What didn’t work so well in your homeschool last year?
Last week, I offered some questions to help you identify what worked well in your homeschool this past year. You can find those here. Now let's take a look at what may not have worked so well.
First, some ground rules. It's easy for this kind of exercise to turn into a downward spiral, but we're not going to let that happen. We're going to think objectively and not nit pick over every. little. thing. We're looking for big picture insights, not a log list of every disturbance, meltdown, failed art project, etc. Also, we are not going to worry about finding solutions just yet. We are only identifying problems at this point.
Now that we know our boundaries, let's take a look back at what didn't work so well this past year. Here are some questions to guide you:
Is there an identifiable pattern to the times when your child reacted negatively to school work? (Did he always have a tantrum when you started phonics? Did she cry every day you did multiplication tables? etc.)
Is there an identifiable pattern to the times when YOU reacted negatively to school work?
Was there a curriculum/study that you avoided doing? If so, can you figure out why you didn't want to do it?
Were there moments you never want to repeat again? (Limit this to three, and try to make these circumstances that are within your control to never repeat. For example, you certainly wouldn't want to repeat your child getting sick if you could help it, but that's out of your control. Deciding to take a field trip to the local art museum during your toddler's nap time, which led to an epic meltdown - that is within your control.)
How did you feel about time management, both for getting school work done and for you getting your own work done? Comment on any frustrations, but be realistic. No one feels like they have enough time. But if you routinely sacrificed sleep in order to get stuff done, that's a problem.
And there may be more... Don't feel you need to be limited to these questions. Basically, we're just trying to pinpoint things that brought negativity to our homeschooling year.
Next week, we'll take a look at how you can start problem solving so you can make adjustments for next year!
