Part-time Homeschooling - I'm ready for your advice!

[Momling]

Okay, wise homeschoolers, I'm ready to take the next step and I need your help. After winter break, I'm moving from "afterschooling" my older daughter (2nd grade) to part-time homeschooling. She'll be attending an alternative 'homeschool support' learning center in our district.

 

I believe she'll be taking a multi-disciplinary 'core' class and a math class and maybe a creative writing or art class. It'll probably average about 3 hours per day. The 'core' class is a science-based thematic unit with a heavy whole-language approach. The math is the infamous TERC Investigations. Given the tone of the school, I'm pretty sure that the classes will not be academically rigorous at all. So I'm kind of thinking of these more as electives and social experiences rather than as actual academics.

 

So here are my questions:

 

How much instruction time should I set aside for a 2nd grader with this kind of schedule?

 

I definitely want to continue doing math at home (We're using math mammoth), plus I do want to do some specific work on language arts skills that probably won't be emphasized (grammar, mechanics, spelling, handwriting). And we'll continue with history (Galore park). I think I'll leave science alone this semester since she'll be getting some in her 'core' class. Does that sound right? What do you suggest for how much time to give each subject?

 

This past semester we've been working for about an hour and a half in the evening, right before bed.. in pajamas, snuggled under the covers or lounging on the floor... I'm thinking it's time to be more serious. I admit it's hard to have good handwriting when you're lying down. Out of curiousity, do most homeschoolers use the kitchen table for their work space or do you have dedicated rooms? Is there any reason (other than handwriting) why the sofa wouldn't work as a place to study? I've been thinking a small white board or chalkboard would be useful.. any thoughts?

 

Anything else I ought to know before pulling my daughter out of full-time school?

[AngieW in Texas]

My older girls do their work in their own rooms, but my youngest does nearly all of her work on the sofa in the living room. If she needs a table, she either moves to the kitchen table or sets up a tv tray. She mostly uses a tv tray when she needs a flat surface.

 

My girls all did a fairly rigorous 2nd grade and I don't think anybody except my youngest worked for more than 2-2.5 hours. My youngest did work longer, but that was because she was dyslexic, so she needed a LOT more repetition than her sisters did.