2 hours homeschooling equals a whole day of public schooling

[Embassy]

I've heard from other homeschoolers that 2 or so hours of homeschooling is equal to a full day of public school. Now I don't know what age or grade that is referring to, but it seems off to me. I used to work in public schools (not as a classroom teacher though). It wasn't unusual for me to observe a student in the classroom setting and most of what I saw was instruction/learning time. I never saw instances where it took 15 minutes for everyone to open their books or turn their papers in. Am I off?

[amy g.]

I think it could be true for Kindergarten, but not so much after that.

[justasque]

I've heard from other homeschoolers that 2 or so hours of homeschooling is equal to a full day of public school. Now I don't know what age or grade that is referring to, but it seems off to me. I used to work in public schools (not as a classroom teacher though). It wasn't unusual for me to observe a student in the classroom setting and most of what I saw was instruction/learning time. I never saw instances where it took 15 minutes for everyone to open their books or turn their papers in. Am I off?

 

I think you're wise to take that one with a grain of salt. However, there's a big difference between a kindergartner and a senior in high school. For the youngers, often that "two hours" figure is bookwork with mom, but lots of other learning is taking place during the rest of the day. For example, many homeschooled kids are voracious readers. If a child is reading, on their own or with mom, for an hour at bedtime and an hour as a mid-day "down time", that's quite a bit of learning. The child is getting both reading practice and content information. If they're taking dance or karate or swimming, that's PE. If they're playing "Greek Myths" with friends (yes, homeschooled kids often do that kind of thing for fun), then again it's not "school" but it's definitely part of their education. Ditto for weekend museum visits with dad, workshops at the library or the zoo, badge work done for scouts, music lessons, cooking and building things, and so on. Homeschooled kids usually have very rich "not school time" experiences which supplement the book work they are doing.

[Miss Marple]

In the early years it can...but it really depends on what one does in those 2 hours :)

 

In high school, no way! Shoot, my boys school very weird hours because of work schedules, but they easily put in what the institutional schools do as well as hours on evenings and weekends.

[NASDAQ]

IDK, it depends on your child, their work habits, and what you're doing.

 

We do about two hours and went through two years of Saxon in one year (K and 1). We school about 300 days a year though.

 

I do think that part of the skills that older children need to acquire is to work diligently for six to eight hours a day though, so even if the child could meet the standards in a couple hours, I don't think that's a good thing.

[kricau]

2 hours??? I don't think so. My dd was in 2nd grade last year and we did (sit down) school for about 3 hours a day. That included: Math, Spelling, Reading, Writing, Social Studies. Then we would do "fun" school. Which was history (lapbooking) and science (projects). And those would take about another 1 hour. I am sure next year we will have a longer day though :(

[NASDAQ]

Oh, for reference: It takes us two hours to do one Saxon phonics lesson, one Saxon math lesson, "homework" from Saxon, read a lesson from the Elson primer, do Kumon, and read a Hebrew lesson. Not in that order.

[black_midori]

Well, I remember from going to PS that we spent a lot of time waiting for other kids to do things (read alouds, answer questions, do work on the board, etc) - I suppose technically that is teaching, too, (learning from other people's problems) but I generally used all that excess time to read my fantasy book under the table... :D In grammar and German, for instance, I would read the chapter on my own in the first 5 minutes of class and be ready to move on - the remaining 45 minutes were just a waste of time, during which the teacher would stand at the front and drone on, other kids who didn't understand the information would ask lots of questions & the poor teacher would desperately try to get kids to answer enough questions that she felt the information was slowly sinking in. Every once in awhile she would ask me something, I would respond with the right info, she would sigh in relief and move on to someone else, and I would go back to my book.

 

Hmmmm... in fact, the above sort of thing happened often enough that I decided I'd homeschool my kids before I ever had them - for lots of reasons, but in large part because then I could ensure that they paid attention and learned and moved forward to their full potential instead of just wasting time in a classroom!! lol. Seriously, though, I probably could have learned the majority of the things I learned in PS in at least 1/3 of the time. I graduated 2nd in my highschool class of 200+ and still felt like it was basically a waste of time.

 

There were a few classes in which we did lots of intensive, can't be missed type work the entire class period, but that was mainly in high school and usually only specialty classes (Calc 2, Science dissections, etc).

 

So...

 

Yeah, I'd have to say that in *my* experience, I could have accomplished pretty much my entire Elementary to Middle School day in 2-3 hours or so instead of the 5-6ish hours (net of breaks) of PS. In High School, I think I would have needed twice that or so to get the things in that I did in HS - but I probably would have expanded my horizons into doing tons of other things if I had that opportunity, so I'd have spent a lot more time. At least, that's what I hope my kids will do!! :)

 

ETA - I was comparing a typical PS day to what that would have taken me, personally, if I were homeschooled. Of course it all depends on your children's abilities, but also - I have a much more intensive day with much higher standards than a general run-of-the-mill PS. I personally spend about 3-4 hours a day with Elementary, including lots of extras. Also, I agree that lots of the stuff that I don't consider part of my "school day" are absolutely educational - self-reading, "PE" type activities, creative episodes, etc.

Edited July 5, 2012 by black_midori

[NotSoObvious]

I was a classroom teacher (1st grade) and when we first started homeschooling (3rd grade) I was SHOCKED at how much more we got done in a day at home than in a week in the classroom.

 

There is just no comparison.

 

It's not just the amount of work that gets done, it's the fact that you are providing your child with one-on-one tutoring, instant feedback, and an appropriate challenge. You just can't do that in the classroom. So, yes, my kids get more out of one single lesson than they would sitting in a classroom hearing/practicing that concept all week.

 

I don't think there is a good comparison of hours to hours because it does depend on your children and how you teach. Also, we spent 3-4 hours a day in 3rd grade, but that included subjects that my public schoolers were lucky if they got once a week.

 

There is a LOT of wasted time in public school. A LOT. It's not just getting books out, it's getting ready for lunch, getting ready for recess, cleaning, dealing with behavior, stopping for assemblies/fire drills/guest speakers, etc. However, many of those things have value. Kids are learning patience, cooperation, and how to behave at school. They are having unique experiences and getting to see the "outside" world. Our kids at home get to do all of that (usually to a much greater extent), but we can do it in a way that doesn't interrupt their learning and doesn't create distractions.

 

My dd with special needs is able to get *quality* instructional time every day that is 10 times more than she ever got in a day in school because of all the school things that prevented her from really learning.

 

Again, it depends on you and your child, but seriously, there just is really NO comparison. :)

[bettyandbob]

depends on you, the age of your dc, and the school/teacher to which you compare.

 

In first grade I did more than that, but not six hours.

 

Way back when I started homeschooling, I found that the people who said that were often the ones who fed their kids a couple of worksheets and called that school for the day. I took a different approach and analyzed where I wanted my child to be at the end of high school and what we needed to accomplish every year or two to get there. It was clear 2 hours wouldn't do it. Additionally, my oldest demanded to learn more content material at a young age so I couldn't just gloss over history and science.

 

Anyway, what are your longterm goals. What skills and options do you want your dc to have at the end of high school. Use that as your guide to figure out what you need to do now.

[Anne in CA]

I don't think there is a hard and fast comparison at all. Kids are all different, teacher and even schools themselves are all different. My cousin who taught in a school full of Spanish speaking kids had a very hard time getting two hours a day of school work out of her fifth graders because all of her students were at different levels of understanding English. Now the schools in my town are English/ Spanish instruction and I imagine that has fixed some of the problem.

 

I do think tutoring is more efficient than classroom learning. I stop most tutoring with my children around middle school age and move them into independent learning as much as I can. That is probably not as efficient as classroom learning in the short term, but in today's world I think it is important for kids to know how to learn without a teacher over their shoulder every minute. Independent learning becomes more efficient for them as they get older, but I couldn't guess how it stacks up to high school in actual hours.

[tex-mex]

Heck... it takes my ds 1.5 hours to do his Algebra I. Geometry under an hour. I used to be a public schoolteacher too. No way you can compare that 2 hours to a day of public school.

[dangermom]

I wouldn't say that at all for a child over the age of 6. Now that I have slightly older kids, my 4th-grader is expected to go about 8-1 and my 7th-grader 8-2. Now I must say that my younger kid is a master time-waster, and if she'd tackle her work instead of shirking it she'd get done a lot sooner!

[catz]

IDK, it depends on your child, their work habits, and what you're doing.

 

:iagree: In terms of "seat work", my 2nd grader probably did 1-2 hours a day last year and my 5th grader probably did more like 3. But that did not include instrument practicing which they did every day. My oldest reads a good hour a day without prompting (and some of that is assigned reading), my younger is probably more like 30 minutes. And they do many structured activities and field trips, museums, etc. They pick up science kits and watch educational videos on their own. We are much more laid back in terms of "table" academics then many here. But somehow my kids still manage to test years ahead of grade level. My 5th grader is done with algebra 1 and wrote a novel last year starting w/NaNoWriMo. I think YMMV very much based on the kinds of kids you have and the feel of your day to day life.

 

ETA - my oldest went to K and 1st at a high rating public school. I was SHOCKED at how slow they moved, how much busy work they did, and how much time was wasted during the day. If you're getting 2 good hours of actual learning at a PS at ages 5-7, I think you're doing better than average. Poor fit for the kid who went from "I don't want to read" to reading 6th grade level in a matter of months.

Edited July 5, 2012 by kck

[Dmmetler]

It took about 2-3 hours of mommy-led structured activities for 2nd grade last year, but that didn't count a 2 hour independent reading/rest time in the afternoon, about an hour of read-alouds and playing games as a family at night, family vacations that ended up being to educational destinations, DD doing work that was educational independently, or outside classes including dance, gymnastics, and piano lessons, even though PE and music would be considered part of a PS day. Or that we homeschool all year round whenever we're at home, so DD is in school more like all but 4 weeks a year instead of 180 days.

 

So yes, you COULD say homeschooling only took 2 hours a day for 2nd grade, but it's kind of misleading at best.

[LaxMom]

I think it's possible in the early elementary grades, where there's a lot of "stuff" we just call living life, but is built into the school day - arts and crafts, playing/recess, etc. In older grades, there is time dedicated to class change, home room, lunch... So, yes, some of the school day is budgeted for things other than direct instruction. When my eldest was in highschool, they had 90 minute classes, which would cut down some of the non-academic time, right? Except the teachers were still teaching 50 minute classes, and then allowing the rest of the class period for doing homework and socializing. Not so helpful.

 

In our experience, school takes about 4 hours, with breaks here and there. My rising 7th grader also does (non-recreational) reading outside of our instructional hours.

[kalanamak]

 

I do think tutoring is more efficient than classroom learning.

 

:iagree: If there is a significant time benefit, it isn't the "homeschooling" but the tutoring.

[joannqn]

It depends on the age and the child. Last year with 5th and 7th graders, we averaged 3-4 hours a day. When they were younger, it was two and then the hours.

[acurtis75]

We spend more than two hours schooling most days but I think that is more instruction time than children get in school. A few years ago I helped a family member who was being challenged by an ex-husband in court about her ability to homeschool because she had two toddlers at home in addition to the older kids she planned to school. Her lawyer showed a report from the state she lived in showing that the average instructional time in elementary school was 2 1/2 to 3 hours and they included p.e. as instructional time.

[Kathryn]

We are at around two hours for dedicated one-on-one seat work. That certainly doesn't mean that his learning is confined to those two hours a day. But, I'm often chastised for doing "too much," so I don't really get it.

[Joker]

My dd tried out our public elementary school in 5th grade. She only lasted one month. After half a day back homeschooling, she said, "I did more in two hours than I did all month at that school!". :tongue_smilie: I know it's not true, but I found it interesting that's how she felt. She said they spent a lot of time going over the rules, a lot of time going over basics (math facts, etc.) and a lot of time with their heads on their desk because of other students talking or acting up. I'm sure this was because it was the start of a new year, but she gave it four weeks and just couldn't take it anymore. She's now in ps for middle school, but it's completely different and she's doing a lot in the six hours she's there.

[Momof3littles]

My rising 3rd grader did about 2-3 hours max of seatwork per day. I do think we are quite efficient, even with the distraction of younger siblings, including a 2 yo.

 

I agree with Pauline that people (including me) will sometimes say they get a lot done in two hours, but that doesn't include all of the educational activity that happens outside of that time. Our kids listen to books on CD, DS1 reads voraciously. There are lots of read alouds, we have interesting discussions at mealtimes, we take interesting field trips, the kids make observations about changes in the garden daily, etc. The kids have "off" from school when we visit with my parents, but my dad is an incredible mentor and is wonderful about showing DS1 and DD how to fix various electronics, etc. and they learn so many hands on things with him. He is incredibly patient and just very good with hands on projects. DS1 and DD choose to play with Snap Circuits in their free time. So how do you "count" the instructional time?

 

I do think their entire learning environment is just rich with resources-a built in tutor, great books, good educational materials and toys, tools like magnifying classes and identification books, etc. Education is happening all day long, but yes, we only do about 2 hours of seatwork most days. eta: screentime is not daily, and is usually 30-60 mins unless it is a movie night (once every few weeks). That frees up extra time for them to engage in reading. LIke many HSers, I don't find we do much in the way of busywork, and at this age we don't do homework (or busywork as homework for that matter). So all together, yes, I think our system is far more efficient than most PS classrooms.

Edited July 5, 2012 by Momof3littles

[Jaz]

When I was in school for my teacher certification, I had to count instructional and educational minutes in several different classrooms to evaluate use of time. I remember my middle school experience having 15 minutes of instructional time out of a 45 minute class. The rest of the time was spent with attendance, turning in assignments, checking assignment books, etc.

[Paige]

When I only had 1 child at home (3rd grade), I could definitely cover the full PS curriculum subjects in 2 hours. We zipped through everything quickly because he was a quick and eager student. We usually took more like 3hrs of seat work because we did extra subjects and then he had an hour of reading time- so 4hrs total. The school would have sent home a reading log that would have required 30min and he would have had some math homework every night, so I think it balances out to about an equal amount of work. With me, he never had homework in the afternoons.

 

When I brought my other students home, doing it all in 3-4 hours became impossible. I think 2hrs one on one in early elementary could easily cover the basics, but 2hrs with multiple children in different grades would be difficult.

[Joani]

If you're only counting academic subjects, you can definitely cover a full day of elementary public school work in 2 hours.

 

When my son was sick and missed a lot of time from school in 5th grade, I had all of his schoolwork sent home. I made sure that it was everything his class was doing, and he still easily completed it in an hour or two per day. He is a pretty quick worker, but I think an average kid could have averaged two hours per day. My daughter just finished 6th grade in public school and regularly came home 50-75 pages farther along in her book. She didn't read at lunch or recess, just when she finished her work early.

[Harriet Vane]

In the early years we were able to get the work done much more quickly than our public school counterparts. However, the older they get, the heavier the workload. At this point my kids work just about as much as those in more traditional school settings.

[katilac]

As others have pointed out, it's a pretty difficult comparison.

 

Even in 6th grade, my youngest dd is finished with what SHE considers "school" quite quickly on most days (seatwork). But we school more than 180 days for sure, my kids are generally quick workers, and many other things COULD be formalized into our school day, if we had to count hours or such.

 

For example, both of my kids are avid readers and writers. If I reached into the jargon jar, I could describe these independent activities as silent sustained reading, journaling, and creative writing, and easily add 2 hours to our "school day." As it is, I am quite content to let them take the lead, and keep these things out of "school."

 

If I wanted to match hours with the local school, I could also 'count' stuff like:

*arts and crafts

*physical education

*educational games

*educational videos

*field trips

*projects

*and so forth

 

Unless one does "school at home," it really is very hard to compare home education to school.

 

If you have littles, it is amusing and enlightening to read teacher planning and resource books, and see how everyday activities and typical play are formally described when they are part of the school day, including solemn notations on the skills being practiced and the outcomes that are expecting when one is, say, listening to a story, building with blocks, or using the toy broom from a 'center.'

 

We just skip the jargon at home, plus have the added bonuses of cuddling during story time, building block towers as high as we like, and giving the kids an ACTUAL broom to sweep the actual dirt that is always on the floor.

[kitten18]

 

 

Yeah, I'd have to say that in *my* experience, I could have accomplished pretty much my entire Elementary to Middle School day in 2-3 hours or so instead of the 5-6ish hours (net of breaks) of PS. In High School, I think I would have needed twice that or so to get the things in that I did in HS - but I probably would have expanded my horizons into doing tons of other things if I had that opportunity, so I'd have spent a lot more time. At least, that's what I hope my kids will do!! :)

 

ETA - I was comparing a typical PS day to what that would have taken me, personally, if I were homeschooled. Of course it all depends on your children's abilities, but also - I have a much more intensive day with much higher standards than a general run-of-the-mill PS. I personally spend about 3-4 hours a day with Elementary, including lots of extras. Also, I agree that lots of the stuff that I don't consider part of my "school day" are absolutely educational - self-reading, "PE" type activities, creative episodes, etc.

I completely agree.

 

 

 

 

There is a LOT of wasted time in public school. A LOT. It's not just getting books out, it's getting ready for lunch, getting ready for recess, cleaning, dealing with behavior, stopping for assemblies/fire drills/guest speakers, etc. However, many of those things have value. Kids are learning patience, cooperation, and how to behave at school. They are having unique experiences and getting to see the "outside" world. Our kids at home get to do all of that (usually to a much greater extent), but we can do it in a way that doesn't interrupt their learning and doesn't create distractions.

 

 

 

When I was in school for my teacher certification, I had to count instructional and educational minutes in several different classrooms to evaluate use of time. I remember my middle school experience having 15 minutes of instructional time out of a 45 minute class. The rest of the time was spent with attendance, turning in assignments, checking assignment books, etc.

I agree with these too. Most of the classes I taught were lab type classes where the students worked independently. They spent 5-10 minutes getting their supplies out and ready to go and another 10 minutes at the end of class cleaning up. So they were lucky to get 25 minutes out of 45 to actually work on their projects. Sometimes they would have a whole class period where they got nothing done because they needed help from me and with 25-30 students in a class, it might take me a whole class period to get to them.

[I.Dup.]

It's not just the amount of work that gets done, it's the fact that you are providing your child with one-on-one tutoring, instant feedback, and an appropriate challenge. You just can't do that in the classroom.

 

:iagree:

 

To be fair, I feel (from what I heard from her) that my dd learned a LOT when she was in public school for 6 weeks in the 1st grade. They covered weather, the different kinds of clouds, a weatherman came to visit the school, she memorized a day of the week song, she learned some math I hadn't taught her yet...it seemed to me that she learned a lot in those 6 weeks. Made me kindof insecure, actually.

 

But looking at the big picture, certainly it doesn't take as much time to really learn something well when you're working with someone one-on-one than it would in a classroom of 15-30 students. :confused:

[Kaleidoscope]

My 5th grade son could do a days work in 2 hours. He is highly motivated. Now I'd never stop at that... because he can and should do so much more. But I could easily do 2 hours structured with him and spend the rest of the day doing 100 other wonderful things with him.

 

My girls entering 2nd grade can only manage about 2 hours a day of structured school. Of course then we find every way possible to fit in more without them realizing it.

 

I have another daughter who finishes her structured school in 2 hours because she's hit a spot where she can't do anything more book work related but we spend hours doing life skills.

 

So I could say the original statement but it would look very different for each of my 3 scenarios.

 

Oh, and then there's my middle dd. 2 hours for her and she might be done with one subject.

[Laura Corin]

I found that the one-one-one instruction did make home education more efficient in the early years. From about age ten onwards, however, I did end up using a full day.

 

Laura

[Rosy]

I was a classroom teacher (1st grade) and when we first started homeschooling (3rd grade) I was SHOCKED at how much more we got done in a day at home than in a week in the classroom.

 

There is just no comparison.

 

It's not just the amount of work that gets done, it's the fact that you are providing your child with one-on-one tutoring, instant feedback, and an appropriate challenge. You just can't do that in the classroom. So, yes, my kids get more out of one single lesson than they would sitting in a classroom hearing/practicing that concept all week.

 

I don't think there is a good comparison of hours to hours because it does depend on your children and how you teach. Also, we spent 3-4 hours a day in 3rd grade, but that included subjects that my public schoolers were lucky if they got once a week.

 

There is a LOT of wasted time in public school. A LOT. It's not just getting books out, it's getting ready for lunch, getting ready for recess, cleaning, dealing with behavior, stopping for assemblies/fire drills/guest speakers, etc. However, many of those things have value. Kids are learning patience, cooperation, and how to behave at school. They are having unique experiences and getting to see the "outside" world. Our kids at home get to do all of that (usually to a much greater extent), but we can do it in a way that doesn't interrupt their learning and doesn't create distractions.

 

My dd with special needs is able to get *quality* instructional time every day that is 10 times more than she ever got in a day in school because of all the school things that prevented her from really learning.

 

Again, it depends on you and your child, but seriously, there just is really NO comparison. :)

:iagree:

 

My rising 6th grader usually works more like 4-5 hours a day (if she stays focused, and that's a big IF), but I would say she accomplishes far more than what the kids her age do in school. This is based on the body of knowledge and skills possessed by our neighbor who is in the same grade. I think she could do in 2 hours what the schools do in a day. But my goal isn't to do what the schools do, my goal is for her to reach her limits and be the best she can be.

 

My rising 2nd and 3rd graders work for 2-3 hours a day and get an adequate education. They are both at or above grade level. I don't know where they'd be if they were in school, I suspect my youngest would do better academically in a more social, structured environment....but they have a broader and deeper set of experiences at home with me than they would at school

 

Personally, "equaling a day of public schooling" isn't one of my goals. I do take into consideration their ability to do grade level work, but if all I wanted was for them to live up to public school standards, I would put them in public school.

[happypamama]

Two hours is about right for my rising second grader, including math, independent reading, and hands-on projects, as well as other seatwork. It's possible it may tip to three as math and reading increase, though. (And that's aside from PE, not to mention other things he chooses to do that have educational value. But two to three hours for the concentrated academics.)

 

Two hours definitely won't cover it for my rising fifth grader. Three might be possible if she works really diligently.

 

Two to three hours is also about what it takes for the concentrated, mom-intensive work; that's what I expect to put into the day, aside from the work that they do independently, just asking questions as needed.

 

Also, we do subjects that aren't covered in public school for elementary students, namely French and Latin, for my fifth grader. So I suppose that does factor in, and those are mom-intensive subjects, since I'm learning/reviewing along with her.

Edited July 5, 2012 by happypamama

[Melissa in Australia]

The state requirements for government primary schools here in Victoria are for the school to provide 2 1/2 -3 hours spend on education each day, the rest of the time can be filler - colouring in, craft, recess, lunch, sport, etc.

[Alice]

I think part of it may be what people consider “school”. I often think of us getting our schoolwork done in about 2-3 hours, but my son only really considers sitting at the table doing paper and pencil work to be school. So reading history, doing science experiments, art lessons, piano practice, a bike ride for PE, him reading on his own....none of that is school in his mind.

 

Also, I agree that it’s more efficient in the early years just because you are teaching to that one child rather than to a whole class with different abilities. We can easily move quickly ahead in math if my son gets the concept rather than spend a certain amount of time on a lesson just because that’s what is scheduled for the day.

 

The “2 hours equals a day” statement is one that I’ve heard and think is misleading.

[garddwr]

nm

[KarenC]

It took my girls about two hours to complete their "seat work" in about 3rd grade and below. The two hours didn't include practice time for their instrument, art projects, trips to the library, or things like that though.

 

I do think one on one instruction is much more efficient than group instruction. That may be where the idea came from.

 

Karen

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I was a classroom teacher (1st grade) and when we first started homeschooling (3rd grade) I was SHOCKED at how much more we got done in a day at home than in a week in the classroom.

 

There is just no comparison.

 

It's not just the amount of work that gets done, it's the fact that you are providing your child with one-on-one tutoring, instant feedback, and an appropriate challenge. You just can't do that in the classroom. So, yes, my kids get more out of one single lesson than they would sitting in a classroom hearing/practicing that concept all week.

 

I don't think there is a good comparison of hours to hours because it does depend on your children and how you teach. Also, we spent 3-4 hours a day in 3rd grade, but that included subjects that my public schoolers were lucky if they got once a week.

 

There is a LOT of wasted time in public school. A LOT. It's not just getting books out, it's getting ready for lunch, getting ready for recess, cleaning, dealing with behavior, stopping for assemblies/fire drills/guest speakers, etc. However, many of those things have value. Kids are learning patience, cooperation, and how to behave at school. They are having unique experiences and getting to see the "outside" world. Our kids at home get to do all of that (usually to a much greater extent), but we can do it in a way that doesn't interrupt their learning and doesn't create distractions.

 

My dd with special needs is able to get *quality* instructional time every day that is 10 times more than she ever got in a day in school because of all the school things that prevented her from really learning.

 

Again, it depends on you and your child, but seriously, there just is really NO comparison. :)

 

:iagree: with all of this.

[Zebra]

If you take the exact curriculum they are using in the schools, it will take you less time at home. Assuming you are just sitting down and doing school with your kids.

 

It's a fact that it takes longer for a classroom teacher to wrangle 20 students. I've read before that just the "administration" of a classroom alone takes an hour a day. Homeschoolers don't have to take attendance or collect lunch money. Unless you have a very delayed learner, it's always going to take you less time to tutor someone one on one.

 

Factor in all these classroom issues like spitballs, assemblies and fire drills and of course it takes less time.

 

I'm positive every grade takes less time. Even high school. It may not take 2 hours, but it takes less than the PS with homework takes. Because frankly, when I was in high school it was mostly the homework that was actual work. Classroom time was collecting homework, going over answers and explaining the next assignment. And I can't tell you how many Fridays were mostly test days. Almost every class had a test on Friday, and I would finish my test and sit there for 20 minutes just waiting for class to be over. Do that in 4 classes a week, and it really starts to add up.

[My3Munchkins]

I was a public school teacher and find that we can accomplish more before lunch homeschooling than it took a whole day to complete in public school. We don't have to worry about unpacking in the morning, morning announcements, getting lunch boxes, lining up for lunch and specials, packing up at the end of the day, etc. A lot of time was spent transitioning from one activity to another.

 

I agree with what others have said. One on one instruction is definitely more efficient, especially in the lower grades. Once dc understand a concept, we can move forward. They don't have to wait for a classroom full of other students. We work at their pace.

[Crimson Wife]

I remember about 90% of the time in PS was spent waiting for the other students to catch up in heterogeneous classes, and even in honors classes it was still about half to three-quarters of the time.

 

HS is WAAAAAAAAAY more efficient for a bright student. We might be only spending 2-4 hours per day, but that's time actually spent learning instead of sitting around being bored.

[AnnaM]

I have a 1st and 2nd grader and I can not for the life of me figure out how anyone makes it LONGER than 2 hours??! I have added in numerous activities (randomly) and there is no way I could consistently make our school day longer than 2 hours :/ What is everyone doing that takes so long?

 

I guess at least some of it has to do with how young my children are. Maybe others are counting things that we aren't as school?

[Parrothead]

For us it seemed to average one hour of formal sit down work per grade. So kindy was less than an hour. First grade took an hour. Second grade took two. We seem to have maxed out at 6 for 6th and 7th grade. Not sure what 8th will take per day to complete, but I'm thinking 7 hours. High school will definitely take 8 hours a day.

[Parrothead]

I have a 1st and 2nd grader and I can not for the life of me figure out how anyone makes it LONGER than 2 hours??! I have added in numerous activities (randomly) and there is no way I could consistently make our school day longer than 2 hours :/ What is everyone doing that takes so long?

 

I guess at least some of it has to do with how young my children are. Maybe others are counting things that we aren't as school?

I had this problem too. We lived in MT at the time. In that state one had to track hours and have what the PS kids had in terms of hours of school per day. No way could I have had 1st and 2nd last 6 hours a day. So I just fudged on forms. ;)

[Jennifer3141]

I started with Calvert for kindergarten - so school in a box. I remember sitting down with DD on our first day, grabbing the master book and finishing in about 30 minutes with everything a K'er was supposedly to do on her first day of "rigorous" schooling. We looked at each other and then wondered what the heck to do with the rest of our day.

[sunflowerlady]

We always finish our schoolwork in a much shorter time frame than PS or even other homeschoolers here on this site.

 

In lower grades, it would take an hour or two. Now she is in higher grades and it takes 3 hours or so. Going into high school, I think it will take 3 to 4 hours. No way will it take 6 to 8 hours.

 

Of course, we are not classical homeschoolers and we are fairly relaxed.

 

In PS, the teacher is usually lecturing and teaching lessons. Students may or may not be paying attention. So, I figure we have much shorter school days, but we are "on task" during those times.

[FaithManor]

Until I was put in honors/AP independent study classes in high school, I spent the bulk of my school existence sitting around waiting for everyone else to get done with whatever. However, I will say that I read COPIOUS amounts of great literature because that is what the teachers gave my brother and I to keep us busy.

 

When the children were young, we easily accomplished their entire day of studies in two to two and half hours because of efficiency. But my high schoolers spend pretty close to 7 hrs. per day and sometimes more when papers or major year end projects are due. My kids usually have 7 credits per year plus extracurriculars so their days are FILLED!

 

One thing we don't have is hours on the bus. Some of our local high schoolers leave at 6:15 a.m. and don't get home until 4:15 or even a little later. They get five minutes between classes and 30 minutes for lunch and that's it. So it is a very long day for them and especially the young teens...some of these kids are still 13 when they begin 9th grade. When you figure when they have to be out of bed to make that 6:15 a.m. pick-up at the local gas station it's an 11 hr. day and homework yet to be completed or extracurriculars to embark upon.

 

Faith

[fatfishes]

Its hard to quantify time spent learning

Most days we finish our 'boxed curriculum work ' in a couple of hours.It might take longer than that,as they get into a subject or dawdle.It could be shorter if the race through their lessons .But most of their other time is spent learning- just less parent directed .If my son wants to build a working cannon- thats educational.Possibly ,he is learning more from this sort of activity than the 2 hours spent doing 'school'.If my daughter is reading a book- thats is educational- but its not the time Im counting when I say we are done in a couple of hours- thats just the boxed curriculum stuff[ which I use to make sure we cover the basics]/The rest of their time- they are free to persue their own learning agenda.

[TXMomof4]

My oldest dd was in PS this last year. It was our first experience with PS - all the kids were enrolled, but the other 3 were home by Thanksgiving. We allowed dd to stay because she had made the cheer squad and track team - I wanted to give her a little bit of that experience. By the end of the year, I seriously regretted my decision. On MWF class started at 8:45. They had 3 hours of academic classes (math, ELA, Science, or SS). Of course, that wasn't sit down actual work time - that was time allotted for the class. Then they had art/music/computer class for an hour. Then lunch - after lunch they had 'courtyard' which was basically social time. The connections - a time to discuss their future plans :confused:. So, my child had a 6 hour day and at the very best, under completely ideal circumstances, she was only getting 3 hours of academics. This was 6th grade, btw.

 

DD2 (in 5th grade) hated it because she had way, way more work than dd1 did. It wasn't uncommon for her to be finishing schoolwork in the evenings. DD1 had homework maybe ten times during the year.

 

One of the many reasons she is coming home!

[Mommyof4ks]

Our k-4th day is like that. It only takes around two hours to do all of our formal schooling. However, we still read books, do art, go to various lessons, take walks, and play educational games throughout the day, so perhaps people are saying that we can get through the sitting down 'boring' part of school and move on to the fun stuff that many of our PS counterparts do not get to on a daily basis (though I know hands on fun stuff does get done just not with the same frequency).