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In a message dated 4/20/00 9:07:26 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
udderlymyra@... writes:

<< My family is currently researching the un-schooling approach (and we are
pleased so far) and I wanted to come out of lurkdom and ask if their was
anyone by chance on this list that is a part-time aerobics instructor and
homeschools as well??? I'm finding that this is one thing that I cannot do
with my children (13 & 7) there, even though it is an hour a day, twice a
week that I teach, I find it hard to have the time to prepare for my classes.
I'm beginning to think that I cannot have my own interests out of the house
and homeschool at the same time.....anyone been through something similar? I
must make my priorities straight, I know... >>

We unschool, and I've been teaching aerobics part-time for 6 years
(currently, I'm taking a break because of my voice). What, exactly, are you
having difficulty with? I find that when I'm working on a new routine, I do
have to work on it in the evening, when dh is home, or get someone to take
care of the kids while I go to the gym to work on it (or, before the baby,
tell the kids *not to bother me* for an hour while I work). I've been
teaching at 3 different places - once a week at each place - so, even if I
keep the same routine for awhile, the participants don't get *too* tired of
it since each class only gets it once a week. Lately, I just don't have as
much creativity to come up with a lot of new stuff, either, but I have a 15
mo (along with an 8 yo and a 12 yo) so my energies are spread rather thin <g>.

I've always found it important, though, to keep my own outside interests,
otherwise I focus *too* closely on what my kids are doing. I can be more
relaxed (and "go with the flow" more) when I have another focus.

Laura

FromMooToU

Hi Laura!

Thanks so much for responding and are your vocal cords injured because of teaching? Anyhow, I am having difficulty with just what you wrote:  making the time to create new choreography.  I teach 2 times a week and I'm constantly changing my routine every week.  Not the whole thing, but about 2 combos.  I teach a step class and a class we call "Cardio Smorgasbord", which is a little bit of everything, Latin, Step, Hi-Low, Military Drills and kickboxing.  Soon I'll be certified to teach BodyPUMP, and I cannot wait because the routines will already be pre-choreographed and I don't have to find the time (except for learning it initially) to make up new choreography.  I find that I've spent up to 4 hours searching for choreog. on the net (turnstep.com & vitasvibe.com) and practicing what I've found.  I am the type A personality that if I want to do it, I dive head over heals into it and nothing else around me exists.  So, I've felt guilty that my kids only have my extra attention for short amounts of time during the days I teach because I'm trying like heck to put my routines together.   Mind you, we've only been doing the "relaxed" unschooling approach for a little under a year.  When I see my kids not plunging into work-books or the like, I STILL get all stressed!!  I think I have to be constantly with my kids 24 hours a day or I'm not doing the homeschooling right.  My 14 year old daughter takes care of my 7 year old son while I'm gone teaching, which is great for me, I can get a break away from my little home.   I also workout at home to videotapes or with the gym in my garage to cross-train.  I've only been teaching since January and I was fine with my homeschooling then, it was about the same I have it now, but my kids a little busier with music, karate & tennis lessons.  Where is the balance?  Do I sound stressed or what?  My hubby is a great help by spending time with them during the evenings, but it's so hard to practice at night because of all the places they have to go for lessons and activities.  The only time I have is during the day, but isn't that the time I'm supposed to have free for my kids?  Early mornings are out because we do breakfast and chores.  Does it sound like I need to take a break too like you are?

Thanks for listening, I hope I made sense  :o)      ~Myra

We unschool, and I've been teaching aerobics part-time for 6 years
(currently, I'm taking a break because of my voice).  What, exactly, are you
having difficulty with?  I find that when I'm working on a new routine, I do
have to work on it in the evening, when dh is home, or get someone to take
care of the kids while I go to the gym to work on it (or, before the baby,
tell the kids *not to bother me* for an hour while I work).  I've been
teaching at 3 different places - once a week at each place - so, even if I
keep the same routine for awhile, the participants don't get *too* tired of
it since each class only gets it once a week.  Lately, I just don't have as
much creativity to come up with a lot of new stuff, either, but I have a 15
mo (along with an 8 yo and a 12 yo) so my energies are spread rather thin <g>.

I've always found it important, though, to keep my own outside interests,
otherwise I focus *too* closely on what my kids are doing.  I can be more
relaxed (and "go with the flow" more) when I have another focus.

Laura
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Udderly, Myra

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In a message dated 4/22/00 5:58:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
udderlymyra@... writes:

<< Thanks so much for responding and are your vocal cords injured because of
teaching? >>

Sorry it's taken me awhile to respond. We're running around like crazy
getting ready for my daughter's First Communion next week, with a party
afterwards.

The club that I used to teach for didn't have a very good microphone, and
every time it broke we would end up having to shout. I'm not very loud, and
I injured my voice. For awhile, I'd lose my voice every time I had a cold
and sore throat. Now that I'm not teaching, I've actually had a few colds
and not lost my voice. I'm not sure at this point whether I'm going to go
back to teaching or not (certainly not at *that* club!).

<>

I'm fairly type A, and I find that that's a temptation for me too.

<<Does it sound like I need to take a break too like you are?>>

Not necessarily, but you may want to relax your standards a bit - something
I've been struggling with lately. What with having a baby last year and
homeschooling, I've not been able to change my routine as often as I'd like.
But, until my voice got really bad, it was still important to me to teach,
even though I wasn't able to do as much with it as I wanted to at the time.

<< I find that I've spent up to 4 hours searching for choreog. on the net
(turnstep.com & vitasvibe.com) and practicing what I've found.>>

I knew about turnstep, but I hadn't heard of the other one. Thanks!

I also find that taking other instructors classes helps me come up with new
moves. Not that I'm necessarily using their moves, but it seems to put me in
a good frame of mind to come up with new ones of my own.

<<My hubby is a great help by spending time with them during the evenings,
but it's so hard to practice at night because of all the places they have to
go for lessons and activities.>>

Can you bring a tape recorder and headphones and mentally run through your
routine while you're waiting for them at lessons? I actually came up with a
new routine once while I was waiting in the jury pool for jury duty. I
brought a notebook, and my headphones and went through my tape and wrote down
a new routine while sitting there.

<< I am the type A personality that if I want to do it, I dive head over
heals into it and nothing else around me exists. >>

I'm very much this way too. Not that, with a toddler, I get much time to do
things this way.

I once went to a talk that Madeleine L'Engle gave at Duke University. I was
in graduate school part-time at that point, and I had a 2 yo. There was a
question and answer period at the end, and I asked her how she was able to
change focus from her intense mental world in her writing to focusing on her
children and their needs (I was having difficulties at this point!). Her
response was that the children are young for such a short time - not that she
stopped writing altogether, but that it wasn't possible for it to be as
central as it could be at other times (she wrote at night, and often fell
asleep over the typewriter!).

I think it sometimes takes awhile to find a balance, though - especially when
starting something new like homeschooling.

Laura