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2 hours homeschooling equals a whole day of public schooling


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You may find this funny, but your post really made a connection with me and spurred thoughts about science. I envisioned this parallel.......

 

Far too many people (not just children) see science as doing experiments following prescribed steps and getting correct results. They are simply frustrated when whatever they were doing didn't produce said results instead of understanding that the processes reveal information even when the results are unexpected.

 

Is science defined as the replication of what we know and when replication fails, we have failed? Or.....is science really understanding that beyond the steps provided by the guide there are forces which did exactly what they do and failure means something wasn't controlled or factored? What did the outcome itself teach? Why weren't the expected results achieved? And where do those questions lead?

 

I hadn't planned on responding to anymore posts in this thread b/c apparently the moon is made of cheese ;) but your post really made me think about the above image. What types of experiences foster overcoming unexpected results and seeking independent answers into why? Does guided discovery with constant supervision with someone always ready to provide the answer? Or does independent failure followed by repeated attempts and final independent success?

Excellent analogy! When I was in college one of the sections on the lab report was the step that required us to identify any factors that might have led to an unexpected outcome. I hated that part! But looking back I think it was probably the most important part. That kind of analysis is important in all aspects of life :)

 

In my home, no science lab was ever called a failure. We simply got different results and we had to figure out why. Labs have wonderful life applications ;)

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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?

The question shouldn't be- does 2 hours of homeschool = a full day of public school? The question should be- what do you as a parent-teacher want to accomplish with your child?Are the goals reasonably attainable by your specific child? After goals are determined, you can look at how much daily time it will take your individual child to accomplish those goals within a timeframe that you determine. What products are available to help you accomplish those goals? You can also spend your time determining how long your child can spend doing seat work before retention goes down the toilet. Can any of your goals be accomplished though means other than seat work? You as a parent-teacher are writing an IEP.

 

So, trying to determine what schedule the public school is keeping with a classroom full of kids who will all be educated with the same materials, the public school's goals, and how much time is spent on actual instruction in that classroom is a silly waste of a parent-teacher's time. Their daily schedule and the instruction time spent moving toward their goals is irrelevant in writing an IEP that works in your home for your child. If you are interested in closely following whatever standards your state has, then look at the standards rather than the public school around the corner.

 

I really like the idea of about 1 hour of seat work per grade through grade 5 as a rule of thumb for how much time children in general can spend actually sitting and working. Certainly there is a lot more that can be done in a day that doesn't require seat work: read alouds, silent reading, nature studies, instrument practice, physical education, teatime poetry, field trips, etc.

 

However, as far as how long another family says they are spending each day to complete what they deem necessary to achieve their goals, I always take that information with a grain of salt. There are just too many variables (how many days each year they school, what they include as school, their academic goals, the curriculum they are using, etc.) In the end, unless they are asking for my advice, help, or thoughts I have on the subject, it really doesn't matter.

 

I have no interest in trying to figure out the ps or dictate to others how long their day should be, because I have enough trouble trying to write and maintain an IEP that works for the one child I have left at home! :D

Mandy

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I hadn't planned on responding to anymore posts in this thread b/c apparently the moon is made of cheese ;)

 

:iagree: 

 

 

but your post really made me think about the above image. What types of experiences foster overcoming unexpected results and seeking independent answers into why? Does guided discovery with constant supervision with someone always ready to provide the answer? Or does independent failure followed by repeated attempts and final independent success?

A continuation of this thought. My boys often write stories, and they make comic books, board games, alien life forms, etc. I could assign any of these things. Many, many programs incorporate activities like this. But there is A HUGE DIFFERENCE between them choosing to do these things, and me forcing them to. When I assign something, I need to set clear guidelines, give clear instructions for how it should be done, give clear indications on when the child can be DONE. It's not a very fair assignment otherwise. With each item in that list, I lessen the benefits of the activity; I teach instead of them exploring. But when they CHOOSE to do that type of activity, they will spend weeks on a project, making it far more elaborate than I would have ever required.

 

And I can still be involved. They bring me projects to look at. I say, "Awesome job! Did you consider..." Sometimes they thank me for the idea, and sometimes they explain why my idea wouldn't work. 

 

Bottom line: My boys have gravitated towards the types of creative expression that benefit each of them. They don't all have the same interests, or the same ways of expressing their interests. Classroom activities, by necessity, force all children into the same mold. And the only "busting my hump" involved was severely limiting screen time and making them read a lot.

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  • 4 months later...

I am not sure about this....Homeschooling FOR US takes forever because of the preschooler and toddler running around. Distractions abound and the older ones are either distracted by the antics of the younger ones or they need to help me with the youngers ones-disaster abounds with the younger ones all the time. Toddler likes to put the Math U See bars in the fish tank. One of my olders hates this and immediately has to fish these out and disinfect them. yes slightly OCD. Preschooler demands pretend and dress up play (can;t do that alone) and bouncing on trampoline requires older to be there because it is downstairs outside. 

 

Sometimes it takes me 15 minutes to finish a sentence because of the younger ones. 

 

I usually do farm one out to watch the younger ones while I work with one of the older ones but it gets complicated when we do group stuff. Someone is always missing out. When I focus more on the older ones, the younger ones like the preschooler hasn;t touched All about reading prek in days. I am still trying to work out a better schedule for all of us. My toddler right now gets so jealous when I am working with the other kids. He climbs on my lap and throws the book down or tries to draw on the paper or puts his cold grimy hands on me to nurse. ARGH! Preschooler stopped napping long ago. Toddler naps maybe once or twice a day but not long because preschooler likes to wake him up.  

 

The only things that seems to be getting done regularly are the online stuff like Study Island and Zingy because they can just open and start without needing me. I gave up with All about Spelling. Taking the board out with the cards and the magnet tiles..good grief and I was doing it with three different kids in three different levels. YUCK! 

 

Please someone tell me this too shall pass. 

 

 

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