Mom22ns Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I have decided to use a modified block schedule this coming year. We will not be using block scheduling for math, foreign languages or music. Our other subjects will be 2 hours per day for one semester. The largest area district uses semester blocks and the biggest complaints I hear are math and foreign language are forgotten in the semester off and no one can take band or choir for 4 years because they can't fit 8 credit hours of those electives into their schedules. I read through past block scheduling threads on TWTM and saw those same complaints and the added complaint that blocks were only 90 min and kids really got less time per class. The advantages I see are getting to focus on fewer subjects at a time and getting to have enough time to really dig into each subject every day. Has anyone else tried to use block scheduling in their homeschool? If so how did it go? Does your opinion of block scheduling change if its weaknesses are addressed as we are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 We kind of do block scheduling for science, lit and history. DD15 works on those topics for 2+ hours at a time, a couple times per week, but all year long. When she's reading about a topic, she wants to focus on it for several hours instead of jumping around to the next subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 We work on most subjects for longer chunks of time, and not every subject is covered each day. Once the kids are "on a roll", they usually prefer to spend several hours on the same subject- a hw assignment in physics takes two hours, and we have encountered single math problems that took a whole hour, and if you're writing an essay it is better to stay on task when it is starting to flow. We do not, however, block schedule in the sense that one subject is finished in one semester and not touched in the next; we work on all subjects throughout the school year. especially in high school, I find longer portions of time more effective than switching after an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I considering block days, but doing them all year. I would have block A (M&W), B (T&Th), and C (Friday). So we'd be doing some subjects 2, 3, or 4 days a week. I haven't worked out the kinks in my schedule yet for fall. We like longer blocks of time, but if I don't schedule it, we get complacent. "Know thy weakness" seems to be my motto for fall planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 We like longer blocks of time, but if I don't schedule it, we get complacent. "Know thy weakness" seems to be my motto for fall planning. This is important for us to. I do a lot of planning and organizing. The more I plan, the more we get done! It is good to see that other people like using longer time blocks, even if they are accomplishing it in different ways. Anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 I just wanted to give this a Monday bump to see if I could get a bit more discussion. I'd love to hear if other high schoolers want bigger blocks of time instead of having their days all chewed up into little bites. If not, why not? Are there downsides that I'm not seeing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txhomemom Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Not sure yet how I am going to do block scheduling for high school, but for this year (8th grade) I plan on doing a block schedule that is based on different topics each day. We will do math every day and language arts every day with a different language arts focus each day, grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc. Then, other subjects like science, geography, history will be on separate days. A sample schedule would look like this: Day 1 - Math, spelling/vocabulary, history Day 2 - Math, writing, geography Day 3 - Math, literature, science Day 4 - Math, grammar, art The only thing I have not figured out yet is how to fit in Latin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BibleBeltCatholicMom Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I just wanted to give this a Monday bump to see if I could get a bit more discussion. I'd love to hear if other high schoolers want bigger blocks of time instead of having their days all chewed up into little bites. If not, why not? Are there downsides that I'm not seeing? I posted a request to discuss this topic a week or so ago on the Logic stage sub forum and when I didn't get many responses, I cross posted here. Still, I only got a few responses. I take that to mean that not many ppl have tried it and as a result don't have an opinion on the subject. I'm really sorry to hear that b/c we're really thinking about doing it and I don't feel I've done justice to the thinking process until I've over-analysed and read every possible opinion on the subject. My daughter has asked to do her subjects one at a time, working till she's finished. I was suprised by this request but could understand it. I couldn't say yes, though, to doing all her subjects that way. Math, instrument practice, languages, Writing, and Literature, I feel, need to be studied daily. What we'd like to try is this: Mornings Instrument LA: Writing Latin German Socratic or Confirmation prep depending on day Math LA: lit/vocab Afternoons Instrument and Science and US History or Grammar and World History or Logic and Religion or Art and Music History We'd cycle through these something like monthly or until we got to a certain point and then move on coming back through until complete. All the time, mixed in everywhere Fine and Domestic Arts (sewing, embroidery projects; museum visits, opera, concerts, cooking, et c. The first problem is that I really don't see that many hours in a day. The second is that at first we thought of doing the blocked subjects for a month completing half the wk in that time. This just does not seem possible. However, someone posted that it is. Thus, the third problem: ok, possible . . . but wise? I would dearly love to whittle down our curric choices and do less more deeply but I don't see what we could cut. Art and Music History are certainly possible but, well, we like those and have those scheduled for the end of the semester when we're wearing out. I'm sorry. I'm just no help b/c I was hoping for a good discussion of just this same topic b/c I'm nothing but questions. Also, I wonder if there is another term we should be using. When I google "block schedule" or "block schedule and homeschool" I don't come up with what I'd expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BibleBeltCatholicMom Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Not sure yet how I am going to do block scheduling for high school, but for this year (8th grade) I plan on doing a block schedule that is based on different topics each day. We will do math every day and language arts every day with a different language arts focus each day, grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc. Then, other subjects like science, geography, history will be on separate days. A sample schedule would look like this: Day 1 - Math, spelling/vocabulary, history Day 2 - Math, writing, geography Day 3 - Math, literature, science Day 4 - Math, grammar, art The only thing I have not figured out yet is how to fit in Latin. Txhomemom, We, too, are 8th grade and I kinda like how your thinking of scheduling but I wonder about Writing . . . I see this rather as a daily subject. Personally, I need to sleep b/t drafts and I see my daughter as this way, as well. If we only did writing once/wk, we wouldn't complete the paper. Perhaps I could see us doing, maybe, 3x/wk. I'm wondering what 1x/wk Writing looks like. Could you illustrate? I do see my own schedule as just too full and need to pare down but dont' want to compromise, either. How will you do writing this way? Hope I'm not being nosey! I see the big ears smiley but where is that big nose smiley? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I wouldn't necessarily call what we do formal block scheduling, but we kind-of do that. Math and foreign languages are done every day. History, literature and science (writing projects always have to do with one of those topics) are done more block like. She receives a list at the beginning of the week of what she is to accomplish. At the end of each day we go over what she has done, discuss anything, etc... She then works on them as desired, which usually results in one thing each day (history, writing, lit, science). She seems to find that easier, as her train of thought is not interrupted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 A lot of interesting ideas. My kids wouldn't want to focus on one subject all day. They would complain that was boring. I really do see the benefit of spreading knowledge acquisition over time. I think there is something to be said for digesting material. My kids forget too much too fast (oldest is ASD). It is important for us to hit subjects daily. That said, trying to hit 7-8 subjects daily is TOO much. By reducing our daily load to 4-5 subjects, taking varied amounts of time, we get to keep some variety while still plunging deeper is at least some subjects each day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.