Can you help me out with developing a schedule?

[lisabees]

DS is used to block scheduling. He can't grasp why he is doing the same same subjects all year long now. Two are online classes (AP English and Chemistry) that can take a lot of time each day. He has asked if he could do the other subjects, US Govt, Precalculus, Spanish and Psych, every other day, but for lengthier times.

 

Help me out here. I'm new at this. Does that sound okay?

 

Since he is coming out of ps, he has never learned time management on his own. So, I figured I should give him a daily schedule, rather than a weekly one. He is very dedicated to the online classes; that format and the accountability seem to suit him well.

 

He is also doing vocab, SAT Prep, and reading that needs to fit in each day. Of course, there is also his project he is working on.

 

I'm starting to get scared that I've already screwed up.

[regentrude]

It does not matter whether he works on each subject daily or less often and in bigger chunks. Taking bigger chunks of time can be extremely effective.

 

Do you feel like you must spell out for him what he has to do each day? Could you maybe try to let him decide every day what he wants to work on (aside form the scheduled courses) and just make sure it averages out over time?

My kids have periods where they are working very intensively on one project; then the other subjects get less time. It usually averages out over a week or several. I have them keep track and we periodically evaluate whether they are getting a balance overall.

We found this very motivating and effective. Since we do not have a school with many students to manage where a daily schedule is absolutely essential, I feel no need to replicate this at home.

[Leanna Tomlinson]

My ds tends to prefer the block scheduling. He is a junior and has worked this way since 7th grade. However, his Spanish teacher, who has seen many different kinds of students travel through her classroom, stressed that they need to have contact with the language as often as possible. She really recommends that they do a little bit each day. This really mimics the college model for studying a foreign language, because even though classes may only meet twice, they often require weekly time spent in the language lab.

 

Also, as my ds starts his 3rd week of Calculus, we are realizing that he may need to do a few practice problems on a daily basis. He came to this conclusion on his own as he compared himself to the other students in his Calculus class. He realized the ones who are faster are the ones who do problems every day.

 

I think your ds would have no problem doing Psych and Gov't 2-3 days/week.

He could even put one subject aside for the fall and approach them each as separate semesters.

[elegantlion]

I'm looking into block scheduling for my ds in high school. I know some schools run an "A" Block and a "B" block in the same week. My current idea (still in prototype mode, no idea if it will work) is to do an A, B, and C block.

 

Mon & Wed "A" Block

Tues & Thurs "B" Block

Friday "C" Block

 

C block could be classes that need that 3rd time slot per week. That way you'd cover all the subjects each week, but your individual days would be more focused.

[lisabees]

I'm looking into block scheduling for my ds in high school. I know some schools run an "A" Block and a "B" block in the same week. My current idea (still in prototype mode, no idea if it will work) is to do an A, B, and C block.

 

Mon & Wed "A" Block

Tues & Thurs "B" Block

Friday "C" Block

 

C block could be classes that need that 3rd time slot per week. That way you'd cover all the subjects each week, but your individual days would be more focused.

 

Thank you all. We have decided to do this schedule. Friday will be catch up and 'independent project" day. We'll see how it goes!

[Teachin'Mine]

I'm glad that you've decided to let him have a say in how his work is scheduled. You can let him decide, and then re-evaluate in a few weeks to see how he's doing. If it's working and he's on schedule, let him keep going. If he's behind in some subject(s) then change the schedule a bit to help him catch up. The only suggestion I'd make is that he consider doing the math daily. The other subjects lend themselves to block scheduling very nicely, but math is best learned a lesson a day - IMO.

 

I think block scheduling is good prep for college classes. :)