Mama Mondays- Pacing your homeschoolers

I've been praying about how to pace my children so that they both learn from and enjoy school.
I want to push them, but I am a firm believer that you need to also give them space to grow. I see every morning how my children need both a hefty push to get past the "hard stuff" and move into victory in every department, and see those in between the poor effects of my pushing at the wrong moments or of me imposing my will on them when I'm not doing so out of charity for their upbringing but for selfish reasons, etc.
It is a very hard thing to balance, but balance we must, lest we do all the right things but lose their hearts in the process.
Charlotte Mason's wisdom in this department has been so beneficial for me, as I can see how implementing her ideas with regards to small children have been so helpful. While she was NEVER a softie who believed in kids running the world, she was still wise enough to know that there were benefits in MODERATION and in allowing Children the freedom to BE children at times. I take from her that I should both strive for order and structure and allow for unstructured play in which they can feel out their roles and responsiblities, and I think this is a healthy attitude.

"The busy mother says she has no leisure... and the child will run wild and get into bad habits; but we must not make a fetish of habit; education is a life as well as a discipline. Health, strength, and agility, bright eyes, and alert movements, come of a free life, out-of-doors, if it may be, and as for habits, there is no habit or power so useful to man or woman as that of personal initiative. The resourcefulness which will enable a family of children to invent their own games and occupations through the lenght of a summer's day is worht more in after life than a good deal of knowledge about cubes adn hexagons, and this comes, not of continual intervetnion on the mother's part, but of much masterly inactivity."

She also said something that I really appreciate, which is that we don't need to be setting up specific times for socializing between our younger kids and children their age. Wise words indeed, as experience has shown me. I've found that setting up playdates etc just causes problems later, whereas a natural mixture of people of all ages is WAY more efficient in teaching kids how to interact with others.

'...the mixed society of elders, jrs., and equals, which we get in a family..." gives the right mix of rest and individual development. Be careful not to supplement nature so much that we supplant her and 'deprive her of the space and time to do her own work..."

She also said that a mother's chief responsibility for the first six years is to secure for her children "Quiet growing time--and free growing time--the freedom of real play (not lessons that look like play) and of ordering one's own life. Habit training, lots of time observing things out of doors, and short, realistic lessons in the things of life (I take from that that five minutes in a REAL kitchen with mom is superior to thirty minutes baking a plastic casserole in a plastic oven just their size.)
All of these ideas have helped me so much to find the right balance between the academic requirements of the CLAA and the tendency kids have to just NOT like working. By implementing the CLAA's Benedictine motto of "Ora et Labora" (work and pray) and setting up a strict, no- fooling around schedule that really puts work and prayer before play and leisure, I find that our "free" time becomes more meaningful and rewarding... even mine!
At the same time, Keeping a firm eye on Charlotte Mason's idea to respect the human dignity of each child and pay attention to their PERSONhood (which she probably got from her profound devotion to God's Word, btw... Catholics have taught that since the beginning) has really helped me to be less anxious about whether or not I was pushing too hard or not enough at certain times.
In scheduling my PreK and K together I realized last month that I wasn't doing that enough... so this weekend I spent a good deal of time re-doing the schedule to make sure they each had "alone time" studying one on one with me without the distractions of the other children about. They didn't make tremendous improvements and start pushing through their lessons right away, but the quality of their work and the demonstration of their understanding of it has been far superior.
 And like St Josemaria, who said not to force children to say the rosary but rather to persist in saying it faithfully and requiring them to play QUIETLY beside you while you pray until they participate, I think this is the type of thing that really helps a child-- giving them enough freedom to work up their heartfelt INTEREST in what you are doing, vs. imposing your will upon them without regard for their interests/ideas.
I believe I once read that William Michael did something similar with his kids--he schedules a lengthy block of time for each subject and then if a child is having a hard time working he says: "go outside, come back when you are ready to work." They do. A father I admire very much tells his children the same thing during family worship. "Come back when you are ready to worship God." They do.
Another idea she advocates is waiting until fourth grade to begin official grammar lessons. Classical students will start earlier, of course, but I can see what wisdom there is in giving kids the chance to BE kids, too. My five year old girl is FAR more ready to work than my almost-four year old boy. She does this on her own-- if I allow her free time she will take out a coloring book and meticulously paste stickers and write letters around it. I have as of yet never seen my son do anything like that of his own accord, which says to me that he is not ready to do a lot of "official" anything.
Whereas she may be ready to start Grammar by the time she is eight or so, my son may not be ready til he is nine. The delicate balance between pushing him and allowing him wiggle room is a lot easier with the Charlotte Mason ideas we implement, such as giving him unstructured playtime out of doors for short spurts, stopping his lessons while he is still "interested," and before he shows signs of being bored, and things like that.
I honestly don't know how William Michael would feel about our inclusion of some fundamental CM ideas in our curriculum. I have a hard time imagining a young Plato walking around outside sketching trees. And yet....
I see in our homeschool how needed and beneficial these breaks in the day are.... how invigorated and ready to work my kids come back from them, and how much learning goes on. No, they aren't learning ""wisdom" when they sketch a squirrel... but they are seeing first hand God's creation, and that with delight! I am certain that this in turn produces a wonder and awe at God's creation that both humbles and excites.... motivating them to know the One who made all these wonderful things.
This past month has been amazing, and the children have been learning and growing so much. I also love that it's not just in observable "academic" areas but that their progress has been really amazing in other areas-- like in habit training, and in their attention spans, and love for one another.
It takes a REALLY long time to implement a new habit and to get it going. If this progress is only going to continue, then I am really excited.... I am so thankful for the help God has given our family along the way in developing a vision, an identity, and a plan. I look forward to seeing more and more fruit!
How is everyone's first steps back to school going??