This week I am participating in the 2018 Home School Review Crew Back to School Blog Hop including 5 Days of Home School Encouragement. You can come back each day to see what we are blogging about. Today’s topic is Work It Out Wednesdays, where we are examining how to fit in electives, social activities and more into your daily schedule.
As the mom of only high school students now, one of the things that cause both myself and my children concern is how to fit everything in each year. Prior to entering high school, I took most of the decision-making and curriculum choices on myself. At times, we would offer the children choices to select from after narrowing things down significantly. However, our children are now in high school and have directions, talents, and gifts, so we need to figure things out based on their individual personalities and goals.
A few weeks ago, we went to an activity fair for our area’s homeschool group. We went partially to represent our area’s homeschool band and strings program, which our entire family is active in right now. But we also went to find out what activities our children may want to participate in this year. Our son already knew he wanted to play tennis, which occurs on Thursday mornings. The Home School Band program is on Monday and Thursday afternoons. So those two times were already out.
Our son also wants to take piano lessons and we found out there was a possibility our homeschool 4-H group would be offering piano lessons along with archery lessons and photography. All of these are activities our son and/or daughter are interested in now. So we went to the meeting, but when we got there, we realized the times may not work for our family since these activities occur on Thursdays as well. So it is a matter of deciding what priorities we have. Band and strings are two activities that are non-negotiable since all four of our children (yes even our 22-year-old and our almost twenty-year-old) participate along with my husband and myself. So that is a one-time slot that will not be taken away.
So this meant we had to decide how important archery was to our daughter. The 4-H activities basically collide with both tennis (at least one week out of the month) and the band classes every week. So we are still trying to figure that one out.
The photography classes have already been eliminated and so the only one who may participate in 4-H will be our daughter. So stay tuned to see what our final decision is.
You know your children. You know what is important to your family. So you need to take every activity your children may want to participate in or elective they may want to take and examine it to see if the benefits make it worth fitting in at this time.
Another way of making things work is to find someone for your child to ride with or find a similar activity or class that meets at a time that is more convenient. As far as electives go, especially at the high school level, you may decide your child could fit some of those in during the summer or do more intense classes, like college classes, for a shorter period of time.
You and your family need to decide what is important to you and go from there. Here are some of the members of the Home School Review Crew who are participating in the Blog Hop this week, you may want to check some of them out for yourself.
Jennifer @ Dear Homeschooler
Joelle @ Homeschooling for His Glory
Karen @ Tots and Me…Growing Up Together
Kelly @ Hope in the Chaos
Kellyann @ Walking Home …
Kimberley @ Vintage Blue Suitcase
Kristen @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach
Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break
Laura @ Four Little Penguins
Linda @ Apron Strings & other things
So if you would like to read my other posts from this series, click here.
If you would like to read posts from the other members of the Home School Review Crew who are participating in the Back to School Blog Hop, click here or on the graphic below.
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy 