yes! Almost all of my IRL friends bail out in middle school. We have attended an open house at a local charter school, we have information packets from two private schools -- we have definitely considered traditional school as an option for next year and high school. However, we keep coming back to homeschooling as our first choice. It just works best for our family. And, so far, both girls have expressed a strong preference to continue homeschooling.:D Must be doing SOMETHING right!

But -- and here's my point -- I'll get to it eventually -- I really, really, really want to streamline and simplify our school. I have been trying to fit into the "literature rich/classical" box for a while -- and it just really isn't us. I'm not sure exactly what I want/need/am searching for -- I do know that I want:

Quality over quantity
Fewer subjects studied more indepth
Workbook or textbook format that still requires thinking and understanding (not just a rote fill-in-the-blank)

I know that we need to step away from:

Elaborate history plans that involve multiple "spines" and "supplements" (even something like Biblioplan, which looks wonderful on paper, is just "too much" for us). I end up feeling like nothing is being done well.
Any program or publisher that creates CLUTTER in my schoolroom, through my house, or in my brain!

We've had six weeks of "school" (and I use that term very, very loosely) since the holiday break, and I feel like we've accomplished very little. I have, however, ditched a couple of programs and I think I'm going to be pleased with their replacements. Our "core" subjects have been drastically simplified (math, grammar, literature). I've dropped all of the "supplemental" reading from our history program (we are going to finish out the year with JUST SOTW 3 -- nothing more) I've decided to do the Apologia General over two years, so we are going to stop at the end of the fossil module, and save the human body study for next year. Again, I'm dropping all of the "extras" and using the text strictly as is.

I am hopeful that these changes will get us through the spring, and I'm trying to do my planning for next year WHILE we are struggling to finish up this year -- I think it will help me be more realistic!

[mcconnellboys]

Well, LOL, since you're a whole new person every seven years, you might want/need totally different things. Maybe this summer is a time to reevaluate what you want to do for next year.

Regena

[gardenschooler]

It was reality for me. That's the year we switched from me putting everything together, planning everything to all work together just so, adding in literature, art......oh, it was fun, but even now, it makes my head spin. I did it all on a library card, in the days before online ILL. How I did it, I don't even know.

The fact that one of mine really wanted to be able to work more independently closed the deal. I was slowly wrapping my mind around the idea that not every single thing we did had to be selectively hand-picked by me.

I did something I thought I'd never do. I bought textbooks. Workbooks, even. We then had a measureable amount of content we were to finish in the year, a base I could spring from, and best of all, I didn't have to drive myself crazy worrying about the content or order.

I've since branched out again and gotten less textbookish, but boy, did I need a simple solution then. When my boxes of curriculum arrived, it was as if the heavens opened up and angels sang, I was so relieved.

If your approach is driving you crazy, change it! You can always lean back, do a combination of things, or start all over from scratch.

[Kelli in TN]

It is very real! Somewhere around that seventh year it is not uncommon to just feel like you are serving a life prison sentence!!!

People deal with it in different ways. Changing the schooling is certainly one option. You can put them in school, change curriculum, change your schedule...


I never really changed anything significantly. I just drug myself through it. I was fairly certain I would survive. Well, kind of certain, maybe fairly certain is too strong a phrase.

I don't know what to tell you as to how to solve it. I just wanted to tell you it is not an unusual occurance!

[Jean in Wisc]

I made the year as easy as possible and then, the summer before our 8th year, I completely revamped our homeschool program.

Year 7 was a bad year for me!