I thought we were ready... :O/

[MotherDuck]

I thought my daughter was ready for dialectic, but I was having trouble with her during the dialectic discussions...so I stopped those for now. Is it enough that she's just reading the content? I am FILLED with anxiety ALL THE TIME because I don't feel there is enough of me to go around. I know other people have more children than me and are handling homeschooling beautifully, but I feel like I'm constantly trying to get everyone back to work or the baby is crying or some other distraction, that I don't have the time to REALLY devote to the spiritual needs of my children...let alone their educational needs. I'm not sure how much they are retaining...and frankly, I'm not sure how important that really is. I read somewhere that Marcia said to "trust" that they are getting what they need from the reading. But I find myself anxiety stricken with the fact of when I ask them questions that seem simple enough, it seems as though they aren't understanding. I've gotten to the point that I don't even ask anymore because I don't want to get discouraged or angry. I'm just trusting that they are picking up general knowledge and that's enough. I feel like I should have higher expectations than that and my kids, especially my 12 year old, should have higher expectations of themselves. I feel like there is constant conflict within our homeschooling environment, and I am ready to send them to school...so I can have my nice, peaceful bon bon eatin' life back... (okay, that last part was a joke). I know God called me to do this, but I don't know for how long. The environment around here is no longer joyful and peaceful. It is constantly filled with chaos and discord and I'm tired and I don't know if they are getting everything they need. I only have this one chance to educate them and I'm not sure they will be prepared for college or anything else they want to pursue...let alone the responsibility of teaching them about God...I'm not sure I am qualified for that either. Could my season of homeschooling be over...

Sorry if I put this in the wrong category...I started this with the intention of getting help with dialectic. :O/

[Mom29]

First, I just want you to know that those of us with large households aren't always "handling homeschooling beautifully" - we all have our own struggles and areas of inadequacies. We have all had those times where we feel like it's too much, we aren't doing the right things, enough things, handling things the right way, etc. Those times pass, with help from the Lord.

Secondly, we all need to strengthen and maintain our foundation - our relationship with God. If that is not healthy, we struggle more than we need to. I have made a commitment this year to get up 30 minutes early to read my Bible and pray for my husband and children, and this has kept me on more of an even keel than in other years, when I was inconsistent with my time with God. I encourage you to make that a priority. And pray that He would make sure your children have what they need - "cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you" and your children.

Have a sit down with your husband and go over what you are doing to make sure you have covered the basics of what is important, and consider temporarily dropping what is less important and can be covered in a later year or in the summer. Together, discuss and pray about your children's character issues and decide what you can do to help them grow in those areas. I have had a few times when I fasted for a day or two to pray about a child's character problem; every time I had a hunger pang, I sent up a prayer about it, and I also spent the meal time in my room praying. God responded with much help.

You are just starting on the TOG road - don't worry if you are not doing it all, or doing it all effectively. Use this year to learn about the best way to use TOG for your family, as well as training your children to be independent learners. It takes time and practice. Also, Year 2 is a tough one to start in - there is SO much to cover. Try to enjoy what you do learn, and focus on getting your routine and study skills down. Don't worry about high school and college yet. It's amazing what a couple years of TOG Rhetoric can do!

God bless you!

P.S. Here is a link to a forum discussion on having trouble finding the answers to the AQ/TQ.