Thursday, February 26, 2009

Update/Dealing with Challenging Times

Overall, 6th grade is going well. I am finding that the format we are using this year is supporting us well, especially since it has been a challenging year for us. Like so many others across the country, we have had our share of financial difficulties and stressors! Happy to say, however, that we seem to be over the bulk of those challenges although there is more work to do.

For others out there going through stressful times, I encourage you to find ways to simplify your schedule, your life, your home education. Do NOT give up! Our children learn SO much from us by watching us go through challenging times and seeing how we cope with it. These are the REAL lessons that will stick with them through their entire lives.

Waldorf ideas have definitely been a blessing to us. However, with the more intense academics of Grade 6, moving toward a more Charlotte Mason-style of scheduling has eased the burden tremendously. Also, using supportive materials like the writing program from IEW has lightened the load. We also ended up dropping Making Math Meaningful (the Waldorf Middle School math curriculum) and switched to Math-U-See, just about completing the Epsilon book. This was a lot of review for my son, but also a firm "grounding" in some basics. Having just switched back to MMM, we will most likely complete the year using both programs, moving to Zeta of MUS as a support when more direct instruction is needed. Again, easing the workload for mom has been key! MUS has a wonderful instructor via DVD which has been a tremendous help.